Forensics

Question 1

What is ‘Offender profiling’?

Answer 1

Offender profiling is a behavioural and analytic tool that is used to solve crimes. Helps investigators narrow down number of suspects and their possible characteristics.

Question 2

What is the ‘Top-down approach’?

Answer 2

The top-down approach is a type of offender profiling where profilers have a pre-existing categories of offenders (Organised & disorganised). They then use evidence from the crimes to classify the offender as one type or the other.

Question 3

What are some possible characteristics of ‘Organised offenders’?

Answer 3

• Average to high intelligence.
• Have a car in good working order.
• In a skilled professional occupation.
• Socially and sexually competent.

Question 4

What are some possible characteristics of ‘Disorganised offenders’?

Answer 4

• Below average intelligence.
• Little evidence of planning (spontaneous act).
• Victim is likely to be random.
• Tends to live alone and relatively close to where the crime took place.

Question 5

What are the six steps to the Top Down approach? (Douglas 2006)

Answer 5

Step 1: Profiling inputs.

Step 2: Decision process model.

Step 3 : Crime assessment 1.

Step 4: Criminal profile.

Step 5: Crime assessment 2.

Step 6: Apprehension.

Question 6

Outline ‘Step 1’ of the Top-down approach?

Answer 6

Step 1 = ‘Profiling inputs’. In this stage all information of the crime is taken into account, no subjects considered yet.

Question 7

Outline ‘Step 2’ of the Top-down approach?

Answer 7

Step 2 = ‘Decision process model’. In this stage the profiler starts to make decisions about the data and organises it into meaningful patterns. Including murder type, time factors and location factors.

Question 8

Outline ‘Step 3’ of the top-down approach?

Answer 8

Step 3 = ‘Crime assessment 1’. Based on the data collected the crime is categorised as organised or disorganised. From this we know the type of offender and therefore their likely characteristics.

Question 9

Outline ‘Step 4’ of the top-down approach?

Answer 9

Step 4 = ‘Criminal profile’. Profile of the offender is now constructed. Includes hypotheses about their likely background, habits and beliefs of the offender. This is used to work out a strategy to catch the offender.

Question 10

Outline ‘Step 5’ of the top-down approach?

Answer 10

Step 5 = ‘Crime assessment 2’. A written report is given to the police and people matching the profile are evaluated. If new evidence is generated and/or no suspect is identified process goes back to step 2.

Question 11

Outline ‘Step 6’ of the top-down approach?

Answer 11

Step 6 = ‘Apprehension’. If a suspect is apprehended, the whole process is reviewed to make sure that conclusions at each stage are valid and consider how the process could be revised for future cases.

Question 12

What did David Canter say about profiling?

Answer 12

David Canter said that profiling should be based on psychological theory and research, therefore leading to the creation of the bottom-up approach.

Question 13

What is the ‘Bottom-up approach’?

Answer 13

The ‘Bottom-up approach’ is the UK method of offender profiling. It involves objective evidence to predict things about the criminals rather than using subjective methods like the FBI. Was developed by Canter who was hired to catch the railway rapist. His model is known as the ‘Five factor model’. The steps are performed in no particular order.

Question 14

What are the five stages of Canters ‘Five factor model?

Answer 14

• Interpersonal coherence.
• Time and place (Geographical profiling).
• Criminal characteristics.
• Criminal career.
• Forensic awareness.

Question 15

What is ‘Atavistic form’?

Answer 15

Atavistic form is an early biological explanation that suggested that criminals are a subspecies of genetic throwbacks that can’t conform to the modern rules of society. The theory said they are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics.

Question 16

How did Lombroso try and find evidence to support ‘Atavistic form’?

Answer 16

To try and support atavistic form Lombroso investigated the facial and cranial features of hundreds of both living and dead italian criminals. After examining 3839 living criminals he concluded that 40% of crimes were accounted for by atavistic characteristics.

Question 17

Name Lombroso’s ‘Atavistic form’ characteristics?

Answer 17

• FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS: Narrow sloping brow, strong prominent jaw, facial asymmetry and high cheekbones.
• BODILY FEATURES: Dark skin, extra toes, knipples or fingers.
• OTHER CHARACTERISTICS: Insensitivity to pain, use of slang, tattoos and unemployment.

Question 18

What did Lombroso say were the characteristics of murderers?

Answer 18

Lombroso said that murders should have bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears.

Question 19

What did Lombroso say were the characteristics of sexual deviants?

