Offender Profiling: Bottom-up approach

Question 1

steps of bottom up profiling

Answer 1

1. analysis of the crime evidence
2. psychological theory and stats analysis
3. creation of hypothesis of the probable characteristics of the offender

Question 2

who created Bottom-up profiling

Answer 2

David Canter, used this method to help police catch the ‘railway killer’ John duffy

Question 3

bottom-up profiling overview

Answer 3

• data driven
• profile made by making inferences from stats analysis of evidence at scene
• use knowledge of psych theories and stats analysis

Question 4

Investigative psychology

Answer 4

• interpersonal coherence
• smallest space analysis
• forensic awareness

Question 5

interpersonal coherence

Answer 5

• assume offenders behaviour remains the same whilst committing the crime
• can learn who they are by how they interact with their victim

Question 6

smallest space analysis

Answer 6

• stats analysis of crime scene evidence from many cases
• database built, enables police to find common patterns which provides offender characteristics

Question 7

offender charcateristics

Answer 7

• types of offenders
• significance of time and place (crime committed local to the offender)
• how experienced the offender is

Question 8

forensic awareness

Answer 8

• offenders knowledge of the criminal justice sys and potential previous subject of the police can provide info about who they are

Question 9

Geographical profiling

Answer 9

• developed by rosmo (97)- criminal geographical targeting
• based on the study of spatial behaviour
• an offenders operational base and future offences are linked

Question 10

crime mapping

Answer 10

• used to link local crime stats, local transport, and the geographical spread
• make inferences about the likely home or operational base, workplace, and social hangouts of the offender
• assume the serial killer will restrict their ‘work’ to areas they’re familiar with

Question 11

circle theory

Answer 11

• people operate within a limited spatial mindset
• creates imagined boundaries in which crimes are likely to be committed

Question 12

circle theory diagram

Answer 12

1. offenders home
2. buffer zone- no hunting, too close to home
3. hunting ‘comfort zone’, offender feels comfortable committing crimes
4. distance decay- too far from home, risk and cost too high to travel

Question 13

the marauder

Answer 13

the offender operates in close proximity to their home base

Question 14

the commuter

Answer 14

the offender is likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence

Question 15

strengths of bottom up approach

Answer 15

BETTER THAN TDA
- more objective as using biogeographical and psychological data rather than speculation and hunches
- more systematic, supports its utility in all aspects of judicial process
RESEARCH SUPPORT
- Copson: 75% x 48 police forces using investigative psych said profilers advice is useful but only 3% said it helped identify the offender
- may not be useful in catching the offender but slight benefit makes it worthwhile
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT GEOG PROF
- lundrigan and canter: got info from 120 murder cases stats analysis revealed spatial consistency in the killers behaviours

Question 16

limitations of bottom up approach

Answer 16

ISSUES W/ GEOG PROF
- canter & Larkin: found that 93% of offenders from 45 sexual assaults cases were marauders
- not useful to spend time or money when marauder likely, geogprof doesn’t offer more than trad methods of crime mapping