profiling- top-down approach

Question 1

offender profiling

Answer 1

behavioural and analytic tool intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown criminals
in order to narrow field of enquiry and suspect list

Question 2

top-down approach

Answer 2

profilers start with a pre-established typology and work down to lower levels in order to assign offenders to one/two categories based on evidence from the crime scene and witness accounts
- correlates an offenders modus operandi to a particular set of social to psychological characteristics

Question 3

background

Answer 3

originated in the US
data gathered from interviews by FBI’s Behaviour Science Unit
36 sexually motivated serial killers

Question 4

organised offenders- crime scene

Answer 4

• evidence of planning
• target a victim/type
• high degree of control/precision
• leave little evidence

Question 5

organised offenders- characteristics

Answer 5

• socially and sexually competent
• higher than avg intelligence
• skilled professional occupation
• usually married, may have children

Question 6

disorganised offenders- crime scene

Answer 6

• spontaneous and impulsive
• little evidence of planning
• little control
• leave a body

Question 7

disorganised offenders- characteristics

Answer 7

• socially and sexually incompetent
• lower than avg intelligence
• unskilled occupation/unemployed
• live alone (close to crime scene)

Question 8

stages of constructing FBI profile

Answer 8

1) Data Assimilation- review evidence
2) Crime Scene Classification- org or disorg
3) Crime Reconstruction- hypotheses e.g. sequence events and actions
4) Profile Generation- e.g. demographic, physical characteristics, etc.

Question 9

research support

Answer 9

canter (2004)- conducted smallest space analysis of 100 US murders (each diff serial killer). assessed co-occurence of 39 aspects of serial killings e.g. torture/restraint, cause of death, etc.
revealed that there is a subset of features for many killings which matched FBI’s typology for organised offenders.

key component of fbi typology approach has some validity

Question 10

counterpoint

Answer 10

organised and disorganised not mutually exclusive. variety of combinations occur at diff scenes.
godwin (2002)- diff to classify killers as one or the other type. multiple contrasting traits e.g. high intelligence and sexual competence, but commits spontaneous murder leading body at scence.

organised-disorganised typology probably more of a continuum.

Question 11

strength

wide application

Answer 11

meketa (2017)- applied to burglary, leading to 85% rise in solved cases in 3 US states. detection method retains organised-disorganised distinction but adds 2 categories: interpersonal (knows victim, steals item of signif) and opportunistic (inexperienced young offender).

wider applicaton than originally assumed. not just murder cases.

Question 12

limitation

flawed evidence

Answer 12

developed using interviews with 36 murderers in US. 25 serial, 11 single/double. 24 organised, 12 disorganised.
canter- poor sample. didn’t select random or large sample, didn’t include diff kinds of offender. no standard set of questions- each interview diff and uncomparable.

approach lacks sound, scientific basis.