Bottom up Approach (offender profiling)

Question 1

Bottom up approach

Answer 1

Evidence based approach using statistical analysis of data collected at the crime scene and information such as choice of victim and location.
Use of large statistical data sets suggests how often certain types of behaviour are seen in particular crimes
Usually called investigative psychology,
developed by david canter, created 5 factor model for interpreting a crime scene.

Uk
Investigative psychology- based on statistical analysis and psychological theory
geographical profiling- based on patterns shown by locations of a series of crimes

Question 2

David canter 5 factor model for interpretating a crime scene- investigative psychology

Answer 2

Interpersonal coherence- suggests a persons interactional style with the victim is the same as with other people in their lives

Time and place significance- location is chosen by the offender, so is significant to them. Ties into the offenders mental model of their environment (schema)- likely to choose somewhere they feel more comfortable

Criminal characteristics- how the crime is committed suggests aspects of the offenders characteristic, based on evidence from previous criminal studies

Criminal career- how following crimes by the same offender change due to the criminal becoming more experienced

Forensic awareness- does the criminal show signs of knowledge of the criminal justice system and techniques used to reduce evidence t the crime scene

Question 3

Geographical profiling

Answer 3

Based off canter factors if time and place, helps narrow down search areas
Rossmo suggests in generals criminals offend close to home/base and no. Crimes decreases further from base

3 principles:
Least effort principle- if 2 criminally attractive places will choose closest to them
Distance decay- further from base no crimes reduce until become more confident, leave buffer zone around house to avoid being recognised
Circle of gravity theory- criminals have limited mindsets and the crimes they commit radiate out from their homes creating a circle- based somehwere in circle

Profiling software then produces a mal to show most likely residence locations for suspectx red indicates most likely area

2 types of criminals-
marauder
Commuter

Question 4

Strength bottom up- (better)

Answer 4

top-down approach only works for crimes such as rape and murder, the bottom-up approach can be applied to a much wider range of crimes.
For example, most burglaries are similar in method and so a top-down approach won’t reveal much about the offender’s profile.
However, geographical profiling only requires the locations of the crimes, and so this bottom-up approach can be applied to basically every type of crime

Counter-meketa

Question 5

Strength bottom up (useful)

Answer 5

Copson surveyed 48 police departments and found that the advice provided by the profiler was judged to be ‘useful’ in 83% of cases, which suggests it is a valid investigative tool

However

Copson study revealed that in only 3% of cases did it lead to the accurate identification of the offender! The Rachel Nickell case (few inches talker) offers a stark reminder of how profiling can be misused.

Question 6

Limitation bottom up (dark figure)

Answer 6

Success reliant on quality of data provided by police
However this records of crimes not always accurate, varies between forces and 75% crimes not reported to police in first place( dark figure of crime) …

Ainsworth suggests more than location needed to create a profile, like timing of offence, age, experience of offender…