Forensic Psychology

Question 1

What are the 3 difficulties of measuring crime ?

Answer 1

• -> cultural differences
• -> historical changes
• -> circumstances

Question 2

Why are cultural differences a problem when defining crime?

Answer 2

What may be considered a crime in one culture may be considered the norm or legal in another culture. There is a issue with arresting those from other cultures who partake in these acts in countries where it is illegal, even it is legal where they are.
e.g. Bigamy (having more than one wife) is considered illegal in the UK, but is legal in cultures where polygamy is practiced.

Question 3

Why are historical changes a problem when defining crime?

Answer 3

The legal system changes law over time when society and views also change. An act may have been illegal a few decades ago, but is now considered legal and acts considered legal before may now be illegal.

e. g.- A parent’s right to hit their children was outlawed in 2004 with the introduction of the children’s act.
- Homosexuality was illegal in the UK until the 1960s, but is still illegal in other cultures which shows some crimes may be culturally specific.

Question 4

Why are different circumstances a problem when defining crime?

Answer 4

In some circumstances the legal system can take into account the situation and make allowances. They must have shown Actus reus ( A voluntary crime ) and Mens reus (intended for it to be a crime) for it to be considered a crime.
e.g. a woman in a nightclub may suffer a seizure due to the bright lights. she has a fit and accidentally punches a woman trying to help. You could argue this is assault, but because the act was involuntary (no Actus reus) and she didn’t mean to hit the women (Mens reus) she would not be convicted of the crime.

Question 5

What are the ways of measuring crime?

Answer 5

• -> official statistics
• -> victim surveys
• -> offender surveys

Question 6

what does official statistics include in measuring crime?

Answer 6

government records total crimes recorded by police which are recorded in official figures
it’s a useful snapshot for crimes like drug crimes, criminal damage and violent crimes across England and wales and specific regions
allows government to develop crime prevention strategies, develop policing initiatives and direct resources to areas where they’re most needed

Question 7

Evaluation of Official statistics in ways of measuring crime. - NOT ALL CRIMES INCLUDED

Answer 7

police recorded crime figures only relate to notable crimes usually taken to and tried by a jury so less notable crimes like a parking tickets will be excluded.
therefore official statistics do not represent all crimes that have been committed and demonstrates the limitations of using official statistics only when measuring crime.

Question 8

Evaluation of Official Statistics in ways of measuring crime- UNDERESTIMATES TRUE CRIME EXTENT

Answer 8

Many crimes may go unreported by victims and police so official figures may not be accurate representation or wont be an accurate account of crime rates.
crimes may not be reported due to mistrust of the police or different police recording rules or the victim may be scared of reprisal (revenge) from those they are reporting. So, official statistics do not give a accurate representation of the crimes being committed.

Question 9

Evaluation of Official Statistics in ways of measuring crime- EVIDENCE CRITICISING THE USE

Answer 9

Farrington- found that police in Nottinghampshire were more likely to report thefts under £10 than other regions which explained an apparent spike in the thefts in that area. this suggests police priorities may distort official statistics
Recently, across England and wales an estimated 19% of offences were not reported when they should have been. 33% were not reported in violence against person and 26% in sexual offences which shows that official statistics do not fully represent the crimes being committed in society.

Question 10

What are victim surveys in ways of measuring crime?

Answer 10

records people’s experiences of crime over specific periods.
Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) have conducted an annual survey since 1982. Each year they collect a representative sample of households to take part in the survey and asks them to document crimes they have been victims of in the past 12 months.
Another sample for younger people’s experiences ages 10-15.
Both surveys are completed annually

Question 11

Evaluation for Victim surveys in measuring crime - VALIDITY

Answer 11

there are issues with the use of self-reports in these surveys as the people may be reluctant to report a crime, may forget they were victims of minor crimes or may lie.
SO, this limits the validity of the victim surveys when used to measure crime.

Question 12

Evaluation of Victim surveys in measuring crime- TEMPORAL VALIDITY

Answer 12

victim surveys are updated annually to keep up-to-date on trends and the emergence of new crimes (usually connected to new technology and online fraud) which means that it attempts to include all possible crimes and even new ones.

