Forensic Psychology - 2. Offender Profiling: The Bottom-Up Approach

Question 1

What does the bottom-up approach start with? What follows?

Answer 1

Starts with evidence from the crime scene (including forensics, DNA, fingerprints etc).
Followed by scientific and statistical predictions which are made based on evidence from the crime scene and other scenes

Question 2

Why is the bottom-up approach objective?

Answer 2

Because it’s not up to the profiler’s opinion about the crime scene as only concrete evidence is acquired

Question 3

Where does the bottom-up approach originate from? When?

Answer 3

Britain in 1990

Question 4

Who developed the bottom-up approach?

Answer 4

Canter

Question 5

What does the bottom-up approach help to show?

Answer 5

Helps to show how and why variations in criminal behaviour occur

Question 6

Assumption made by the bottom-up approach

Answer 6

Assumes that offenders will behave consistently across a series of crimes

Question 7

Two key elements of the bottom-up approach

Answer 7

Geographical profiling
Investigative psychology

Question 8

Geographical profiling

Answer 8

Looks at patterns in the location and timing of offences to make judgements about links between crimes and suggestions about where offenders live and work

Question 9

Why is Geographical profiling concerned with where offenders live?

Answer 9

Because offenders are more likely to commit a crime near to where they live according to research

Question 10

Why are locations of connected crimes analysed under Geographical profiling?

Answer 10

To see where the crimes are committed and the links between crime scenes

Question 11

Two key psychologists of Geographical profiling

Answer 11

Canter and Larkin (C and L)

Question 12

What theory did C and L develop in 1993 and what does it suggest? (Geographical profiling)

Answer 12

Developed the circle theory which suggested that offenders commit crimes within an imagined geographical circle

Question 13

Two types of offenders developed by C and L (Geographical profiling)

Answer 13

Marauder (offender who commits crime near where they live)
Commuter (offender who travels to another area to commit crime)

Question 14

What is Dragnet?

Answer 14

Canter developed a computerised system called Dragnet, which uses information about the location of offences to predict where an offender is likely to live

Question 15

Investigative psychology

Answer 15

Uses established psychological theories to predict offender characteristics from offending behaviour

Question 16

What is every crime recorded onto? (Investigative psychology)

Answer 16

A database

Question 17

How is the database used in Investigative psychology?

Answer 17

Details of each new crime are matched with the database in order to develop hypotheses about the likely characteristics of offender

Question 18

How does behaviour of offending link to behaviour of everyday life?

Answer 18

People are consistent in their behaviour and therefore there will be links between how someone behaves when offending and behaviour in everyday life

Question 19

Positive evaluation of bottom-up approach: Copson

Answer 19

Copson stated that 75% of police found the approach useful in narrowing down offenders

Question 20

Positive evaluation of bottom-up approach: holistic

Answer 20

More holistic than top-down approach as it draws on a variety of psychological methods

Question 21

Positive evaluation of bottom-up approach: validity

Answer 21

Can be used for a wider range of crimes, giving it high validity

Question 22

Negative evaluation of bottom-up approach: generic

Answer 22

C and L found in 45% of sexual assaults, 91% of offenders were marauders which may suggest this is too generic and may apply to to many people

Question 23

Negative evaluation of bottom-up approach: circle theory

Answer 23

Simplifying an imaginary circle is problematic and may not be as scientific as suggested