Psychology : Forensics offender profiling

In the FBI top down approach , what is a deductive method?

Method uses pre existing theories or categories and applies them to crime scene evidence to classify the offender

How is a deductive method relevant to offender profiling?

Profilers match crime scene to existing offender templates (organised or disorganised) rather than generating categories from the data

Why is the FBI approach called a top down method?

Because profilers begin with pre existing offender templates and match the crime scene to them

How were the FBIs offender templates created?

They were developed from interviews with 36 violent offenders, analysing planning , motives , fantasies , emotions and behaviors between murders

What is modus operandi in profiling?

An offenders consistent pattern of action during crimes that helps like behavior to offender characteristics

Distinct pattern of behaviour associated with a particular criminal

(like a signiture)

What crime scene feature suggest an organised offender?

Evidence of planning, controlled scene (shown planning and organisation), few clues, tools brought to the scene, victim restrained , body moved or concealed

What personal characteristics are typical of an organised offender?

High IQ, skilled job, socially competent , in relationships, aware of media coverage, may communicate with police

What crime scene features suggest a disorganised offender?

Unplanned, chaotic scene, lots of physical evidence, improvised weapons, little control, body left at the scene

What personal characteristics are typical of a disorganised offender?

Low IQ, unskilled or unemployed , socially isolated, lives alone, history of abuse, poor stress coping, lives near scene

What did snook et al find about the accuracy of profiling?

Profilers were not significantly better than non profilers at predicting offender behaviour , profiling often relied on common sense reasoning

What is a profiler ?

Specialist who examines crime scene evidence and offender behavior to infer likely characteristics of the offender, such as personality traits , habits and background

What did canter et al find about the organised / disorganised typology?

Found little evidence for the organised/ disorganised split (the two types are not consistently different) , only some organised traits were consistent, disorganised traits did not form a clear category

What is a typology?

Pre set offender category used to classify offenders based on consistent behavioural patterns

What is one strength of the typology approach?

Useful for profiling sexually motivated serial killers where behavioural patters are clear

This can help classify the killer and guide the investigation

How successful is the typology approach in real cases?

Holmes reported profiling helped solve 17% of cases contributing to catching serious offenders

Why does the typology approach lack validity?

Based on a small unrepresentative sample of 36 serial killer with risks of social desirability bias and FBI confirmation bias (using information to support your pre existing belifes)

Why is the typology approach unreliable across crimes?

Developed mainly from sexually motivated serial murders, so it does not generalize well to other types of crime

How is the typology approch cultrually biased?

Based on American , white, male, sexualy motivated serial killers, limiting generalisability to other populations

Why is the typology approach deterministic?

It assumes stable traits e.g IQ and childhood abuse determine crime scene behaviour, ignoring situational factors and free will