FORENSICS

• What does the top-down approach use to categorize offenders?

  A pre-established typology and FBI method
• 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?

  Socially competent, evidence of planning
• How do organised offenders typically handle the crime scene?

  They leave no body or clues
• What type of victim do organised offenders tend to target?

  A specific 'type' of victim
• How do disorganised offenders differ from organised offenders?

  They show no evidence of planning
• Where do disorganised offenders typically commit their crimes?

  Close to their home or operational base
• What is the aim of offender profiling?

  To narrow the list of suspects
• What is a limitation of the top-down approach in offender profiling?

  It only explains crimes with visible characteristics
• What is a common characteristic of disorganised offenders' attacks?

  They appear random with no specific target
• What types of crimes may the top-down approach be less effective for?

  Burglary or middle-class crimes
• What do Keppel and Walter (1999) suggest about offender classification?

  Study motives instead of rigid classifications
• What evidence supports the existence of organised offenders?

  Canter et al (2004) study findings
• What did Canter et al (2004) use to analyze murder data?

  Smallest space analysis
• What is the main focus of the bottom-up approach?

  Developing a profile from crime scene analysis
• What are the two hallmarks of the bottom-up approach?

  • Investigative psychology
  • Geographical profiling
• How does investigative psychology work?

  Records crimes on a database for analysis
• What does 'interpersonal coherence' suggest?

  Offender's treatment of victims reflects real life
• What does geographical profiling infer about offenders?

  They have an operational base inferred from crime locations
• What is the 'centre of gravity' in geographical profiling?

  The operational base of the offender
• What are marauders and commuters in geographical profiling?

  Marauders commit crimes near their base; commuters further away
• What did Copson (1995) find about offender profiling success?

  Only 3% led to successful identification
• What is a key advantage of the bottom-up approach?

  Reliance on scientific methods and statistical analysis
• What is smallest space analysis used for in offender profiling?

  To establish correlations between offender characteristics
• Who proposed the atavistic form theory?

  Lombroso
• What are atavistic characteristics according to Lombroso?

  Specific facial and cranial features of criminals
• What atavistic characteristics did Lombroso identify?

  Long ears, dark skin, extra toes
• What did Lombroso associate with specific crimes?

  Atavistic characteristics linked to certain offenses
• What percentage of crime could Lombroso's profiles explain?

  Approximately 40%
• What criticism do modern researchers have of Lombroso's theory?

  It is considered racist and unscientific
• What methodological flaw is associated with Lombroso's research?

  No control group from another culture
• Why is Lombroso considered the 'father of criminology'?

  His methods laid the foundation for profiling
• What do genetic explanations of offending focus on?

  Heritability and candidate genes
• What did Christiansen et al (1977) find about twin concordance rates?

  33% for identical twins, 12% for non-identical
• What does the diathesis-stress model suggest about criminality?

  Interaction between genetics and environment produces outcomes
• What do candidate genes represent?

  Slight genetic variations increasing criminal risk
• What did Tiihonen et al (2014) find about MAOA and CDH-13 genes?

  Increased likelihood of criminality by 13-fold
• What did Raine et al (2000) find about criminals' brain activity?

  Lower volume and activity in the prefrontal cortex
• What did Keysers et al (2011) discover about criminals and empathy?

  Criminals can turn empathy on or off
• What are the aims of custodial sentencing?

  Deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation