Forensics Flashcards
What is the aim of top-down profiling?
Narrow the field of enquiry and list of likely suspects
How was top down profiling developed?
Hunt for the mad bomber who evaded capture of 16 years in the 40s and 50s
James Brussel drew an incredibly detailed picure which was accurate
What did James Brussel do?
Drew an incredibly detailed picture of the mad bomber, claiming he was an unmarried man, wearing a double-breasted suit
What is the top-down approach based on>
interviews with 36 of convicted sexual killers, including Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy
How does top down profiling sort information?
Organised and disorganised crime
Meketa study - top down profiling
looked at robberies
85% increase in solving crime using top-down approach
What are weaknesses of top-down profiling?
Not generalisable
Homology problem
Narrow field of offenders - ignoring possible suspects
Who developed bottom up profiling?
David Canter
What is the aim of bottom up profiling?
Generate a profule of the offender by looking at available evidence
Interpersonal Coherence
Behaviour in crimes reflects behaviour in real life
Forensic awareness
How much the offender has attempted to cover their tracks - indicates whether they have been questioned about crime in the past
What are the 2 ways of profiling in bottom up profiling?
Investigative Psychology
Geographic profiling
What are the two types of offenders in geographic profiling?
The Marauder
Then commuter
What is the Marauder?
Operates in close proximity to their base
The commuter
Travels a distance from their base
Canter and Heritage - SA
Found that when looking at sexual assault, the nature of offence was correlated with particular types of behaviour
This suggests that statistical techniques can be useful in identifying behaviour oatterns, supporting invstigative psychology
Lundrigan and Cantor
120 murder case involving serial killers, they disposed of bodies in various locations, forming a ‘centre of gravity’
Their base was located in the middle of this
Why are bottom up appraoches argued to be more scientific than top down?
Just the available evidence are used to create a profile, rather than attempting to fit offenders to pre-existing templates
Stages if the bottom up approach
- analysis of crime scene evidenc
- psychological theory and statistical analysis
- Creation of hypotheses of the probable characteristics of the offender
Railway Rapist
1975-86
23 women raped around London railway stations
Who was Lombroso?
The father of criminology
What did Lombroso suggest about criminals?
Criminals are genetic throwbacks, a primitive species who are biologically different to non-criminals
Savage, untamed - impossible to adjust to the demands of civilised society so turn to crime
How did Lombroso view offending behaviour?
Natural tendency, rooted in genes
Offending is innate, so criminals could not be blamed for their actions
What did Lombroso study?
The facial and cranial features of:
383 dead convicts
3839 living convicts
Atavistic form
Physical markers of the head and face that make criminals different from the rest of us
Physical markers are rooted in our biology
What % of criminals had atavistic features
40%
Example of atavistic features
Skull
- narrow sloping strong brow, strong jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymetry
Extra toes, nipples or fingers
Left handed
Insensitivity to pain
Atavistic features of murderers
Bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears
Atavistic features of sexual criminals
Glinting eyes, swollen fleshy lips
Atavistic features of fraudsters
Thin lips
What was believed to be the cause of offedning behaviour prior to Lombroso?
Demonic possession
Goring - Lombroso opposing evidence
3000 offenders vs 3000 non-offenders
Concluded that there is no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with abnormal facial or cranial features
Though he did conclude that those who commit cime have lower intelligence
What 2 genes are linked to violent and criminal behaviour?
MAOA
CDH-13
MAOA gene
regulates serotonin in the brain
low levels of serotonin are implicated in impulsive behaviour
CDH-13 gene
substance abuse
ADHD
How were 2 genes linked to criminal and violent behaviour?
2015, Finland
800 violent criminals
5-10% of violent crime in Finland can be attributed to these genes
Christiansen - supporting evidence for genetic explanation of offending behaviour - twin study
3500 pairs of twins in Denmark
Concordance rates of offending behaviour
MZ - 35%
DZ - 13%
Crowe - Supporting evidence for the genetic explanation of offending
Adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record
50% chance of having a criminal record by 18
Adopted children whose mum did not have a criminal record
5% risk of developing a criminal record by 18
Suomi - genetic explanation
Monkeys with MAOA gene
A - left with siblings to fend for themselves
More aggressive
B - raised with mum
Not aggressive
Reductionist vs holism - genetic explanation of offending
1/3 of men have the MAOA gene, however not all of these men are committing crime
Characteristics of ASPD
Risk taking
Dangerous / illegal actions
irresponsible
Lack of remorse
Impulsivity
Boredom from routine
Role of prefrontal cortex
Regulates emotional behaviour
What have brain scan shown about the pre-frontal cortex in relation to offending?
