Forensics: Bottom Up Approach

• Bottom Up offender profiling

  • Doesn't use pre-established typology but develops a profile
  • Two Hallmarks are investigative psychology and geographical profiling
• Investigative psychology


  Each crime is recorded on a database to develop hypotheses about likely characteristics
• Geographical profiling


  Suggests each offender has an operational base, which can be inferred by mapping locations of previous crimes
• Marauders


  Crimes close to home
• Commuters


  Crimes opposite to home
• Offender profiling doesn't always lead to correct identification (only 3% success rate)
• Offender profiling is more scientific and less reductionist
• There is evidence supporting geographical profiling