Forensic science

What is offender profiling?

• an analytical tool intended to help investigators accuracy predict and profile the characteristics of unknown offenders

• aims to narrow the list of likely suspects particularly in high-profile murder cases

• the scene and other evidence is used to generate hypotheses on things like age, background, occupation ect

What are the two types of offender profiling?

top down and bottom up

What is the top down approach?

• originated in US as a result of work by the FBI

• the FBI interviewed 36 sexually motivated murders, and used this data, together with characteristics of their crime to create two categories

• included ted bundy and charles manson

Two offender types

• these two categories had certain characteristics that meant if the data from a crime scene matched some of the characteristics in one, we could then predict other likely characteristics

• then used to find the offender

• categories based off the idea offenders have certain ‘ways of working’

• these generally correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics that relate to the individual

Organised

• evidence of planning the crime; victim deliberately targeted and the killer/ rapist may have a ‘type’ of victim

• high degree of control and little evidence left behind

• above average IQ - in a skilled/ professional job

• usually married and may have children

Disorganised

• little evidence of planning; may be spontaneous

• crime scene reflects the impulsive nature eg body left at the scene and offender had little control

• below average IQ; unskilled work or unemployed

• history of failed relationships and living alone + possible history of sexual dysfunction

What are the 4 stages of profiling in top-down approach and what are they?

1. Data assimilation - review of the evidence (pics, pathology reports ect)

2. Crime scene classification - organised or disorganised

3. Crime reconstruction - hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of victim etc

4. Profile generation - hypotheses related to likely offender eg demographic background, physical characteristics, behaviour etc

Strength of the top-down approach - research support for a distinct organised category (Canter)

• Canter analysed 100 US serial killings using smallest pace analysis to assess the co-occurrence of 39 aspects of serial killings

• ie murder weapon, body hidden etc

• found that there was a set of behaviours that matched the FBI’s categories

• therefore has validity

Weakness of top down approach - flawed evidence

• The FBI didn’t select a random or large sample and it didn’t include different kinds (poor sample).

• Also no standard set of questions so each interview was different and therefore not comparable, so doesn’t have a scientific basis.

Weakness of top down approach - may not be due to personality but the situation they are in

• Behaviour is much more driven by the situation they are in rather than ‘personality’.

• Therefore behavioural patterns seen at crime scenes may tell us little about how that individual behaves in everyday life.

What is the bottom-up appraoch?

• the British model

• unlike the US one doesn’t begin with fixed typologies

• the profile is data driven and emerges as the investigator rigorously scrutinises the details of a particular offence

• aim is to generate a pic of their characteristics, routines and background through analysis of evidence

What is investigative psychology?

• uses statistical procedures to detect patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur (or co exist) across crime scenes

• this creates a statistical database which acts as a baseline for comparison

The database

• specific details of an offence can be matched against this database to reveal important data about the offender

• eg personal history, family background etc

• this also helps to determine whether a series of offences are linked and committed by the same person

What is interpersonal coherence?

• the way an offender behaves at the scene, including how they interact with a victim

• this may reflect their behaviour in everyday situations

• eg some rapists may want to maintain maximum control and humiliate their victims where as others are more apologetic

• this might tell the police how the offender related to women more generally

What is geographical profiling?

• Location of linked crime scenes used to make inference about likely home or operation base of offender - known as crime mapping

• serial offenders restrict their work to areas they are familiar with - spacial consistency

• location used alongside things like investigative psych to create hypotheses about the offender

What are the two geographical profiling models as suggested by Canter?

The Marauder - operates near home base.
The commuter - likely to have traveled far from home.

What is the circle thoery?

• Canter suggested pattern of offending locations is likely to form a circle around the offenders usual residence

• becomes more apparent the more offences there are

• also provides insight into the nature of the offence eg planned or opportunistic, employment status etc

Strength of the bottom up approach - evidence supports investigative psychology

• Canter conducted an analysis of 66 sexual assaulted cases using smallest space analysis

• Several behaviours identified in most cases ie impersonal language and showed that each individual displayed a pattern of behaviours

• this helped to establish if two or more offences were committed by the same person

• supports that people are consistent in their behaviour

• however, only tells us about solved crimes

Strength of the bottom up approach - evidence support for geographical profiling

• Canter collected info from 120 murder cases in the US smallest space analysis

• these revealed spacial consistency where a circular effect was created (especially true for Marauders)

• so therefore shows its usefulness.

