FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY: Top Down Approach

Question 1

What is Offender Profiling?

Answer 1

A behavioural and analytical tool used when solving crimes. Intended to help investigators narrow down the number of likely suspects of crime by predicting the probable characteristics of the unknown criminal.

Question 2

What is the Top Down Approach?

Answer 2

When profilers have pre-existing conceptual categories of offenders in mind. They then use the evidence from the crime to fit into either of these categories to classify the offender. American FBI approach to profiling.

Question 3

Idea behind Top Down Approach?

Answer 3

Based on the idea that offenders have signature ways of working and these correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics

Question 4

What did Douglas et al (2006) say were the six stages to the top-down process?

Answer 4

1. Profiling inputs
2. Decision Process Models
3. Crime Assessment
4. Criminal Profile
5. Crime Assessment
6. Apprehension

Question 5

What is the Process of Top Down Approach?

Answer 5

1. Pre-existing categories of disorganised and organised offenders
2. Analysis of crime
3. Categorisation of offender as organised or disorganised and creation of hypotheses of the probable characteristics of the offender

Question 6

What is an Organised Offender?

Answer 6

Commits a planned crime and the victim is specifically targeted. Body usually transported, weapon hidden and violent fantasies acted out on victim. Usually high in intelligence, social and sexually competent. Usually live with a partner, have a car in good working order and follow their crime in the media.

Question 7

What is a Disorganised Offender?

Answer 7

UNplanned crime, random selection of victim. Offender likely to engage very little with the victim and sexual acts are performed after death on the body. Crime scene is likely to contain any clues like blood and semen from the offender, fingerprints and often the weapon itself.