Paper 3
Forensic Psychology
Outline (AO1)
Problems defining crime
Crime = act that breaks the law, warranting a form of punishment.
Two problems with defining crime.
Crime varies from culture to culture. E.g. in the UK bigamy is a crime, this
is not the case in all countries.
Crime changes over time. E.g. homosexuality was considered a crime in the
UK until 1967.
This means the definition of crime is a social construction
Related to the dominant m§orals and values of a particular culture at a
particular time.
Ways of measuring crime.
Outline (AO1)
Official Statistics
Government records of the total number of crimes recorded.
They provide a ‘snapshot’ of the number of crimes occurring.
This allows the government to develop crime prevention strategies and
policing initiatives.
Weakness (AO3-)
Official statistics have been criticised because they underestimate the true
extent of crime. This is because many crimes go unreported by victims for a
variety of reasons, including mistrust of the police and fears of reprisal. only
around 25% of crimes are included in official statistics, the other 75% make up
the ‘dark figure’ of crime. This suggests that official statistics are unreliable.
Outline (AO1)
Victim Surveys
Record people’s experience of crime over a specific period.
The Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) asks people to document
the crimes (reported or unreported) they have been a victim of in the
past year.
50,000 households are randomly selected to take part in the survey from
the Royal Mail’s list of addresses.
People in the household over the age of 16 are asked to take part.
In 2009, a separate survey was introduced to record the experiences of
younger people aged 10 – 15
The complete results of both surveys are published on an annual basis
,Weakness (AO3-)
Victim surveys provide information about the ‘dark figure’ of crime, however
this depends upon the honesty of respondents. It’s still the case people prefer
not to report crimes with a stigma attached. Also, there are issues with the
sampling technique used. Random sampling aims to identify a representative
sample, but the fact that only 75% of those contacted take part means that the
final sample is biased. The people responding share certain characteristics, such
as having extra time on their hands. These weaknesses may distort the figures
produced by victim surveys, reducing their reliability.
Outline (AO1)
Offender surveys
They require people to record the number and types of crimes they have
committed over a specific period.
The Offender Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS)
It targeted groups of likely offenders based on risk factors such as
previous convictions, age, social background and so on
OCJS also looked at other factors such as indicators of repeat
offending, drug and alcohol use and the role of co-offenders.
Weakness (AO3-)
Although confidentiality in offender surveys is assured, responses may be
unreliable. Because offenders may want to conceal some of the more serious
crimes that have committed, or exaggerate them for bravado. Also, the
targeted nature of the sampling means that certain types of crime such as
burglary are overrepresented, whereas ‘middle-class’ crime such as fraud are
unlikely to be included. These weaknesses reduce the reliability of the figures
produced by offender surveys.
Outline (AO1)
Offender Profiling
The idea that characteristics of an offender can be deduced from the
characteristics of the offense.
The top-down approach
uses the experience and intuition of the offender profile.
It emerged in the 1970s as result of the work by the FBI on serial
murders- also known as the typology approach.
Offender profilers using this approach work down from a pre-established
template (typology).
They match the evidence from the crime scene to this pre-established
template to classify offenders as either organized or disorganized.
, This helps police investigations as there are certain psychological and
social characteristics associated with each type of offender
Strength (AO3)
There is evidence that the top-down approach is effective. 77% of police
departments reported that FBI profiles significantly helped their investigation.
In addition, 17% of police departments reported that FBI profiles led them
directly to the suspect being identified. This supports the top-down approach to
offender profiling.
Weakness (AO3)
The suggestion that there is a clear distinction between organized and
disorganized offenders has been criticized. For example, it’s been pointed out
that many crime scenes don’t fit neatly into either category. This led other
researchers to propose more detailed typographyical models. For example,
Holmes suggests that there are four type of serial killer: visionary, mission,
hedonistic and power/control. This suggests that the classification of offenders
as organized or disorganized is too simplistic.
Outline (AO1)
The bottom-up approach
The bottom-up approach builds a picture of the potential offender from
facts and figures collected from previous crimes of the same type.
its also known as investigative psychology.
