Offender Profiling: Top-Down Approach Flashcards
Who was it originally developed by?
The FBI
What was it initially used for?
To solve extreme cases of murder
Why may this approach not be seen as scientific?
It is about the profiler using their previous knowledge to gain a feel of the likely offeneder
What are the 6 stages?
- Profiling inputs
- Decision process models
- Crime assessment
- Criminal profile
- Crime assessment
- Apprehension
What is profiling inputs?
Collect a description of crime scene including photos, background information about the victims and details of the crime
What are decision process models?
Profiler begins to organise data into patterns, including murder type, time and location
What is crime assessment?
The crime is classified as organised or disorganised and the offender assumed to correspond with those types
What is criminal profile?
A profile is constructed including hypotheses about their background, habits and other facts, this allows the investigation to anticipate the offenders next move
What is crime assessment?
A written report is given to the investigating angency and people who matches the profile are identified, if new information is gathered then the process returns to step 2
What is apprehension?
If a suspect is apprehended then the entire process is reviewed to check that at each stage the conclusion we’re legitimate and consider how the process may be revised in the future
What is an example of top-down profiling?
Ted Bundy, he was identified as an organised type of offender
What did Ted Bundy do?
He was intelligent having a degree in psychology and law, he had serious relationships and was married, he confessed the the murder of 30 women but it could have been higher, he used his knowledge of the law to cover up his crimes
What are 3 evaluation points?
- Restricts applicability: only used in crimes of murder and rape
- Very simplistic: only 2 main categories of criminals, may not fit either
- Lack of theoretical foundation: relies on intuition
