OFFENDER PROFILING: BOTTOM UP APPROACH

Question 1

where does the bottom up approach originate from?

Answer 1

in psychological expertise and is based on quantitative statistical analysis

Question 2

what is the bottom up approach?

Answer 2

it can be used on all types of crime and focuses on the distribution of crimes in an area, it works up from evidence collected at the crime scene.

Question 3

what is investigative psychology?

Answer 3

an approach fine tuned by David Canter, it is based on research

Question 4

what does investigative psychology look into?

Answer 4

looks at specific details of an offence, or related offences, so they can be matched in a database to determine whether a series of offences are linked and are likely to have been committed by the same person

Question 5

what is the analysis based on in investigative psychology?

Answer 5

based on statistical techniques which make it objective

Question 6

what are the 5 assumptions about a crime scene?

Answer 6

interpersonal coherence
significance of time and place
forensic awareness
criminal career
criminal characteristics

Question 7

what is the characteristic interpersonal coherence?

Answer 7

when there is a consistency between the way offenders interact with their victims and with others in their everyday life

Question 8

what is the characteristic significance of time and place?

Answer 8

the time and location of an offenders crime will communicate something about their own place of residence/employment

Question 9

what is the characteristic forensic awareness?

Answer 9

offenders who show an understanding of a police investigation are likely to have had previous encounters with the criminal justice system

Question 10

what is the characteristic criminal career?

Answer 10

crimes tend to be committed in similar fashion by offenders and can provide indication of how their criminal activity will develop

Question 11

what is the characteristic criminal characteristics?

Answer 11

characteristics about the offender can help to classify them, which helps police investigation

Question 12

what is geographical profiling?

Answer 12

this focuses on the location and timing of a crime

Question 13

what is locatedness in geographical profiling?

Answer 13

this informs profilers a lot about the perpetrator; locations include where the victim is met initially, where they are killed, where the body is disposed of. this may be the same place, but if not, multiple locations can add to the profile accuracy.

Question 14

how is the location of a crime a clue?

Answer 14

the location acts as a clue to where the offender lives, works and socialises

Question 15

what is systematic crime location choice?

Answer 15

familiarity to the offender is important and means location is worthy of careful consideration

Question 16

what is centrality?

Answer 16

the commuters and marauders

Question 17

what are commuters?

Answer 17

they travel to commit crimes but somewhere still familiar

Question 18

what are marauders?

Answer 18

they commit crimes closer to home

Question 19

what is comparative case analysis?

Answer 19

when other crimes should be considered being committed by the same offender

Question 20

AO3: how is ‘John duffys supporting evidence’ a strength to the bottom up approach?

Answer 20

over 3 years there was a series of murders and rapes that progressed, always near railways. they brought in Canter, a criminal profiler, who built up a profile from what they knew. this was very accurate as 12/17 fit Duffy, especially the geographical profile which led to his house.

Question 21

AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to the bottom up approach?

Answer 21

canter did content analysis of 66 sexual assault cases. several characteristics were identified as common in most cases, such as the use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to the victim. this supports the usefulness of investigative psychology as it shows how statistical techniques can be applied.

Question 22

AO3: how is ‘more scientific’ a strength to the bottom up approach?

Answer 22

this approach is more scientific and objective than the top-down approach. it is grounded in evidence and psychological theory, and less driven by speculation and hunches. this also allows investigators to manipulate data quickly to produce insight that will aid the investigation (using computers and data bases) therefore this supports its utility in real life.

Question 23

AO3: how is ‘mixed results’ a limitation to the bottom up approach?

Answer 23

there have been mixed results and some significant failures of the Bottom up approach e.g. where an innocent person has been targeted as they match a profile or someone has later been found guilty but was not caught earlier as they didn’t match the profile (were discounted from the investigation). COPSON 1995 surveyed 48 police forces and the profile was judged to be useful in 83% of cases but only led to accurate identification 3% of the time.