The Top-Down Approach

Question 1

What is Offender Profiling?

Answer 1

• Narrowing down the list of likely suspects when solving crimes
• Done by Professional profilers
• Compiling of a profile involves careful scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of other evidence (including witness reports) to generate hypothesis about characteristics of the offender

Question 2

What is the Top-Down approach?

Answer 2

• originated in US
• FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit drew upon data from in depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated murderers e.g Bundy and Manson
• Data catagorised by disorganised and organised crimes
• Offender profilers who use top-down approach collect data about a murder and decide the category

Question 3

What does an Organised Offender look like?

Answer 3

• Planned the crime in advance
• Victim is deliberately targeted and suggests criminal has a ‘type’
• High degree of control during the crime and operate with surgical precision
• Little clues/evidence left behind
• Above average intelligence
• Skilled professional occupation
• Socially and sexually competent
• Usually married and have children

Question 4

What does a Disorganised Criminal look like?

Answer 4

• Little evidence of planning (spontaneous)
• Body still at the scene
• Little control during the crime - Lower than average IQ
• Unskilled work or unemployed
• Sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
• Live alone and relatively close to where the offense took place

Question 5

How is an FBI Profile Constructed?

Answer 5

4 Main Stages:
- Data Assimilation: profiler reviews evidence
- Crime Scene Classification: as either organised or disorganised
- Crime Reconstruction: Hypothesis in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim etc
- Profile Generation: Hypothesis related to the likely offender e.g demographic background, physical characteristics