The 'top-down' approach- FORENSICS Flashcards

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1
Q
  • What country does top-downprofiling occur in?
  • Give a summary
A
  • happens in the USA
  • This is where FBI specialists infer personality and behavioural traits of an offender by detailed analysis of how they have committed a crime
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2
Q

What is typology?
- what are the 2 categories of offender?

A
  • typology is a top-down approach
  • broad distinction between organised and disorganised offenders
  • based off interviews of 36 serial sex offenders—–> organised/disorganised typology can be applied to all sexually motivated murders and some arson cases
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3
Q
  • Who proposed frameworks for distinguishing types of offender?
  • List some organised and disorganised offender characteristics
A
  • Ressler proposed frameworks

ORGANISED=
- planning
- victim targeting
- orderly crime scene
- high intelligence
- socially competent

DISORGANISED=
- unplanned
- random victim
- body in open view
- unskilled
- socially inadequate

Profiles help investigators to narrow their pool of suspects and focus their investigation

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4
Q

What are the 7 decision making tools used in typology?

A
  • location factors
  • murder type
  • primary intent
  • victim risk
  • offender risk
  • escalation
  • time factors

these help to distinguish the offender as organised or disorganised

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5
Q

What are the 4 stages in the construction of an FBI profile

A

1= DATA ASSIMILATION

2= CRIME SCENE CLASSIFICATION (ORGANISED/ DISORGANISED)

3= CRIME RECONSTRUCTION

4= PROFILE GENERATION

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6
Q

ORGANISED OFFENDER:
1- behaviour towards victim
2-crime scene characteristics
3-likely personality and behaviour
4- background of criminal

A

1= victim targeted, aggressive
2= body hidden, weapon removed, orderly scene, attempt to clear up
3= high intelligence, socially competent, lives with a partner
4= high birth order, inconsistent discipline as a child

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7
Q

DISORGANISED OFFENDER:
1- behaviour towards victim
2- crime scene characteristics
3- personality and behaviour
4- background of criminal

A

1= random victim, unplanned
2= weapon present, leaves evidence, body in open view
3=low intelligence, socially inadequate, lives alone, unskilled employment
4=low birth order, harsh discipline as a child

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8
Q

Typology AO3- limitations

A
  • over emphasis on intuition, lack of scientific evidence
  • can only be used in case of murder and rape, limited applicability
    —–> but in 2017 it was applied to a burglary , showed 85% increase in solved cases in 3 US states so now has wider application
  • having 2 categories of criminals is simplistic, likely that criminals don’t fit neatly into each category, too restrictive
  • each crime scene is unique, many variables that should be accounted for, difficult to apply
  • interviews conducted to establish 2 categories were with a limited sample
  • argument that behaviour is driven by the situation rather than the personality type –> ineffective
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9
Q

Typology AO3- Canter study

A

AIM= test validity of organised/disorganised categories

METHOD= info from 100 murders by 100 serial killers, each case assessed for 39 characteristics identified as O or D/O

RESULTS= a subset of organised characteristics found to be typical of most serial killers, disorganised was much rarer and didn’t occur enough to be considered a type

CONC= no clear distinction between organised and disorganised.
BEING ORGANISED IS A CORE CHARACTERISTIC OF BEING A SERIAL KILLER AS A WHOLE.

  • study gives validity to organised category

GODWIN said that organised-disorganised is a continuum as most killers have multiple contrasting characteristics and don’t fit into 1 type.

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10
Q

AO3- Research support- the case of Arthur Shawcross

A
  • he murdered 11 women in NY, key part of his profile was that he’d return to the dead victims later to re-experience the pleasure of the killing.
  • police set up surveillance of his 11th victim and they found him near the body
  • PROFILE WAS VERY ACCURATE—–> PROVIDES REAL LIFE SUPPORT
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11
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