forensics Flashcards
What is the Top-down method (US)?
Starts with the big picture and then fills in the details. This approach relies on the investigators previous experience of crime - more intuitive than science based
Who proposed the 6 Stage Process (6SP)?
Douglas et al
What is Profiling Input (US)/(6SP)?
Gathering all and any information about the crime to help understand why, how and what happened. Including background information of victim
What is Decision Processing (US)/(6SP)?
Information like:
- Time
- Location
- Murder type
- Primary motive
What features are used to describe an Organised offender (US)/(6SP)?
- Average/high intelligence
- Socially competent
- Plans offences
- Targets strangers
- Uses restraints
What features are used to describe a Disorganised offender (US)/(6SP)?
- Unskilled/unemployed
- Socially incompetent
- Below average intelligence
- Minimal restraints used
- Leaves body on display
- Victim is known to offender
- Spontaneous
What is the 3rd category of offender (US)/(6SP)?
Mixed - signs of both organised and disorganised traits
What is Crime Assessment (US)/(6SP)?
Piecing the crime together, during and after the offence has been committed. Reconstructing the perspectives of both victim and offender
What is Criminal Profiling (US)/(6SP)?
Where the investigator can hypothesize about the type of individual who committed the crime. Including: sex, age, location, social status, intelligence, physiological characteristics, etc
Evaluation of the Top-down approach (US)?
Strengths:
- Can save time - although it doesn’t pin point it does narrow down options and encourages different perspectives
- Copson, 1995, 90% of police said it was a useful approach and would use it again
- Allows improvements to be made constantly because of the 6 Stage Process
Limitations:
- Reductionist and simplistic
- Not based on accurate psychological studies but rather from the interviews of the most dangerous and sexually motivated criminals
- Ambiguous, can fit anyone
- Can mislead investigation
- Based on out of date theories
What is the Bottom-ups method (UK)?
A more scientific means of identifying an offender, starts with individual analysis of the crime and then creating a profile
What is the case study linked with the Bottom-up method (UK)?
John Duffy (The railway rapist):
Canter 1994 - profiling led to Duffy’s 1988 conviction for rape and murder of several women
November 2000 - admitted to 25 offences between 1975-1986, attacks on women ages 15-32
What 2 approaches did Canter suggest (UK)?
Investigative Psychology:
Interpersonal Coherence; behaviour in everyday life and in elements of crime may be correlation. As with habits they change over time
Forensic Awareness; understanding how police procedure is and what it entails - previous convictions/heard evidence against them in court - would have a better experience
Small Space Analysis (SSA); using computer databases and SSA patterns are identified - allowing links to be made between offences
Geographical Profiling:
Used to make inferences about where an offender is likely to live. Canter Circle Theory identified two types of offenders:
Marauders - commit crimes close to home
Commuters - travels away from home to commit crime
Who is associated with The Atavistic Approach (biological)?
Lombroso
What was Lombroso’s study (biological)?
Studied over 50,000 bodies of criminals. In one study of 383 Italian criminals and 3839 living ones he found 21% to have at least 1 characteristic but 43% to have 5+ characteristics
List features from Lombroso’s facial checklist used to identify offenders (biological)?
- Asymmetry of face
- Excessive jawbone/cheekbone
- Eye defects/peculiarities
- Small protruding ears
- Nose twisted, upturned or flat
- Long beak like nose (murderers)
- Flared nostrils
- Receding or short/flat chin
- Excessively long chin
- Excessively long arms
- Extra toes/fingers
What are features of a thief (Lombroso/biological)?
Expressive face, manual dexterity, small/wandering eyes
What are features of a murderer (Lombroso/biological)?
Cold/glassy stare, bloodshot eyes, big hawk-like nose
What are features of a sex-offender (Lombroso/biological)?
Thick lips and protruding ears
What are features of a woman offender (Lombroso/biological)?
Shorter, more wrinkled, darker hair, smaller skull than “normal” women
What are two major issues surrounding Lombroso’s work (biological)?
Scientific racism - some characteristics he identified are more prevalent in certain racial groups
Problem of its time - Eberhardt found that stereotypically ‘black’ looking men were more likely to get the death penalty in the US than those who were less stereotypically black looking, even if crimes were similar
Evaluation of Lombroso’s Atavistic Approach (biological)?
