10b. Investigative psychology

Question 1

Investigative psychology

Answer 1

David Canter
Bottom-up approach
No initial assumptions made about offender

Question 2

Background

Answer 2

Looks for consistencies in offender’s behaviour during the crime - inferred from the crime scene and from surviving victim’s accounts
Relies heavily on computer databases being accurate
Considered more objective and reliable

Question 3

Criminal consistency hypothesis

Answer 3

Developed by Canter

An offender’s behaviour while committing a crime will be consistent with their behaviour in daily life

Question 4

How is the criminal consistency hypothesis applied?

Answer 4

In 2 ways:

1. INTERPERSONAL CONSISTENCY: interactions between offender and victim
2. SPATIAL CONSISTENCY: the geographical area in which the offender commits the crime (routine activity theory)

Question 5

Canter et al. (2004)

Answer 5

Investigated the organised vs. disorganised theory of serial murder
Aimed to test reliability of top-down typology by applying them to 100 cases
FINDINGS: Rather than a distinction between the 2 types of serial murderer, all crimes had an organised element to them
Canter suggests it would be better to look at personality differences between offenders