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Summary A* AQA Psychology- Forensic Psychology Essay Plans
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Top down approachOffender Profiling- technique/ tool used to predict the characteristics of an unknown P- One strength is that there is support for an organised
criminal so that we can narrow down our list of suspects. category of offender.
● It suggests that characteristics of the criminal can be deduced from the E- For example, Canter et al, using a technique called
characteristics of the commited and details of the crime scene. smallest space analysis, analysed data from 100 murders in
● Aim is to narrow down field of enquiry and list of suspects the USA. The details of each case were examined with
● Method: careful scrutiny of crime scene and analysis of other evidence. reference to 39 characteristics thought to be typical of
○ This is done to conclude a hypothesis about the probable characteristics of
organised and disorganised killers.
the offender (age, background, occupation, characteristics etc.)
E- This is a strength because it reveals that there does seem
The top-down approach to be a subset of features of many serial killings which
● Top-down approach- Profilers start with a pre-established typology and work down matched the FBI is typology for organised offenders. This
in order to assign offenders to one of two categories based on witness accounts also suggests that top-down is an accurate method of
and evidence from the crime scene. profiling as Canter, the psychologist behind the bottom up
○ Originated in the US, during the 70s as result of FBI work approach, has approved of its effectiveness when
■ FBI’s behavioural science unit interviewed 36 sexually motivated investigating crime.
serial killers, including Ted Bundy to develop the typologies. L- validity
○ Profiler matches what is known about the crime and the offender to a
pre-existing template that the FBI developed.
○ Criminals are classified in one of two categories (organised or P- However many studies suggest that the organised and
disorganised) on the basis of the evidence, and this classification informs disorganised types may not be mutually exclusive.
the subsequent police investigation. E- For example, Godwin found that it is difficult to classify
killers as one or the other type. This is because they could
Organised and disorganised offender have multiple contrasting characteristics (e.g. high
• Based on the assumption that serious offenders have a certain signatures (ways of intelligence and sexual competence, but commit a
working) which correlates to their social and psychological characteristics spontaneous murder, leaving the body at the crime scene
etc.).
Organised offender E- This is a weakness of this approach as it could mean that
● Organised offenders show evidence of having planned the crime in advance the typology is more of a continuum, rather than one or
○ Victim deliberately targeted; reflects idea that criminal has a ‘type’ another, suggesting that the typologies are too rigid and
● They maintain a high degree of control during the crime. doesn’t take into account all types of criminals.
● They may operate with almost detached surgical precision. L- Therefore, it is clear that the top down approach may be
● There is little evidence or clues left behind at the scene. too reductionist when profiling an offender,
● They tend to be of above-average intelligence in a skilled professional occupation.
○ Usually sexually and socially competent P- A strength of the top down approach is that it can be
● They are usually married and may even have children. adapted to other crimes.
E- For example, Meketa reported that the top-down approach
,Disorganised offenders had been recently applied to burglary and that there has
● Disorganised offenders show little evidence of planning, been a 85% rise in solved cases.
○ suggesting the offence may have been a spontaneous, spur of the moment E- This is a strength as it suggests that the approach has a
act. wider application than was originally assumed and isn’t
● The crime scene tends to reflect the impulsive nature of the attack. specialised to only one crime.
● The body is usually still at the scene and there appears to have been very little L- Therefore, the top-down approach is a useful tool when
control on the part of the offender. profiling offenders of multiple types of crimes.
● They tend to have a lower than average IQ in unskilled work/ unemployed
○ They often have a history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships. P- One weakness is that it was based on a poor sample.
● They tend to live alone and often relatively close to where the offence took place. E- For example, the top down approach was based on
interviews conducted with 36 murderers (25 serial killers) and
Constructing a profile then they were classified as either organised or disorganised.
There are four main stages in the construction of an FBI profile E- This is a weakness because the sample is too small and
1. Data assimilation - profilers review evidence (crime scene photographs. unrepresentative to base upon an entire system that has a
Pathology reports etc) significant impact on the nature of the police investigation.
2. Crime scene classification - organised or disorganised? L- Therefore, this decreases the generalisability of the
3. Crime reconstruction – hypothesis in terms of the sequence of events, victim’s typologies used in the technique of profiling.
behaviour etc
4. Profile generation – hypothesis relating to the likely offender (e.g. demographic
background, physical characteristics, behaviour etc)
, Bottom up appraoch
The Bottom-Up Approach (P) One strength is that there is evidence supporting investigative
● Bottom up approach- developed by Canter in Britain psychology
● Aim is to generate a picture of the offender through evidence analysis e.g. (E) For example, Canter et al conducted an analysis of 66 sexual
characteristics, routine behaviour, social background. assault cases. The data was examined using small space analysis
● No fixed typologies- instead focus on investigative psychology and several behaviours were identified as common in different
samples of behaviour, such as the use of impersonal language and
Investigative Psychology lack of reaction to the victim.
● Investigative psychology- a form of bottom-up profiling that matches (E)This is a strength as everyone displayed a characteristic pattern of
details from the crime scene with statistical analysis of typical offender such behaviours and this can help establish whether two or more
behaviour offences were committed by the same person. Moreover, this supports
● Matched against the database to reveal important details about the one of the basic principles of investigative psychology, that people are
offender (personal history, family background, etc). consistent in their behaviour.
● Four features of investigative psychology: (L) Therefore, this increases the validity of the bottom up method to
○ Interpersonal coherence: People are consistent in their behaviour profile offenders.
and therefore The way the offender behaves at the scene,
including the way they interact with the victim,could reflect their (P) One strength of this approach is that there is evidence for
behaviour in everyday situations. geographical profiling.
○ Significance of time and place: This may indicate where the (E)For example, Canter et al collated information from 120 murder
offender is living or type of employment. cases involving serial killers in the US. The smallest space analysis
○ Forensic awareness: Certain behaviours deduced from the crime revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of the killers, as the
scene analysis may reveal awareness of particular police location of each body disposal site created a centre of gravity.
techniques – which would aid profiling. E) This is a strength as it supports the view that crime mapping can be
successfully used to identify an offender. Moreover, it could aid police
Geographic Profiling investigations, as it is less time-consuming, and can accurately
● Geographical profiling- A form of bottom-up profiling based on the identify a criminal using objective data.
principle of spatial consistency: that an offender's operational base can be (L) Therefore, this demonstrates the accuracy of geographical profiling
located using crime mapping. in narrowing down a list of suspects.
○ Based on the principle of spatial consistency - assumption that
offenders will stick to a certain area they are familiar with which P- One limitation of the approach is that there have been mixed
will help us determine the ‘centre of gravity’ which is likely to results from profiling; notably some failures.
include the offender's base. E - For example, Copson surveyed 48 police officers and found that
■ This can be done using the circle theory. the advice provided by the profiler was judged to be useful" in 83% of
○ It may also help investigators make important insight into the cases, but in only 3% did it lead to accurate identification of the
nature of the offence: offender.
■ whether it was planned or opportunistic E- This suggests that the bottom up approach may in fact lead to
■ their ‘mental maps’, errors in identification of an offender which could be detrimental for
members of society as they have left a dangerous criminal at large,
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