Forensics Flashcards
Define offender profiling
a behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict the type of person likely to have committed the crime
Top-Down approach
Begins by carefully looking at the crime scene and drawing conclusions from the evidence about the offender. Interviewing them then means that the profilers can build a picture of typical offender behaviours and build
T-D originates
Was adopted by the FBI in the 1970s and is also known as the American approach
T-D Hazelwood and Douglas (types)
Made a distinction between the types of offenders by interviewing 36 imprisoned serial killers, to classify those who commit crimes - organised and disorganised
T-D Jackson and Bekerian stages of building a profile
Data Assimilation - collecting all available evidence
Crime Classification - into a particular type
Crime Reconstruction - to develop predictions and motives
Profile Generation - develop a profile based on this regarding various characteristcs
Disorganised crime*
To test the accuracy of the two groups. Analysed 100 US serial killers. Found significantly higher no of DO. Further analysis didn’t clearly seperate the types. Suggesting that DO crimes are easier to identify, or less O crimes are committed. If they’re easier to spot, TMT the criteria are insufficient
A03 T-D
- Canter et al: too simplistic. HE, only conducted in the US.
-Based on outdated models of personality.
Who developed the bottom Up Approach/ Investigative Psych
Devevloped by Canter et al. The British Approach
B-U key assumptions about the interactions between offenders and victims
Egger (1999):
Interpersonal Coherence -consistency between the way offenders interact with their victims and how with others
Time + Place - time and location will communicate about C’s own residence/employment
Crim Characteristics - characteristics about the offender can help classify
Crim Career - crimes tend to be committed in a similar fashion, will indicate how activity to develop
Forensic awareness - offenders who show awareness of the police investigations are likely to have had previous encounters with CJS.
Geographical Profiling
A form of the BUA.
Takes particular notes of the principle of time and place
Geo P - Canter and Youngs clues regarding place in relation to offender
Locatedness - in violent crimes, there may be several L’s involved
Systematic crime location choice - assumption the crime scenes aren’t random. O will have some connection or familiarity
Centrality - CS tend to cluster as the O will have familiarity.
Commuters will travel from home
Marauders will commit close to home
Comparative case analysis - assumption that crimes are being committed by the same offender, increasing the precision.
John Duffy ‘Railway R*’
Canter was asked to support the police in capturing the RR. He put together the profile using investigative psych and geo prof. He identified him. Although the profile wasn’t completely accurate, he created a sufficient profile for the police to arrest and q Duffy.
B-U A03
Biological Explanation: Atavistic form
Latin word for ancestors, meaning the tendency to revert to an ancestral type. Therefore, offenders possess characteristics similar to lower primates that explain the criminality
Biological Explanation: Lombroso
Offenders have specific physical features that indicated they were less developed in the evoloutionary sense than non-offenders. Implying that offenders were more primitive and not completely responsible for their actions
Lombroso AO3
- didn’t use a control group.
Goring compared 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals - he found no significant differences between the two groups
(Biological A03) Kaplan’s self-derogation
Argues that if individuals experience persistently poor interactions with others (in this case due to their physical appearance), they will develop lower self-esteem which leads to frustration with others. Making them more likely to commit criminal behaviour
Nature vs Nurture - Biological explanation
Nature: Their physical appearance
Nurture: self-derogation theory
Genetic explanations - twin studies
Christiansen studied over 3500 pairs of twins in Denmark and looked into the concordance rates.
CCR were low and there was a difference between male and female pairs.
Environment still plays a role
Genetic explanations - family studies
Bruner et al conducted an analysis on a large Dutch family, who’d been responsible for many crimes. Males in the family had a genetic condition in the MAOA gene - the serotonin isn’t broken up and they are more impulsive.
Why do we use adoption studies
We cannot rule out the effect of the environment. Twins would live in the same house and are likely to receive the same treatment . adoption studies rule that out and look where there is no genetic similarity
Genetic explanations - adoption studies
Crowe compared two groups of adopted children 1 with criminal parents and 1with non-criminal parents (biologically). 50% pf CPA group committed crimes before 18. Only 5% of N-CPA had committed crimes before 18
Suggesting that regardless of environment children seem biologically pre-disposed to criminality
A03 Genetic explanations
Bruner’s case study is uniquely specific to the group, isn’t representative, cannot be generalised [only their family genes]
Neural explanations - Neurotransmitters
[Serotonin] linked to mood and impulsiveness
Moir and Jessel: low levels of serotonin linked to criminal behaviour
[Dopamine] results in pleasure, a rewarding feeling and a desire to repeat certain behaviour
Buitelaar: juvenile delinquents who were given dopamine antagonists to reduce their dopamine levels showed decreased aggressive behaviour
Neural explanations - Neurophysiology
[Amygdala] part of the limbic system regarded as the older par of the brain. Emotion regulation and aggression
Mitchel and Blair: misfunctions in the brain can be the cause of psychopathy, since it is involved in processing emotions and developing empathy for others
[Frontal Lobe] part of the neuro cortex, linked to higher social behaviours and planning
Kandel et al: looked at frontal lobe damage and anti-social behaviour, individuals would display emotional instability and failure to consider consequences
Neural explanations - Raine et al
Identified brain regions specific to offenders charged with murder/manslaughter who pleaded not guilty.
