top down

• The Top down approach:

  • Used by the FBI since 1970s
  • Behavioural science unit of FBI conducted in-depth interviews with 36 convicted sexual killers 
  • Concluded that data from crime scenes can be categorises into organised and disorganisedcrimes/criminals 
• top down approach method:

  1. Data collection - profiler reviews evidence from crime scene
  2. Crime scene classification - organised or disorganised - pre-existing categories 
  3. Crime scene reconstruction - hypotheses in terms of sequence of events - behaviour of victim etc. 
  4. Profile generation -  hypotheses related to the likely offender. E.g - demographic background

   
• Characteristics of an organised profile generation:

  • High intelligence
  • Usually Married/cohabiting 
  • Careful to cover their tracks

  Characteristics of a disorganised profile generation:

  • Low intelligence 
  • Lives alone
  • Unplanned and haphazard 

   
• characteristics of disorganised and organised profiles is based on interviews with 36 sexual male murderers 

   SO… 

  • No standard questions (unstructured interviews were used)
  • Poor/small sample
  • Unscientific
• limitation of top-down approach - characteristics of disorganised and organised profiles is based on interviews with 36 sexual male murderers 

   SO… 

  • No standard questions (unstructured interviews were used)
  • Poor/small sample
  • Unscientific
  • Liars/manipulators being questioned
  • meaning that we can only apply the method to sexually motivated murderers. So this is not a valid method as there is limited application to other crimes
• Meekta used top down profiling in burglaries and had an 85% success rate when creating an accurate profile, shows it may be effective at classifying other crimes