An investigated tool employed by the police when solving crimes.
Main aim: to narrow the field of enquiry and list of likely suspects.
Compiling a profile will usually involve scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of the evidence to generate a hypothesis about the probable characteristics of the offender
The American approach (typology)
match what is now known about the crime and the offender to a pre-existing template that the FBI developed
offenders are classified into one of 2 categories based on the event
what are the 2 categories of offenders:
organised and disorganised
organised offenders
shows evidence of having a plan
reflect the offenders 'type'
maintain a high degree of control
little evidence clues
above average intelligence
professional occupation
Disorganised offenders
little to no evidence of planning (spontaneous)
crime scene reflects impulsive nature of the attack
lower than average IQ
history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
tend to live alone
What are the 4 main stages in constructing an FBI profile
Data assimilation
Crime scene classification
Crime reconstruction
Profile generation
Data assimilation
profiler reviews evidence
Crime scene classification
organised or disorganised
Crime reconstruction
Hypotheses in terms of a sequence of events, the behaviour of the victim
profile generation
hypotheses related to the likely offender
3 weaknesses of the top-down
approach
only applies to particular crimes
Based on outdated models of personality
evidenced does not support the disorganised offender
how does the top-down approach only apply to particular crimes?
best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect (rape, arson, cult)
More common offences do not lend themselves to profiling