41 murderers and 41 non-m given a PET scan
Pre-frontal cortex and corpus callosum had reduced activity in offenders. Also had abnormalities in limbic systems. Suggesting offenders brains are slow and can’t make decisions to react appropriately
Neural explanations A03
- Neurochemical explanations overly simplistic.
Psychological Explanations - Eysenck’s theory 1
Introversion/Extraversion
Neuroticism/Stability
Psychoticism
He believes that our personality traits are biological in origin + come about through our inherited NS.
Typical offenders score highly on P
Psychological Explanations - Eysenck’s theory 2
Extraverts have an underactive NS, meaning they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risky behaviour. Don’t condition easily or learn from their mistakes
Neurotic individuals tend to be nervous, jumpy and over-anxious. Their instability means their behaviour is unpredictable
Eysenck’s theory A03
+Compared 2070 male prisoners + 2422 males control (16-69 yrs) prisoners scored high on all 3 categories
HE, androcentric - only males, gender bias, cannot be generalised
HE Farrington reviewed studies and found that they score high on P but not E/N
-Cultural bias
-Self-report
Cognitive Explanations
Moral reasoning: A person who has a value system that determines whether they’re right or wrong
Cognitive distortions: faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean that we perceive ourselves, the world or others negatively
Moral reasoning
Criminals have lower levels of moral reasoning than others
They don’t progress from the pre-conventional level
Cognitive distortions
Minimisation: underplaying consequences to stop negative emotions (guilt)
Hostile Attribution Bias: A person thinks the worst of others (looking at me in the wrong way)
Psychological: Kohlberg
3 levels of moral reasoning + Heinz application
Pre-conventional: Most common in children, if a person is punished, it must be morally wrong. (Heinz shouldn’t steal) The correct action is one that best serves one’s own self-interest (Heinz stealing to save his wife)
Conventional: The correct behaviour/action is when people think +ve about you (H stealing medicine because its what his wife expects for her happiness)
Important to obey the society’s laws and norms (H shouldn’t steal as that is breaking the law)
Post-conventional: The correct course of action is the one for the greater good of society and for majority benefit (H should steal as everyone has the right to life)
Actions and behaviours of an individual are guided by the universal principles of morality. Don’t take individual situations into account
Psychological: Kohlberg method
72 boys aged 10,13, 16
They were presented with 10 moral dilemmas and asked to state whether Heinz’s choice was justifiable.
A03 cognitive explanations
- Androcentric + Beta bias: male based study, gender differences are minimised
+Blackburn stated that offenders may show poor leavels of MR due to lack of role playing opportunities in childhood
+ Emma Palmer compared 126 convicted offenders to non-offenders (122M and 210F)
Asked them 11 moral dilemmas and found that delinquents showed less maturity
Psychological explanations: Differential association theory
Sutherland: individuals learn the attitudes, values and techniques of pro-criminal behaviour, through associations, interactions and relationships.
observational learning, imitation and direct tuition
Pro-criminal attitudes
When a person is socialised into a group, they will be exposed to the values and attitudes towards the law; pro-crime or anti-crime
we can predict the likelihood based on frequency, intensity and duration of exposure to deviant values
Learning criminal acts
The offender will learn certain techniques to commit crimes i.e disabling car alarms.
Sutherland also explained why newly released convicts go on to re-offend - they learn new techniques from other inmates (often more experienced) and are then eager to put them to use
Differential association theory A03
Determinism: S’s theory states we have no choice but to learn criminal beh. and it is determined by external causes///Individual differences, not everyone who is exposed will go on to commit.
- DA doesn’t explain why younger males are more likely to commit crimes than older men, when older men have been exposed to more pro-criminal attitudes. It also doesn’t explain why men commit more crimes than women, when they are exposed to the same attitudes
Psychodynamic approach explanations: tripartite
Inadequate superego: the superego is weak or deficient
Strong/over-active superego: causes the person to become over anxious and guilty by nature, leading them to unconsciously seek punishment
Weak superego + overpowering id: caused by an absent or deviant same-sex parent in the phallic stage
Psychodynamic approach in terms of criminality
Focuses on how the parent-child relationships in the development of the personality of a criminal adult and the unconscious mental processes
Tripartite personality recap
Id - pleasure principle
Ego - reality principle [balances id and SE]
Superego - morality principle [develops in phallic stage]
Maternal deprivation: Bowlby
Bowlby’s theory of MD states that failure to form a rs with a primary caregiver would mean that the individual would go on to experiencing irreversible, damaging consequences.
