Top Down Approach Flashcards
Define offender profiling (2)
‘Criminal profiling’
- Behavioural & analytical tool - helps investigators accurately predict & profile characteristics of unknown criminal
define the top-down approach
Profiler start with pre established typology & workdown of crime scene→ to assign offender to 1/2 categories based on witness accounts & evidence from crime scene
Define organised offender (3)
- Offender who shows evidence of planning
- targets victim
- tends to be socially & sexually competent with higher than average intelligence
Define disordered offender (3)
Offender shows:
- Little evidence of planning - Leaves clues - Tends to be sexually & socially incompetent with lower to average intelligence
- Who and when is offender profiling used by and for
Police
When solving crimes
What is the main aim of offender profiling
Narrow field of enquiry by Listing likely suspects
When are professional profilers used
Along side police officers during high profile murder case
Where did td approach originate from/used
American approach
Who is td approach carried out by
FBI
What do offender profilers do when using typology approach (2)
Will match what’s known about crime & offender to pre-existing template that FBI developed
Murderers & rapists classified in 1/2 categories on basis of evidence⇒ informs subsequent police investigation
How was the typology approach constructed
FBI behavioural scene unit Drew up data’s gathered from in depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers
Who was one of the interviewers when constructing typology approach and there description (6)
Ted bundy= organised killer
Most notorious serial killers & rapist
Raped & tortured & brutally murdered 30 women (maybe higher) in US Handsome, charming & highly intelligent→ attended law school where he was excellent He feel in love with wealthy young women, attractive, dark parted in middle haired Killings followers gruesome pattern→ often raped before beating them to death
What are the 2 types of offenders suggested by td approach
- Organised
- Disorganised
What is the idea the types of offenders where based off in the td approach(2)
Serious offenders have certain signature ‘ways of working’= modus operandi
Generally correlate with particular set of social & psychological characteristics that relate to individual
Explain theory of organised offenders (6)
- Evidence of having planned crime in advance→ Deliberately targeted
- Reflect that killer/rapist has a type
- Maintain high degree of control during crime + operate with almost detached surgical precision
- Little evidence of clues left at scene
- Above average intelligence, skilled, professional occupation, socially & sexually competent
- usually married + have children
Explain theory of disorganised offender (4)
- Little evidence of planning→ spontaneous→ splurge of moment act
- Crime scene reflect impulsive nature of attack→ Body still at scene + very little control on offenders part
- Average IQ, unskilled at work/unemployed, often history of sexual dysfunction, failed relationships
- Tend to live alone + often close to where offence took place
What are the 4 main stages in constructing an FBI profile
- Data’s assignment
- Crime scene classification
- Crime reconstruction
- Profile generation
Explain these 4 stages in constructing an fbi profile
DA= profiler reviews evidence (crime scene photograph)
CSC= as whether organised or disorganised CR= hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of victim etc PG= hypotheses related to likely offender eg demographic background, psychical characteristics, behaviour etc
Evaluate how TD approach only applies to particular crimes (-ve) (2)
Best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about suspect eg rape, arson & cult killing & macabre practicing crimes→ sadistic torture, dissection of body & acting out fantasies
Common offences like burglary & destruction of property (even murder & assault when committing this)⇒ can not be profiled easily bc crime scenes reveal v little about offender Limited approach identifying criminal
Evaluate why TD based on outdated model of personality (-ve) (3)
Typology classification system based on assumption→ offender have patterns of behaviour & motivation that remains consistent across situation & context
Several critics⇒ Alison et al→ suggest approach is naive + informed by old fashioned models of personality that see behaviour as driven by stable disposition all traits rather than external factors that maybe consistently changing Based on static models of personality= poor validity when identifying possible suspects & predicting next move
evaluate evidence that doesn’t support disorganised offenders (-ve)
Canter et al= used technique called smallest space analysis
Analysed data from 100 murders in USA Detail of each case examined with reference to 39 characteristics thought to be typical of organised & disorganised killers Although findings did suggest evidence of distinct organised type→ was not case for disorganised⇒ seems undermine classification system as whole
Evaluate the typology approach sample (-ve)
36 killers in US→ 25 serial killers, 11 single/ double murders
Too small sample⇒ unrepresentative→ influences nature of police investigation Caster agued: not sensible rely on self report data with convicted killers when constructing classification system
