Bottom Up Approach

Question 1

What is the bottom-up approach?

Answer 1

• evidence collected at crime scene
• hypothesis of characteristics (e.g. motives)

Question 2

What are the 2 key concepts of this approach?

Answer 2

Investigative psychology and forensic awareness

Question 3

What is investigative psychology?

Answer 3

Attempt to apply statistical procedures alongside psychological theory to the analysis of crime scene evidence. Establish pattern of behaviour that emerge

Question 4

What are the 3 branches of investigative psychology?

Answer 4

• Interpersonal coherence: crime scene may indicate behaviours/lifestyle of individuals and how they interact in daily life
• Time and place: may indicate where offender is residing
• ## Forensic awareness: those who have been subject to police interrogation before, may denote how mindful they are of covering up their tracks

Question 5

What is geographical profiling?

Answer 5

Uses info from crime scenes using the principles of spatial consistency. Uses previous crime to predict base of offender and predict location of future crimes

Question 6

What is Canter’s circle theory/centre of gravity ?

Answer 6

Idea that pattern of offending is likely to form a circle around offenders base (crimes radiate out offender’s location). So offender base is in the middle.

Question 7

Marauders

Answer 7

Operates in close proximity of their base

Question 8

Commuter

Answer 8

Travelled a distance away from usual residence

Question 9

AO3/AO2: Railway Rapist

Answer 9

John Duffy
24 sexual attacks
Of women near railway stations in North London
Canter used geographical profiling

Canters profile matched Duffy

Question 10

What are weaknesses of the Railway Rapist? (Issues and debates)

Answer 10

• androcentric (only 1 male)
• Idiographic (case study and small sample)
• Validity (Canter did not predict there to be an accomplice)

Question 11

AO3: Canter and Heritage (1990) - evidence for investigative psychology

Answer 11

Content analysis 66sexual assault cases
Smallest space analysis
Several characteristics identified, were common
Correlations made
Help detect changes in characteristics may be linked to other factors (causal link)

Stats help understand crime

Question 12

AO3: Lundrigan and Canter (2001) - evidence for geographical profiling

Answer 12

120 murder cases in USA
Smallest space analysis
Revealed spatial consistency of killers
Used centre of gravity theory
Effect more commonly seen in marauders

Question 13

AO3: comparison with top down

Answer 13

• more objective: so more scientific
• uses stats: so more scientific
• can be applied to more crime: so wider application/usefullness

Question 14

AO3/AO2: Rachel Nickel

Answer 14

Died after stabbed
2 year old son witness
Profile accused wrong person
Real suspect unconsidered due to him being few inches taller than profile

(Weakness)