forensic psych Flashcards
(4 cards)
TOP DOWN APPROACH
Ao1
USA, Ressler, Burgess and Douglas
interviewed 36 most serious serial killers, sorted into two categories based on modus operandi
ORGANISED:
- planned, control and precision
- good forensic awareness (no evidence)
- intelligent and socially competent
- specific victim typology
DISORGANISED:
- lack of planning/ forensic awareness
- low intelligence, social skills and employment history
- no victim typology and little interest afterwards
4 main stages of profiling:
1) data assimilation
2) crime scene classification (o/d)
3) crime reconstruction
4) profile generation
TOP DOWN APPROACH
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Canter studied 100 killings, used small space analysis found subset of behaviours matching organised profile.
- Meketa recently used for burglary, 85% rise in solved cases in 3 states. adds interpersonal and opportunistic
LIMITATIONS
- androcentrism and lack of generalisability (men and violent/severe crimes)
- Canter FBI did not use large sample and questions were not standardised
BOTTOM UP APPROACH
Ao1
British, uses analysis of crime scene and historical data rather than set typologies.
1) INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
interpersonal coherence
significance of time and place
forensic awareness
2) GEOGRAPHICAL PROFILING
spatial consistency, crime mapping, modus operandi
canter and larkin
marauders vs commuters
john duffy railway rapist - put together personality and geographical profile and he got caught
BOTTOM UP APPROACH
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- people are consistent in behaviour - canter and heritage analysed 66 assaults, found common factors and individual patterns, can help decide if same offender
- evidence for geo profiling - canter found home base and crimes in a circle, help locate
LIMITATIONS
- mixed results for police - 83% useful, only 3% successful identification
- significant failures - e.g. in Nickel case real perpatrator originally ruled out as 4 inches too tall and someone else convicted.
