forensic psych profiling

Question 1

what is top down offender profiling like

Answer 1

intuitive and based on deductive reasoning rather than empirical data

Question 2

what are the 4 stages of offender profiling

Answer 2

1. Profiling inputs (specialists collect forensic evidence from the crime scene)
2. Decision process models (this data is used to make assumptions about time of day, murder
   weapon, type of crime etc.)
3. Classifying the crime (profilers determine whether the killer is organised or disorganised, based
   on evidence from the scene and intuition)
4. Criminal profile (based on classification and other data, experts create a ‘profile’ for the most
   likely suspects, e.g. what type of jobs they have, their status etc.)

Question 3

strengths of top down offender profiling

Answer 3

• Supporting Evidence – Copson, 1995 found that 82% of 184 US police officers said that the technique was useful and 90% said they would use it again
• Makes use of expertise – since it is based on intuition, it utilises the experience of profilers and allows them to make deductions that couldn’t be made by statistical models

Question 4

limitations of top down offender profiling

Answer 4

• Based on flawed evidence – interviewing serious criminals is unscientific because they are likely to be pathological liars and manipulative
• Easy for offenders to mislead and exploit (Jackson & Bekerian, 1997) – smart offenders could exploit predictable profiling techniques and mislead detectives
• Not accurate (Alison et al, 2003) – in a controlled study, they found that over 50% of officers rated the profile they were given as accurate, even though it was distinctly different to the real offender.
• Categories are a ‘false dichotomy’ (Turvey, 1999; Canter, 2004) – many offenders do not fit neatly into either ‘organised’ or ‘disorganised’ categories and have ‘mixed’ category behaviours. Not all ‘organised’ offenders are the same.

Question 5

who developed top down offender profiling

Answer 5

the fbi

Question 6

who developed bottom up offender profiling

Answer 6

David Canter believed the top-down approach to be unscientific. He developed this approach to be based on statistics and previous cases, rather than deduction.

Question 7

how does bottom up offender profiling work

Answer 7

• Use of empirical data – makes probability-based profiles by looking at similar previous crime statistics
• Investigative Psychology :
  Interpersonal coherence – people are consistent, so their crimes reflect their usual behaviours. violent crimes are committed by violent people
  Forensic awareness – how well they covered their crimes could indicate prior convictions

Question 8

what does geographical profiling involve

Answer 8

Circle theory – offenders commit crimes within a small radius, either where they live (marauder type), or in a place they know well (commuter type).

Criminal Geographic Targeting (CGT) – uses statistical analysis to create a ‘jeopardy map’, showing detectives the offenders most likely base.

Question 9

strengths of bottom up offender profiling

Answer 9

• More scientific – this is based on statistical data rather than intuition, so is more objective
• upporting Evidence – Copson, 1995 found that 75% of 48 UK police officers said profiler advice had been useful

Question 10

limitations of bottom up offender profiling

Answer 10

• Not entirely useful - Copson, 1995 found that only 3% of 48 UK police officers said that profiler advice had helped to actually identify the offender.
• Could send the police the wrong way - Petherick, 2006 claimed that geographical profiling might actually encourage police to search in the wrong place
• Case of Colin Stagg – Stagg was wrongly arrested and charged with a murder he didn’t commit, whilst Robert Napper was wrongly excluded because his height didn’t match the profile.
• Geographic profiling can’t distinguish if there are multiple offenders and is flawed (Rossmo, 1999; Turvey, 2011) – it cannot determine any major characteristics of offenders and is not respected by all.