Offender Profiling: The Bottom-Up Approach

Question 1

What is the purpose of bottom-up profiling?

Answer 1

The purpose is to generate a picture of the offender.

Question 2

What is the main difference between the top-down and bottom-up approach?

Answer 2

The bottom-up approach does not begin with fixed typologies where as the top-down approach does.

Question 3

What is bottom-up profiling supported by?

Answer 3

Psychological theory due to it being data driven (scientific).

Question 4

What is investigative psychology?

Answer 4

A form of bottom-up profiling that matches details from the crime scene with statistical analysis of typical offender behaviour patterns based in psychological theory.

Question 5

What is the aim of investigative psychology?

Answer 5

To establish patterns of behaviour to match them across a database and reveal facts (background) to see if crimes are linked.

Question 6

What is interpersonal coherence?

Answer 6

The way an offender behaves at the crime scene, e.g. how they interact with the victim may reflect how they behave in everyday life.

Question 7

What is geographical profiling?

Answer 7

A form of bottom-up profiling based on the principle of spatial consistency.

Question 8

What is spatial consistency?

Answer 8

An offender’s operational base and possible future offences are revealed by the geographical location of their previous crime.

Question 9

What is crime mapping?

Answer 9

Utilising the information about the location of crime scenes to make inferences about the home/ base of an offender.

Question 10

What is a ‘centre of gravity’?

Answer 10

An offenders home; usually in the middle of their operating zone.

Question 11

What is a ‘jeopardy surface’?

Answer 11

This involves plotting the location of linked crimes to create an operating circle.

Question 12

What is Canter’s circle theory?

Answer 12

Created due to the assumption that the pattern of offending forms a circle around the offenders home.

Question 13

What is a marauder?

Answer 13

An offender who operates in close proximity to their home base.

Question 14

What is a commuter?

Answer 14

An offender who is likely to travel a distance away from their residence.

Question 15

Write a PEEL paragraph of a strength of the bottom-up approach?
(Evidence for investigative psychology)

Answer 15

P- One strength would be that it has evidence to support its use.
E- Canter and Heritage (1990) —> analysis of 66 sexual assault cases using smallest space analysis.
E- Several behaviours were identified as common in different samples, each individual displayed a characteristic pattern of such behaviours —> help establish whether 2 or more offences were committed by the same person.
L- Supports the basic principle (investigative psychology) that people are consistent in their behaviour.

Question 16

Write a PEEL paragraph for the counterpoint for the ‘Evidence for investigative psychology’.
(Bottom-up approach)

Answer 16

P- However, case linkage only replies on the database that will only consist of historical crimes that have been solved.
E- The fact it was solved may be because it was relatively straight forward to link these crimes together in the first place —> circular argument.
L- Suggests that investigative psychology may tell us little about crimes that have few links between them and therefore remain unsolved.

Question 17

Write a PEEL paragraph for a strength of the bottom-up approach?
(Evidence for geographical profiling)

Answer 17

P- A strength is evidence to support geographical profiling.
E- Canter et al (2001) collated information from 120 murderer cases involving serial killers in the US.
—> Smallest space analysis revealed spatial constancy in the behaviour of the killers.
—> The location of each body disposal site created a ‘centre of gravity’.
E- The offenders base was invariably located in the centre of the pattern, this was far more noticeable for marauders than commuters.
L- Suggests that geographical information can be used to identify an offender.

Question 18

Write a PEEL paragraph for a limitation of the bottom-up approach?
(Geographical information insufficient)

Answer 18

P- One limitation is geographical profiling may not be sufficient on it’s own.
E- Success rates of geographical profiling may be reliant on the quality of data that the police can provide.
—> recording of crime is not always accurate, 75% go un-reported.
E- Questions the utility of the approach that relies on the accuracy of geographical profiling, Ainsworth (2001) —> other factors are just as important.
L- Suggests geographical information alone may not always lead to the successful capture of an offender.