Strengths:
- Extensive study with 50,000 individuals
- A step towards Holism in recognising 3 types and the influence of the environment
- Step towards Diathesis-stress model
- Historical validity
Limitations:
- No control group
- Gender bias
- Could be misleading and influence stereotyping, therefore making it dangerous to rely on
What is Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory (SLT)?
Suggests that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motivations for criminal behaviour
What are Sutherland’s 9 principals for offending (SLT)?
1 - Criminal behaviour is learnt rather than inherited
2 - It is learnt through association with others
3 - This association is with intimate personal groups
4 - What is learnt are techniques, attitudes and motives
5 - This learning is directional: for or against crime
6 - If a number of favourable attitudes outweigh unfavourable ones then the individual becomes an offender
7 - The individual experiences (differential association) vary in frequency/intensity for each person
8 - Criminal behaviour us learnt through the same process as any other behaviour
9 - General ‘need’ is not a sufficient explanation for crime as people without them still commit
What does Differential Association Theory suggest (SLT)?
That we should be able to predict the likelihood of offending based on the frequency, duration and intensity to deviant attitudes
What is Farrington et al study in Delinquent Development (SLT)?
A longitudinal study into the development of offending and ASB. Studied 411 males which started at age 8 and ended at age 50 - they were WC, deprived, inner-city South London. Data was gained from officially recorded convictions and self-reports
List some findings from Farrington et al study (SLT)?
- 7% accounted for about half of all officially recorded offences in the study
- 41% of the sampled males were convicted of at least 1 offence between the age of 10-50
- At age 8-10 predictions of later offending were: family criminality, daring or risk-taking behaviour, low school attention, poverty and poor parenting
- Average career length: between 19-28 and included 5 convictions
Evaluation for the SLT for offending
Strengths:
- Changed attitudes towards criminal responsibility from individual to society; increases possibility for change and new solutions/interventions
- Concordant validity is good linking family members and crime:
> Osborne & West found 40% concordance rate with criminal fathers compared to 13% (could be explained through genetics though)
> Akers et al, drug and alcohol juvenile convictions
Limitations:
- Causality? Is it more to do with the seems like or learning from others?
- Doesn’t acknowledge any biological explanations
- Socially sensitive
- Doesn’t explain all types of crime:
> Columbine killers didn’t socialise with criminals
> Why higher number of burglaries than murders?
> Why it decreases with age. 40% of offenders under age 18?
What is Hostile Attribution Bias (cognitive)?
The tendency to judge ambiguous situations, or other’s actions as aggressive or threatening
What was Schonenberg and Justye’s study in regards to Hostile Attribution Bias (cognitive)?
They showed an experimental group of 55 violent offenders and a control group of non-aggressive participants pictures of ambiguous faces and found the violent offenders had a significantly higher likelihood of deeming the faces as angry or hostile
What is Minimisation (cognitive)?
Where an individual minimises the consequences of their own actions - calling them insignificant or unimportant
What was Barbaree’s study in regards to Minimisation (cognitive)?
From 26 incarcerated rapists:
- 54% denied committing an offence at all
- 40% minimised the harm to the victims
What was Kohlberg’s theory called (cognitive)?
Levels of Moral Development
What was Kohlberg’s Level 1 of Moral Development and its stages (cognitive)?
Pre-conventional Morality:
Stage 1 - Obedience and punishment: behaviour driven by avoiding punishment
Stage 2 - Individual interest: behaviour driven by self-interest and rewards
What was Kohlberg’s Level 2 of Moral Development and its stages (cognitive)?
Conventional Morality:
Stage 3 - Interpersonal: behaviour driven by social approval
Stage 4 - Authority: behaviour driven to obey authority and conforming to social order
What was Kohlberg’s Level 3 of Moral Development and its stages (cognitive)?
Post-conventional Morality:
Stage 5 - Social contract: behaviour driven by balance of social order and individual rights
Stage 6 - Universal ethics: behaviour driven by internal moral principles
What is Eysenck’s Theory for offending?
He suggests that both psychological and biological components are involved in offending behaviour, personality traits are genetic and adult personality is a product of traits and learning experiences through life
What were the 3 dimensions of Eysenck’s Theory for offending?
- Neuroticism
- Extraversion
- Psychoticism
What are the links with the levels of neurotransmitters and offending (neural)?
- Reduced levels of dopamine and noradrenaline cause problems with inappropriate, violent and sexual behaviour
- Impaired metabolism (break down) of serotonin is also suggested to be responsible for mental retardation and this could be linked to aggressive behaviour
What was Raine’s research into the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)/(neural)?
