The Top - Down Approach Flashcards
What is offender profiling?
This is also known as ‘criminal profiling’, a behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown characteristics
What is the main aim of offender profiling?
To narrow the field of enquiry and the list of likely suspects when solving crimes
When is offender profiling typically used?
During the investigation of serious crimes, especially high - profile murder cases
Who are professional profilers, what is their role?
Professional profilers are specialists who work alongside the police to help solve crimes by creating offender profiles
What does the [process of compiling an offender profile usually involve?
Careful scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of the evidence, including witness reports
What kind of hypotheses are generated in offender profiling?
Hypotheses about the offender’s probable characteristics, such as their age, background and occupation
Why is the analysis of the crime scene crucial in offender profiling?
It provides important evidence that helps form a psychological and behavioural profile of the offender
What is the basis for the organised and disorganised distinction in offender profiling?
It is based on the idea that offenders have specific ‘ways of working’ (modus operandi) that correlate with certain social and psychological characteristics
What are the 4 key characteristics of an organised offenders?
- They plan crimes with deliberately targeted victims
- Maintain a high level of control during crime
- Leave little evidence behind
- Have above average IQ and are socially and sexually competent
What does the crime scene of a disorganised offender typically reflect?
The impulsive nature of the crime, with little control, and the body usually left at the scene
What are four key characteristics of a disorganised offender?
- They do spontaneous and impulsive crimes, that are minimally planned
- They have a lower IQ
- Are unskilled and unemployed
- Have history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
How do organised offenders typically relate to their victims?
The victim is deliberately targeted and often reflects the offender’s ‘type’
Where do disorganised offenders often live in relation to the crime scene?
Relatively close to where the offence took place
WHat happens during the data assimilation stage of FBI profiling?
The profiler reviews the evidence, such as crime scene photographs and pathology reports
What are the four main stages in the construction of an FBI profile?
- Data assimilation
- Crime scene classification
- Crime reconstruction
- Profile generation
What is the purpose of the crime scene classification in FBI profiling?
To classify the crime scene as either organised or disorganised
What occurs during the crime reconstruction stage of FBI profiling?
The profiler creates hypotheses about the sequence of event sand the behaviour of the victim and offender
What is the aim of the profile generation stage in FBI profiling?
To form hypothesis about the likely offender’s demographic background, physical characteristics and behaviour
At which stage of FBI profiling is the offender classified as organised or disorganised?
Crime scene classification stage
What is a limitation of the top - down approach?
(lack of generalisability + not applicable to all crimes)
One limitation of top - down profiling is it only applies to particular crimes.
For example with crimes scenes that reveal important details about the suspect, like rape and arson crimes.
More common offences such as burglary and destruction of property and not lend themselves to profiling because the resulting crime scene reveals very little about the offender.
This shows this approach is limited for identify criminals
What is a limitation of the top - down approach? (old fashioned models + poor validiity)
The classification system is based on the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour and motivations that remain consistent across situation and contexts.
Several critics have suggested this approach is informed by old fashioned models of personality.
These models see behaviour as being driven by stable dispositional traits rather than external factors that may be constantly changing.
This means the top - down approach, is likely to have poor validity when identifying possible suspects or trying to predict their next move
What is a limitation of the top - down approach? (evidence does not support the disorganized offender)
There is evidence that does not support the ‘disorganised offender’.
David Canter et al used a technique called smallest space analysis, to analyse data from 100 murders in the US.
The details of each case were examined with reference to 39 characteristics thought to be typical to organised and disorganised killers.
Although, the findings suggested evidence of a distinct organized type, this was not the case for disorganised which seems to undermine the classification system as a whole.
Nevertheless, the organised/disorganised distinction is still used as a model for professional profilers in the US
What is a limitation of the top - down approach? (mutually exclusive + more detailed models)
The behaviours that describe each of the organized and disorganised types are not mutually exclusive, as a variety of factors could play out during a crime scene.
This has prompted researchers to propose more detailed typological models.
For instance, Ronald Holmes suggested there are four types of serial killers: visionary, mission, hedonistic and power/control
