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Seminar: Obtaining evidence from vulnerable witnesses

13-Aug-08

Via the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research:

The SIPR [Scottish Institute for Policing Research] Evidence & Investigation Network and Grampian Police have organised a seminar exploring child witnesses and witnesses with learning disabilities. The audience will consist of academics, representatives from the police and the criminal justice system and members of the Scottish Executive.

The free seminar will be held on 15 October in Aberdeen. Speakers include Dr Derek Carson (University of Abertay), Professor Amina Memon (University of Aberdeen) and Dr Penny Woolnough (Grampian Police).

Register using the form here (pdf).

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Why English youths are more violent than Swedish youths

09-Aug-08

mylifeincrimeOne article in particular from the latest issue of European Journal of Criminology (Vol. 5, No. 3) caught my eye. Per-Olof H. Wikström and Robert Svensson report findings of a study to uncover why English youths are more violent than Swedish youths. At first glance it seems as if Wikstrom and Svensson are engaged in a circular argument:

… we use data from the English Peterborough Youth Study and the Swedish Eskilstuna Youth Study. The findings show that in both cities (1) young people’s self-reported violent behaviour is predicted by crime propensity and lifestyle, and their interaction, and (2) a substantial proportion (40 percent) of the difference in the level of violence vanishes when taking into account national differences in young people’s crime propensity and lifestyles. We conclude that the findings support the notion that one major cause of the difference in the level of violence among young people in England and Sweden is that more young people in England have a higher crime propensity and are living criminogenic lifestyles than in Sweden [from the abstract].

In other words, it looks as if they’re arguing that youths in England are criminals because they live a criminal lifestyle (a bit like this study reported in Improbable Research). In fact, it’s rather more interesting than that.

Here’s the theoretical framework Wikstrom and Svensson use to explore the data:

Two central ideas in criminology are that crime involvement is a consequence of (1) individual crime propensity and (2) criminogenic features of the environments to which an individual is exposed… One recent theory that takes into account the role of the individual–environment interaction in the explanation of crime is the situational action theory of crime causation … The cornerstone of the situational action theory is the assertion that human actions (including acts of crime and violence) are an outcome of how individuals perceive their ‘action alternatives’ and make their choices as a result of the interaction between their individual characteristics and experiences (propensities) and the features of the behaviour setting in which they take part (environmental inducements) [p.311].

Wikstrom and Svensson’s analysis indicates that not only are there more youths with higher levels of crime propensity in Peterborough compared to Eskilstuna but they also have lifestyles that are more ‘criminogenic’, i.e., they do things that put them into risky settings, which are more likely to prompt or facilitate criminal behaviour. Interesting stuff.

Reference:

Other articles in this issue include:

  • The Greek Connection(s): The Social Organization of the Cigarette-Smuggling Business in Greece - Georgios A. Antonopoulos
  • How Serious Is the Problem of Item Nonresponse in Delinquency Scales and Aetiological Variables?: A Cross-National Inquiry into Two Classroom PAPI
  • Self-Report Studies in Antwerp and Halmstad - Lieven Pauwels and Robert Svensson
  • Self-Control in Global Perspective: An Empirical Assessment of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory Within and Across 32 National Settings - Cesar J. Rebellon, Murray A. Straus, and Rose Medeiros
  • Reassessing the Fear of Crime - Emily Gray, Jonathan Jackson, and Stephen Farrall

Photo credit: Marxchivist, Creative Commons License

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New issue: Psychology, Crime & Law

07-Aug-08

journals

The latest issue of Psychology, Crime & Law (Volume 14 Issue 3) is one of those issues where almost all the articles look tempting. Given my particular interest in deception I’ll be starting with Granhag and Hartwig’s intriguing offering on mind-reading and deception detection, but the articles on how TV affects legal decision making and linking crimes in serial homicide will be next on the list.

Here’s the line-up:

  • What judges know about eyewitness testimony: A comparison of Norwegian and US judges (Svein Magnussen; Richard A. Wise; Abid Q. Raja; Martin A. Safer; Nell Pawlenko; Ulf Stridbeck)
  • A new theoretical perspective on deception detection: On the psychology of instrumental mind-reading (Pär Anders Granhag; Maria Hartwig)
  • Perceptions of children during a police interrogation: Guilt, confessions, and interview fairness (Allison D. Redlich; Jodi A. Quas; Simona Ghetti)
  • ‘Objection, Your Honor! Television is not the relevant authority.’ Crime drama portrayals of eyewitness issues (Sarah L. Desmarais; Heather L. Price; J. Don Read)
  • Behavioural crime linking in serial homicide (Pekka Santtila; Tom Pakkanen; Angelo Zappalà; Dario Bosco; Maria Valkama; Andreas Mokros)
  • What do prisoners want? Current concerns of adult male prisoners (Mary McMurran; Eleni Theodosi; Anna Sweeney; Joselyn Sellen)
Filed in Courtroom, Deception, Juvenile offending, Tables of contents | Comments (0) »

Global Uncertainties: Security for All in a Changing World Programme

05-Aug-08

Details of opportunities for fellowship funding from the UK Research Councils:

The cross-Council programme focuses on the nature and interactions of five global issues: conflict, crime, environmental degradation, poverty and terrorism, and their implications for various concepts and contexts of security and insecurity. Within this framework, this fellowship call focuses specifically on how ideas and beliefs of individuals, communities and nation states relate to these five global phenomena.