Question 13

What are Offender surveys in ways of measuring crime?

Answer 13

Offender surveys allows offender volunteers to detail the number and types of crimes they have committed themselves. targets groups with specific risk factors like age group, social background and previous convictions
The Offender Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) measures self reported offending, indicators of repeat offending, perpetrator and victim relationships, drug/ alcohol use and role of the offenders.

Question 14

Evaluation of Offender surveys in ways of measuring crime - VALIDITY

Answer 14

the issues with self-reports are also issue with offender surveys.
the offenders may want conceal information about more serious crimes they have committed or may even want to exaggerate the number or seriousness of their crimes to brag and for reasons of bravado.
This limits the extent to which offender surveys can be used to to measure crime.

Question 15

Evaluation of Offender surveys in ways of measuring crime- USEFULNESS

Answer 15

Asking offenders about the offences they have committed can give a good picture of the reasons behind their offending behaviour and helps deploy resources to areas which might prevent further crime such as alcohol dependence programmes.
Also means that recidivism and re-offending can be reduced.

Question 16

What is the top down approach in offender profiling?

Answer 16

originated in the USA when the FBI behavioural science unit gathered data from 36 sexually motivated serial killers. they use this Method to match what is known about the crime and the offender to pre-existing templates made from the gathered data (self reports).
Murderers and rapists are classified as either organised (planned, deliberate crime) or disorganised (hastily carried out crime). The distinctions were based on the idea that serious offenders have a way of working (Modus operandi).

Question 17

Describe the features of an organised crime/ criminal

Answer 17

• -> the crime was planned in advance
• -> little evidence left at scene
• -> obvious that he victim was targeted and shows the perpetrator may have a particular ‘type’.
• -> maintains high level of control throughout the attack
• -> higher than average intelligence with skilled occupation
• -> may be married and even with children

Question 18

Describe the features of a disorganised crime/criminal

Answer 18

• -> crime obviously not planned and looks spontaneous.
• -> scene reflects hasty nature of attack with evidence and body usually left behind
• -> offender has little control during attack
• -> lower than average intelligence with unskilled occupation
• -> sexual dysfunction and failed relationship history
• -> usually lives alone and close to where the attack commenced

Question 19

Describe the 4 stages of offender profiling with the top down approach.

Answer 19

1. Data assimilation- information gathered from crime scene and other sources such as witnesses and forensic evidence.
2. Crime scene classifications- decision is made whether the crime was organised or disorganised.
3. Crime reconstruction- hypothesis is generated about what possibly happened including The victims actions and sequence of events
4. profile generation- rough ‘sketch’ of offender is made, including possible age, appearance, social background and likely behavioural traits.

Question 20

Evaluation of the Top Down approach in Offender profiling- ONLY APPLIES TO MURDERS AND RAPE

Answer 20

this method can only be used on murders and rapes and not on more common offences like theft where the resulting crime reveals very little about them int the evidence.
This restricts it’s applicability, whereas geographical profiling in the bottom up approach looks at the pattern of crime rather than the types of crime and is more versatile.
Therefore this is a limited approach to identifying criminals.

Question 21

Evaluation of the Top Down approach- SIMPLISTIC

Answer 21

It is argued that only having 2 categories (organised and disorganised) is too simplistic and criminals will not fit neatly into either category so it is too restrictive. Instead, it is likely there are more types. This affects the accuracy of the system,
The behaviours of each category are mutually exclusive and there may be a variety of combinations in each scene.
One researcher suggests there are 4 types of serial killer; visionary, mission, hedonistic and power. Another researcher focuses more on the motivations of killers rather than the specific types of killers.

Question 22

Evaluation of the Top Down approach in offender profiling- ISSUES WITH ORIGINAL SAMPLE

Answer 22

The original sample were 36 sexually motivated serial killers who completed interviews and self reports.
It could be argued that the sample is too small and unrepresentative to base the system on and the classification system being based on self reports from convicted killers means there may be issues with validity of the data gathered.

