Forensic

Question 1

Problems with defining crime

Answer 1

Historical and cultural issues. For example laws on homosexuality and marriage have changed over time and differ from place to place

Question 2

Ways of measuring crime

Answer 2

Official statistics
Victim surveys
Offender surveys

Question 3

Official statistics

Answer 3

The police record the number and type of crimes reported and the data is released annually by the government
Weakness:
They are unreliable and underestimate the extent of the crime. Criminologists suggest there is a ‘dark figure’ of crime which is responsible for 75% but not reported

Question 4

Victim surveys

Answer 4

Involves questionnaires which ask if they have had a crime committed against them and if they deported it
Weakness:
Adversely affected by telescoping

Question 5

Offender surveys

Answer 5

Involve self report of offenders enclosing the number and types of crimes they have committed
Weakness:
Due to the targeted nature, it tends to ignore “white collar crime”

Question 6

Offender profiling

Answer 6

Enables investigators to predict characteristics of unknown criminal

Question 7

Top-Down Approach

Answer 7

Starts with an establish typology and uses crime scene evidence to assign them to an organised or disorganised offender 
The 7 decision making tools:
Murder type
Primary intent
Victim risk
Offender risk
Escalation
Time 
Location

Question 8

Organised offender

Answer 8

• Targets victim in a planned manner
• Higher than average intelligence
• Socially and sexually competent

Question 9

Disorganised offender

Answer 9

• Little planning and leaves clues
• Lower than average intelligence
• Socially and sexually incompetent

Question 10

Weaknesses of top-down approach

Answer 10

1. Can only be used on crimes such as murder and rape
2. Alison et al said it is naive to believe that behaviour is caused by stable disposition so personality traits
3. Canter et al found no evidence for it when using 39 characteristics of a killer

Question 11

Strength of top-down approach

Answer 11

Canter did fine distinctive evidence for an organised killer which is still used by US profilers

Question 12

Bottom-up approach

Answer 12

Looks at crime scene evidence to develop a hypothesis about the characteristics motivations and social background of the offender

Question 13

Investigative psychology

Answer 13

A type of bottoms up approach

• It uses crime scene evidence
• With psychological theory
• Based on statistical analysis
• Of typical offender behaviour patterns

The aim is to establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes to help determine if the crime has been committed by the same person

Question 14

Geographical Profiling

Answer 14

Based on spatial consistency
The geographical locations of the previous crimes reveals their operational base and possible locations for future offences

Question 15

Evaluation of Bottom-Up

Answer 15

Can be applied to more crimes
CANTER AND HERITAGE
Found that the smallest space analysis allows them to establish whether more crimes done by sane person

HOWEVER
Rachel Nickells assailant ruled out for being too tall