Summary
Summary Forensic Psychology Notes
- Module
- Forensics psychology
- Institution
- AQA
AQA Psychology Paper 3 - notes on Forensic Psychology topic including AO1 and AO3
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Offender Profiling: The Top-down ApproachAO1 - knowledge AO3 - evaluation
The top-down approach Strength - Research support
This approach originated in the United States as a result of work carried out by Canter et al. (2004) conducted an analysis of 100 US murders committed by separate serial
killers. Smallest space analysis was used to assess correlations across different samples of
the FBI in the 1970s. They drew upon data gathered from in-depth interviews with behaviour. The analysis showed that there is a subset of features of serial killings that match
36 sexually-motivated murderers, including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson. the FBI’s typology for organised offenders.
They concluded that it was possible to categorise offences into pre-established However, the organised and disorganised types are not mutually exclusive. Godwin (2002)
typologies - organised and disorganised - and work down to assign offenders to suggests that, in reality, it is difficult to classify killers as one or the other e.g, the killer may
each category, based on their respective characteristics. have high IQ but leave a lot of clues. The typologies might be better defined as a continuum.
Organised and disorganised types of offender Strength - Wider application
Tina Meketa (2017) reported that top-down profiling has recently been applied to burglary,
leading to an 85% rise in solved cases in 3 US states. The new methodology adds two
Organised Disorganised additional categories: interpersonal and opportunistic. Top-down profiling has wider
- Planned in advance - Little to no planning application than was originally assumed.
- Victim targeted - Opportunistic
- Victim type - Impulsive nature Weakness - Flawed evidence
- High control over crime - No control over crime This entire approach was developed using interviews with 36 killers in the US, 25 of which
- Little evidence left - Lower IQ were serial killers, the others being single or double murderers. Canter et al. criticised this for
- Above average IQ - Unskilled work having such a small sample size and a limited type of offenders. The interviews were also not
- Socially and sexually - Sexual dysfunction standardised and so cannot be accurately compared. Canter also argued that it is not
competent - Live close to crime sensible to rely on self-report for convicted criminals. The main evidence for the top-down
approach lack scientific basis.
- Married w/ children - Anti-social
Constructing an FBI profile Weakness - Personality
The top-down approach is based on the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour
1. Data assimilation - review evidence. and motivations that are consistent across all contexts. Alison et al. (2002) have criticised
2. Crime scene classification - place in either organised or disorganised. this approach as it is based on old-fashioned models of personality that see behaviour as
3. Crime reconstruction - form a hypothesis of what happened. being driven by stable dispositional factors. It is therefore likely to have poor validity in
4. Profile generation - relate this hypothesis to the offender. identifying suspects.
, Offender Profiling: The Bottom-up Approach
AO1 - knowledge AO3 - evaluation
The bottom-up approach Strength - Evidence for investigative psychology
Canter and Heritage (1990) analysed 66 different sexual assault cases. The data was examined using smallest
The aim of this approach is to generate a picture of the offender through space analysis and several behaviours were identified as common in different samples e.g, the use of impersonal
systematic analysis of the crime scene. Unlike the top-down approach, it does not language. Each individual displayed a characteristic pattern that can help with case linkage.
However, case linkage relies on a database containing historical crimes that have been solved. The fact that they
begin with fixed typologies but forms profiles gradually as the investigator were solved may suggest how easy it was to link them in the first place, meaning investigative psychology isn’t
engages in deeper and more rigorous scrutiny of the offences. It also relies more actually helpful.
heavily on psychological theory.
Strength - Evidence for geographical profiling
Investigative psychology Lundrigan and Canter (2001) collated information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers. Smallest space
It aims to apply statistical procedures to analyse crime scenes, establishing analysis showed spatial consistency - the location of each body disposal site created a circle around their home
patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur and compare on a database e.g base, most likely because they all start from a home base but deposit the body in different locations to remain
undiscovered. This was more noticeable in marauders.
personal history, family background.
1. Interpersonal coherence is the way that an offender behaves at a crime
scene, in particular how they interact with the victim e.g, whether the rapist Weakness - Geographical information insufficient
maintained control and wanted to humiliate the victim or whether they were It is reliant on the quality of date that the police can provide. Unfortunately, recording of crime can sometimes be
inaccurate and vary widely between police forces. Moreover, an estimate of 75% of crimes are never even reported
apologetic (Dwyer 2001). in the first place (the ‘dark figure of crime’). Ainsworth (2001) suggests that other factors are just as important as
2. Significance of time and place i.e geographical profiling (see below) geographical profiling, such as the timing of the offence or the age and experience of the offender.
3. Forensic awareness describes individuals who have been the subject of
police interrogation before and so are more mindful of ‘covering their tracks’.
Mixed results
Copson (1995) surveyed 48 police departments and found that the advice provided by the profiler was judged to be
Geographical profiling useful in 83% of cases, which suggests it is a valid investigative tool.
Crime mapping and spatial consistency use the locations of linked crime scenes However, the same study revealed that only 3% of vases did it lead to the accurate identification of the offender.
Also, Richard Kocsis et al. (2002) found that chemistry students produced more accurate offender profiles than
to make inferences about the likely home of the offender, under the assumption experienced senior detectives.
that serial offenders will restrict their ‘work’ to areas they are familiar with.
Canter’s circle theory (1993) uses these spatial patterns as the pattern of
offending usually forms a circle around the offender’s home base and Weakness - Case study
In the case of Rachel Nickell’s brutal murder, a criminal profile was used to target an innocent man, Colin Stagg. An
differentiates the marauders (close proximity) from the commuters (travellers). undercover policewoman went undercover for months and feigned romantic interest in him to try and get him to
Geographical profiling also tells us information about the nature of the offence confess to her. Later forensic examination led to the conviction of a completely different man who was ruled out an
and things about the individual e.g, mode of transport, approximate age etc. early stage because he was several inches taller than the offender profile. It is a stark reminder of how offender
profiling can be misused.
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