Weakness of the bottom up approach - geographical profiling not always sufficient on its own

• Not always sufficient on its own

• Recording of crime is not always accurate and differs between police forces.

• And even if crime is reported correctly, other factors, such as age and experience of offender is significantly important.

• Research also found only 3% of cases led to accurate identification.

• Therefore offender profiling may have little value.

What are the different biological explanations for offending?

• ativistic form
• genetic
• neural

What is the atavistic form explanation for offending? - historical appraoch

• Lombroso suggested that criminals were ‘genetic throwbacks’

• This is a primitive species who were biologically different from non criminals

Whys is this a biological approach?

• offenders seen by Lombroso as lacking evolutionary development

• their savage and untamed nature meant that they would find it impossible to adjust to civilised society so would turn to crime

• therefore the offender is not to blame for their actions

What are the physiological characteristics offenders can be identified by?

• narrow sloping brow, string prominent jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymmetry, dark skin, existence of extra toes/ nipples/ fingers and also insensitivity to pain

• Murderes; bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears

• Sexual deviants; glinting eyes, swollen, fleshy lips and projecting ears

• Fraudsters; lips were thin and ‘reedy’

Lombrosos research

• examined characteristics of 383 dead convicts and 3839 living ones

• concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by people with atavistic characteristics

Strength of the historical approach - changed criminology, however racist

• Lombroso shifted emphasis in crime from moral to scientific.

• Also led to the creation of offender profiling (how particular people are likely to commit particular types of crime), having major contributions.

• However, most features identified of atavistic (curly hair, dark skin) are most likely found among people of African dissent which fits the racial attitudes at the time (lacks temporal validity).

Weakness of the historical approach - contradicting evidence

• Goring compared 3000 non offenders to 3000 offenders and did not find any distinguishing differences in facial structure.

• However he did find that offenders had a lower than average IQ offering limited support

• this challenges the reliability of the atavistic form and the fact that they can be physically distinguished from rest of the population

Weakness of the historical approach - poorly controlled

• Lombroso didn’t compare his offender group with a control group, failing to control confounding variables.

• Eg modern research shows a link between social conditions (poverty) and offending behaviour which may explain some of his links.

• Therefore doesn’t meet modern scientific standards.

What does the genetic explanation suggest?

• offenders inherit a gene or a combination of genes that predispose them to commit crime

What are the 4 genetical explanations for offending?

1. Twin studies

2. Adoption studies

3. candidate genes

4. diathesis stress model

Twin studies

• Christiansen studied over 35000 twin pairs in Denmark, finding a concordance rate for offender behaviour of 35% for MZ males and 13% for DZ males (slightly lower rates for females)

• this supports a genetic component in offending

Adoption studies

• Crowe found that adopted children who had a biological mother with a criminal record had a 50% risk of having a criminal record by the age of 18

• where as adopted children with a non criminal biological mother only had a 5% risk

Candidate genes

• Genetic analysis of 800 offenders by Tilhonen suggested two genes related to violent crime

• MAOA; regulates serotonin and linked to aggressive behaviour

• CDH13; linked to substance abuse and ADHD

• this study found that 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to these genes

Diathesis-stress model

• suggests that a tendency to offending behaviour is due to a combination of;

• genetic predisposition (diathesis)

• biological or psychological stressor or trigger eg dysfunctional upbringing or criminal role models

Strength of the genetic explanation - support for the diathesis stress model

• Mendnick studied 13,000 adoptees having at least one court conviction,

• 13.5% bio or adoptive parents had no convictions

• 20% one bio parent

• 24.5% had bio and adoptive parents

• Suggests both genetic and environment influence criminality

Weakness of the genetic explanation - twin studies assume equal environments

• As MZ twins look identical, they may be treated similarly by others.

• This could be an environmental factor which causes the twins to act similar resulting in the higher concordance rather than genetics.

