Bottom Up Approach Evaluation

Question 1

(Strength) - canter and heritage - 1990 - evidence support

Answer 1

• conducted analysis of 66 sexual assault cases, the data was examined using smallest space analysis
• several behaviors were identified as common in different samples of behaviour such as the use of impersonal language. Each individual displayed a characteristic pattern of such behaviour and this can help establish whether two or more offences were committed by the same person (case linkage)
• this supports one of the basic principles of investigative psychology that people are consistent in their behaviour.

Question 2

(Strength) - lundrigan and canter - 2001 - support geographical profiling

Answer 2

• collated info from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in the US. Smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of killers
• the location of each disposal site created a center of gravity, as they presumably go in different direction from their home, but they create a circular effect around the home base.
• this supports the view that geographical info can be used to identify the offender.

Question 3

(Weakness) - geographical profiling may not be sufficient on its own

Answer 3

• may be reliant on quality of data that the police can provide
• recording of crime is not always accurate and can vary between police forces and an estimated 75% of crimes are not even reported to the police in first place.
• even if this info is correct, critics claim that other factors are just as important in creating a profile, such timing of the offence (Ainsworth)
• this suggests that geographical info alone may not always lead to a successful capture of an offender.

Question 4

(Weakness) - offender profiling has something of a mixed history and is regarded in different ways by police forces

Answer 4

Gary cops on (1995)
- surveyed 48 police departments and found that the advice provided by the profiler was judged to be useful in 83% of cases, which suggests that is a valid tool - same study revealed that only 3% of cases did it lead to the accurate identification of the offender.

Richard kocsis (2002)
- found that chemistry students were able to produce more accurate offender profiles on a solved murder case than experienced senior detective

• this questions the usefulness of using offender profiling in the identification of offenders.