Forensics Flashcards
What are the two approaches to offender profiling?
Top down (USA)
Bottom up (British)
Top down crime scene classification
Organised - very little forensic evidence , tidied away
Disorganised - forsenic evidence, messy and weapon left near body
One strength of top down approach is the benefit from experience of profiler, ELABORATE
Stats may show you likely offender but the exeptjons can be avoided if profiler experienced
A weakness of top down is that it relies on subjective inference
Its based on opinions so cant be sure if its trustworthy . Different profilers will make different infernces therefore lacks inter rater reliabiltiy
Copson (strength of top down)
Found it was useful approach . 184 US police were questioned
82% said it was good technique
90% said they would use it again
Alison 2003 (limitation)
She showed officers.2 different profiles for same offender , one was very different. Despite this both profiles were rated as “accurate” more than 50% of time
Who proposed the bottom up approach?
David canter
Which approach is based on emperical data and how so?
Bottom up
Looks at patterns is stats data rather assumptions
What is geographical profiling and what approach uses this method ?
Bottom up uses geographical profiling
The use of data to determine the likely home or base of offender eg circle theory
What is investigative psychology and what approach uses it?
Bottom up
The use of stats to build a proifle of likely offender based on certain characterisits of crime and crime scene
Difference between maraunder and commuter ?
Maraunder - lives near the places of the crime scene
Commuter- lives elsewhere away from the places he commits crime
Give a limitation of the circle theory
It doesnt work for the commuter offenders as they live elsewhere and only travel to the area to commit the crime
With bottom up approach a weakness is that there still may be stat anomilies
Some innocent people may match profile based on charactersitics as they can be broad
Who proposes the historical approach
Lombroso
What do we mean by somatotypes ?
Body types
What are the 4 somatotypes and describe them
- Athletic - tall and even muscular
- Pyknic - fat and short
- Leptosome - tall and thin (petty thieve)
- Dyplastic - more than one type
A strength of historical approach is that it has had significant contribution to forensic psych , the focus is on offender, explain
Its evidence based approach . Lobroso regarded as founder of criminollogy
Presence of bias in historical approach (limitation)
Can cause sensetivity towards races and discrimination
Give strength of bottom up (sample)
Large samples used so more applicable and can be generealised
Outline atavistic form
Some physical feautures suggest innate criminal tendeacy
Criminals are “evolutionary throwbacks” they were primitive and had genes from less evolved times as result couldnt fit into civilaised society and turned to crime
What two things does eyesnecks theory say about criminal personality?
- Criminal personality scores highly on neruotisicm
- Cannot be taught easily
How can categorisijg iffenders be limitation
Overly simplified becusse they may fit into more than one , may be in between
Evaluate the atavistic form theory
Not all criminals who have less evolved featuress will go onot become criminals and wont necceasarily have tendenacy either to become one
Not all criminals even have the less evolved features
Socially sensitive to those who have those features
36 sexually motivated killers
Top down
Obsrone and west
Sons if criminal likely to be criminaks in fututre
Eyesneck theory scales
Neuroticisms - emotionallyy unstabke
Extroverson - under situmated NS, seek sensation exoerience , over responsive flight fight
Psychotisim - agreesive lacjing emptahy
A03 of eyeneck
Takes into account biolgoy
Dunlock saYs good explanation
Van izendoorn huvenille thieves ddnt find manY with all 3 traits