What is the neural explanation for offending?

• There may be a difference in the brains of offenders

• eg antisocial personality disorder (associated with a lack of empathy and reduced emotional responses) - many convicted offenders have a diagnosis of this

Research into prefrontal cortex differences

• Raine found reduced activity and an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in PFC of people with APD compared with a control gorup

• this is the part of the brain that regulates emotional behaviour

Research into mirror neurons

• Keysers found that only when offenders were asked to emphasise did they show an empathy reaction (which is controlled by mirror neurons)

• suggests APS individuals do experience empathy but may have a neural ‘switch’ that turns on and off

• in a normally functioning brain it is permanently on

Strength of the neural explanation - case study and link between crime and frontal lobe

• The case of Phineas Gage illustrates how damage to the frontal lobe can affect personality and behaviour, supporting the idea that brain structure influences criminality

• Also research on people with PFL damage has found evidence of impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and inability to learn from mistakes

• therefore there is support for neural differences linking to offending behaviour

Weakness of the neural explanation - link between neural differences and APD is complex

• Farrington found that adults with high APD scores were raised by neglectful and physically abusive parents.

• These early experiences could have cause development of APD.

• This could show there is a complex relation between psychological and physiological factors in the development.

Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

he proposed that personality could be represented along three dimensions

What are the three dimensions

1. introversion - extroversion (E)

2. neuroticism - stability (N)

3. psychoticism - sociability (P)

Eysneck suggested that there was a biological basis to the personality

• personality types are innate and based on the nervous system we inherit

What is the biological basis’ of the extrovert personality

• have an under active nervous system

• means they seek excitement and engage in risk taking

What is the biological basis’ of the neurotic personality

• high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system

• respond quickly to threat (fight or flight)

• therefore tend to be nervous and jumpy, making them unpredictable

What is the biological basis’ of the psychotic personality

• higher levels of testosterone

• are cold, unemotional and prone to aggression

The criminal personality

• its a combination

• neurotics are unstable and prone to overreact in situations of threat

• extroverts seek more arousal and engage in dangerous activities

• psychotics are aggressive and lack empathy

What was Eysneck's view on offending behaviour?

• developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with instant gratification

• impatient and cannot wait for things (like children(

what is the role of socialisation?

• during socialisation children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially orientated

• believed those with high E and N scores had NS that made it difficult to learn

• this means they are more antisocial

how was personality measured by Eysneck?

• developed the Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ)

• this is a psychological test that located respondents along the E, N and P dimensions to determine their personality type

Strength of Eysneck's theory - research support

• Eysneck compared 2070 male prisoners scores on the EPQ with 2422 controls.

• Found that the prisoners scored highly across all dimensions compared to control, this aligns with his theory that offenders would score highly.

• However, Farrington conducted meta-analysis and reported that offenders tend to score higher on the P compared to E and N.

• So central assumption is challenged and theres inconsistent evidence

Weakness of Eysneck's theory - too simplistic

• Moffitt suggested difference in offenders behaviour that only occurs in adolescence and that which continues into adulthood.

• States personality traits alone are a poor predictor and its down to a reciprocal process between individual personality traits and environmental reactions to those traits.

Weakness of Eysneck's theory - cultural factors not taken into account

• Culture may have a effect on personality

• Researchers studied Hispanic and African American offenders in a max security prison and split them into 6 groups.

• All were less extrovert than a non-offender control group, questioning the generalisability.

What does the cognitive explanation suggest

• Criminals have lower levels of moral reasoning or faulty information processing

What is moral reasoning

• the way a person thinks about right and wrong

What is Kohlbergs views on moral development?

• proposed as children get older their decisions and judgements about right and wrong become more sophisticated

• the level of reasoning/ thinking affcets the decisions they make

What are the 3 levels of moral reasoning?

1. pre-conventional; right and wrong determined by reward and punishment

2. conventional; view of others begin to matter

3. post-conventional; own understanding of justice.

