Forensic Profiling: Bottom Up-Approach

Question 1

Offender profiling

Answer 1

Aims to narrow the list of subjects

Professional profilers are employed to work alongside the police especially in high-profile murder cases

The scene and other evidence are analysed to generate hypotheses about the probable characteristics of the offender (e.g. age, background, occupation, etc.)

Question 2

Investigative psychology: Bottom-up approach

Answer 2

Offender profile emerges based on the data

The British bottom-up model does not begin with fixed typologies. Instead, the profile is ‘data-driven’ and emerges as the investigator rigorously scrutinises the details of a particular offence

The aim is to generate a picture of the offenders’ characteristics, routines and background through analysis of the evidence

Question 3

Investigative psychology: Statistical analysis of crime-scene evidence

Answer 3

Statistical procedures detect patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur/coexist across crime scenes

This is done to develop a statistical ‘database’ which then acts as a baseline for comparison

Features of an offence can be matched against this database to suggest potentially important details about the offender, their personal history, family background etc.

Question 4

Investigative psychology: Analysis based on psychological concepts (interpersonal coherence)

Answer 4

A central concept is interpersonal coherence - the way an offender behaves at the scene (including how they interact with the victim) may reflect their behaviour in everyday situations (e.g. controlling, apologetic, etc.), i.e. their behaviour has coherence

This might tell the police something about how the offender relates to women (for example) more generally

Question 5

Geographical profiling: Inferences about the offender based on location

Answer 5

The locations of crime scenes are used in to infer the likely home or operational base of an offender - known as crime mapping

Serial offenders restrict their ‘work’ to areas they are familiar with (spatial consistency). Location can also be used alongside psychological theory to create hypotheses about the offender and their modus operandi (habitual way of working)

Question 6

Geographical profiling: Marauder and commuter types

Answer 6

Canter and Larkin (1993) proposed 2 models of offender behaviour:

1. The marauder - operates close to their home base
2. The commuter - likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence when committing a crime

Question 7

Geographical profiling: Circle theory

Answer 7

Canter and Larkin also suggest that the pattern of offending locations is likely to form a circle around the offender’s usual residence, and this becomes more apparent the more offences there are

The offender’s spatial decision-making can provide insight into the nature of the offence (planned or opportunistic, mode of transport, employment status etc.)