Offender Profiling: The top down approach

Question 1

What is offender profiling

Answer 1

Used by members of law enforcement, it is a list of characteristics or traits (age, gender, ethnicity) that police should focus on to find a suspect. This info is gathered from the crime scene and evidence.

Question 2

Examples of what profilers look for?

Answer 2

Type of victim
Type of crime
Location
Time of day/night
Specific features
What is taken/left behind.

Question 3

Origins of top down approach

Answer 3

Originated in the USA
1970’s
Also known as the typology approach.
Murderers and rapist are classified into two categories, organized and disorganized, on the basis of the evidence, and this classification informs the subsequent police investigation.

Question 4

Strength of offender profiling?

Answer 4

P: One strength of the top-down approach is that it is high in ecological validity.

E: This is because the approach was created by the FBI, meaning that the templates used to profile offenders are based on real investigations into offenders and have been shaped through actual criminal investigations

C: This is a strength because it means that the top-down approach to offender profiling is rooted in real practices, and therefore it is highly generalizable to current investigations

Question 5

Limitation of offender profiling?

Answer 5

P: One limitation is that it is based on a very specific sample of offenders

E: The interviews were focused on a small group of extreme offenders whose crimes are not representative of the broad spectrum of criminal behavior

C: As a result of low population validity, the top-down approach is only suited to profiling offenders where crimes such as murder and rape have been committed, meaning it has very limited use in more frequently occurring crimes such as theft and fraud.

Question 6

What are the 7 decision-making tools?

Answer 6

Murder type
Offender risk
Time factors
Intent
Victim risk
Escalation
Surroundings

Question 7

What is murder type with regards too

Answer 7

Mass murderer: Kill in one location and in one time period.
Spree killer: Killing people in one time period in different locations.
Serial killer: 3 or more killings over a period of at least a month or more periods of down time in between (no

Question 8

What is offender risk with regards too the 7 decision-making tools

Answer 8

How much risk the offender took to commit their crime.

Question 9

What is time factors with regards too the 7 decision-making tools

Answer 9

The time of day that the crime takes place.

Question 10

What is intent with regards too the 7 decision-making tools

Answer 10

Whether the act was deliberate, pre-meditated or not. How would a profiler come to this conclusion?

Question 11

What is victim risk with regards too the 7 decision-making tools

Answer 11

Were the victims high risk or low risk. For example those in poverty, homeless etc are considered as higher risk.

Question 12

What is escalation with regards too the 7 decision-making tools

Answer 12

The extent to which the crime as escalated from previous crimes.

Question 13

What is surroundings with regards too the 7 decision-making tools

Answer 13

Environment in which the crime takes place. What can a location tell us about potential suspects?

Question 14

Characteristics of organized offender

Answer 14

Evidence of planning and control with little evidence left behind.

The victims appears to be chosen or even known to the offender. Controls conversation

Likely to have a full-time job.

Average or higher intelligence.

Likely to have experienced inconsistent discipline.

Sexually competent, able to maintain romantic relationships.

Question 15

Characteristics of dis-organized offender

Answer 15

Little evidence of planning, signs of spontaneity, likely to be evidence left behind.

The victims appears random. Avoids conversation/interaction with victim.

Unlikely to have successes in employment

Below average intelligence.

Likely to have experienced harsh discipline.

Sexually incompetent, socially immature.

Question 16

Limitation to the top-down approach with regards to issues and debates.

Answer 16

P: The top-down approach is criticised for being reductionist since it assumes that offenders can be classified as either organised or disorganised.

E: This suggests that offenders can be categorised into one of two offender types based on their crime and crime scene. Many disagree that offenders can be classified within such a narrow view of behaviour and instead highlight that it is possible to fall into both categories in any one criminal act.

C: The top-down approach would benefit from having a more holistic view and by recognising that offender behaviour is too complex to reduce down to just one classification.

Question 17

Limitation to the top-down approach with regards to temporal validity?

Answer 17

P: The top-down approach has been criticised for lacking temporal validity and for failing to recognise that personality is not stable.
E: The approach assumes that personality is a stable trait and that people are predictable and can, therefore, be profiled. However, modern research has found that personality is not stable and that it is constantly changing in response to external factors such as life events and health.
C: This means that the top-down approach is outdated and cannot account for the unpredictability of change.