Offender profiling.

Question 1

What is offender profiling?

Answer 1

a behavioural and analytical tool that helps investigators accurately predict and profile the possible characteristics for unknown offenders.

Question 2

What does offender profiling aim to do?

Answer 2

to narrow down the list of likely suspects.

Question 3

What does offender profiling involve?

Answer 3

careful scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of other evidence to generate hypotheses about the offender.

Question 4

What is the top down approach?

Answer 4

using pre-existing typology to work down into lower levels and categorised unknown offenders into one of two categories.

Question 5

Where does the top down approach originate from?

Answer 5

It is the FBI American approach and originated in the 1970s.
From interviews with 36 sexually motivated murderers, they concluded that offenders should be put into organised or disorganised categories.

Question 6

What are the categories based on?

Answer 6

The categories are based on the idea that offenders have certain ways of working and these correlate with a set of social and psychological characteristics.

Question 7

What tells us the offender is organised?

Answer 7

Show evidence of having planned the crime in advance.
-The victim is deliberately targeted, suggesting the offender has a type.
-Maintains a high degree of control throughout the crime and leaves little evidence behind.

Question 8

How do organised offenders behave in everyday life?

Answer 8

-They tend to be of above average intelligence, skilled professions and are socially/sexually competent.

Question 9

What tells us the offender is disorganised?

Answer 9

-Show little evidence of planning and offences may be spontaneous acts. The crime scene will reflect the impulsive nature of the crime.
-The body may still be present, and appears to have been under very little control.
-The offender may be messy and make no effort to cover up evidence.

Question 10

How do disorganised offenders behave in real life?

Answer 10

-Tend to have low IQ, be in unskilled work and have a history of failed/dysfunctional relationships. They may live alone.

Question 11

How do construct an FBI profile?

Answer 11

1. Data assimilation- the profiler reviews evidence from the crime scene.
2. Crime scene classification.
3. Crime reconstruction- hypothesis of sequence of events and behaviour of the victim.
4. Profile generation- hypothesis of likely characteristics of the offender.

Question 12

Strengths of top down: research support?

Answer 12

Canter et al (2004) conducted an analysis of 100 US murderers, in terms of 39 characteristics linked to organised and disorganised offenders (whether there was restraint, torture, cause of death). They found evidence of a distinct organised offender but not a distinct disorganised offender. The top down approach has some validity.

Question 13

Strengths of top down: application to other crimes?

Answer 13

Meketa (2017) stated that the top down approach was successfully applied to burglary, which led to an 85% increase in solved cases in 3 US states. The detection method added two categories: interpersonal and opportunistic, suggesting using the top down approach and building on it has wider use.

Question 14

Weaknesses of top down: not mutually exclusive?

Answer 14

Godwin (2002) argues it is difficult to classify killers as one type or another as they may have multiple contrasting characteristics, for example, high intelligence but minimal control. Suggests the categories are on a continuum.

Question 15

Weaknesses of top down: flawed evidence?

Answer 15

the approach was built upon interviewing 36 murders. Canter et al argue that this is a poor sample because they were all similar types of offenders and there was no set of standardised questions. Therefore the interviews are not comparable and the approach has no sound scientific basis.

Question 16

What is the bottom up approach?

Answer 16

Profilers work up from evidence collected from the crime scene to develop hypotheses about the likely characteristics, motivations and background.

Question 17

Where did the bottom up approach originate?

Answer 17

The British Approach, associated with David Canter.

Question 18

How does the bottom up approach work?

Answer 18

Generated by making inferences from systematic analysis of evidence and use of psychological theories and statistical analysis.
A data driven profile as the investigator engages with deeper scrutiny of the crime scene.

Question 19

What is investigative psychology?

Answer 19

Matches details from the crime scene with a statistical analytical database of typical offender behaviour patterns based on psychological theory.
–Establishes patterns of behaviour likely to occur or coexist across crimes. Also determines whether a series of crimes may have been committed by the same person.

Question 20

What are the three elements of investigative psychology?

Answer 20

1. Interpersonal coherence- the way an offender behaves and interacts at a crime scene may reflect their interactions in everyday life.
2. Significance of time and place- indicates where they may live.
3. Forensic awareness- focuses on individuals who may have been the subject of police interrogation before, or works in the criminal justice system, as they are more mindful of covering their tracks.

Question 21

What is geographical profiling?

Answer 21

Uses information about the location of linked crime scenes to make inference about where the offender may live. This is known as crime mapping.

Question 22

What is spatial consistency?

Answer 22

an offender’s operational base and possible future offences are revealed by the location of previous crimes.
The assumption is that serial offenders will restrict their work to areas they are familiar with, which provides police with a centre of gravity which likely includes the offender’s base.

Question 23

What is Canter’s circular theory?

Answer 23

proposes people operate within a spatially limited mind which creates imaginary boundaries.

Question 24

What are the two categories in circle theory?

Answer 24

Marauder= operates in close proximity to their home, or Commuters- offender has to travel a distance from their home.

Question 25

Strengths of bottom up: Canter and Heritage?

Answer 25

Canter and Heritage (1990) conducted an analysis of 66 sexual assault cases. Several behaviours were identified as common such as use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to the victim. Each individual displayed a characteristic pattern which supports one of the basic principles of investigative psychology, which is that people are predictable.

Question 26

Strengths of bottom up: Lundrigan and Canter?

Answer 26

Lundrigan and Canter (2001) collected information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers, which revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour. The location of the body disposal site created a centre of gravity, which was the home of the offender, as each time they would go in a different direction, creating a circular effect. Supports the circle theory and suggests geographical profiling can be used.

Question 27

Weakneses of bottom up: unsolved crimes?

Answer 27

However the database is only based on crimes that have been solved, and were easy to link to other cases. Therefore the bottom up approach may not be useful for unique and unsolved crimes.

Question 28

Weaknesses of bottom up: geographical profiling?

Answer 28

Geographical profiling may not be sufficient on its own, as it is reliant on the quality of data the police can produce. It may be inaccurate. Approximately 75% of crimes are not reported. Questions the validity of geographical profiling.

Question 29

Weaknesses of the bottom up approach: mixed results in practice?

Answer 29

in Copson’s 1995 survey, 83% of cases found it useful, but in Kocsis’ 2002 survey, this was the case in only 3% of cases.