FORENSICS: Offender Profiling, The Top-Down Approach

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What is offender profiling?
Behavioural and analytical tool used to hypotheses about the characteristics of the offender and therefore narrow the field of enquiry and the list of suspects.
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What is the top-down approach?
Beginning with a pre-established typology and working down to assign offenders to one of two categories based on evidence and EWT.
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What is an organised offender?
Organised modus operandi, where the victim is targeted and often reflects the offender's 'type'.
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What is a disorganised offender?
Disorganised modus operandi, a spontaneous attack.
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Where does the top-down approach originate?
USA
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What are the characteristics of an organised crime?
Planning is premeditated, behaviour during the crime is controlled, weapons brought to the scene, evidence removed, socially and sexually competent, usually living with someone, with a high IQ or in a skilled/managerial job.
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What are the characteristics of a disorganised crime?
The crime is usually done on impulse, exhibiting uncontrolled behaviour. Weapons are usually improvised, and evidence is usually left at the scene. Socially/sexually inadequate, likely to live alone. Low IQ/unskilled labourer/unemployed.
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What are the four main stages of conducting an FBI profile?
Data assimilation, crime scene classification, crime scene reconstruction, profile generation.
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What is data assimilation?
The profiler reviews the evidence from the crime scene and post-mortems.
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What is crime scene classification?
Disorganised/organised crime
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What is crime scene reconstruction?
Hypothesis of events, behaviour of vitcim, etc.
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What is profile generation?
Hypothesis of characteristics related to the likely offender, i.e. demographics, physical traits and behaviour
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How was the criminal template created by the FBI?
Conduction of 36 in-depth interviews with sexually motivated killers including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson
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What is the issue with the small sample size in the original template?
Small sample, therefore unrepresentative.
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How does the self-report design of the criminal template lead to inaccuracies?
May lie (social desirability), not wanting to admit their crimes. If they are hoping for an appeal, admitting crimes may hinder this. may exaggerate their crimes because they want the notoriety and fame for their actions.
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Why does top-down profiling only lend itself to certain crimes?
More personal crimes (****/arson/cult killings/torture) reveal important details about the killer, whereas more common offenses (burgulary/killing during such) reveal little about the offender. Therefore, the approach is limited.
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Why does the top-down approach have poor validity?
Assumes that behaviour patterns and motivations are consistent across contexts and situations. Alison et al. considers this as outdated, where behaviour is friven by stable dispositional traits rather than constantly changing external factors.
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What is wrong with the disorganised/organised typologies?
People often do not fit into discrete categories when they commit a crime.
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What did Canter conclude from his smallest space analysis?
Only sensible to have an ‘(dis) organised’ category if the presence of one (dis) organised feature regularly accompanies others.
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What evidence supports Canter's theory that there is no such thing as disorganised crime?
Little evidence for correspondance for organised crime: sexual activity with a live victim happens in 75% of those cases where the corpse is arranged in an unusual position. Co-occurance happened even less w/ disorganised crime.
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How did Fox and Farrington argue that typologies could be made for impersonal crimes?
Burgular typology
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What was the organised burgular typology?
Tools brought, no evidence left, older offender, high value items stolen requiring 'fence'
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What was the disorganised burgular typology?
Evidence left, scene left in disarray, younger offender, low value items stolen.
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What are some external factors that may influence criminal behaviour?
Relationship breakdown, drinking, drugs.
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Despite top-down profiling's flaws, why is it still used?
Pinnizzotto found that in 192 cases, only 15 suspects were correctly identified, but in 148 of them it helped focus the investigation, saving time and money.
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What alternative typological models have been proposed?
Ronald Holmes serial killers: visionary, hedonistic, and power/control. Keppel and Walter do not focus on types, but motivations.
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By adding more typologies, is classification made more accurate?
Not necessarily, we may still see overlap for types.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is the top-down approach?

Back

Beginning with a pre-established typology and working down to assign offenders to one of two categories based on evidence and EWT.

Card 3

Front

What is an organised offender?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is a disorganised offender?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Where does the top-down approach originate?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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