Forensic psychology Flashcards
Define offender profiling
- The idea that you can make assumptions about characteristics of an offender by careful analysis of the offence they commit
- Sustains that crime is not random, and offenders follow a modus operandi
AO1 for the top-down approach
- Originally used by the FBI in America, 36 convicted murderers were interviewed and as a result of their responses, 24 were categorised as “organised” and 12 “disorganised”, the typology of the top-down approach
- Criminals are categorised as “organised” or “disorganised”
How is the top down approach carried out?
- Crime scene evidence is collected and witness statements are taken, data from this is then used to categorise the offender as either “organised” or “disorganised”
Characteristics of an organised offender
- Socially and sexually competent
- Show evidence of planning
- Unlikely to leave evidence/clues at the crime scene
- Likely to have a specific type of victim
Characteristics of a disorganised offender
- Show no evidence of planning
- Socially and sexually incompetent, living alone, unemployed
- Frequently leave clues such as blood, body or hair
- ## Attacks appear to be random, with no specific target and occuring close to their home or operational base (they are described as marauders)
AO3 for the top-down approach
+ Ressler created definitions of top-down and bottom-up using interviews with real serial offenders, 24 were categorised as organised/ 12 disorganised, suggesting that there are in fact distinct types of offender
- However this is a restricted sample of only 36 serial sex offenders and may not generalise
- Canter (2004) reviewed 100 US serial killers and found disorganised features were rare and didn’t for a distinct “type”, suggesting there is a false dichotomy between the types and organisation is most typical of serial killers
- It is very hard to actually assess the effectiveness of offender profiling as it is never used in isolation without other forensic techniques
AO1 for the bottom-up approach
- No pre-established typology
- Develops a profile as the crime scene and EWT are increasingly analysed
- Investigative psychology where each crime is recorded into a database, then used to develop hypotheses about future crimes. It emphasises the importance of time and place as well as “interpersonal coherence”, indicating the manner in which the victim treats their victim reflects their interpersonal functioning/understanding in real life
- Geographical profiling suggests each offender has an operational base, which can be mapped using previous crimes, forming a circular shape with a “centre of gravity” operational base in the centre
AO3 of the bottom-up approach
+ Significantly more scientific than the top-down approach, as it uses statistical analysis. For example, the use of smallest space analysis to establish correlations between two variables or offender characteristics compared to the over-simplistic top-down approach
+ Lundrigan and Canter followed the smallest space analysis of 120 serial murder cases, and identified characteristic traits of the spatial consistency such as the centre of gravity and presence of a jeopardy surface, indicating the utility of this approach in establishing the modus operandi of the offender
- Although it is almost certainly a useful method, it does not always lead to the correct identification of the offender. Copson found it only led to the succesful identification of the offender 3% of the time but was useful 83% of the time
How is crime defined and what are problems with its definition and measurement?
- Any illegal act punishable by incarceration or another type of punishment
- What was illegal once (homosexuality up to 1967) may not be considered a crime now
- The issue of the “dark figure” where 75% of crime goes unreported
- Official statistics and victim surveys are used to measure crime, but victim surveys have the upper hand as self-report techniques allow the victim to report anonymously without the paperwork and procedure
Biological explanations, Lombroso: AO1
- Lombroso studied the cranial featres of 383 dead and 3839 alive criminals, and concluded 40% of crime could be explained using the offender profiles based on certain atavistic characteristics
- These characteristics included long ears, dark skin, extra toes, curly hair
- Certain types of offenders had different characteristics, with murderers having bloodshot eyes, sexual deviants had glinting eyes
Biological explanations, Lombroso: AO3
- Modern researchers such as DeLisi have branded Lombroso and the Atavistic form as racist. Just because an individual has certain “atavistic” characteristics doesn’t mean they will become criminal. This logic would indicate certain races would be more likely to become criminal, as curly hair is common among African-Americans, this could form the base for “scientific justification” for discrimination and eugenics
- The method used is unscientific, and only studied Italians with no statistical analysis or control group from another culture. No significance can be established without the use of a control group
+ Lombroso was seen as the father of criminology and his research formed the basis for modern criminal profiling
Biological explanations, genetic: AO1
- Genetic explanations suggest inherited genes make it more likely for the individual to engage with criminal behaviour
- Family studies should show how criminal behaviour is inherited across multiple generations, twin studies should show how MZ twins are more likely than DZ to both be criminals and adoption studies should isolate nature from nurture
- The specifc gene candidate linked to aggression is the short variant MAOA gene, which produces less MAOA and leads to higher levels of aggression. The MAOA gene metabolises a range of neurotransmiters such as seratonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, and this variation potentially leads to poorer impulse control
- Diathesis-stress may be more useful
Genetic explanations AO3
- Rhee (2002) included 51 twin and adoption studies in a large meta-analysis including over 110 thousand participants. The results of the data analysis showed that genetics accounted for 41% of the variance in anti-social behaviour and 59% was driven by environmental effects, suggesting hereditary generic factors are a significant driver of anti-social crime
Neural explanations: AO1
- Biological processes and structures wthin the brain such as biochemistry and large neural structures lead to criminal behaviour
- Neurotransmitters:
Noradrenaline: high levels high aggression
Seratonin: Linked to ability to control impulsivity
Dopamine: Causes pleasure and linked to drug addiction - Neurological structures:
Reduced limbic system activity: emotions such as guilt, empathy and compassion are important in inhibiting violence, and psychopaths are thought to have a problem with their limbic system
Frontal cortex: Responsible for executive function and overriding strong, aggresive emotional responses from other areas of the brain, thought to be underdeveloped in violent criminals
Genetic/neural explanations AO3
-Brunner conducted a case-study on a particularly violent extended family in the Netherlands whose males had a history of impulsive aggression, arson, attempted rape. 5 Males had defective MAOA producing no MAOA, suggesting extreme levels of cromomality can have a genetic origin
- Raine measured frontal lobe volume in people with antisocial personality disorder compared to people without APD. Found people with APD had 11% reduction in prefrontal grey matter, suggesting this leads to a reduction in conscience, fear response, decision making
- Kiehl (2001) FMRI scanned criminal psychopaths, criminal non psychopaths and control of non-criminals. Found criminal psychopaths had reduced activity in a range of limbic system areas
