Offender Profiling Flashcards by Ellis Outterside

what is offender profiling

an investigate technique used to narroiw down the list of suspects by identifying the major physical and behavioural characterisitics of the offedner

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what are the tweo types of profiling

top down
bottom up

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explain how the top down approach works

use pre established typologies and patterns of behaviour to classifiy the offenders into specirfic categories
organised or non organised

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explain an organised offender

evidence of planning the crime
victim targeted
offender has high degree of control
above average intelligence
socially and sexually competent

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explain a disorganised offender

little evidence of planning
impulsive
lower than average intelligence
live alone

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explain what the top down approach is

relies on previous experience and intuition of the profiler
ressler, burgass and douglas created two categories: organised and disorganised

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give two characteristics of the crime scene for a disorganised and organised offender

disorganised - body not hidden, evidence present
organised - planned, controls (restraints)

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what are the 4 stages to the FBI’s top down approach

data assimilation
crime scene classification
crime reconstruction
profile generation

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explain stage 1 of the top down approach

data assimilation

map of victims travel
background details of victim
complete investogate report of the incident

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explain stage 2 of the top down approach

crime scence classification

profilers decide wether the crime scence represnets an organised or disorganised offender

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explain stage 3 of the top down approach

crime reconstruction

hypothesis generated about what happened during crime

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explain stage 4 of the top down approach

profile generation

profilers generate “sketch” of offender
includes demographic and physical characterisitics

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give supporting research for the top down approach

canter et al

analysed 100 US murder cases
revealed there seems to be a set of features which matched the FBI’s typlogies for organised offenders

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give discrediting research into the top down approach

godwin

argues cant classify killers as one or the other type
killers may have contrasting characterisitcs

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give a strength of the top down approach

supporting evidence - canter et al

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give 2 limitations of the top down approach

discrediting evidence - godwin
only applies to limited number of cases
offender may start disorganised and bceome more organised as they develop their skills

strength

give a PEELH for the top down approach

P - supporting evidence
Eg, canter et al. reviewed 100 murder cases and found there is a set of features thsat match the typology of organised offender
Ex - suggets offenders can be categorised based on their crime scene behaviour, reinforcing the validity of the top down approach
L - law enforcement can use this to narrow down suspect pools, increasing the effectiveness of investigations
H - can only be applied to a limited number of crimes such as murder and rape so limits its overall applicability

limitation

give a PEELH for the top down approach

P - oversimplifies by classifying criminals into two distinct categories
Eg - godwin - cant classify killers as one or the other type
Ex - the approach lacks flexibility and may lead to inaccurate profiling as real life offenders often exhibit a mix of behaviours
L - law inforcement may be mislead
H - can still provide useful insight into some cases

what is the bottom up approach

profilers work up from evidence collectred from the crime scene to develop hypotheses about the likely characterisitics of the offender

what is investigative psychology

a form of bottom up profiling based on statistical analysis and psychological theory

what is geographical profiling

a form of bottom up profiling based on the patterns shown by the locations of a series of crimes

what are the 5 factors to the bottom up approach

interpersonal coherence
time and place significance
criminal characteristics
criminal career
forensic awareness

explain stage 1 of the bottom up approach

interpersonal coherence

persons interactional style w their victims may suggest how they act w other people
eg, if aggressive w victim may be aggressive w personal relationships

explain stage 2 of the bottom up approach

time and place significance

location is chosen by the offender so it is significant
offenders feel comfortable in places they know

explain stage 3 of the bottom up approach | criminal characteristics

* how the crime has been committed suggets some of the offenders characteristics * based on evidence

explain stage 4 of the bottom up approach | criminal career

* following crimes done by the same offender chan ge due to becoming more crimninally experienced

explain stage 5 of the bottom up approach | forensic awareness

* the criminal shows knowledge of the justice system * the criminal becomes more forensically aware

what are the 3 assumptions of geographucal profiling

1. least effort principle 2. distance decay 3. circle of gravity theory

explain the least effort principle

* if an offender has an option between two criminally attractive places they will choose the one closest to them

explain distance decay

* the number of crimes will redcue the further away from the offenders base * offenders leave a buffer zone around their house

explain circle of gravity theory

* crimes they commit radiate out from their homes, creating a circle * if a circle is drawn that encompeses all of the crimes (furthest crimes on rim) then offenders base will be in m iddle of the circle

what is a maurauder offender

operates in close proximity to their home

what is a commuter offender

likelty travels a far distance away from their usual residence

give supporting evidence for the bottom up approach

lundrigan and canter * collected info from 120 murder cases * analysios revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of the killings * the disposal site created a centre of gravity, creating a circle effect around their home base

give unsupporting evidence of the bottom up approach

capson * only 3% of cases did it lead to accurate identification of the offender

give a PEELH for the bottom up approach | strength

* P - supported by emprical evidence * Eg - lundrigan and canter. analysed 120 murder cases and found spatial consistency played a key role in identifying offenders * Ex - shows offenders trend to operate within a defined geographical area * L - strengthens the bottom up approach as it provides statistical backing, making it more reliable than top down methods * H - may not always be successfull as not all offenders exhibit clear geographical patterns

give a PEELH for the bottom up approach | limitation

* P - not always reliable * Eg - copson. found only 3% of cases where profiling lead to accurate offender * Ex - the approach rarely provides conclusive results, limiting its practical application * L - low success rates raise concerns about its overall reliability * H - the approach has improved over time with advancements in geographical profiling, potentially injcreasing its accuracy