Offender profiling: The bottom-up approach Flashcards
What is the aim of the bottom-up approach?
To generate a picture of the offender
The aim of the bottom-up approach is to generate a picture of the offender including their…
likely characteristics, routine behaviour and social background
The aim of the bottom-up approach is to generate a picture of the offender through what?
Systematic analysis of evidence at the crime scene
Investigative psychology is an attempt to apply what alongside what to the analysis of crime scene evidence?
Statistical procedures alongside psychological theory
What is the aim of investigative psychology in relation to offender profiling?
To establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur or coexist across crime scenes
Investigative psychology aims to establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur or coexist across crime scenes in order to…
develop a statistical database which then acts as a baseline for comparison
What is the importance of the statistical database developed by investigative psychology?
Specific details of an offence, or related offences, can then be matched against this database to reveal important details about the offender
Give 2 examples of important details about the offender that may be stored in the statistical database developed as a result of investigative psychology
Their personal history and family background, etc.
Which part of investigative psychology may determine whether a series of offences are linked in that they are likely to have been committed by the same person?
The statistical database
Central to the investigative psychology approach is the concept of what?
Interpersonal coherence
What is interpersonal coherence in relation to offender behaviour?
The way an offender behaves at the scene may reflect their behaviour in more everyday situations, including how they ‘interact’ with the victim
Some rapists want to maintain maximum control and humiliate, others are more apologetic. This might tell the police…
something about how the offender relates to women more generally
The way an offender behaves at the scene may reflect their behaviour in more everyday situations, including how they ‘interact’ with the victim. What is this concept
Interpersonal coherence
Why is the significance of time and place also a key variable in investigative psychology?
This may indicate where the offender is living
What does forensic awareness describe?
Those individuals who have been the subject of police interrogation before
What may the behaviour of offenders with ‘forensic awareness’ denote?
How mindful they are of covering their tracks
True/False: There is evidence to support investigative psychology
True, Canter and Heritage (1990)
What did Canter and Heritage conduct an analysis of?
66 sexual assault cases
How many sexual assault cases did Canter and Heritage conduct an analysis of?
66
How did Canter and Heritage analyse 66 sexual assault cases?
Using smallest space analysis
In Canter and Heritage’s analysis of 66 sexual assault cases, several behaviours were identified as…
common in different samples of behaviour
In Canter and Heritage’s analysis of 66 sexual assault cases, several behaviours were identified as common in different samples of behaviour. Give an example
Any from the use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to the victim
What did Canter and Heritage find about each individual’s behaviours when analysing 66 sexual assault cases?
Each individual displayed a characteristic pattern of behaviours such as the use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to the victim
The fact that each individual analysed by Canter and Heritage displayed a characteristic pattern of behaviours such as impersonal language and a lack of reaction to the victim can help establish…
whether two or more offences were committed by the same person
Establishing whether two or more offences were committed by the same person is known as what?
‘Case linkage’
‘Case linkage’ supports one of the most basic principles of investigative psychology - that…
people are consistent in their behaviour
What’s the issue with using a database for ‘case linkage’?
It depends on the database and will only ever consist of historical crimes that have been solved
The fact that crime databases will only ever consist of historical crimes that have been solved means what about ‘case linkage’ of these crimes?
May be because it was relatively straightforward to link these crimes together in the first place
The fact that crime databases will only ever consist of historical crimes that have been solved which may be due to it being relatively straightforward to link these crimes together in the first place creates what kind of argument?
A circular argument
The fact that crime databases will only ever consist of historical crimes that have been solved which may be due to it being relatively straightforward to link these crimes together in the first place creates a circular argument that suggests what about investigative psychology?
It may tell us little about crimes that have few links between them and therefore they remain unsolved
True/False: Offender profiling has something of a mixed history
True
True/False: Offender profiling is regarded in different ways by police forces
True
What did Gary Copson (1995) find when surveying 48 police departments about offender profiling?
The advice provided by the profiler was judged to be ‘useful’ in 83% of cases, although in only 3% of cases it lead to accurate identification of the offender
Gary Copson found that the advice provided by offender profilers was judged by 48 police departments to use ‘useful’ in __% of cases
83
How many police departments did Gary Copson survey?
48
The fact that Gary Copson found that the advice provided by offender profilers was judged by 48 police departments to use ‘useful’ in 83% of cases suggests…
it is a valid investigative tool
Gary Copson’s survey of 48 police departments revealed that in only what percentage of cases did offender profiling lead to accurate identification of the offender?
