The Top-Down Approach Flashcards
Who devised the Top-Down Approach?
American FBI agents in the 1970’s
What is the Top-Down Approach?
A method of offender profiling which sifts crime into two fixed typologies based on evidence from the crime scene (e.g. whether the crime appeared to be planned), from which profilers can predict likely characteristics about the offender
How was the Top-Down Approach devised?
From data gathered from in-depth interviews with 30+ sexually-motivated murderers, including Ted Bundy
What 2 categories does the Top-Down Approach sift crime into?
Organised and Disorganised
What evidence categories a crime as Organised?
- That the crime was planned in advance
- That victim was deliberately targeted (e.g. because they’re a conventionally attractive woman)
- That the offender maintained a high level of control during the crime, leaving little evidence behind
What evidence categories a crime as Disorganised?
- That the crime wasn’t planned, and was a spontaneous act
- That the offender maintained little control during the crime
- The body being left at the scene
What are likely characteristics of an Organised offender?
- High IQ
- Being in a skilled profession
- Appearing socially and sexually competent
- Married, perhaps with children
What are likely characteristics of a Disorganised offender?
- Below-average IQ
- Being unemployed or in unskilled work
- A history of failed relationships and sexual dysfunction
- Living alone
What is Canter et al’s conflicting evidence in terms of categorising crime as disorganised?
He analysed 100 US murderers with reference to the characteristics of organised and disorganised crime and found no evidence of disorganised
Why has the Top-Down Approach based praised?
It is evidence-based
What are the issues with the sample used to establish the Top-Down Approach? (3 Points)
- Small sample size
- Utilised self-report methods
- All were sexually-motivated murderers
What did Meketa (2017) conclude about the Top-Down Approach in terms of non-violent crime?
When implemented in cases of burglary in the US, it led to an 85% increase in solved cases, suggesting the Top-Down Approach has a wider application than the sample size used to establish it suggests