She found that criminals have a reduced activity in the PFC (the part which regulates emotion) - an 11% reduction in grey matter
What are the links with the Limbic System and offending (neural)?
- Low brain serotonin made communications between the amygdala (pleasure, fear, addiction) and the frontal lobes (judgement, foresight, voluntary movement) weaker compared to those present under normal levels of serotonin
- Suggested that when serotonin levels are low it is more difficult for the PFC to regulate emotions generated within the amygdala
How does epigenetics relate to offenders (genetic)?
Keysers suggested that this is due to the control of mirror neurons (linked with empathy). APD individuals were able to switch their empathetic responses on and off
What did Price suggest (genetic)?
Hint: ‘supermales’
Males with an extra Y chromosome (XYY) called ‘supermales’ were predisposed towards violent crimes. Being above average height but below average intelligence
What was Brunner et al study in regards to a family in the Netherlands and what does it show (genetic)?
Multiple members within the family had been responsible for various antisocial crimes including attempted rape and arson. They found:
- Males had a defect in the MAOA gene (Brunner Syndrome)
- Lower intelligence levels (average IQ of 85)
- Deficiency in monoamine oxidase A (an enzyme responsible for the metabolism of serotonin - links to aggression)
Showing that there can be inherited genetic conditions that make individuals more susceptible to offending
What are the two genes that are linked with aggression and what do they do (genetic)?
- MAOA gene: controls dopamine and serotonin
- CDH13 gene: behavioural alterations such an addiction
What was the adoption study by Crowe in regards to offending (genetic)?
Compared a group of adopted children and looked at the likelihood that if the mother had a criminal record then so would the child by age 18
Experimental group: mother had a criminal record = 50%
Control group: mother had no criminal record = 5%
Suggesting that regardless to environmental change, children seemed predisposed to criminality
What is a criticism towards the genetic explanation for offending?
The role of the environment:
Studies into twin cases find a 68% concordance rate between monozygotic twins. If they grew up in the same home and were treated the same then the environment is likely to be a factor in their behaviour
What are the 6 stages in Freud’s Psychosexual stages of development and what do they mean (psychological)?
(0-2) 1. Oral: infants achieves gratification through oral activities such as feeding, thumb sucking and babbling
(2-3) 2. Anal: the child learns to respond to some of the demand of society (such as bowel and bladder control)
(3-7) 3. Phallic: the child learns to realise the difference between males and females and becomes aware of sexuality
(7-11) 4. Latency: the child continues his or her own development but sexual urges are relatively quiet
(11-adult) 5. Genital: the growing adolescent shakes off old dependencies and learns to deal maturely with the opposite sex
What is it called when a boy develops an unconscious infatuation towards his mother and views his father as a rival (psychological)?
Oedipus
What is it called when a girl develops an unconscious infatuation towards her father and views her mother as a rival (psychological)?
Electra
What happens if the Oedipus and Electra complex doesn’t get resolved in the phallic stage (psychological)?
The superego does not develop properly and therefore the ID can run wild
-Blackburn
What are the 3 developments of the superego (psychological)?
- Weak/underdeveloped superego
- Harsh-overdeveloped superego
- Deviant superego
What is meant by a weak/underdeveloped superego (psychological)?
An absent or weak same-gender parent means that there is nobody to identify with and therefore results in an underdeveloped superego
What is meant by a harsh/overdeveloped superego (psychological)?
An overly strict parent will lead to excessive feelings of guilt, racked with anxiety and rigid moral values. They feel the need to be punished
What is meant by a deviant superego (psychological)?
If the same-sex parent is a criminal then the child who identifies with that parent will adopt the same deviant superego
How does Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation link to offending (psychological)?
If a substitute mother is not found for the infant within their critical period (0-2years but can range to 5years) then long-term emotional disturbance can occur and damaging and irreversible consequences will occur in later life - linking it to the likelihood of offending (44 Thieves study)
Evaluation of the psychological explanation for offending
Limitations:
- Freud’s theory is extremely sexist as he focusses on the Oedipus complex; only adding the Electra complex later on
- The weak/underdeveloped super ego lacks temporal validity as there are more same-sex couples who raise children and there is lack of evidence showing that leads to crime
What does Recidivism mean (custodial sentencing)?
