Forensic psychology

Question 1

What is offender profiling?

Answer 1

• Aim is to narrow down suspect list
• Involves careful scrutiny of the crime scene & analysis of other evidence -> generate hypotheses about offender e.g. age, occupation

Question 2

What is the top-down approach?

Answer 2

• Originated in the USA
• Drew from interviews with 36 sexually-motivated serial killers
• Concluded data could be separated into: organised & disorganised -> each category had certain characteristics -> make predictions for future offenders
• Profilers gather data then assign to a category (typology)

Question 3

What are the characteristics of organised and disorganised offenders?

Answer 3

• Organised: evidence of planning, tidy - leave no DNA, socially & sexually competent, have a type, intelligent
• Disorganised: little evidence of planning, spontaneous, unemployed, crime scene reflects impulsivity

Question 4

What are the 4 stages of constructing an FBI profile?

Answer 4

1. Data assimilation - reviewing evidence
2. Crime scene classification
3. Crime reconstruction - creating a hypothesis in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of victim & suspect
4. Profile generation - creating a hypothesis relating to likely offender

Question 5

What are the strengths of the top-down approach (A03)

Answer 5

• Research support for distinct organised category: Carter’s analysis of 100 murders by serial killers with smallest space analysis - used to assess current occurrence of 39 aspects of killings -> organised is a subset of features of many killings
• Counter: Many studies suggest organised & disorganised types may not be mutually exclusive - Godwin -> hard to classify killers as one or the other -> could mean the typology is more of a continuum
• Can be adapted to other crimes: Meketa reported top-down has been applied to burglary -> 85% increase in solved cases -> kept organised & disorganised but added interpersonal & opportunistic -> wider application

Question 6

What is a weakness of the top-down approach? (A03)

Answer 6

• Poor sample: based on interviews with 36 murderers -> unrepresentative - not random or large sample, self-report interviews not ideal given sample (lying to avoid long sentence) -> no scientific basis

Question 7

What is the bottom-up approach to offender profiling?

Answer 7

• Aim is to generate a picture of the offender through evidence analysis e.g. social background, routine behaviour
• Developed in Britain
• Profile is data-driven
• Approach is more grounded in psychological theory

Question 8

What is the investigative psychology part of the bottom-up approach?

Answer 8

• An attempt to apply statistical procedures & psychological theory to the analysis of crime scenes
• Aims to establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes
• Creation of a database - details of a crime can then be matched to the database

Question 9

What are the 3 elements of investigative psychology? (bottom-up approach)

Answer 9

• Interpersonal coherence: the way the offender behaves at the scene & interact with the victim
• Time & place: could indicate where they live/work
• Forensic awareness: behaviour could indicate they have been involved with the police in the past

Question 10

What is the geographical profiling part of the bottom-up approach?

Answer 10

• Uses information about the location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likely base of an offender
• Spatial consistency: offenders will stick to a certain area -> centre of gravity becomes clear (circle theory)

Question 11

What 2 ways does geographical profiling describe offenders?

Answer 11

• Marauder: operates in close proximity to home base
• Commuter: travels a distance from their usual residence

Question 12

What are the strengths of the bottom-up approach? (A03)

Answer 12

• Evidence for investigative psychology: Canter & Heritage conducted an analysis of 66 sexual-assault cases, examined using small-space analysis - many common behaviours found e.g. impersonal language -> each individual displayed a characteristic pattern of such behaviours - can establish whether 2 or more offences were committed by the same person -> supports idea that people are consistent in behaviour
• Evidence for geographic profiling: Lundrigan & Canter collated info from 120 murder cases involving serial killers - smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency -> location of each body disposal site created a centre of gravity - went in a different direction each time to dump a body (marauders) -> supports

Question 13

What is a weakness of the bottom-up approach? (A03)

Answer 13

• Geographical information may be insufficient: success is reliant on the quality of data police can provide - recording of a crime is not always accurate + 75% of crimes are not always reported - critics claim other factors are important e.g. age, experience (Ainsworth)