Violent criminals have a lowered activity level om the [re-frontal cortex compared to a non-offender
Raine - ASPD
Many brain imaging studies suggests people with ASPD have:
reduced activity in the pre-frontal cortex
11% reduction of grey matter in the pre-frontal cortex
Kandel & Freed - antisocial behaviour
Reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage and antisocial behaviour
Found that people with this damage tend to show more impulsive behaviour and emotional instability
Farrington - ASPD
Studied a group of men with high ASPD scores - all experienced risk factors in childhood
Early childhood experiences vs born with neural differences?
Mirror neurons
Monkey sees action
Monkey does action
Keysers - ASPD - mirror neurons
Showed offenders a film of someone in pain
Only when they asked them to sympathise did they see their empathy reaction activate - mirror neurons
Suggests that those with ASPD have a neural switch controlling empathy
What 2 measures did Eysenck propose could measure personality
Extraversion, Introversion (E score)
Neuroticism, Stability (N score)
What is the biological basis of Eysencks theory of CP?
Personality traits are biological in origin and arise from the type of nervous system inherited
All personality traits have an innate, biological basis
Biological basis of extraverts
Underactive nervous system - ARAS, cortical arousal
seek excitement
Do not condition easily
Biological basis of a neurotic individual
Ineffective autonomic nervous system, constant state of fight or flight
general instability means their behaviour is difficult to predict
Nervous, over anxious
The Criminal Personality
Neurotic, Extravert
Score highly in terms of psychoticism
Cold, emotional, prone to aggression
Measuring the CP
EPI
E + N score
Later scale included psychoticism
How is socialisation linked with the CP?
Socialisation is where children are taught to delay gratification to become more socially orientated
Those with high E + N scores have nervous systems which made them difficult to condition so they would not learn easily to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety
Supporting evidence of CP - Farrington
2070 male prisoners, European, non-violent
2422 male controls
age 16-69
Prisoners scored higher than controls on psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism
Farrington - CP
Offenders tend to score high on P, but not on E + N
little difference in EEG measures between extraverts and introverts, causing doubt over the biological basis
Not all offenders have thde CP
Barot - cultural bias CP
Hispanic + Afro-Americam offenders
max security prison in NYC
6 groups based on criminal history and nature of offence
Criminals less extravert than non-criminal group
Bartol + Holanchock - barot comment CP
Suggested criminals were less extravert because they were of a different culture to that of Eysenck’s sample
Questions the generalisability of the CP
EEG
Measure of cortical arousal
KKohlbergs stages of Moral Development
Preconventional
Conventional
Postconventional
Stages of the preconventional level of moral development
- Avoiding punishment
- Self-interest
Stages of the conventional level of moral development
- Good boy attitude
- Law & order morality
Stages of the postconventional level of moral development
- Social contract
- Universal principles
Avoiding punishment - definition
Moral reasoning is based on direct consequences
Self-interest - Definition
Actions are seen in terms of rewards rather than moral value
Good boy attitude - Definition
Good behaviour is about living up to social expectations and roles
Law & Order morality - definition
Moral reasoning considers societal laws
Social Contract - definition
Rules are seen as social agreements that can be changed when necessary
Universal Principles - Definition
Moral reasoning is based on universal ethical principles and justice
Preconventional level response to Heinz Dilemma
Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is illegal, and he could be punished
Good boy attitude response to Heinz Dilemma
Heinz should steal the drug because, as a good husband, he is expected to do whatever he can to save his wife
Law & Order morality response to Heinz dilemma
Heinz should not steal the drug because he must uphold the law and maintain societal order
Social Contract response to Heinz dilemma
Heinz should steal the drug because preserving human life is a more fundamental value than property rights
Universal Principles response to Heinz dilemma
Heinz should consider non-violent civil disobedience or negotiation with the pharmacist.
