Offender Profilling

Question 1

Top Down Approach

Answer 1

American Approach (FBI) Offenders are assigned to one of two pre-existing categories based on witness accounts and evidence from the crime scene.

Question 2

4 Main Stages to constructing an FBI Profile

Answer 2

Data assimilation - reviews evidence
Crime scene classification - organised or disorganised
Crime reconstruction - hypothesis in terms of sequence of events, behaviour etc
Profile generation - hypothesis relating to likely offender

Question 3

Organised offender

Answer 3

planned crime in advance, victims targeted depicting type, high level of control, little evidence left behind, above average intelligence, function normally

Question 4

Disorganised offender

Answer 4

spontaneous, scene reflects impulse nature of act, below average IQ, unemployed/unskilled, history of failed marriage and sexual dysfunction, can’t function normally (live alone)

Question 5

Weakness 1

Answer 5

only applies to particular crime with important revealing details than the most common crimes

Question 6

Weakness 2

Answer 6

based on an outdated model of personality

Question 7

Weakness 3

Answer 7

limited evidence to support a ‘disorganised killer’ however, still used as distinction by profilers today so widespread support

Question 8

Bottom Up Approach

Answer 8

British Approach. Generates a picture of the offender through systematic analysis of evidence at the crime scene, it is data driven and emerges at the investigator engages in deeper and more rigorous scrutiny of the details of the offence.

Question 9

Investigative Psychology

Answer 9

apply statistical procedures alongside psychological theory, establish patterns of behaviour occurring across crime scenes, to develop a statistical database acting as a baseline for comparison, determine if a series of offences are linked, interpersonal choice is central as assume how act with victim similar in everyday, forensic awareness is someone who has been subject of police interrogation (helps to figure out who they are)

Question 10

Geographical Profiling

Answer 10

significance of time and place may indicate where offender lives, uses information of linked crime scenes to make inferences of home/operational base, restrict work to geographical areas so establish centre of gravity, crime mapping, create hypothesis of how offender thinks, educated guess of where next, spatial decision making offers insight into offender, creates on of two offenders, marauder - close proximity, or commuter - travel distance (Canter’s Circle Theory)

Question 11

Strength 1

Answer 11

evidence to support investigative psychology (Canter and Heritage)

Question 12

Strength 2

Answer 12

evidence to support geographical profiling (Lundrigan and Canter)

Question 13

Weakness

Answer 13

there have been some mixed results for profiling (Copson)