Offender profiling
A behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators, accurately, predict and profile the characteristics of unknown offenders.
Top down approach
Profilers start with a pre established, typology and work down to lower levels in order to assign offenders to one of two categories based on witness accounts and evidence from a crime scene.
What country did the Top down approach originated from
USA
Who did carried out work for the top down approach
FBI
What was the FBIs research into the top down approach
- Drew upon data gathered from Interviews with 36 sexually motivated murderers
- Categorised into organised or disorganised crime
- Each category has certain characteristics
- Collect data from crime scene of a murder scene and then decide on the category the data best fits
What are the two types of offenders according to the top down approach
- Organised
- Disorganised
Organised offenders (characteristics)
- Target victim
- High IQ
- Skilled job
- High control
- Married with kids
- Planned- no evidence left at a crime scene
Disorganised offenders (characteristics)
- Little planning
- Impulsive
- Low IQ
- Unskilled job
- Failed relationships
- Leave evidence at crime scene
What are the four parts to constructing a FBI profile
- Data assimilation
- Crime scene classification
- Crime reconstruction
- Profile generation
Data assimilation
The profiler reviews the evidence
Crime scene classification
As either organised or disorganised
Crime reconstruction
Hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim etc
Profile generation
Hypotheses related to the likely offender
Top-down approach evaluation points- Research support
STRENGTH
100 serial killings (smallest space analysis) supported organised category (Canter)
Top-down appraoch evaluation points- Counterpoint to research support
LIMITATION
Most killers have multiple contrasting characteristics, don’t fit into one ‘type’
Godwin
Top-down approach evaluation points- Wider application
STRENGTH
Applied to burglar, 85% rise in solved cases in US
Meketa
Top-down approach evaluation points- Flawed evidence
LIMITATION
Interview sample small, not random, similar kinds of offender, non-standard questions
Canter et al
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Offender profiling- Top down17
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Offender profiling- Bottom up20
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Historical approach13
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Genetic and Neural14
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Eysenck's theory14
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Cognitive explanations20
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Differential association theory11
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Psychodynamic explanations13
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Custodial sentencing16
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Behaviour modification in custody11
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Anger management11
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Restorative justice10
