OFFENDER PROFILING:
TOP-DOWN APPROACH
,The American approach
● Also known as the typology approach
● The top-down approach to profiling is originated in the US
● FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit drew upon data gathered from in-depth interviews
with 36 sexually motivated serial killer including Ted Bundy & Charles Manson
● Match what’s known about the crime & the offender to a pre-existing template that
the FBI developed. Murderers & rapists are classified in one of two categories
[organised or disorganised] on the basis of the evidence & this classification
informs the subsequent police investigation
● Organised & disorganised distinction is based on the idea that serious offenders
have certain ‘ways of working’ [often referred to as their modus operandi] & these
generally correlate with a particular set of social & psychological characteristics
that relate to the individual
, Organised & disorganised offenders
Organised offenders Disorganised offenders
➔ Show evidence of having planned the ➔ Little evidence of planning, suggesting the
crime in advance offence may have been a spontaneous,
➔ Victim is deliberately targeted & will spur of the moment act
often reflect the fact that the ➔ Crime scene tends to reflect the impulsive
killer/rapist has a ‘type’ [BESTO nature of the attack - loss of control
FRENDO] ➔ Body still at scene/evidence left behind
➔ Maintain high degree of control during ➔ Lower than average IQ
the crime ➔ Unskilled work or unemployed
➔ Little evidence or clues left behind ➔ History of sexual dysfunction & failed
➔ Above-average intelligence relationships
➔ Professional occupation ➔ Tend to live alone
➔ Socially & sexually competent ➔ Often live relatively close to where the
➔ Usually married & may have children offence took place
, CONSTRUCTING AN FBI PROFILE
There are 4 main stages in the construction of an FBI profile:
1. Data assimilation - the profiler reviews the evidence [crime scene photos, pathology
reports, etc]
2. Crime scene classification - organised or disorganised
3. Crime reconstruction - hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim,
etc
4. Profile generation - hypothesis related to the likely offender e.g demographic background,
physical characteristics, behaviour, etc
TOP-DOWN APPROACH
,The American approach
● Also known as the typology approach
● The top-down approach to profiling is originated in the US
● FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit drew upon data gathered from in-depth interviews
with 36 sexually motivated serial killer including Ted Bundy & Charles Manson
● Match what’s known about the crime & the offender to a pre-existing template that
the FBI developed. Murderers & rapists are classified in one of two categories
[organised or disorganised] on the basis of the evidence & this classification
informs the subsequent police investigation
● Organised & disorganised distinction is based on the idea that serious offenders
have certain ‘ways of working’ [often referred to as their modus operandi] & these
generally correlate with a particular set of social & psychological characteristics
that relate to the individual
, Organised & disorganised offenders
Organised offenders Disorganised offenders
➔ Show evidence of having planned the ➔ Little evidence of planning, suggesting the
crime in advance offence may have been a spontaneous,
➔ Victim is deliberately targeted & will spur of the moment act
often reflect the fact that the ➔ Crime scene tends to reflect the impulsive
killer/rapist has a ‘type’ [BESTO nature of the attack - loss of control
FRENDO] ➔ Body still at scene/evidence left behind
➔ Maintain high degree of control during ➔ Lower than average IQ
the crime ➔ Unskilled work or unemployed
➔ Little evidence or clues left behind ➔ History of sexual dysfunction & failed
➔ Above-average intelligence relationships
➔ Professional occupation ➔ Tend to live alone
➔ Socially & sexually competent ➔ Often live relatively close to where the
➔ Usually married & may have children offence took place
, CONSTRUCTING AN FBI PROFILE
There are 4 main stages in the construction of an FBI profile:
1. Data assimilation - the profiler reviews the evidence [crime scene photos, pathology
reports, etc]
2. Crime scene classification - organised or disorganised
3. Crime reconstruction - hypotheses in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of the victim,
etc
4. Profile generation - hypothesis related to the likely offender e.g demographic background,
physical characteristics, behaviour, etc