Forensic Psychology
Outline (AO1)
Problems defining crime
Crime = act that breaks the law, warranting a form of punishment.
Two problems with defining crime.
Crime varies from culture to culture. E.g. in the UK bigamy is a crime, this
is not the case in all countries.
Crime changes over time. E.g. homosexuality was considered a crime in the
UK until 1967.
This means the definition of crime is a social construction
Related to the dominant m§orals and values of a particular culture at a
particular time.
Ways of measuring crime.
Outline (AO1)
Official Statistics
Government records of the total number of crimes recorded.
They provide a ‘snapshot’ of the number of crimes occurring.
This allows the government to develop crime prevention strategies and
policing initiatives.
Weakness (AO3-)
Official statistics have been criticised because they underestimate the true
extent of crime. This is because many crimes go unreported by victims for a
variety of reasons, including mistrust of the police and fears of reprisal. only
around 25% of crimes are included in official statistics, the other 75% make up
the ‘dark figure’ of crime. This suggests that official statistics are unreliable.
Outline (AO1)
Victim Surveys
Record people’s experience of crime over a specific period.
The Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) asks people to document
the crimes (reported or unreported) they have been a victim of in the
past year.
50,000 households are randomly selected to take part in the survey from
the Royal Mail’s list of addresses.
People in the household over the age of 16 are asked to take part.
In 2009, a separate survey was introduced to record the experiences of
younger people aged 10 – 15
The complete results of both surveys are published on an annual basis
,Weakness (AO3-)
Victim surveys provide information about the ‘dark figure’ of crime, however
this depends upon the honesty of respondents. It’s still the case people prefer
not to report crimes with a stigma attached. Also, there are issues with the
sampling technique used. Random sampling aims to identify a representative
sample, but the fact that only 75% of those contacted take part means that the
final sample is biased. The people responding share certain characteristics, such
as having extra time on their hands. These weaknesses may distort the figures
produced by victim surveys, reducing their reliability.
Outline (AO1)
Offender surveys
They require people to record the number and types of crimes they have
committed over a specific period.
The Offender Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS)
It targeted groups of likely offenders based on risk factors such as
previous convictions, age, social background and so on
OCJS also looked at other factors such as indicators of repeat
offending, drug and alcohol use and the role of co-offenders.
Weakness (AO3-)
Although confidentiality in offender surveys is assured, responses may be
unreliable. Because offenders may want to conceal some of the more serious
crimes that have committed, or exaggerate them for bravado. Also, the
targeted nature of the sampling means that certain types of crime such as
burglary are overrepresented, whereas ‘middle-class’ crime such as fraud are
unlikely to be included. These weaknesses reduce the reliability of the figures
produced by offender surveys.
Outline (AO1)
Offender Profiling
The idea that characteristics of an offender can be deduced from the
characteristics of the offense.
The top-down approach
uses the experience and intuition of the offender profile.
It emerged in the 1970s as result of the work by the FBI on serial
murders- also known as the typology approach.
Offender profilers using this approach work down from a pre-established
template (typology).
They match the evidence from the crime scene to this pre-established
template to classify offenders as either organized or disorganized.
, This helps police investigations as there are certain psychological and
social characteristics associated with each type of offender
Strength (AO3)
There is evidence that the top-down approach is effective. 77% of police
departments reported that FBI profiles significantly helped their investigation.
In addition, 17% of police departments reported that FBI profiles led them
directly to the suspect being identified. This supports the top-down approach to
offender profiling.
Weakness (AO3)
The suggestion that there is a clear distinction between organized and
disorganized offenders has been criticized. For example, it’s been pointed out
that many crime scenes don’t fit neatly into either category. This led other
researchers to propose more detailed typographyical models. For example,
Holmes suggests that there are four type of serial killer: visionary, mission,
hedonistic and power/control. This suggests that the classification of offenders
as organized or disorganized is too simplistic.
Outline (AO1)
The bottom-up approach
The bottom-up approach builds a picture of the potential offender from
facts and figures collected from previous crimes of the same type.
its also known as investigative psychology.
