Forensic Psychology

• What is the definition of crime in forensic psychology?

  Crime is any illegal act punishable by incarceration or another type of punishment.
• What historical issue complicates the definition of crime?

  What was considered a crime at one point in history may not be considered a crime today.
• When was homosexuality legalized in the UK?

  Homosexuality was legalized in the UK in 1967.
• What cultural issue affects the perception of crime?

  Different cultures may have varying views on what constitutes acceptable behavior, such as smacking a child.
• What does the 2004 Child’s Protection Act state regarding smacking children in the UK?

  Smacking a child so that a mark is left is punishable by law.
• What are the three main methods of measuring crime?

  • Official Statistics
  • Victim Surveys
  • Offender Surveys
• What do Official Statistics describe?


  Official Statistics describe the number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police.
• How many households are involved in Victim Surveys in the UK?

  Victim Surveys involve 50,000 randomly selected households.
• What is the purpose of Offender Surveys?

  Offender Surveys target a randomly-selected cohort of criminals to gather details about their crimes.
• What is a significant problem associated with Official Statistics?

  Official Statistics may conceal the 'dark figure' of crime, where 75% of crime goes unreported.
• What did Farrington and Dowds (1985) find regarding police recording policies?


  They found that changes in police recording policies could explain sudden increases in theft incidence rates.
• How do Victim Surveys reduce the concealment of the 'dark figure' of crime?

  Victim Surveys use self-report techniques, allowing individuals to report crimes without fear of repercussions.
• What methodological problem is associated with Victim Surveys?

  Victim Surveys suffer from 'telescoping', where victims may misremember when a crime occurred.
• What is the practical application of Offender Surveys?

  Offender Surveys help inform crime prevention and management strategies by revealing patterns and risk factors.
• What limitation is associated with data collected from Offender Surveys?

  The data may be distorted or biased due to the self-reporting nature of offenders.
• What does the top-down approach in offender profiling use?

  The top-down approach uses a pre-established typology and the FBI method of profile generation.
• What are the two categories of offenders in the top-down approach?

  Organised and disorganised offenders.
• 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?

  Organised offenders are socially and sexually competent, show evidence of planning, and are unlikely to leave clues at the crime scene.
• How do disorganised offenders differ from organised offenders?

  Disorganised offenders show no evidence of planning and frequently leave clues at the crime scene.
• What is the aim of offender profiling?

  The aim is to reduce the list of suspects to increase the likelihood of solving the case.
• What is a limitation of the top-down approach in offender profiling?

  The top-down approach may only explain crimes with obvious characteristics and is less effective for middle-class crimes.
• Why might not all offenders fit neatly into organised or disorganised categories?

  Not all offenders can be distinctly identified as organised or disorganised, leading to oversimplification.
• What did Keppel and Walter (1999) suggest regarding the study of criminal motives?

  They suggested that studying the motives of criminals may provide better insights than strict categorization.
• What evidence exists for the organised offender type?

  There is evidence supporting the existence of an organised offender type, but not for the disorganised type.
• What statistical technique did Canter et al (2004) use in their research?

  They used the statistical technique of smallest space analysis.
• What did Canter et al (2004) find regarding disorganised offenders?

  Disorganised offenders cannot be distinctly identified as different from organised offenders.
• What does the bottom-up approach in offender profiling rely on?

  The bottom-up approach relies on developing a profile as the crime scene and eyewitness testimonies are analyzed.
• What are the two hallmarks of the bottom-up approach?

  • Investigative psychology
  • Geographical profiling
• What is the process of investigative psychology?

  Investigative psychology records each crime onto a database and matches new crimes to develop hypotheses about the culprit.
• What is the significance of 'interpersonal coherence' in investigative psychology?

  'Interpersonal coherence' suggests that the manner in which the offender treats the victim reflects their interpersonal functioning in real life.
• What does geographical profiling suggest about offenders?

  Geographical profiling suggests that each offender has an operational base inferred through mapping previous crime locations.
• What is the 'centre of gravity' in geographical profiling?

  The 'centre of gravity' is the operational base of an offender, inferred from the mapping of crime locations.
• What assumption underlies the bottom-up approach?

  The assumption is that the way and signature of offenders in carrying out their crimes are constant.
• What did Canter and Larkin (1993) classify offenders as?

  They classified offenders as marauders or commuters based on their crime locations relative to their operational base.
• What did Copson (1995) find regarding the success of offender profiling?

  Copson found that offender profiling led to the successful identification of the offender in only 3% of cases.
• What is a key advantage of the bottom-up approach compared to the top-down approach?

  A key advantage is its reliance on scientific methods of inquiry and statistical analysis.
• What evidence supports the use of smallest space analysis in geographical profiling?

  Lundrigan and Canter (2001) found characteristic traits of spatial consistency using smallest space analysis in 120 serial murder cases.
• Who proposed the atavistic form in biological explanations of crime?

  Lombroso proposed the atavistic form in biological explanations of crime.
• What are atavistic characteristics according to Lombroso?

  Atavistic characteristics are specific facial and cranial features that identify criminals.