The decision reflects a conflict between property rights and the sanctity of human rights
2 Types of cognitive distortions in offending behaviour
Hostile Attribution Bias
Minimilisation
Hostile Attribution Bias
Violence is associated with a tendency to misinterpret the actions of others
Offenders may misread non-aggressive cues, triggering a disproportionate, violent response
Minimilisation
Deny or downplay seriousness of offence
‘Euphemistic label’ of behaviour
Jusyte - HAB violent offenders
55 violent offenders
Shown ambiguous faces
Violent offenders significantly more likely to describe face as hostile
Dodge + Frame - HAB Children
Showed children a clip of ‘ambiguous provocation’
Those identifies as ‘aggressive’ and ‘rejected’ prior to study interpreted the situation as more hostile than those identified as ‘non-aggressive’ and ‘accepted’
Barbaree - Minimilisation study
26 incarcerated rapists
54% denied committing an offence at all
40% minimised the harm which they had caused the victim
Moral Reasoning
The way in which a person thinks about right and wrong
Kohlberg - Moral reasoning
Applied the concept of moral reasoning to offending behaviour
Found that a group of violent young youths were at a significantly lower level of moral development than non-violent youth, even after controlling for social background
Kohlberg - link with criminality
Offenders more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level of Kohlbergs model
Palmer + Hollin - Moral reasoning study
332 non-offenders vs 126 offenders
SRM-SF - 11 moral dilemma Qs
Offender group showed less mature moral reasoning than control group
Consistent with Kohlbergs predictions
Moral reasoning of those who committed crime for financial gain
Those who committed crime for financial gain were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of impulsive crimes
What type of crime is pre-conventional moral reasoning associated with?
Pre-conventional moral reasoning tends to be associated with crimes in which offenders believe they have a good chance of evading punishment
Kohlberg - Thinking vs behaviour
Kohlbergs theory provides insight into the mechanics of the criminal mind
Offenders may be more childlike and egocentric
Moral thinking is not the same as moral behaviour
Differential Association
Individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for offending behaviour through association and interaction with different people
Sutherland - Scientific basis of differential association
The conditions said to cause crime should be present when crime is present and absent when crime is absent
Discriminate between those who commit crime and those who do not
Differential Association - offending as a learned behaviour
Offending is learned through the norms and values of our social groups
Sutherland suggested that if the number of pro-crime attitudes outweighs the anti-crime attitudes, then the person will go on to offend
Farrington - Study into Differential association method
Longitudinal study
411 boys, age 8
Deprived, inner city of South London
Farrington - study into Differential association results
41% committed at least once
average 5 convictions age 19-28
Risk factor 8-10
How does differential association mathematically predict the likeliness of an individual committing crimes?
By considering the frequency, duration and intensity of exposure to deviant and non-deviant norms and values
What did Sutherland say when developing a set of scientific principles to explain all types of offending?
‘The conditions said to cause crime should be present when crime is present and absent when crime is absent”
Sutherland - DA Discrimination
His theory is designed to discriminate between those who become offenders and those who do not, regardless of social class or background
Where does learning occur most often?
With significant others who the child values and spends the most amount of time with
What does differential association suggest about predicting crime?
It is mathematically possible to predict the likeliness of an individual committing crime
What did Sutherland suggest about the cause of offending as a learned behaviour? - DA
If the number of pro-crime attitudes outweighs the anti-crime attitudes, then the person will go on to offend
Socialisation In prison
Explains why so many convicts released from prisons go on to reoffend
Learn particular offending techniques from more experienced offenders through observation, imitation, or direct tuition
Defense Mechanisms
Repression
Denial
Displacement
Psychodynamic approach to offending behaviour
Roots of offending behaviour are formed in childhood experience
Normal Superego formation
End of phallic stage, once the Oedipus complex is resolved
Internalize superego of same-sex parent
Morality principe
Weak superego
Same-sex parent absent in phallic stage
Child can’t internalize a fully formed superego
Deviant Superego
If a child internalizes an immoral or deviant Superego, they are unlikely to associate guilt with wrongdoing
Alternative Explanations for a deviant superego
Genes are also inherited
Differential Association
Overly Harsh Superego
Excessive punitive or harsh parenting style leads to a child with an overly Harsh superego
Crippled with guilt and anxiety
This may unconsciously drive the individual to commit crime to satisfy the egos overwhelming need for punishment
44 Thieves results
17/44 prolonged separation
15/17 affectionless psychopaths
2/14 non-thieves experienced such separation
2 Psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour
Blackburn - inadequate superego
Bowlby - maternal deprivation
Lewis - MD criticism
Interviewd 550 young people
MD poor predictor of future offending behaviour
Many other explanations for link between early separation and later delinquency
Goreta - Overly Harsh Superego supporting evidence
10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment
10/10 showed disturbances in superego formation
All suffered unconscious feelings of guilt and need for self punishment
Kochanska - Harsh parenting
Children raised by harsh parents are rebellious and rarely express feelings of guilt
Aims of Custodial Sentencing
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Retribution
Rehabilitation
Deterrence
Prisons designed to put somebody off the idea of committing crime
General deterrence - send a message to society that crime won’t be tolerated
Individual deterrence - prevent an individual from wanting to commit a crime again because of their experience
Incapacitation
Offender taken out of society to prevent reoffending
Protects the public
Depends on offender and severity of crime
Retribution
Society is enacting revenge for the offence by making the offender suffer
Eye for an eye
Rehabilitation
Prison is not just to punish, but to reform
Upon leaving prison, offenders should be better adjusted and ready to take their place in society
Prison should give training / treatment programmes
UK Recividism rates
45% of people in the UK who leave prison end up returning
Suicide and Self-harm in prisons
Higher Suicide and self-harm rates
Male prisoners 3.9x as likely to die of suicide in prison
Greatest risk of suicide - single young men within 24hrs of imprisonment
What disorders can the stress of environment in prisons may a person be at risk of following release?