Kohlberg’s research

• used a moral dilemma technique eg the Heinz dilemma

• found that offenders tend to be at the pre-conventional level (lowest level)

• characterised by; a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards and are also less mature, childlike reasoning

• therefore offenders may commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards (ie money)

What does he mean by offenders are more egocentric

• often self centred and display poorer social perspective-taking skills

• those who reason at a higher level tend to emphasise more and exhibit behaviours of honesty, generosity and non-violence

Strength of Kohlberg’s research - evidence supporting moral reasoning

• Hollin compared MR of offenders and non-offenders using 11 moral dilemmas

• found the offenders showed less mature moral reasoning

• therefore this increases the validity

Weakness of Kohlberg’s research - moral reasoning may depend in the type of offence

• research found peoples crimes for financial gain were more likely to show pre-conventional level than an impulsive crime (ie assault)

• PCL tends to be associated with crimes where they think they have a good chance of getting away with it

• therefore may not apply to all crimes

What are cognitive distortions

• errors or biases in info processing characterised by faulty thinking

• we all occasionally do this (especially if behaviour is unexpected or out of character)

• this is how offenders interpret other peoples behaviours and justify their actions

What are the two types of cognitive distortions

1. hostile attribution bias

2. minimalisation

Hostile attribution bias

• Jusyte found violent offenders were more likely to perceive ambiguous facial expressions as angry and hostile

• often misread non-aggressive cues (eg being looked at) and this can trigger a disproportionate and violent response

Minimisation

• downplaying the significance of the crime to reduce guilt

• particularly likely in sex offenders; Barbaree found 54% of rapists denied they committed an offence and 40% minimised the harm they caused

Strength of cognitive distortions - real world applications

• in CBT offenders are helped to ‘face up’ to what they’ve done and have a less distorted view of their actions

• studies suggest reduced denial and minimisation in therapy is associated with less offending

• therefore has practical value

Weakness of cognitive distortions - depends on the type of offence

• Studies found non-contact sex offenders (pics on internet) used more CD than contact sex offenders

• those who had history of offending also more likely to use

• therefore, it is not used in the same way by all offenders

What is differential association theory?

• proposes individuals learn a set of values, attitudes, techniques and motives for offending behaviour through association and interaction with different people

• these people are all different ie one has negative views towards crime but one has positive

Scientific basis

• Sutherland developed a set of scientific principles that could explain all types of offending

• his theory ignores effects of class or ethnic background

Offending as a learned behaviour

• behaviour is acquired through the process of learning

• learning occurs through interactions with significant others who the child values most and spends the most time with

• eg family and peer group

Two factors that offending arises from + explain them

1. learning attitudes; when a person is socialised with a group they will be exposed to certain values and attitudes - if the number of pro crime attitudes outweigh the anti crime ones then the person will go on to offend

2. learning techniques; can also learn particular techniques eg how to break into a house through a locked window

Mathematical prediction

• possible to predict how likely someone is to commit offences

• based on our knowledge of frequency, intensity and duration of an individuals exposure to deviant/ non-deviant norms and values

Socialisation in prison leading to reoffending

• whilst inside prison exposed to pro-crime attitudes and techniques

• explains why so many reoffend upon their release

Strength of differential association theory - draws attention to social circumstances and the environment, however …

• Sutherland moves away from focusing on biological factors and from theories of offending as the product of individuals weakness

• this draws the attention to social circumstances and the environment rather than blaming the person

• however, risks stereotyping people who come from crime-ridden backgrounds

Strength of differential association theory - wide reach

• doesn’t ignore the crime committed by more affluent groups like white-collar individuals

• His theory may be a feature of middle class groups who share deviant norms

• can be used to explain all types of crime

Weakness of differential association theory - difficulty

• he promised a scientific and mathematical framework but his concepts cannot be operationalised

• its unclear how we can find out how many pro/anti attitudes one has been exposed to

• cannot know at what point offending was triggered

• doesn’t have scientific credibility

What is the psychodynamic approach to offending?