3
The fact that Gary Copson found that in only 3% of cases did advice provided by offender profilers lead to accurate identification of the offender suggests…
that it can be misused
Kocsis et al. (2002) found that chemistry students produce…
more accurate profiles on a solved murder case than experienced senior detectives
Unlike the US top-down approach, an investigation that is using the British bottom-up model does not begin with…
fixed typologies
The bottom-up approach uses profiles that are ‘____-driven’
data
How does a profile emerge using the bottom-up approach?
As the investigator engages in deeper and more rigorous scrutiny of the details of the offence
True/False: Top-down profiling is much more grounded in psychological theory than the bottom-up approach
False, it is the other way around
Which approach to offender profiling is geographical profiling a feature of?
The bottom-up approach
Which type of profiling uses information about the location of linked crime scenes to make inferences?
Geographical profiling
Geographical profiling uses information about the location of linked crime scenes to do what?
Make inferences about the likely home or operational base of an offender (crime mapping)
Using information about the location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likely home or operational base of an offender is known as what?
Crime mapping
Geographical profiling is based on which principle?
Spatial consistency
The principle of spatial consistency says that people commit crimes…
within a limited geographical space
True/False: Geographical profiling can be used in conjunction with psychological theory
True
Geographical profiling can be used in conjunction with psychological theory such as that informed by investigative psychology to create…
hypotheses about how the offender is thinking as well as their modus operandi
Geographical profiling assumes that serial offenders will do what with their ‘work’?
Restrict it to geographical areas they are familiar with
Understanding the spatial pattern of offenders’ behaviour provides investigators with what?
A ‘centre of gravity’
What is the basis of Canter’s ‘circle theory’
The fact that the spatial pattern of offenders’ behaviour provides investigators with a ‘centre of gravity’
Canter’s ‘circle theory’ suggests that the pattern of offending forms…
a circle around the offender’s home base
Evidence of spatial decision-making can offer the investigative team…
more insight into the nature of the offence
How can evidence of spatial decision-making offer an investigative team an important insight into the nature of an offence?
Can give insight as to whether it was planned or opportunistic, as well as revealing other important factors about the offender
Give 2 examples of important factors about an offender that can be revealed if spatial decision-making is recognised by the investigative team
Any 2 from their ‘mental maps’, mode of transport, employment status and approximate age
The distribution of offences leads us to describe an offender in one of how many ways?
2
The distribution of offences leads us to describe an offender as either…
a ‘marauder’ or ‘commuter’
The marauder
Operates in close proximity to their house
The commuter
Likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence
True/False: There is evidence to support geographical profiling
True
Lundrigan and Canter (2001) collated information from ___ murder cases involving serial killers in the US
120
Lundrigan and Canter (2001) collated information from 120 ______ cases involving who?
murder, serial killers in the US
Lundrigan and Canter (2001) collaged information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in which country?
The US
In Lundrigan and Canter’s (2001) research, smallest space analysis revealed consistency in what?
Behaviour of the killers
What did Lundrigan and Canter find in their 2001 research about the location of each body disposal site in the 120 murder cases they analysed?
The location of each body disposal site created a ‘centre of gravity’
Lundrigan and Canter (2001) found that the location of each body disposal site created a ‘centre of gravity’, presumably because…
when offenders start from their home base they may go in a different direction each time they dispose of a body
When offenders start from their home base they may go in a different direction each time they dispose of a body. In the end all these different sites create a…
circular effect around the home base
Lundrigan and Canter found that when all the different body disposal sites created a circular effect around the home base, and the offender’s base was…
invariably located in the centre of the pattern
Lundrigan and Canter found that the ‘centre of gravity’ effect was more noticeable for offenders who travelled long/short distances (marauders/commuters)
short, marauders
Lundrigan and Canter’s evidence that the location of each body disposal site created a ‘centre of gravity’ supports the view that…
geographical information can be used to identify an offender
Give a reason why geographical profiling may not be sufficient on its own
Any from its success may be reliant on the quality of data that the police can provide and relies on the accuracy of geographical data
True/False: Geographical profiling and investigative psychology may not be sufficient on their own as their success may be reliant on the quality of data that the police can provide
True
An estimated __% of crimes are not even reported to the police in the first place
75
An estimated 75% of crimes are note ven reported to the police in the first place. What to criminologists often refer to this as?
The ‘dark figure of crime’
The fact that the success of geographical profiling an investigative psychology may be reliant on the quality of data that the police can provide and an estimated 75% of crimes aren’t even reported to police in the first place calls into question the…
utility of the bottom-up approach
Geographical profiling relies on the accuracy of geographical data. Even if this information is correct, critics claim that…
other factors are just as important in creating a profile
Give an example of a factor that critics claim is just as important as geographical data in making a profile
Any from the timing of the offence and the age and experience of the offender (Ainsworth, 2001)
The fact that critics claim that other factors are just as important as geographical data suggests that…
geographical information alone may not always lead to the successful capture of an offender
