Offender profiling

Question 1

what is offender profiling?

Answer 1

a means of identifying the person/ people who have committed a crime through linking their characteristics with the offence they have committed and details of the crime scene

Question 2

when, where and who by was the top down approach created?

Answer 2

1970s, USA, FBI’s behavioural science unit

Question 3

define the top-down approach.

Answer 3

profilers start with a pre-established typology for offending and work their way down using evidence from crime scene, witness reports etc. in order to assign offenders as either ‘organised’ or ‘disorganised’. They can then use the characteristics of the assigned typology in order to deduce the offender.

Question 4

How did the FBI theorise the top-down approach?

Answer 4

They analysed data collected from interviews with 36 sexually motivated murderers and concluded that offending can be categorised into ‘organised’ and ‘disorganised’ typology. This gave a set of characteristics for each group which meant that in future crimes, looking at specific characteristics could predict other characteristics that might be likely.

Question 5

what Is a modus operandi?

Answer 5

serious offender’s signature ways of working.

Question 6

there are nine major characteristics of organised offenders. Name as many as you can.

Answer 6

1. high degree of control
   2.victim type
2. planning of crime in advance
3. little evidence or clue left at scene
4. above average intelligence
   6.skilled, professional occupation
5. socially and sexually competent
6. might be married with children

Question 7

disorganised offenders are basically the opposite of organised. Name their characteristics. (there are 7 main ones)

Answer 7

1. Lower than average IQ
2. live in close proximity of the crime scene
3. spontaneous acts
   4.body often left at crime scene as well as other evidence
4. low level of control
5. unskilled work/ unemployed
6. sexual dysfunction and failed relationships

Question 8

name the four steps of offender profiling. (DCCP)

Answer 8

1. data assimilation
2. crime scene classification
3. crime reconstruction
4. profile generation

Question 9

what is data assimilation?

Answer 9

reviewing the evidence before assigning the offender as disorganised or organised.

Question 10

what is David Canter et al’s research support for the top down approach?

Answer 10

they used smallest space analysis to analyse 100 US murders committed by different serial killers. The database showed a co-occurance of 39 different aspects of serial killings. This revealed set characteristics for murders which linked to the FBI’s typology for organised offenders.

Question 11

what is the counterpoint for David canter et al’s research?

Answer 11

A varied range of characteristics can happen at any crime scene. Organised and disorganised offending may not be mutually exclusive. Maurice Godwin argues that it’s difficult to class serial killers as one or the other and organised disorganised typology is more of a continuum.

Question 12

where has the top down approach been applied more broadly?

Answer 12

In Burglary. Tina Meketa reports that by applying top down approach to burglary, solved cases have increased by 85%.

Question 13

the detection method is an add on to the original top down approac to help to solve burglaries. What are the two new categories in this method?

Answer 13

interpersonal and opportunistic

Question 14

what are interpersonal and opportunistic categories?

Answer 14

interpersonal - offender usually knows victim and steals something of importance.
opportunistic - generally inexperienced young offender.

Question 15

why does the top down approach not have sound scientific basis?

Answer 15

the theory was based on interviews with 39 serial killers. Canter argues that this sample is not varied enough. Additionally, the questions were not standardised so results are not really comparable.

Question 16

why is the bottom up approach different to the top down approach?

Answer 16

profilers work up from evidence from the crime scene in order to make a hypothesis of likely criminals. it is more data based than the top down approach as it does not use fixed typologies in order to profile an offender. It considers all aspects of the crime before labelling someone a criminal.

Question 17

what are two examples of the bottom up approach?

Answer 17

investigative psychology and geographical profiling.

Question 18

define investigative psychology

Answer 18

matching details of the crime with statistical analysis of typical behaviour patterns which can provide important details of the offender.

Question 19

what are the three key variables looked for in investigative psychology?

Answer 19

interpersonal coherence
time and place
forensic awareness

Question 20

give one example for each. How do interpersonal coherence, time and place and forensic awareness help the case?

Answer 20

interpersonal coherence provides an insight into how the criminal behaves in their day to day life which could reflect the way that they behaved with the victim. Time and place is useful as it could help to find where the criminal lives(or job/education), forensic awareness helps to see if the criminal has been caught before (if they have then details can be analysed)

Question 21

define spacial consistency

Answer 21

Rossono (1997) the idea that an offender’s base/ future offences can be predicted through location of previous crime.

Question 22

give three examples of what spacial awareness can help with

Answer 22

finding out mode of transport, approximate age, employment, mental maps (if they took a shortcut it means they know the area well and assumingly live near)

Question 23

who theorised the circle theory?

Answer 23

canter

Question 24

what is the circle theory

Answer 24

the idea that a serial offenders crimes will occur in a circle around their base.

Question 25

the offender might operate in close proximity around their house or may have travelled far away… what are the terms for this?

Answer 25

close proximity - marauder
travels far - commuter

Question 26

what is the basic principle of investigative psychology?

Answer 26

the basic principle of investigative psychology is that people are consistent in their behaviour. details of the crime scene are put on a statistical database so that future crimes can be assessed against it. This helps to identify type of criminal that could have committed the crime as well as whether the same criminal has committed multiple offences.

Question 27

what was the supporting study evidence for investigative psychology?

Answer 27

Canter and Heritage analysed 66 sexual assault cases and found that each offender displayed a characteristic pattern of common offender behaviours which links to the idea that offenders are consistent in their modus operandi.

Question 28

why is it a limitation that the database only provides information on crimes that have been solved?

Answer 28

if the crimes have been solved this could mean that it was because they were straightforward. Investigative psych tells us little about crimes that haven’t been solved and have fewer links between them. Means that the conclusions may not be generalisable the all crime.

Question 29

Lundrigan and Canter provided evidence support for geographical profiling. What did they do?

Answer 29

collated information from 120 serial killed murder cases in the US. Smellest space analysis revealed spacial consistency, offenders had worked in a circle around their house and the effect was more noticeable in marauders.

Question 30

why might geographical profiling not be accurate?

Answer 30

It relies on the quality of data that the police can provide… 75% of crimes aren’t even reported. GP may not always be successful in catching an offender.