Bottom-Up approach

Question 1

Evidence supports geographical profiling (strength)
DW

Answer 1

• there is evidence to support
• Lundrigan and Canter collated info from 120 murder cases. The location of each body disposal site was different to the previous, creating a ‘centre of gravity’ indicating the offender’s base
• supports Canter’s claim that spatial information is a key factor in determining the base of an offender
• can be argued as valid, increasing its applicability

Question 2

Scientific basis (strength)
DW

Answer 2

• more objective and scientific than top-down
• due to advances in AI, investigators can manipulate geographical, biological and psychological data quickly to assist the investigation
• this means that this approach is more grounded in evidence and psychological theory and less driven by speculation
• offenders should be more easily identified quicker and more accurately

Question 3

Wider application (strength)
DW

Answer 3

• can be applied to a wide range of offences
• it can be used for more high profile crimes like murder and arson as well as lower profile crimes like theft and burglary
• better than the top-down approach which can only be used for more high profile crimes
• may be a more effective way of profiling as it can be applied more widely

Question 4

Mixed results (limitation)
DW

Answer 4

• studies examining the effectiveness of this approach have produced mixed results
• copson surveyed 48 police officers, finding that advice provided by the profiler was ‘useful’ in 83% of cases but only led to accurate identification of the offender in 3%
• may be some significant issues with reliability and accuracy
• may not be an appropriate tool when identifying offenders

Question 5

Incorrect direction (limitation)
DW

Answer 5

• some problems with offender profiling
• case of Rachel Nickell’s death, original suspect had been ruled out early because he was several inches taller than the profile that had been created via the bottom-up approach
• profiling may lead the investigation in the wrong way if it is taken too literally
• this approach may only be appropriate in narrowing down a list of suspects rather than purely using it to identify them