offender Profiling: The Top Down Approach

Evaluation-

•  Is The Method Useful:After Questioning 184 police 82%said it was useful and 90%said that they would use it again (Corpson)Even if the Top-Down approach doesn't identify the offender, it may open new avenues of investigation and prevent wrongful conviction (Schere and Jarvis)
• Flawed Basis: The Top-Down approach is based on interviews with 36 dangerous murderers which included (Ted Bundy) who are not typical and might give dishonest information, however, process allows for self-correction and change.
• Potential harm caused by top-down approaches: Snook et al claims that profiles are not better than what psychics do which includes making general statements which could apply to a multitude of people. (Barnum effect),Also it isn/t based on science or theory and infact the courts regard…