Question 23

Evaluation of Top Down approach- LACK OF THEORETICAL FOUNDATION

Answer 23

this approach could be seen as a more intuitive approach as it often relies on the expertise of the profiler which raises issues with subjectivity.
Lack of background evidence to suggest why it works so this method could be criticised in terms of credibility and is considered less scientific than the Bottom Up approach.

Question 24

What are the 4 evaluation points in the Top Down approach? (4 limitations)

Answer 24

• -> Lack of theoretical foundations
• -> issues with original sample
• -> simplistic
• -> Only applies to certain crimes

Question 25

What is the aim of the Bottom Up approach in Offender profiling?

Answer 25

• ->generates a picture of the offender with likely characteristics, routine behaviour and background etc through systematic analysis of evidence
• -> British model is data driven which arises when the investigator engages in deeper scrutiny of the offence’s evidence.
• ->makes use of smallest space analysis using computers that identify correlations between behavioural patterns

Question 26

What is the aim of investigative psychology in the Bottom Up approach?

Answer 26

• -> attempts to apply statistical procedures and psychological theories to the analysis of crime scene evidence
• -> establishes patterns of behaviour likely to occur across crime scenes and develops a statistical database where comparisons can be made.
• -> specific offence details and related offences can be matched against the database to reveal important details about the offender and may determine if the offences are elated or done by the same person.
• -> uses interpersonal coherence, Time and place and forensic awareness.

Question 27

What is interpersonal coherence in Investigative psychology?

Answer 27

The way an offender behaves at the scene and how they interact with the victim which may reflect their behaviour in every day situations

Question 28

What is the significance of time and place in investigative psychology?

Answer 28

A key variable such as geographical profiling which may indicate where the offender lives.

Question 29

What is Forensic awareness in investigative psychology>

Answer 29

describes individuals who have been subject to police interrogations before, and now their behaviour may denote how mindful and experienced they are of ‘covering their tracks’

Question 30

How does geographical profiling work in the Bottom Up approach?

Answer 30

• -> uses information about the location of crimes and the likely base of the offender
• ->can be used with psychological theory to create a hypothesis about what they’re thinking and their Modus operandi
• -> it is assumed that offenders will restrict their ‘work’ to geographical locations they are familiar with so the spacial pattern of their behaviour provides investigators with a ‘centre of gravity which may include the offender’s base.
• -> helps estimate where the offender may strike next (‘jeopardy surface).
• -> uses the Marauder model and the commuter model devised by Canter and Larkin

Question 31

What are ‘The Marauder’ model and ‘ The Commuter ‘ models , devised by Canter and Larkin?

Answer 31

• -> Marauder= one who operates in close proximity to their home base
• -> Commuter= one who is likely to commute/ travelled a distance away from their usual residence to operate.

Question 32

What are the 5 evaluation points in the Bottom up approach? (4 strengths 1 limitation)

Answer 32

• -> scientific
• -> supporting evidence for investigative psychology
• -> supporting evidence for geographical profiling
• -> wider applications
• -> mixed results

Question 33

What is the Atavistist form in biological explanations for offending behaviour?

Answer 33

proposed by Cesare Lombroso who said criminals were genetic throwbacks and a sub species who were biologically different to non-criminals
Criminals were seen to lack evolutionary development and had savage natures making it impossible for them to adjust to civilisation so they turned to crime.
Lombroso suggested they were not to blame for their activities and their behaviour was determined by their physiology.
He said criminals had distinguishable facial features originated from earlier primitive development.

Question 34

What were the criminal like features in the Atavist form suggested by Lombroso?

Answer 34

• -> narrow and sloping brow
• -> strong jaw
• -> high cheekbones
• -> facial asymmetry
• -> dark skin
• -> extra toes, hands or nipples

Question 35

Lombroso’s research for the Atavist form

Answer 35

He examined the facial and cranial features of Italian convicts , living 3839 and dead 383.
He concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by Atavistic characteristics.

Question 36

What the evaluation points for the Atavistic form? (4 limitations) (1 strength)

Answer 36

• -> methodological issues with research
• -> contradicting evidence
• -> importance of empirical evidence/social sensitivity
• -> contribution to criminology