Forensic psychology Top-down approach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSfgY8sr46o&feature=yout u.be

Starter What are 3 issues with defining crime? What are the 3 ways of measuring crime? What are some issues with these measures of crime?

With a partner, discuss following: Starter With a partner, discuss following: Whether there are certain ‘types’ of people that commit particular crimes? Whether there are different categories that criminals fit into? Whether you can tell what type of person committed a crime based on what the crime scene looks like?

Offender Profiling (dates back from 1988) A behavioural and analytic tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown criminals. Aim = to narrow the field of enquiry and list of suspects Methods vary… Copson (1995) argues police need 4 types of information from Profilers: Type of person Future threat Case linked to others? Interview strategies to be used with offender. Tool employed by police when solving crimes – characteristics of the offender can be deduced from the characteristics of the crime scene

How is it done? Top-Down Approach Start with an established typology / categorisation and assign individuals to these types based on witness accounts and evidence. American - Used by FBI Bottom-Up Approach Starts by looking at even the minor details of a crime scene and develop a likely hypothesis about the likely characteristics of the offender. British model

Qualitative profile created from interviews and analysis of crime details/scenes The Top-Down Approach Top: motives and characteristics of offenders. Lead to . . . Down: categories creating more knowledge of the crime It's described as a qualitative approach to offender profiling due to looking at the overall picture and using typologies. (types) It's based on police experience and case studies rather than psychological theory. It's suitable for the more extreme/unusual crimes, such as murder, rape and ritualistic crimes. The top-down approach originated in the USA as a result of work carried out by the FBI in the 1970s. The FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit drew upon data gathered from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers. Profilers will match what is known about the crime and the offender to a pre-existing template created by the FBI. Offenders are classified in one of two categories (organised or disorganised) on the basis of evidence and this classification informs the subsequent police investigation. Organised and disorganised types of offender The distinction is based on the idea that serious offenders have certain signature ‘ways of working’ (modus operandi) and these generally correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics of the individual. Organised: They show evidence of having planned the crime in advance; the victim is deliberately targeted and will often reflect the fact that the offender has a ‘type’. They maintain a high degree of control during the crime and may operate with almost detached surgical precision. There is little evidence or clues left behind at the scene. They tend to be above-average intelligence, in a skilled, professional occupation and are socially and sexually competent. They are usually married and may have children. Disorganised: They show little evidence of planning, suggesting the offence may have been a spontaneous, spur of the moment act. The crime scene tends to reflect the impulsive nature of the attack – the body is usually still at the scene and there appears to have been little control on the part of the offender. They tend to have a lower than average IQ, be in unskilled work or unemployment, and often have a history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships. They tend to live alone and often relatively close to where the offence took place.   There are four main stages in the construction of a top-down profile: Classification system is used to predict and prevent crime

Classification system is used to predict and prevent crime Qualitative profile created from interviews and analysis of crime details/scenes Top: motives and characteristics of offenders. Lead to . . . Down: categories creating more knowledge of the crime Classification system is used to predict and prevent crime

10 minute challenge! Answer both Define what is meant by offender profiling (3marks) Distinguish between organised and disorganised types of offender (4 marks)

The top-down approach Organised Disorganised Behaviour towards victim Victim targeted Controls conversation Victim selected at random Crime unplanned Avoids conversation Crime scene detail Weapon absent Body hidden from view Body moved from crime scene Attempts to clean up Weapon present Sexual activity after death Body left in view at crime scene Characteristics of criminal High intelligence Socially competent Sexually competent Skilled occupation Average intelligence or lower Socially immature Sexually incompetent Poor work history Lives alone Lives close to crime scene serious offenders have certain signature ‘ways of working’ (modus operandi) and these generally correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics of the individual

What does this crime scene tell you about the offender responsible?

FBI profiling process Data assimilation Data compiled from police reports, post mortems, crime scene photos etc. Crime classification Profilers decide whether the crime scene is organised or disorganised Profile generation Offender’s physical, demographic and behavioural characteristics Crime reconstruction Hypotheses about crime sequence, offender & victim behaviour etc.

10 minute challenge! Answer both Define what is meant by offender profiling (3marks) Distinguish between organised and disorganised types of offender (4 marks)

Complete question 1 and 2 on the handout Activity Complete question 1 and 2 on the handout Apply it!

Ted Bundy, the “Organised Killer” Theodore Robert Bundy (1946-1989) was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s. Shortly before his execution, after more than a decade of denials, he confessed to 30 homicides committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. The true victim count remains unknown, and could be much higher. Bundy’s killings usually followed a pattern. He was intelligent, charming and attractive. He excelled at law school and fell in love with a young woman at college. After the breakdown of this relationship, Bundy’s killing spree ensued – his victims resembling his college girlfriend with long hair parted down the middle. After escaping police custody twice, Bundy was executed by electric chair in 1989.

Some of Bundy’s confirmed victims . . . WHAT DID THE FBI DO AFTERWARDS? INTERVIEWED 36 SEXUALLY-MOTIVATED SERIAL KILLERS, INCLUDING BUNDY AND CHARLES MANSON. DISCUSS: WHY DID THEY DO THIS???????

Arthur Shawcrosss (caught use the top-down approach) Research… Arthur Shawcrosss (caught use the top-down approach)

Evaluation of the Top-Down Approach In pairs, discuss the issues with using this approach.

Evaluation: Castles Only applies to particular crimes This kind of profiling is best suited to crimes scenes that reveal details about the suspect such as rape, torture etc. More common offences such as burglary do not lend themselves to profiling because the crime scene doesn’t reveal much about the offender.

Evaluation Two categories is too restrictive Having only 2 categories is very simplistic as it is likely that criminals do not fit neatly into either category – this makes the prediction of their characteristics difficult It is likely that there will be more than two types

Evaluation Original sample The approach was developed using interviews with 36 killers in the US – 25 were serial killers, the other 11 were single/double murderers This is too small and unrepresentative to base a profiling system that may have a significant influence on the nature of police investigation Also, it is not sensible to rely of self-report data with convicted killers when constructing a classification system

Evaluation Based on outdated models of personality Based on the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour and motivations that remain consistent across situations and contexts. This approach is naïve and informed by old-fashioned models of personality that see behaviour as being driven by stable dispositional traits rather than external factors that may be constantly changing.

Evaluation Opposing evidence for disorganised type Canter et al. (2004) analysed data from 100 murders in the USA. Although the findings did suggest evidence of a distinct organised type, this was not the case for disorganised which seems to undermine the classification system as a whole. Nevertheless, this system is still used in the US and has widespread support.

Problems with typological profiling What problems can you identify with the FBI’s approach to offender profiling? Assumptions about stable types (Alison 2002) Subjective judgements (Godwin 2002) Small and unusual sample, self-report (FBI Science unit) Support / reliability (canter 2004) Simplistic (Holmes 1989; Walter 1999) Limited use…

10 minute challenge! Answer both Define what is meant by offender profiling (3marks) Distinguish between organised and disorganised types of offender (4 marks)

PLAN (bullet point) An answer to: Discuss the top-down approach to offender profiling, referring to evidence in your answer. [16 marks]

Check it On your mini-whiteboard fill in the characteristics for both types of offender Organised Disorganised