Profiling: Top-Down Approach

Question 1

What is offender profiling (in general)?

Answer 1

A behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile characteristics of unknown criminals.

Question 2

Is the top-down approach an American or British approach?

Answer 2

American - used by the FBI.

Question 3

When was the top-down approach developed?

Answer 3

It was developed by the FBI in the 1970s.

Question 4

Where was the data used for the top-down approach gathered from?

Answer 4

Gathered from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.

Question 5

Why is the top-down approach also known as the typology approach?

Answer 5

The method will place crime and the offender into a pre-existing template that places them in one of two categories.

Question 6

What are the four stages involved in constructing an FBI profile?

Answer 6

• Data assimilation
• Crime scene classification
• Crime reconstruction
• Profile generation

Question 7

What are the two typologies of the top-down approach?

Answer 7

Organised and Disorganised.

Question 8

What is data assimilation?

Answer 8

The profiler reviews the evidence (crime scene photographs, pathology reports etc).

Question 9

What is crime reconstruction?

Answer 9

Hypotheses in terms of the sequence of events, behaviour of the victim etc.

Question 10

What is the general premise behind classifying offenders as organised or disorganised?

Answer 10

It is thought that these generally correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics that relate to the individual.

Question 11

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
There are little to no clues left behind at the scene.

Answer 11

Organised.

Question 12

What is crime scene classification?

Answer 12

Classification as either organised or disorganised.

Question 13

What is profile generation?

Answer 13

Hypotheses related to the likely offender.

Question 14

In the top-down down approach, murderers or rapists are classified as what?

Answer 14

One of the two typologies (Organised and Disorganised).

Question 15

Name some characteristics of a disorganised murder:

Answer 15

• Little planning / preparation.
• Little attempt to hide the evidence at the scene.
• Minimal use of constraint.
• Random, disorganised behaviour.

Question 16

Name some characteristics of a disorganised offender:

Answer 16

• Lower than average IQ.
• Lives alone, near to crime scene.
• Socially and sexually incompetent.
• Unskilled occupation or unemployed.
• Physically / sexually abused in childhood.
• Frightened and confused at the time of attack.

Question 17

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They tend to be in unskilled work or employment.

Answer 17

Disorganised.

Question 18

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They may operate with an almost surgically detached precision.

Answer 18

Organised.

Question 19

Name some characteristics of an organised offender:

Answer 19

• Higher than average IQ.
• Married / co-habiting.
• Socially and sexually competent.
• Skilled occupation.
• Follows media coverage of crime.
• Experiencing anger / depression at time of the offence.

Question 20

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They often have a history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships.

Answer 20

Disorganised.

Question 21

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They tend to have a lower than average IQ.

Answer 21

Disorganised.

Question 22

What are organised offenders?

Answer 22

An offender who shows evidence of planning, targets the victim and tends to be socially and sexually competent with higher than average intelligence.

Question 23

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They are usually married with children.

Answer 23

Organised.

Question 24

What are disorganised offenders?

Answer 24

An offender who shows little evidence of planning, leaves clues and tends to be socially and sexually incompetent with lower than average intelligence.

Question 25

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They are often in a skilled, professional occupation.

Answer 25

Organised.

Question 26

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They tend to be socially and sexually competent.

Answer 26

Organised.

Question 27

Name some characteristics of an organised murder:

Answer 27

• Crime is planned.
• Shows self control at the crime scene.
• Leaves few clues.
• Victim is a targeted stranger.
• Attempts to control the victim.

Question 28

Is the following a characteristic of an organised or disorganised criminal:
They tend to live alone relatively close to where the crime took place.

Answer 28

Disorganised.

Question 29

AO3: Wider application.

Answer 29

This type of profiling is only useful in cases where the crime scene reveals important details about the offender such as: rape, arson, and cult – or even crimes that have unique practices such as sadistic killings. Common offences such as burglaries or assault do not lend themselves to profiling. Therefore, it has only limited applications.

Question 30

AO3: Outdated personality models.

Answer 30

The approach is based upon static models of personality, the system assumes that offenders have patterns of behaviour and motivations that are consistent over situations and time. This has been called ‘old-fashioned’ as the newer personality models identify that personality is highly changeable and has numerous factors.

Question 31

AO3: Evidence support.

Answer 31

Canter (2004) analysed 39 aspects of serial killings in murders committed by 100 US serial killers. Their analysis revealed no clear division between organised and disorganised types of offender. Instead they found subsets of organised crimes and little evidence for disorganised types.

Question 32

AO3: Simplistic classification.

Answer 32

By splitting offenders into only two categories is too simple to explain all crimes. Turvey (1999) suggests that the dichotomy between organised and disorganised is false as it is more likely to be a continuum.

Question 33

AO3: Original sample.

Answer 33

There were issues with the original sample, this approach was developed using interviews with 36 in the US. 25 were serial, the other 11 were single or double murderers. This is a small and unrepresentative sample upon which to base a classification system, it is also based on self-report methods from killers.

Question 34

AO3: Negative application.

Answer 34

There is a real danger that misprofiling can lead an investigation no-where. Jackson and Bekerian (1997) suggest that smart offenders can read about how profiles are constructed and deliberately mislead them using clues.