Offender Profilling Flashcards
Top down approach offender profiling
- It is an investigative tool employed by the police when solving crimes
- The main aim is to narrow the list of Likely suspects
- ## compiling a profile involves careful scrutiny of crime scene and analysis of evidence
The American approach
- Carried out by FBI in 1970s
- interviewed 36 sexually motivated murders and concluded the data could be categorised into organised or disorganised crimes
- each category had certain characteristics which meant that if data form a crime scene matched some of the characteristics of one category the other characteristics that would be likely can be predicted
Offender types - organised
Evidence of having planned the crime
Little evidence left at scene
Above average intelligence
Socially sexually competent
Skilled, professional occupation
Older sibling, inconsistent discipline
Offender type disorganised
Little evidence of planning the crime
Crime scene reflects impulsive nature of act
Lower then average IQ
Unskilled work unemployed
Sexua dysfunction and failed relationships
Live alone close to where offence took place
Constructing FBI profile
- Data assimilation - profile review evidence
- Crime scene classification - either organised or disorganised
- Crime reconstruction - hypothesis in terms of sequence of events behaviour of victim
- Profile generation - hypothesis related to likely offender
Research evidence of top down approach - McGray
Case of Arthur showcross
Raped and murdered women
Brought in a criminal profiler to create profile of offender
Only characteristic the profiler got wrong was age
This implies the top down profiling is an effective tool alongside the police
Research evidence for top down approach - canter
- looked at 100 murders carried out by serial killers
- using small space analysis
- found there was support for the organised typology but no support for the disorganised typology
This undermines the classification system
strength of top down approach - real life success
Profiling helped in high profile cases like the capture of green rune killer (ressler et al)
Strength of top down approach - high in ecological validity
Approach was created used by the FBI meaning templates used to profile offenders are based on real investigations into offenders and have been shaped through actual criminal investigations
This means top down approach to offender profiling is rooted in real practice so is highly generalised to current investigations
Limitation of the top down approach - specific sample
Based on specific sample of offender
Interviews focused on small group of extreme offenders whose crimes are not representative o the broad spectrum of criminal behaviour
So because of low population validity it is only suited to profiling extreme crimes so is limited
Limitation of top down approach - temporal validity
Criticise or lacking temporal validity and not recognising that personality is not stable
Approach assumes personality is a stable trait and is predictable
But personality is not stable and is changing constantly due to external factors
So approach is outdated and cannot account for unpredictability of change
Strength of top down approach - impact on crime scene analysis
There is symbiotic relationship between profilers and crime scene analysis and they positively influence each other
Crime scene analyst are becoming more aware of what data is needed from scenes to support development of a top down profile so can therefore be more informed in their assessments
So it suggests T.D approach can catch offenders more ways then one
What is the bottom up approach
Created by David canter
Revolves around data analysis and geographical profiling, investigative psychology and building a profile of an offender based on facts rather then instinct
What is investigative psychology
It matches details from crime scene with statistical analysis of typical offender behaviour patters based on psychological theory
Aim is to establish pattens of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scene
Investigative psychology focuses on key areas for analysis in order to build profile of the offender
Forensic awareness - uses quantity and type of evidence left behind at the scene of the crime to determine if offender has understanding about crime scene and investigations
Time an dplacce - location and time helps understand lifestyle of offender
Criminal career - data collected can infer whether offender has experienced of crimes
Interpersonal coherence - the way an offender behaves at sceneincluding interaction with victim
How does geographical profiling happen
It uses information about the location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likley home or operational base of an offender
What principle is geographical profiling based on
Spatial consistency which is the idea that people commit within a limited geographical space
What is the assumption about geographical profiling
That series offenders will restrict their work to geographical areas they are familiar with so understanding spatial pattern of behaviour provides investigator with centre off gravity likely to include offenders base
What is geographical profiling based of
Canter circle theory - pattern of offending forms circle around offenders home base
Geographical profiling operates along the assumption that series offender fall into two categories
What are they
Marauders - who operate in close proximity to their home base
Commuters - likely to have travelled a distance away form their usual residence
Why is recognising the spatial pattern important
It can offer investigative team important insight into the nature of an offence foe example whether it was planned or opportunistic
Research evidence supporting investigative psychology
Canter and heritage
- Analysis of 66 sexual assault cases
- Data examined using smallest space analysis
- several behaviour identified as common in different samples of behaviour such as lack of reaction to victim
- each individual displayed characteristic of pattern which c an help establish wether to or more offences were committed by same person
Supports that people are consistent in the behaviours
Counter argument to canter and heritage evidence that supports investigative psychology
Case linkage depends on database and this only consists of historical crimes that have been solved
The fact they were solved can be because it was straightforward to link crimes together
Makes it a circular argument
Suggest investigative psychology may tell us little about crimes that have few links between them and together remain unsolved
Research evidence for geographical profiling
Lundrigan and canter
- Collected info from 120 murder cases involving series killers in US
- Smallest space analysis revealed spatial consistency in behaviours of killer
- location of each body disposal site created centre of gravity because offender go in different direction each time they dispose a body which results in a circular effect around home base
Supports view geographical info can be used to identify offender
General Ao3 - geographical
Limitation as geographical profiling is insufficient
The geographical profiling relies on quality of data police can provide
Recording of crimes is not always accurate as 75% of comes are not reported to police
Questions utility of an approach that relies on accuracy of geographical data
Other factors are just as important when creating a profile such as age and experience
Suggest Gp alone may not always lead to the successful capture of an offender
Limitaton of bottom up approach tp offending profile - Kocsis et al
They tested the profiling skills of various police professionals compared to a sample of chemistry students.
Chemistry student produced more accurate offender profiles on a solved modern case then senior detectives
Showing profiles may involve less then guesswork
Strengths of the bottom up approach compared to top down approach
Bottom up approach takes a more objective approach then top down
It uses statistical methods which means it is ore reliable than other approaches to profiling
