Forensic psychology

• How is crime defined in forensic psychology?


  Crime is any illegal act punishable by incarceration or another type of punishment.
• What historical issue complicates the definition of crime?


  What was considered a crime in the past may not be viewed as a crime today.
• When was homosexuality legalized in the UK?


  Homosexuality was legalized in the UK in 1967.
• How do cultural issues affect the perception of crime?


  Cultural differences can lead to varying views on what constitutes acceptable behavior.
• What is the 2004 Child’s Protection Act related to?


  It makes smacking a child that leaves a mark punishable by law in the UK.
• What are the three main methods of measuring crime?

  • Official Statistics
  • Victim Surveys
  • Offender Surveys
• What do Official Statistics represent in crime measurement?


  They describe the number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police.
• How many households are involved in Victim Surveys?


  Victim Surveys involve 50,000 randomly selected households.
• What is the purpose of Offender Surveys?


  They gather details from criminals about the types and frequency of crimes committed.
• What is the 'dark figure' of crime?


  It refers to the 75% of crime that goes unreported.
• What did Farrington and Dowds (1985) find regarding police recording policies?


  They found that changes in recording policies could explain sudden increases in theft rates.
• How do Victim Surveys address the 'dark figure' of crime?

  They are less likely to conceal it due to the self-report technique.
• What is a methodological problem associated with Victim Surveys?


  They may suffer from 'telescoping', where victims misremember the timing of crimes.
• Why are Offender Surveys useful for governmental organizations?


  They provide insights into patterns and risk factors for crime at a national scale.
• What limitation is associated with data from Offender Surveys?


  Data may be distorted or biased due to the nature of self-reporting by offenders.
• What does the top-down approach in offender profiling use?


  It uses a pre-established typology and the FBI method of profile generation.
• What are the two categories of offenders in the top-down approach?


  Organised and disorganised offenders.
• What are the four steps of profile generation in the top-down approach?


  1. Crime scene classification
  2. Crime reconstruction
  3. Data assimilation
  4. Profile generation
• What characteristics define organised offenders?


  They are socially competent, plan their crimes, and leave few clues.
• How do disorganised offenders differ from organised offenders?


  Disorganised offenders show no planning and often leave clues at the crime scene.
• What is the aim of offender profiling?


  To reduce the list of suspects and increase the likelihood of solving a case.
• What is a limitation of the top-down approach?

  It can only explain crimes with obvious characteristics, like rape and murder.
• Why might not all offenders fit neatly into organised or disorganised categories?


  Because the classification system oversimplifies the complexity of criminal behavior.
• What did Keppel and Walter (1999) suggest regarding offender classification?

  They suggested studying the motives of criminals rather than just categorizing them.
• What did Canter et al (2004) find about disorganised offenders?

  They found that disorganised offenders cannot be distinctly identified from organised offenders.
• What is the bottom-up approach in offender profiling?


  It develops a profile based on crime scene analysis and eyewitness testimonies without a pre-established typology.
• What are the two hallmarks of the bottom-up approach?


  • Investigative psychology
  • Geographical profiling
• What is the process of investigative psychology?


  It records each crime onto a database and matches new crimes to develop hypotheses about the culprit.
• What does 'interpersonal coherence' suggest in investigative psychology?


  It suggests that the way an offender treats a victim reflects their interpersonal functioning in real life.
• What does geographical profiling infer about offenders?


  It suggests that each offender has an operational base inferred from mapping previous crime locations.
• What is the 'centre of gravity' in geographical profiling?


  It is the central point from which an offender carries out their crimes.
• What are marauders and commuters in the context of geographical profiling?


  Marauders commit crimes close to their operational base, while commuters travel further away.
• What did Copson (1995) find about the effectiveness of offender profiling?


  He found that profiles led to successful identification of offenders in only 3% of cases.
• What is a key advantage of the bottom-up approach over the top-down approach?


  It relies on scientific methods of inquiry and statistical analysis.
• What did Lundrigan and Canter (2001) find in their research on geographical profiling?


  They identified characteristic traits of spatial consistency using smallest space analysis.
• Who proposed the atavistic form in biological explanations of crime?


  Lombroso proposed the atavistic form.
• What are atavistic characteristics according to Lombroso?


  They are specific facial and cranial features that identify criminals.
• What atavistic characteristics were associated with murderers?


  Murderers were identified as having bloodshot eyes.
• What did Lombroso find in his study of criminals?


  He found that approximately 40% of crime could be explained using atavistic characteristics.
• What criticism did modern researchers have regarding Lombroso's theory?


  They branded it as racist and scientifically flawed.