Question 1

According to Woodhams, Hollin, and Bull (2007), crime linkage is a form of behavioural analysis used to identify crimes committed by the same offender, through their behavioural similarity.

Accepted Answer

Woodhams, Hollin, and Bull (2007) indeed describe crime linkage as a process that involves analyzing crimes for behavioral similarities to determine if they were committed by the same offender. This approach is based on the premise that offenders have distinct patterns in their crime commission behaviors.

Question 2

What are the two principles underlying crime linkage?

Accepted Answer

1. Offender consistency hypothesis
2. Behavioural distinctiveness/discrimination

Question 3

Name a potential advantage of successful crime linkage.

Accepted Answer

Successful crime linkage can lead to the efficient deployment of limited police resources, the ability to pool witness descriptions and physical evidence, and potentially other benefits not listed, making all the provided options correct advantages.

Question 4

The geographical proximity of crime locations is thought to be a good indicator of whether the crimes are committed by the same offender

Accepted Answer

Geographical profiling is based on the principle that the locations of a series of crimes can reveal the likely home or operational base of an offender, suggesting that crimes committed close together are more likely to be committed by the same individual.

Question 5

The clinical-practitioner approach and the statistical approach are two of the main schools of thought in offender profiling literature. What is the third?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The clinical-practitioner approach and the statistical approach...

Question 6

Which approach to offender profiling is most associated with the FBI and is based on extensive experience working for the police and/or other law enforcement agencies?

Accepted Answer

The criminal investigative approach is most associated with the FBI and relies on the extensive experience of professionals working in law enforcement agencies. This approach involves analyzing crime scenes and offender behavior to create profiles.

Question 7

Professor David Canter pioneered the statistical approach to offender profiling. Along with colleagues he identified three modes of interpersonal interaction that were said to characterise the crime scene behaviour of rapists, paedophiles and murderers. In which mode does the offender try to build rapport with their victim?

Accepted Answer

The person mode is characterized by the offender attempting to build rapport with the victim. This approach involves treating the victim more as an individual rather than an object, which contrasts with the object mode where the victim is depersonalized.

Question 8

There are three principles that underpin the process of offender profiling. Two of these are shared with crime linkage (behavioural consistency and distinctiveness). What is the third?

Accepted Answer

The answer of There are three principles that underpin the...

Question 9

The homology assumption of offender profiling suggest that if two people are similar in terms of their personal characteristics their offence behaviour will be very different.

Accepted Answer

The homology assumption of offender profiling suggests that if two people are similar in terms of their personal characteristics, their offense behavior will also be similar, not very different.

Question 10

Which option below best describes the findings of Alison, Smith, and Morgan (2003), who examined the scientific content of 21 real offender profiles that were submitted during the course of police investigations?

Accepted Answer

Alison, Smith, and Morgan (2003) found that the offender profiles they examined contained a high proportion of unfalsifiable claims, vague statements, and assertions not supported by evidence, leading to the conclusion that all of the options (A, B, C) are correct descriptions of their findings.

Question 11

Theory and research from the personality literature has contributed to the development of research on crime linkage.

Accepted Answer

Personality literature has indeed contributed to the development of research on crime linkage by providing insights into the behavioral patterns and psychological profiles that can help in linking different crimes to the same offender.

Quiz 10: Offender Profiling and Crime Linkage