forensic psych lessons 1-2

Question 1

what is offender profiling

Answer 1

A tool used by employees to narrow down a list of suspects

Question 2

what is the top down approach

Answer 2

templates of organised and disorganised offenders are pre existing in the mind of the profiler. Evidence from the crime scene are then used to fir the offender into either category

Question 3

what are organised offenders

Answer 3

They plan a crime in advance and have a preferences when choosing victims. They have a high level of control and leave little evidence

Question 4

what are characteristics of an organised offender

Answer 4

highly intelligent, in a skilled profession and socially and sexually competent. Often married with kids

Question 5

what are disorganised offenders

Answer 5

They show little evidence of planning and are spontaneous. crime scene tends to be impulsive and body is usually left.

Question 6

characteristics of disorganised offenders

Answer 6

low intelligence, unskilled or unemployed, history of failed relationships and sexual dysfunction. tend to live alone

Question 7

evaluation of top down approach

Answer 7

DIS: top down profiling only applies to certain crimes such as murder and rape and not to burglaries as the crime scene doesn’t reveal much.
The organised or disorganised distinction was developed based on interviews with serial killers which is a small unrepresentative sample

Question 8

what is the bottom up approach

Answer 8

Aims to generate a picture of the offender with their characteristics from evidence from the crime scene. Doesn’t begin with fixed categories unlike top down approach

Question 9

what is investigative psychology

Answer 9

Investigative psychology is the analysis of crime scene behaviors to identify patterns and predict offender characteristics. It uses statistical databases to link crimes and infer details about offenders

Question 10

what is geographical profiling

Answer 10

Geographical profiling analyses the locations of crimes to identify patterns and predict where an offender lives, works, or socialises. It assumes offenders commit crimes in familiar areas, with earlier offenses often closer to their base. Offenders may act as marauders (close to home) or commuters (traveling away)

Question 11

evaluation of bottom up approach

Answer 11

ADV: psychologists argue bottom up is more scientific that top down because it is more grounded with evidence. bottom up can also be applied to more crimes that top down.
DIS: psychologist found chem students found more accurate offender profile that senior detectives which implies bottom up is just common sense and guess work