The likelihood of a convicted criminal to repeat or reoffend a crime after already receiving punishment or serving their sentence
What is meant by Deterrence (custodial sentencing)?
The though of prison being unpleasant and therefore acts as a deterrent to people to prevent them from committing
What is meant by Incapacitation (custodial sentencing)?
Taking a criminal out of circulation so they are unable to commit further crimes
What is meant by Retribution (custodial sentencing)?
Where society takes revenge by taking the criminals freedom away from them
What is meant by Rehabilitation (custodial sentencing)?
Prison can be used to reform criminals through training, education and therapy so they leave changed
What are the effects of De-individuation (custodial sentencing)?
A loss of personal identity - found in Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment
What are the effects of overcrowding and lack of privacy (custodial sentencing)?
Creates hyper-sexuality, stress, aggression and illness - studies by Calhoon (Mouse Utopia) where he generalised the behaviour to humans
What are the effects of depression, self-harm and suicide (custodial sentencing)?
Feelings of helplessness, loss of control, conformity to self-harm
What are the effects on family (custodial sentencing)?
Financial, guilt, resentment, separation and attachment disorders
What is Token Economy (custodial sentencing)?
A system of reinforcement that is based on tokens that can be exchanged for other rewards
How is Operant Conditioning used within Token Economy (custodial sentencing)?
Positive reinforcement in the form of tokens - a secondary reinforcement. These should be desirable for the individual
How is Classical Conditioning used within Token Economy (custodial sentencing)?
The good behaviour gets rewarded every time and becomes a conditioned response
What is meant by Intrinsic Motivation (custodial sentencing)?
Doing a task because of the interest and enjoyment in the task itself:
- Enjoyment
- Purpose
- Growth
- Curiosity
- Passion
- Self-expression
- Fun
What is meant by Extrinsic Motivation (custodial sentencing)?
Doing a task because of its outcome:
- Promotions
- Pay raise
- Bonuses
- Benefits
- Prizes
- Winning
- Perks
Evaluation of Token Economy (custodial sentencing)?
Strength:
- Cost effective as it doesn’t take money from the economy of government as the token rewards are often free time
Limitation:
- Doesn’t apply to all prisoners - this system of Behavioural Modification may not work on all individuals dependent on the LOC; as external LOC are more likely to adapt the rehabilitation methods than internal LOC
What are the short-term aims of anger management?
- Safer and more manageable
- Prevents ‘anger factories’
- Reduces hostility and HAB
What are the long-term aims of anger management?
- Increases success of rehabilitation
- Reduces likelihood of recidivism
What are the 3 stages of anger management?
- Cognitive preparation
- Skill acquisition
- Application practice
What is meant by Cognitive preparation (anger management)?
Finds the cause of the anger through interviews/group sessions - allows anger stimulus to be reconceptualised (thought about differently)
What is meant by Skill acquisition (anger management)?
Anger is managed through helping techniques like self-regulation, relaxation, communication and flexibility
What is meant by Application practice (anger management)?
Using role-play to practice skills which will then be applied to the real world
Evaluation of anger management
Strength:
- Treats the cause of the anger rather than the behaviour by focussing on the underlaying thought processes - resulting in long-term change
Limitation
- Requires the individual to want to change which is therefore less cost effective as it is an expensive process
What is restorative justice?
A process that aims to repair the harm caused by criminal behaviour, addressing the needs of both victim and offender
Who are the 3 main people involved (restorative justice)?
- Victim
- Offender
- Community
What are the 3 techniques used (restorative justice)?
- Face-to-face
- Direct mediation
- Indirect mediation
What is face-to-face (restorative justice)?
A meeting between the offender and the victim
What is direct mediation (restorative justice)?
A meeting between the offender and the victim, but accompanied by a trained mediator to help manage the discussion and offer support
What is indirect mediation (restorative justice)?
The offender and the victim do not meet face-to-face but instead have their communication (text, email, letter, etc) is passed to each other via a mediator
Evaluation of restorative justice?
Strength:
- For every £1 spent of restorative justice it saves the government £8 through reducing recidivism
- Sherman & Strang (2007) = put of 142 male offenders only 11% reoffended compared to 37% of a matched control group
Limitations:
- Is expensive as the mediators have to be trained
- Offender must feel genuine remorse
- Feminist critique; Women’s aid called for a ban against this on domestic abuse cases
- Tough on both participants - triggering
