FBIs top down approach

developed by..

FBIs behavioural science unit in 1970s - in depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers and used data gathered from interviews to develop categorisation system of crime

what is organised and disorganised offenders?

offenders have signature ways of working

Organised offenders

- planned and controlled
- weapons brought to scene and taken them away
- evidence destroyed and removed
- victim attempts to control eg restraints , fits a type

disorganised offenders

- unplanned and chaotic
- weapons improvised , left at scene
- evidence left at scene , no attempt to destroy or hide
- no attempt at control , randomly chosen

offender profile of organised

- unknown to victim
- socially and sexually competent
- living with partner
- above average intelligence
- angry/depressed

offender profile of disorganised

- possible known to victim
- socially and sexually inept
- living alone
- below average intelligence
- anxious / psychotic

Process of constructing FBI profile?

1. data assimilation - looks at evidence
2. crime scene classification organised or disorganised
3. crime reconstruction - of sequence of events , behaviour of offender/victim
4.profile generation - related to likely offender eg physical characteristics , demographic background

limitations of top down approach

- only applicable to severe crimes - serial murder and rape eg involving dissection, torture and fantasies , very rare , doesn't work for burglury because crime scene doesn't reveal enough about offender
counter : only designed for those crimes anyways , invalid to try to apply to other types of crime
- organised and disorganised too simplistic - argued that characteristics of these offender types are not mutually exclusive and many crime scenes show a mix of the characteristics
- development of classification system - based on static and outdated models of personality , top down assumes offenders behaviours remain consistent.
counter: critics argue that personality is more dynamic and affected by external factors

strengths of top down approach

+ Canter et al - analysis of 100 different murders to review different aspects of serial killings. Found there was a distinct subset of features including concealing evidence and use of control which matched FBIs typology for organised offenders , high validity