Forensic Psychology not finished
Offender Profiling
- offender profiling = is based on the idea that the characteristics of an offender can be deducted from characteristics of offence + particular crime
- offender profiling process = process of analysing the evidence to create hypotheses about probable characteristics of probable characteristics
Top-down approach
How was the top-down approach created = FBI’s behavioural science unit (1970s) + data from 36 sexually motivated murders
modus operandi = crime is not random, offenders have a distinctive way they commit crimes/criminal signature
aim of top-down approach = by matching what is known about crime/offender to the preexisting template (disorganised/organised) you can predict other characteristics
organised offender = high control/intelligence, detached, precise and socially/sexually competent
disorganised offender = spontaneous/impulsive, body/evidence left, unskilled/unemployed, sexually dysfunctional
constructing an FBI profile = data simulation (profiler reviews evidence), crime scene classification (organised/disorganised), crime reconstruction (create hypothesise over series of events/behaviour of victim), profile generation (hypothesis related to likely offender characteristics e.g background/physical/behaviour
Research support for organised = Canter et al 2004 - smallest space analysis, 100 murders, against 39 typical characteristics of dis/organised killers, a strong correlation for organised
counterpoint for research support for organised = no evidence for disorganised, findings suggest classification too simple
Limitations of top-down =
- Only applied to particular crimes (best suited to crimes that reveal details about the subject or markable practices)
- flawed evidence (evidence based on FBI interview + Poor sample bias),
Outdated personality (based on the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour and motivations that remain consistent + more driven by the situation than personality BUT tell us little about everyday life