Forensics (definitions)

Question 1

Dark figure

Answer 1

The difference between the number of crimes committed and the number of crimes recorded by police

Question 2

Official statistics

Answer 2

Figures based on the number of crimes that are reported to and recorded by police

Question 3

Victim surveys

Answer 3

A questionnaire that asks a random sample of people whether they have been victims of crime over the past year and whether they have reported said crimes

Question 4

Offender surveys

Answer 4

A self-report method that requires likely offenders to record all the crimes they have committed over a specified period of time

Question 5

Offender profiling

Answer 5

A tool used to help investigators narrow the list of likely suspects when solving a crime

Question 6

The top-down approach

Answer 6

The US method (a.k.a. the typology method) involving matching what is known about the crime and offender to a pre-existing template - either organised or disorganised

Question 7

Organised offender

Answer 7

An offender who plans their crime, maintains a high level of control during it, leaves little evidence behind, and is intelligent, sexually and socially competent, in a skilled profession, and often married with children.

Question 8

Disorganised offender

Answer 8

An offender who commits spontaneous crime, with little control, usually leaving evidence and the body at the scene, and is unintelligent, in unskilled employment, with a history of failed relationships, and often living alone

Question 9

The bottom-up approach

Answer 9

The UK method involving using evidence from the crime scene to develop a data-driven profile of the offender

Question 10

Investigative psychology

Answer 10

A form of bottom-up profiling that matches evidence from the crime scene to statistical analysis of offending behaviour to reveal important details about the offender

Question 11

Inter personal coherence

Answer 11

The idea that the criminal behaves in a similar way during the crime as they do in more everyday situations, including how they interact with the victim

Question 12

Forensic awareness

Answer 12

The extent to which the criminal is aware of investigative procedures and tries to ‘cover their tracks’, resulting from being the subject of police interrogation previously

Question 13

Geographical profiling

Answer 13

A form of bottom-up profiling based on the idea that the location of an offender’s base and future crimes can be revealed by the location of their previous crimes

Question 14

Jeopardy surface

Answer 14

A calculated area in which is it likely that the offender lives/will strike next

Question 15

The marauder

Answer 15

An offender who commits crime in close proximity to their own home

Question 16

The commuter

Answer 16

An offender who travels to commit crime far away from their own home

Question 17

Least effort principle

Answer 17

The idea that crimes will be committed where it involves the least effort to get to them

Question 18

Distance decay

Answer 18

The idea that crimes decrease in frequency the further the offender travels from their home

Question 19

Buffer zone

Answer 19

The idea that a criminal will operate outside of a ‘buffer zone’ around their home to avoid being recognised

Question 20

MAOA

Answer 20

A gene which controls serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain and has been linked to aggression

Question 21

CDH13

Answer 21

A gene which has been linked to substance abuse and attention deficit disorder

Question 22

Antisocial personality disorder

Answer 22

A disorder characterised by reduced emotional responses and a lack of empathy for the feelings of others. It characterises many convicted criminals.

Question 23

The criminal personality

Answer 23

Someone who is extroverted, neurotic, and psychotic

Question 24

Stage 1 of moral reasoning

Answer 24

Rules are obeyed to avoid punishment

Question 25

Stage 2 of moral reasoning

Answer 25

Rules are obeyed for personal gain

Question 26

Stage 3 of moral reasoning

Answer 26

Rules are obeyed for approval

Question 27

Stage 4 of moral reasoning

Answer 27

Rules are obeyed to maintain social order

Question 28

Stage 5 of moral reasoning

Answer 28

Rules are obeyed if they are impartial; democratic rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others

Question 29

Stage 6 of moral reasoning

Answer 29

The individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a personal set of ethical principles

Question 30

Cognitive distortions

Answer 30

Faulty, biased or irrational ways of thinking which mean we perceive things inaccurately

Question 31

Hostile attribution bias

Answer 31

The tendency to misinterpret situations and behaviours as aggressive/threatening when they are not

Question 32

Minimalisation

Answer 32

The tendency to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence, a strategy used to deal with guilt

Question 33

Weak superego

Answer 33

The absence of a same sex parent means that the superego is undeveloped and the child does not feel guilt

Question 34

Deviant superego

Answer 34

When the same sex parent has immoral standards of behaviour, leading to internalisation of immoral attitudes

Question 35

Over-harsh superego

Answer 35

The superego is so strong that the individual unconsciously seeks punishment to relieve them of their overwhelming guilt

Question 36

General deterrence

Answer 36

Sending a message to members of society that crime will not be tolerated to reduce offending rates

Question 37

Individual deterrence

Answer 37

Putting off the individual from reoffending through the unpleasant prison experience

Question 38

Incapacitation

Answer 38

Removing the offender from society to prevent them from reoffending

Question 39

Retribution

Answer 39

Inflicting proportional suffering on the offender as ‘pay back’ for their crime

Question 40

Rehabilitation

Answer 40

Reforming the offender through training and treatment so that they are better adjusted upon release

Question 41

Institutionalisation

Answer 41

Having adapted to the norms and routine of prison life, the offender is unable to function on the outside

Question 42

Prisonisation

Answer 42

The offender is encouraged to adopt an ‘inmate code’ which would be deemed unacceptable outside the walls of the institution

Question 43

Recidivism

Answer 43

The tendency to resort back to offending behaviour upon release from prison (57% of offenders will reoffend within 1 year in the UK)

Question 44

Custodial sentencing

Answer 44

A sentence determined by a judge in court to be carried out in prison or another closed institution, such as a young offender’s institution or psychiatric hospital.

Question 45

Post incarceration syndrome

Answer 45

A psychological effect of prison with symptoms including PTSD, institutionalisation, and alienation

Question 46

Token economy

Answer 46

A method of changing an offender’s behaviour in prison which involves reinforcing their desirable behaviours with tokens (secondary reinforcers) which can be exchanged for rewards such as yard time, phone calls, or food (primary reinforcers)

Question 47

Cognitive preparation

Answer 47

The offender reflects on the triggers of past aggressive behaviour and assesses whether their responses have been rational

Question 48

Skill acquisition

Answer 48

The offender is introduced to cognitive, behavioural, and physiological skills and techniques of controlling their anger

Question 49

Application practise

Answer 49

The offender and therapist re-enact anger-provoking scenarios in a safe environment, and appropriate responses are practised and positively reinforced