Offender profiling: top-down approach

Question 1

Crime

Answer 1

any act which is unlawful and can result in punishment by the state (government). The act is harmful to individuals, groups or society

Question 2

issues with defining crime

Answer 2

• crime differences in culture
• crime changes over time

Question 3

methods to measuring crime

Answer 3

Official Statistics: describe the number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police
Victim Surveys: involve 50,000 randomly selected households to self-report the number and
types of crimes which have been committed against them during the past year
Offender Surveys: s target a randomly-selected cohort of criminals, who give details of the
types and frequency of crimes they have committed across a set time period

Question 4

offender profiling

Answer 4

behavioural and analytical tool used when trying to find suspects. It aims to predict the probable characteristics of the unknown criminals using evidence from the crime scene

Question 5

top down approach

Answer 5

FBI developed approach
based on profilers judgement

Question 6

Top down profiling process

Answer 6

1. data assimilation
2. crime scene classification
3. crime reconstruction
4. profile generation

Question 7

Data assimilation can be split into 2 steps

Answer 7

1.profiling inputs
2.decision process models

Question 8

profiling inputs

Answer 8

data will be collected including a description of the crime scene, background info of the victim and details of the crime

Question 9

decision process models

Answer 9

profiler will go through data and organise it in meaningful patterns

Question 10

crime scene classification

Answer 10

crime is assessed using the data collected in data assimilation
the defender is categorised as either organised or disorganised

Question 11

organised offender

Answer 11

crime is planned
victim is targeted
victim is likely to be taken to a pre-chosen location
highly intelligent offender

Question 12

disorganised offender

Answer 12

unplanned crime
random victim
little time spent with victim
evidence left behind

Question 13

crime reconstruction

Answer 13

hypothesis in terms of sequence of events e.g.behaviour of the victim

Question 14

profile generation

Answer 14

hypotheses related to the likely offender e.g. demographic background,physical characteristics

Question 15

Strengths

Answer 15

✅ Can help narrow investigations
→ Example: Used in real-life cases like the Green River Killer.

✅ Provides a structured framework for investigations
→ Example: Helps focus resources by categorising crime scenes as ‘organised’ or ‘disorganised’.

Question 16

Limitations

Answer 16

❌ Based on outdated, unrepresentative sample
→ Example: Developed from interviews with 36 US serial killers, mostly white males.

❌ Overly reliant on intuition and subjectivity
→ Example: Profilers often make subjective, unverifiable judgments.