Lesson 2: Bottom-Up Approach

Question 1

What is the Bottom-Up approach?

Answer 1

• Developed in the UK

- Generates a picture of the offender including likely characteristics, routine behaviour and social background

Question 2

How is the Bottom-Up approach achieved?

Answer 2

• Systematic analysis of evidence left at the crime scene
• Does not begin with fixed typologies
• Profile is data driven and emerges as the profiler engages in rigorous scrutiny of the details

Question 3

What is the aim of investigative psychology?

Answer 3

• Establish behaviours that are likely to occur at certain crime scenes
• To create a statistical database which acts as a baseline for comparison
• Specific details can be matched against the database to reveal probable details about the offender
• Can help determine whether multiple offences are linked

Question 4

What is key in investigative psychology?

Answer 4

• Concept of interpersonal coherence: the way an offender behaves at a crime scene can reflect their behaviour in everyday behaviour
• This tells the police how the offender relates to women generally
• The significance of time and place can indicate where the offender lives
• Forensic awareness describes individuals who have made an attempt to cover their tracks
• This behaviour indicates the police already has their DNA or fingerprints

Question 5

What is Geographical profiling?

Answer 5

• Study of spatial behaviour in relation to crime and offenders
• Focuses on location of crime as a clue to where the offender lives/works/socialised
• This can be found from the crime scene, local crime statistics, local transport and geographical spread of similar crimes
• An assumption is that a serious offender will restrict their criminal activities to an area they are familiar with, and will be in the middle of their crime scenes
• Earlier crimes are likely to be closer to their home as they are less confident

Question 6

What did Canter and Larkin propose?

Answer 6

Marauder: operates close to home
Commuter: operates a distance away from their home

Their spatial pattern still forms a circle around their home
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- It can tell whether the crime was planned or opportunistic as well as other important facts

Question 7

Evaluation (+)

Answer 7

(+) More scientific than Top-Down as it is more grounded in evidence and psychology, and less driven by speculation

(+) Bottom-Up can be applied to a wide ranges of offences

Question 8

Evaluation (-)

Answer 8

• Failures with Bottom-Up profiling: in 1992, 21 year old was stabbed 47 times and sexually assaulted in a frenzied attached. Evidence placed Robert Napier at the murder, but he was ruled out initially as he was too tall
• 48 police forces were surveyed and only 3% of cases lead to accurate identification. It was judged to be helpful 83% of the time
• A psychologist found that chemistry students produced a more accurate offender profile than senior profilers. This implies the Bottom Up Approach is little more than common sense and guess work