the top down approach EVALUATION Flashcards

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1
Q

it only applies to particular crimes

A
  • Top-down profiling is best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect e.g. rape, murder
  • Common offences such as burglary reveal little about the offender
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2
Q

poor sample

A
  • Top down approach was based on interviews conducted with 36 murderers = classified as either organised or disorganised
  • Unrepresentative
  • Not random or large
  • No standard questions = no comparison
  • Doesn’t have a scientific basis
  • Lacks validity
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3
Q

too simplistic - Godwin 2002

A

Godwin 2002 = difficult to classify killers as one or the other type
- Could have multiple contrasting characteristics
- High intelligence and sexual competence, but commit a spontaneous murder, leaving the body at the crime scene
- Typology is more of a continuum, rather than one or the other

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4
Q

based on outdated models

A
  • It assumes that offenders’ patterns of behaviour and motivations are consistent across situations and contexts
  • Alison (2002) argues that this approach is based on outdated theories of personalities being stable
  • External, situational factors can be a major influence on offending and they are constantly changing
  • It lacks validity when it comes to identifying possible suspects
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