lesson 1 - Top Down Approach To Offender Profiling Flashcards
What is forensic psych
Forensic psychologists apply psychological theory to criminal investigation to
help understand psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour, and
the treatment of those who have committed offences.
What is offender profiling
Offender profiling is a tool employed by the police to narrow down the list of
likely suspects for a crime or crimes.
Offender profiling is based on the idea that the characteristics of the
offender can be deduced from details of the offence and crime scene.
What do profiling methods involve
Profiling methods vary, but usually involve careful scrutiny of the crime scene
and analysis of evidence, including witness reports, in order to generate a
hypothesis about the probable characteristics of the offender (their age,
background, occupation etc.).
What is the top down approach
Templates of organised offender and disorganised offender are pre-existing in
the mind of the profiler. Evidence from the crime scene and other details of
the crime/victim/context are then used to fit the offender into either of the
two pre-existing categories
What are the two categories of the top down approach
- organised offenders
- disorganised offenders
What are organised offenders
These offenders show evidence of having planned
the crime in advance; the victim is deliberately targeted as the killer or
rapist has a preference for a certain type of victim. The offender
maintains a high level of control during the crime. There is little evidence
left behind at the scene of the crime. These offenders tend to be of
above average intelligence, in a skilled, professional occupation and are
socially and sexually competent. They are often married with children.
What are disorganised offenders
These offenders show little evidence of
planning, suggesting the offence may have been spontaneous. The crime
scene tends to reflect the impulsive nature of the attack, the body is
usually left at the scene and there appears to have been very little
control on the part of the offender. The offender tends to be of lower
than average intelligence, be in unskilled work or unemployed, and often
have a history of sexual dysfunction or failed relationships. They tend to
live alone and often relatively close to where the offence took place.
Weaknesses of the top down approach
The top-down approach has been found to be more useful for serious cases,
such as murder, where the crime scene reveals more specific personal details
about the person committing the crime than for more common property-based
crimes such as robbery.
- The organised or disorganised distinction was developed based on interviews
with 36 serial killers in the USA. Critics have pointed out that this is too small
and unrepresentative a sample upon which to base a typology system. - Top-down profiling was developed based on interviews with 36 sexually
motivated serial killers, including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson. Canter (2004)
has argued that it is not valid to rely on self-report data from convicted serial
killers when constructing a classification system. - The organised or disorganised distinction is overly simplistic. Holmes (1989)
suggests there are four types of serial killer; visionary serial killer (kill
because God or the Devil is directing them to), mission serial killer (kill to
eradicate a group of people they consider to be undesirable), hedonistic serial
killer (kill for the thrill) and power serial killer (kill to have complete control
over the victims) - Canter et al. (2004) analysed data from 100 murders in the USA with
reference to the characteristics thought to be typical of organised and
disorganised killers. The findings did suggest evidence of a distinct organised
type, however this was not the case for disorganised type which undermines the
entire classification system