Answer 19

Glinting eyes, swollen and fleshy lips.

Question 20

What did Lombroso say were the characteristics of Fraudsters?

Answer 20

Thin and reedy lips.

Question 21

What did Kretschmer and Sheldon say about somatotypes and crime?

Answer 21

Ectomorph: Tall and thin: Petty Crimes:
Mesomorph: Tall and Muscular/average: Violent crimes.
Endomorph: Short and Fat: Deception.
Mixed: More than one of above: Crimes against morality.

Question 22

What may low levels of neurotransmitter serotonin pre expose individuals to?

Answer 22

Aggression.

Question 23

What does the CDH13 gene and Cadherin protein do and why does this lead to crime?

Answer 23

• Slows down axon growth
• Slows down the natural death of vascular cells.

Lack of development of neural pathways in criminals explains why they can’t empathise and control impulses as those parts of their brains haven’t formed properly.

Question 24

What is the prefrontal cortex responsible for?

Answer 24

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for the area that is responsible for regulating emotion and controlling moral behaviour.

Question 25

What differences in the limbic systems are found in criminals?

Answer 25

Asymmetry is often found in murders and violent criminals. One side is usually more developed, especially in the amygdala.

Question 26

What did Eysenck’s theory suggest?

Answer 26

Eysenck suggested that criminal behaviour is caused by a criminal personality, he argued that the criminal personality type is of biological origin and the type of immune system that we inherit.

Question 27

What did Eysenck say about Extroverts in terms of crime?

Answer 27

Extraverts have a chronically under-aroused nervous system, meaning they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking and dangerous behaviours, which may explain some offending behaviour.

Question 28

What are Cognitive Distortions?

Answer 28

Cognitive distortions are faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking. A person’s perception of events is wrong but they think it’s accurate. This allows criminals to deny or rationalise their behaviour.

Question 29

What are two examples of Cognitive Distortions?

Answer 29

Hostile attribution bias and minimilisation?

Question 30

What is Hostile attribution bias?

Answer 30

HAB is the tendency to misinterpret or mislead other peoples actions, words and/or threatening when in reality they are not. Allows offenders to rationalise their behaviour.

Question 31

What is Minimalisation?

Answer 31

Minimalisation is the attempt to downplay the seriousness of one’s own offence to explain the consequences as less significant or damaging than they really are.

Question 32

What are the six stages of Kohlberg’s moral theory?

Answer 32

Preconventional morality:

1. ) Punishment orientation: Reasoning whether or not it will lead to punishment.
2. ) Reward orientation: Reasoning based on what is to be gained.

Conventional morality:

3. ) Good boy/girl orientation: Praise/ what others expect.
4. ) Social order orientation: Based on doing duties as a citizen.

Post-conventional morality:

5. ) Social contract+individual rights: Democratic rules can be challenged if they infringe on the rights of others.
6. ) Conscience orientation: Based on one’s own ethical principles.

Question 33

What are the two psychodynamic explanations of crime are?

Answer 33

• Inadequate superego.

- Maternal deprivation theory.

Question 34

Outline inadequate superego as an explanation of offending?

Answer 34

Blackburn argued that if the superego is deficient or inadequate then offending is inevitable because the id is given ‘free reign’ and isn’t properly controlled.

Question 35

What are the three types of inadequate super-ego?

Answer 35

The weak/underdeveloped.
Deviant.
Over harsh/developed.

Question 36

Outline maternal deprivation as an explanation of offending?

Answer 36

If same/sex parent is absent during the phallic stage the child cannot internalise a superego as there is no opportunity for identification. This makes offending behaviour more likely because they are more likely to act on impulse for id satisfaction as they have little control over anti-social behaviour.

Question 37

What are the aims of Custodial sentencing?

Answer 37

Deterrence: You can put people off crime with punishments. (vicarious punishment.

Incapacitation: Offender is taken out of society to prevent reoffending.

Retribution: Society is enacting revenge. For the crime by making the offender suffer, this should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.

Rehabilitation: The offender can be reformed (made into a better person) through some form of therapy/education.

Question 38

What are the psychological effects of Custodial sentencing?

Answer 38

• Stress and depression
• Institutionalisation
• “Prisonization” (on edge)
• Overcrowding and lack of privacy
• Deindividuation
• Effects on the family
• Labelling
• Positive effects - resulting from opportunities, treatment,
  rehabilitation, remorse etc.