• have an inadequate superego

• Freuds approach suggests the superego is guided by the morality principle leading to feelings of guilt for wrongdoing

• Blackburn argued that if this is inadequate (weak, deviant or over harsh) then the ID is given free rein

• an uncontrolled ID means offending is inevitable

Weak superego

• during the phallic stage the superego is formed through the resolution of the oedipus/ electra complex

• if the same sex parent is absent during this stage a child can’t internalise a fully formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification

• this means offending behaviour is more likely

Deviant superego

• a child internalises the same sex parents moral attitudes

• if deviant then would lead to offending behaviour

Over harsh superego

• an excessively harsh parent creates a child with an over harsh superego

• this means the child is crippled with guilt and anxiety

• this may unconsciously drive hem to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superegos need for punishment

Why is this different to other explanations?

• the role of emotion

• unlike other explanations this approach suggests emotions ie anxiety guide moral behaviour

Theory of maternal deprivation - Bowlby

• argued that a good continuous relationship with a mother was crucial to future relationships, well being and development

• maternal deprivation (during infancy) could lead to affectionless psychopathy (lack of empathy and guilt) and increased likelihood of delinquency

44 juvenile thieves study - Bowlby

• found 14 of the 44 showed signs of AP with 12 of these having prolonged separation from mother during infancy

Strength of the psychodynamic approach - research support

• Goreta analysed 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment

• found all had disturbances in superego formation

• each offender experienced the need for punishment manifesting itself as a desire to commit acts of wrongdoing

• supports the role of an over harsh superego

• however, if true all strictly raised children would often experiences guilt but in reality research shows they rarely do

Weakness of the psychodynamic approach - gender bias

• assumes girls develop weaker superegos than boys

• this suggests that girls would commit more crime

• but there are 20 times more men than women in prison and research has found no moral differences in children

• therefore not an appropriate explanation

Weakness of the psychodynamic approach - maternal depravation a poor predictor

• Lewis analysed 500 interviews with young people and found maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and difficulty forming relationships in adulthood

• even if theres a link there are many other reasons ie MD due to growing up on poverty

• therefore not the only reason

What is custodial sentencing?

• involves a convicted offender spending time in prison, hospital or young offenders institute

What are the four main reasons for custodial sentencing

1. deterrence

2. incapacitation

3. retribution

4. rehabilitation

Deterrence + the two types

• based on conditioning principles

• individual deterrence; unpleasant experience or prison is designed to put them off repeating the same crime again

• general deterrence; sends a message to society that crime will not be tolerated

Incapacitation

• offender taken out of society protecting public from further reoffending

Retribution

• society enacting revenge by making the offender suffer

• suffering should be proportionate to severity of the crime

Rehabilitation

• reform of the victim; learn new attitudes and values

• prison provides opportunities to develop skills and access treatments (ie addiction and anger) and reflect on crime

The 3 psychological effects of custodial sentencing

1. stress and depression; suicide and self harm rates higher in prison than the general population

2. institutionalisation; inability to function outside of prison due to adapting to norms and routines of prison life

3. prisonisation; behaviours unacceptable outside are encouraged via socialisation into an inmate code

What is recidivism? Where is it high and low?

• re-offending after incarceration, rates tell us to what extent a prison was an effective deterrent

• rates vary with age, country and crime.

• Rates over 60% in US and Aus compared to 20% in Norway

• Norway has less emphasis on incarceration and greater on rehabilitation and skills development

Strength of custodial sentencing - prison provides training and treatments

• the vera institute of justice claims that offenders who take part in education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend following release

• also means increased employment opportunities

Weakness of custodial sentencing - negative effects

• prison is brutal and suicide rates are 9 times higher than the general population

• 25% of women and 15% of men reported symptoms of psychosis

• therefore detrimental on health which could hinder rehabilitation

Weakness of custodial sentencing - may be a school for crime

• long term offenders may give younger inmates opportunities to learn new skills

• may also acquire criminal contacts

• may undermine attempts of rehabilitation and make reoffending more likely

Behaviour modification

• behaviourist principles; if behaviour can be learnt then it can also be unlearnt

• reinforce obedient behaviour and punish disobedient

Token economy

• based on operate conditioning - desirable inmate behaviours rewarded (reinforced) with tokens

• desirable behaviour = avoiding confrontation, following rules

• tokens can also be removed = punishment

• tokens are secondary reinforcers (eg exchanged for phone call home)