Offender Profiling Flashcards
What is the aim of Top Down Offender profiling
To use pre existing categories of offenders to establish a pattern of behaviour
What is the aim of Bottom Up Offender profiling
To use Statistical analysis to establish a pattern of offender
What are the stages of Creating a profile (TD)
1 Data assimilation
Information about the crime scene, such as autopsy and photographs, is gathered
2 Crime scene classification
information is analysed to identify the type of criminal (organised or disorganised)
3 Crime reconstruction
Actions of offender and victim before during and after the crime are hypothesised
4 Profile generation
A range of inferences are made such as the demographic, physical features and expected behaviours
What are the five Factors in Investigative Psychology (BU)
Interpersonal coherence
a persons interaction style with the victim is reflective of other interactions
Time and place significance
The location is chosen by the offender so is significant to the investigation
Criminal characteristics
How the crime has been committed suggests aspects of the offender based on previous data
Criminal Career
How following crimes change due to the gaining of experience
Forensic awareness
whether the criminal shows knowledge of the criminal justice system
What is Canter’s Circle theory (BU)
Crimes Radiate outwards from a criminal’s home base, creating a circle
What is a Marauder and what percent of criminals are a marauder (BU)
A marauder is a criminal who commits crime near their home, Canter and Larkin found 87% of criminals are Marauder’s
What is a commuter (BU)
A person who travels to commit crime
Name 2 characteristics of an organised offender (TD)
High IQ
Social and sexually competent
Name 2 characteristics of an disorganised offender (TD)
Low IQ
Social and sexually Incompetent
How many professionals find the Top Down approach useful in solving cases in Canada (Snook 2007)
94%
What is Interpersonal coherence (Investigative Psychology)
a persons interaction style with the victim is reflective of other interactions
What is Time and Place significance (Investigative Psychology)
The location is chosen by the offender so is significant to the investigation
What are Criminal characteristics (Investigative Psychology)
How the crime has been committed suggests aspects of the offender based on previous data
What is a Criminal Career (Investigative Psychology)
How following crimes change due to the gaining of experience
What is Forensic awareness (Investigative Psychology)
whether the criminal shows knowledge of the criminal justice system
What is the first stage of creating an offender profile (TD)
Data assimilation
Information about the crime scene, such as autopsy and photographs, is gathered
What is the second stage of creating an offender profile (TD)
Crime scene classification
information is analysed to identify the type of criminal (organised or disorganised)
What is the third stage of creating an offender profile (TD)
Crime reconstruction
Actions of offender and victim before during and after the crime are hypothesised
What is the fourth stage of creating an offender profile (TD)
Profile generation
A range of inferences are made such as the demographic, physical features and expected behaviours
94% of Professionals find which type of offender profiling useful?
Top Down approach (American)
How has profiling been abused
The Rachel Nickel Case.
Rachel Nickel was killed in front of her two year old son, a profile was generated about the killer and put on TV for everyone to see, a man was identified and tried but the judge threw out the case as the profiling was not sufficient evidence.
Years later a man pled guilty for her murder.