PTSD
Bipolar
Depression
Effects of institutionalization and labelling in prisons
Having adapted to prison life, inmates become very accustomed to life inside and can’t readjust to life outside of prison - leads to recidivism
Labelling - difficult to get a job / friendship circle
Deindividualisation in prisons
Loss of indivdual identity can lead to aggression - Stanford prison experiment
Overcrowding and lack of privacy in prisons
25% in an overcrowded accommodation
Inevitable effect on psychological state of prisoners
Calhourn - Overcrowding study
Overcrowded rates
Increased aggression, hypersexuality and stress
Where is Anger Management performed?
Both inside and outside of prisons
How is Anger displayed?
Both cognitive and behavioural
Anger as cognitive
Cognitive factors –> emotional arousal
–> aggressive acts
In some, anger is quick to surface, especially in situations that are percieved to be life-threatening or anxiety-inducing
Anger - Behavioural
Getting angry is reinforced by feeling of control in that situation
CBT as a form of anger management
3 stages of anger management
- Cognitive Preparation
- Skills acquisition
- Application Practice
Anger Management - Cognitive Preparation
Exploring more rational responses to situations where a client may misinterpret the intention of another
Anger Management - Skills Acquisition
Cognitive - Count to 10; understand world isn’t against him
Behavioural - Expressing emotions to peers
Physiological - meditation, relaxation practice
Anger Management - Application to Practice
Therapist reenact anger-provoking situation
Ireland - Anger Management SE
2 groups of offenders
One group in Anger Management for 12 sessions
3 measures: interview, behavioural checklist by prison officer, self-report questionnaire
92% of experimental group showed improvements with at least 1 measure
48% showing an improvement on checklist and self-report
Restorative Justice
Offender and victim come face to face to discuss impact of crime
Form of rehabilitation for offender and may help victim
Restorative Justice as a change of emphasis
Historically, offender = crime against state
RJ switched the needs of the state, to enforce law and punish, to the needs of the victim, to feel compensated and come to terms with the crime
Braithewaite - RJ
‘Crime hurts, justice should heal’
RJ is less about retribution and more about reparayion
2 Focuses of RJ
The survivor and their recovery
The offender and their rehabilitation
Benefit of RJ to victim
Closure
Get answers
Benefit of RJ to offender
Reflection
Chance to apologise
See the impact of their actions
Benefit of RJ to society
Reducing recidivism rates
Process of RJ
Agreed time and space
Neutral space
Facilitated by a trained mediator
Reparation
Prisonisation
Refers to the way in which prisoners are socialized into adapting and ‘inmate code’
Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged inside the institution
Which countries have the highest recidivism rates in the world?
UK and US
Country with lowest recidivism rates in Europe
Norway
Norwegian Prisons
Much more open with a greater emphasis placed on rehabilitation and skills development than in the UK
Criticised as it is a soft option that does not sufficiently punish inmates
% of inmates experiencing psychosis
25% women
15% men
Token Economy
A system of rewards based on the principles of operant conditioning
Elbers et Al - Review article of TE in prisons
TE yield positive short-term behavioural effects in individuals with learning disabilities or who are cognitively below average
Milan & McKnee - TE in max security prison
Experimental research in max security prison
Combination of praise and tokens was more effective in changing behaviour than was the threat of punishment in the form of removal of social and/or recreational time
Gendreau meta-analysis TE in prisons
69% of Prisoners encouraged to engage in prosocial behaviour, education and work assignments
Strengths of TE
Easy to administer
Requires little expensive expertise to set up
Weaknesses of TE in prisons
Long-term effectiveness is open to some speculation and doubt - maintenance beyond prison?
Not as effective with ‘old hands’ as they are with juvenile offenders
