The Top-down Approach

The Top-down Approach

1. A method of offender profiling

   • Offender profiling is an investigative tool employed by police to solve crimes
     • The main aim of this is to narrow the field of enquiry and the list of likely suspects
   • Originated in the United States
     • As a result of work carried out by the FBI in the 1970's
       • More specifically the FBI's Behavioural Science Unit
         • After drawing upon data gathered from in-depth interviews with 36 sexually motivated serial killers
           • Including Ted Bundy and Charles Manson
       • Offender profilers that use this method will match what is known about the crime and the offender...
         • To a pre-existing template that the FBI developed
           • Murderers or rapists are classified as either organised or disorganised
             • On the basis of evidence
               • This classification informs the subsequent police investigation

2. Organised and Disorganised Types of Offender

   • Based on the idea that serious offenders have certain signature 'ways of working'
     • Often referred to as their modus operandi
     • These generally correlate with a particular set of social and psychological characteristics
       • That relate to the individual
   • Organised Offenders
     • Show evidence of having planned the crime in advance
       • The victim is deliberately targeted
         • And will often reflect that the killer or rapist has a type
           • They maintain a high degree of control during the crime
             • And may operate with a detached surgical precision
               • They tend to be above average intelligence
                 • In a skilled profession
                   • And socially and sexually competent
                     • They are usually married and may even have children
               • There is little clues or evidence left behind at the scene of the crime
   • Disorganised Offenders
     • Show little evidence of planning
       • Suggesting the event may have been spontaneous
       • The crime scene often represents the impulsive nature of the attack
         • The body is usually still present at the crime scene
           • Appears to be very little control on the part of the offender
         • Tend to have a lower than average IQ
           • Be in unskilled work or unemployed
             • Often have a history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships
               • They tend to live alone and often relatively close to where the offence took place

3. Constructing and FBI profile

   • Four main stages
     • Data Assimilation
       • The profiler reviews the evidence
         • Crime scene photographs
           • Pathology reports
     • Crime Scene Classification
       • As either organised or disorganised
     • Crime Reconstruction
       • Hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim ect
     • Profile Generation
       • Hypotheses relating to the likely offender
         • Demographic
           • Physical characteristics
             • Behaviour