Top-down AO3

• One limitation of top-down profiling is it only applies to particular crimes

  -Top-down profiling is best suited to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect (rape, arson, murder and sadistic torture)

  -Common offences (burglary or destruction of property) do not lend themselves to profiling because the crime reveals little about the offender

  -This means that, at best, it is a limited approach to identifying a criminal
• A further limitation is this approach is based on outdated models of personality

  -The typology classification system is based on the assumption that offenders' patterns of behaviour and motivations are consistent across situations and contexts

  -Alison et al (2002) argue this personality is based on outdated personality models that see behaviour as driven by dispositional traits rather than by constantly changing external factors

  -This means the top-down approach may have poor validity when it comes to identifying possible suspects and/or predicting their next move
• Another limitation is little support for the idea of the 'disorganised offender'

  -Canter et al (2004) used smallest space analysis of 100 murders in the US. Each case was examined against 39 characteristics of typical organised and disorganised killers.

  -The findings shows evidence of a distinct organised type but not disorganised type which undermines the whole classification system

  -Despite this the organised/disorganised distinction is still used as a model for professional profilers in the US and has widespread support