Offender Profiling: Top-Down approach (USA)

What is Offender Profiling?

An investigative tool to aid the identification, apprehension and conviction of an unknown offender by providing the police with a description of the likely social (employment, marital status) and mental characteristics (level of education, motivation) of offender. it also provides predictions of who the offender is likely to attack next, where and when and possible interview strategies to elicit information about the crimes committed and confession of guilt.

Narrow down the list of likely suspects. Scrutiny of crime scene and evidence analysis.

Why is the top-down approach dubbed the American approach?

It was the approach adopted by the FBI in the 1970s.

How is this approach typology lead?

The profiler looks at other cases (where criminals have been interviewed) in order to build a picture of typical offender profiles. Using all of this information a profile is built for the current offender ‘from the top down’. This method is typically used for more extreme crimes, such as murder and rape.

How was this approach created?

This approach was pioneered in the US, from the FBI’s behavioural sciences unit. They interviewed 36 sexually motivated serial killers including Ted Bundy. From the data obtained by the interviews, the data gathered at the crime scenes and examination of the crime itself, they identified typologies.

What does typologies mean?

Typologies are categories, groups of offenders displaying different clusters of behaviours and attitudes.

How do you construct an FBI profile (4 stages)?

1. Data assimilation - review evidence

2. Crime scene classification - org/dis

3. Crime reconstruction - hypothesis - sequences of events, behaviour of victim.

4. Profile generation - hypotheses related to likely offender e.g. demographic background, physical characteristics and behaviour.

Organised Offenders.

Show signs of having planned their crime in advance.

Leads an ordered life and kills after some sort of critical life event. Their actions are premediated and planned, they are likely to bring weapons and restraints to the scene. They are likely to be of average to high intelligence and employed.

Personal Characteristics: Socially adequate, sexually competent, charming, geographically / occupationally mobile, high IQ, lives with partner.

Disorganised Offenders.

Show little sign of planning.

A disorganised offender is more likely to have committed the crime in a moment of passion. There will be no evidence of premeditation and they are more likely to leave evidence such as blood, semen, murder weapon etc. behind. This type of offender is thought to be less socially competent and more likely to be unemployed.

Personal Characteristics: socially inadequate, sexually incompetent, lives and works near crime scene, low IQ, lives alone.