44 thieves study
Psychodynamic A03
- the PDA explanation of criminal behaviour has been critisised for gender bias. Much of Freud’s theory is based on studies conducted on males. Statistically, the number of male criminals>female criminals, however, there are still female offenders. T, the PDE can only apply to male criminals, not females. HE Freud attempted to apply his theory to females by introducing concepts such as the Electra complex
- lacks empirical evidence, majority of the research is carried out by Freud conversing with individuals, very subjective, unscientific, lack of falsibility
-psychic determination
4 aims of custodial sentencing
Detterence: A method of stopping someone from doing something
Incapacitation: protecting the public
Retribution: making the offender suffer as a result of the crime they’ve committed.
Rehabilitaion: to reform them
Psychological effects of institutionalisation
Stress and depression: Due to harsh prison conditions, including separation from family and friends and feelings of guilt, people in prison often suffer (50% of UK prisoners do)
Institutionalisation: They become accustomed to the routines of their prion life after a prolonged period. They find it difficult to adapt to life outside and they have lost their autonomy
Prisonisation: prison socialises them to behave according to “inmate code”, meaning they behave in a way they believe is acceptable.
Stigma: Many face the stigma of being previously convicted. Finding work and new friends becomes difficult and often results in recidivism
Recidivism
A tendency to relapse into a previous condition or made up behaviour
Behavioural modification
A scheme which is part of a custodial sentence, to effectively manage and monitor offenders
It replaces undesirable behaviours through the use of positive or negative reinforcement - with the aim that they wont reoffend
Explain the token economy
Uses + reinforcement as they can exchange tokens [secondary reinforcer] for rewards (i.e a phone call) [primary reinforcer]
It is an incentive for offenders to improve their behaviour
A03 behavioural modification
Blackburn: little rehabilitative value - +ve changes may be quickly lost when offenders are released. Law abiding behaviours aren’t rewarded on the outside. The offender may experience other rewards (social status) from commiting crime than abiding by the law. Increasing the rates of recidivism
Define Anger Management
A programme that helps to identify the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way.
The aim is not to prevent anger, but to recognise and manage it
3 stages of anger management
Cognitive preparation, skills acquisition, application practice
Anger Management: Cognitive preparation
Offender reflects on past experiences of anger and triggers. The therapists will aim to identify if the response is irrational and aim to break down these automatic responses for the future
Anger Management: Skills acquisition
Offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with anger provoking situations.
- cognitive: positive self-talk
- behavioural: assertiveness training
- physiological: methods of relaxation/meditation
Anger Management: Application practice
Offenders are given the opportunity to practice the skills within a monitored environment using role play. Successful responses would be met with positive reinforcement from the therapist
Anger Management A03: Strength
Benefits may be long lasting. Unlike behavioural modification, AM tries to tackle the causes of offending. It focusses on the root cause and eventually prevent recidivism. BM and other methods only look at the surface of level behaviour. Taking part in anger management may allow offenders to see the causes of their criminality and allow them to discover ways of managing themselves. Suggesting it is more likely to permanently change behaviour. However, Blackburn says that AM tends not to support reducing recidivism. This may be because the application phase only relies on the role-play in a controlled environment which isn’t a real scenario which could trigger them
Anger Management A03: Weakness
Time consuming and expensive. They require highly-trained specialists who are used to violent behaviour. Therefore, many prisons don’t have access to adequate funding. Furthermore, the success is based on the commitment of those who participate. This may be a problem if prisoners have the wrong intentions, are uncooperative and apathetic. Change takes time and this would add onto the expenses. Therefore, probably not effective in prisons.
Aim of restorative justice
Focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through their reconciliation with their victims. This enables the offender to see the impacts of their crimes and for the victims to gain closure
Key features of RJ
Trained mediator supervises the meeting
Non-courtroom setting
Face-to-face or online
Focuses on +ve outcomes for both parties
Other relevant members can be present
Why RJ
Explain the impacts of the offence,
acknowledge the harm caused
a chance to ask questions
acceptance and responsibility
active rather than passive
RJ A03
- Feminists question the sustainability of RJ programmes for certain cases. The Women’s Aid charity has called for a legislative ban on it’s use in DV cases. They are concerned about the power imbalance.
- RJ programmes may not have positive outcomes if they do not have the correct intentions. The success of the RJ programme depends on the offender’s remorse. Some may sign up for less sentence, and some victims may sign up for revenge
