forensic psychology Flashcards
what is top down approach
profilers have created pre-existing categories of offender types called organised and disorganised offenders. they use evidence collected from the crime scene and other contextual information to fit the offender into one of these types. based on the personal experience and intuition of the profiler.
refers to criminal investigative analysis, developed in America
what is bottom up approach
profilers gather information from the crime scene such location and criminal and victim behaviour. statistical analysis is then used comparing details of the crime to data collected from a large number of previous similar crimes. such as how far an offender is likely to travel from their base of operations.
refers to investigative psychology, developed in the UK
top down offender profiling
- data assimilation, information is gathered from the crime scene ( witnesses) and other information such as choice of victim and location
- crime scene classification, analysis of information suggests the criminal type
- crime reconstruction, the sequence both the offender and victim’s behaviour during the offence is hypothesised
- profile regeneration, a range of inferences are made, E.G. demographic assumptions (gender, age, ethnicity) physical features and expected behaviour
what characterisitcs do organised offenders have
- offense planned
- crime scene reflects overall control
- restraints used
- body hidden
- average to above average intelligence
- follows crime in news media
what characteristics do disorganised offenders have
- offense spontaneous
- crime scene random and sloppy
- minimal restraints used
- body left in plain view
- below average intelligence
- minimal interest in news media
strength of top down approach
weakness of top down approach
- overaly reductionist and dow not account for variability across crimes or that an offender may be organised for one crime and disorganised for another crime
- human behaviour fluctuates
- only applies to certain crimes
- best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect E.G. rape as well as crimes that involve practices such as sadistic tortures, dissections of bodiy. more common offences such as burglary and destruction of property do not lend themselves to profiling because the resulting crime scene reveals very little about the offender. it is a limited approach to identifying a criminal.
- evidence does not support ‘disorganised offender’
- David Canter used a technique called smallest space analysis, analysed data from 100 murders in the USA. the details of each case were examined with reference to 39 characteristics thought to be typical of organised and disorganised killers. although findings did indeed suggest evidence of a distinct organised type, this was not the case for disorganised which seems to undermine the classification system as a whole
five factor model (bottom up approach)
- interpersonal coherence: suggests a persons interactional style with the victim is the same as with other people in their lives E.G. aggressive, shy
- time and place significance: location is chosen by the offender, so is significant to them. this ties into the offenders mental model of their environment. offender is likely to feel more comfortable/control in a place they know better
- criminal characteristics: how the crime has been committed suggests aspects of the offender characteristics, based on evidence from previous criminal studies
- criminal career: how following crimes by the same offender change due to the criminal becoming more experienced E.G. the use of restraints in later murders
- forensic awareness: if criminal show knowledge of the criminal justice system and use techniques to reduce the evidence at the same crime scene
what is geographical profiling?
- a branch of investigative psychology
- focused on where an offender is likely to be based, not personal characteristics
- assumes the locations of crimes is not random
- heloed investigators narrow down their search areas
give examples of offender profiling
- least effort principle: if there are multiple equal potential locations to commit a crime, the offender will pick the one closest to their home base
- distance decay: number of crimes will decrease the further away from the offenders base(reduced effort). however, there is a “buffer zone” immediately around their home base to decrease the chance of being recognised
what is the circle hypothesis
because offenders operate according to a limited spatial mindset crimes radiate out from their home base creating a circle
- helps investigators make geusses about where they will strike next, jeopardy surface
- two models of offender behaviour: the marauder, operates in close proximity to their home base
: the commuter, who is likely to have travelled a distance away from their usually residence
evaluation of the bottom-up approach
- Canter and Heritage conducted an analysis of 66 sexual assault cases, data was examined using smallest space analysis. sexual behaviours were identified as common in different samples of behaviour, E.G. the use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to the victim. each individual displayed a characteristic pattern as such behaviours and this helped established whether two or more offences were committed by the same person.
- supports one of the base principles of investigative psychology that ppl are consistent in their behaviour
- HOWEVER, case linkage depends on the database and this will only consist of historical crimes that have been solved. the fact that they were solved might be because it was relatively straightforward to link these crimes together in the first place. suggests investigative psychology may tell us little about crimes that have few links between them and therefore remain unsolved
what is the historical approach
- criminality was often religious, suggesting criminals were possessed by demons
- Lombroso challenged these ideas when he published his scientific theory of the atavistic form
what is the atavistic form?
- criminals genetically are at a more primitive stage of human evolution than non-criminals
- criminality is innate, so criminals are born not made
- can be identified due to physical differences E.G. heavy brow, large jaws
- Lombroso used careful biological measurements of over 4000 living and dead criminals to back up atavistic form
evaluation of atavistic form
- shifted the emphasis of crime research from moralistic discourse (offenders were judged as being wicked and weak-minded) towards a more scientific and credible realm
- made a major contribution to the science of criminology. by emphasizing the importance of research evidence, Lombroso was influential in the development of criminology as a scientific discipline, giving it greater credibility and status
- looks at evolution and genes
- assumptions made are only correlational
- even if theres a link between atavistic features and criminality, does not mean it causes their offending
- theory lacks a clear cause and effect as there could be many other factors that link to criminality E.G. poverty
- further research is needed to establish a clear cause and effect
