forensics AO3

Question 1

AO3 top down approach- research support

Answer 1

strengths of top down approach is the evidence for distinct organised catergories.canter et al 2004.

conducted analysis of 100 US murders each committed by different serial killers - smallest space analysis was used. - identifies correlations across different samples of behaviour. - used to see the co occurrence of 39 aspects of serial killings.

such as if the body was tortured/ retrained, attempt to conceal the body, form of the murder weapon and the cause of death. - showed that there seems to be features to a organised serial killer

Question 2

AO3 top down approach- wider application

Answer 2

another strength is that it can be adapted to other types of crime.

critics of TDP said it only applies to sexually motivated murder but tina meketa 2017 reports that top down approach has recently been applied to burglary and leading to a 85% rise in solved cases in three US states.

method uses (dis)organised categories but also adds interpersonal - offender usually knows the victim and steals something of significance) and opportunistic - generally inexperienced young offender.

Question 3

AO3 top down approach- flawed evidence

Answer 3

limitation - FBI profiling was developed using interviews with 36 murders, 25 were serial killers, the other 11 being single or double murders. at the end 24 of these were classed as organised offenders and 12 disorganised. canter et al have argued that the sample was poor nor did the sample include different types of offenders
no shared question and every interview was different. top down profiling doesn’t have sound scientific evidence

Question 4

AO3 the bottom up approach -evidence for investigative psychology

Answer 4

one strength -evidence of canter and heritage -1990 conducted analysis of 66 sexual assault cases the data was analysed by using smaller space analysis. several behaviours were identified as being common. in different sample of behaviour.

such as the use of impersonal language, lack of reaction to the victim. there are characteristic patterns that of such behaviours and this can help establish whether two or more offences were committed by the same person.

Question 5

AO3 the bottom up approach - evidence for geographical profiling

Answer 5

strength is samantha lundrigan and david canter 2001 collated information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in the US. smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of killers the location of each bodys disposal point created a centre of gravity.

Question 6

AO3 the bottom up approach- geographical information insufficient.

Answer 6

limitation is that it may not be sufficient on their own. - geographical profiling is reliant on the quality of the data that the police can provide. - recording crime isn’t always accurate and can vary police station to police station.
estimated 75% of crimes aren’t reported to police anyways. - ‘dark figure of crime’
calls to question the utility of the approach that relies on the accuracy of of geographical data. - critics claim that other factors are just as important in creating a profile.
such as timing of the offence and age (ainsworth 2001)
geographical information alone may not always lead to successful capture of a offender