Fellowship applications under this call must address one or more of the following key research areas:

  1. How do individuals and communities develop their ideas and beliefs about security and insecurity?
  2. Why do some ideas and beliefs lead to conflict, violence or criminal activity? What lessons can we learn… that provide the basis for countering those ideas and beliefs that reinforce conflict, violence and crime?
  3. How do issues around the cycle of knowledge production and use interact with the creation, management and resolution of insecurities?
  4. How are risks and threats communicated, constructed, represented and received by key actors and communities, using different media and cultural forms for different audiences, including the use of language, images and symbolism?
  5. Is there an acceptable balance between national security needs and the protection of civil liberties and human rights? If so, can one be secured? And how do we balance local needs against global responsibilities within a security context?
  6. How should institutions with responsibility for different aspects of a broad security agenda, including security forces themselves, evolve to meet new risks and threats?

It’s an exciting opportunity for researchers based in the UK, and the funding is also available to non-UK researchers looking for a chance to work at a UK institution:

Applications are open to both senior/professorial level researchers and to researchers at an earlier stage in their research career looking to achieve an international research leadership role during the period of the fellowship (minimum 3 years post-doctoral, or equivalent, research experience). Applications from leading overseas researchers seeking to conduct research on a relevant topic at an eligible UK research institution will also be welcomed. Applications from researchers who have not previously worked on security issues but wish to apply their expertise to research in this more broadly construed security agenda are encouraged.

The deadline for applications is 25th September 2008. Many more details, including FAQs [pdf] and a programme overview [pdf] via the ESRC website.

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Free access to Psychology and Psychiatry Journals from Sage

04-Aug-08

About once a year, Sage Journals kindly makes a set of their journals free to access for a trial period. Sage Journals in Psychology and Psychiatry are free access (on registration) from 1 August to 30 September 30.

More details and registration instructions here.

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Recently advertised academic positions

03-Aug-08

joblessRecently advertised jobs:

Photo credit: Khalilshah, Creative Commons License

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British Psychological Society guidelines on memory

02-Aug-08

witnessappealThe British Psychological Society has published guidelines on “latest evidence on human memory and how that evidence could be of use to the legal professions”. It’s a very handy overview prepared by experts in the field.

As the principal authors Martin A. Conway and Emily A. Holmes explain in the introduction to the report:

The guidelines and key points should then be taken as they are intended – as guidelines and not absolute statements. Because they are based on widely agreed and acknowledged scientific findings they provide a far more rigorously informed understanding of human memory than that available from commonly held beliefs. In this respect they give courts a much firmer basis for accurate decision-making.

According to the press release (11 July):

The report has some sobering key points on the reliability of people’s memories in court cases. Key points of ‘Memory and Law’ include:

  • The content of memories arises from an individual’s comprehension of an experience, both conscious and non-conscious. This content can be further modified and changed by subsequent recall
  • Any account of a memory will feature forgotten details and gaps
  • People can remember events that they have not in reality experienced

You can find out more about the research and download the full report via the BPS website here.

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Bees join hunt for serial killers*

30-Jul-08

beeYes indeed. The BBC News website today (30 July 2008) reports on some research on the way in which bees seek food which “could help detectives hunt down serial killers, scientists believe”.

Here’s some more from the report:

Just as bees forage some distance away from their hives, so murderers avoid killing near their homes, says the University of London team. This “geographic profiling” works so well in bees, the scientists say future experiments on the animals could now be fed back to improve crime-solving. The team’s work is reported in the Royal Society journal Interface.

“We’re really hopeful that we can improve the model for criminology,” Dr Nigel Raine, from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL), told BBC News.

Later the report reveals that the research team includes Kim Rossmo, detective-turned-geo-profiler.

Instead of using information about the distribution of flowers visited by bees to explain the insects’ behaviour, criminologists’ models will use details about crime scenes, robbery locations, abandoned cars, even dead bodies, to hone the search for a suspect.

“Bees have much simpler brains and so understanding how bees are recruited to flowers is much easier than understanding the complex thoughts of a serial murderer,” Dr Raine said.

Well the cynics would say that’s one reason why a bee-model might have some limitations when it comes to hunting serial killers.

Here’s the reference:

*In the entertaining headline contest, the BBC lags far behind the Royal Society with “Bees can help detectives to ’sting’ criminals” and the Welcome Trust with “Criminal Bee-haviour“. Is no one going to use “scientists set a honey-trap for murderers”? (I’ll get my coat.)

UPDATE: Thank you to Aaron Jacklin for a link to the pre-publication paper [pdf] on Nigel Raine’s QMUL web pages.

Photo credit: Automania, Creative Commons Licence

Filed in Geographical profiling, Serial and mass killing | Comments (1) »

Research reports round-up

27-Jul-08

ex libris gul law reports collectionSome of the criminal justice-related reports that have caught my eye in the last few weeks:

Communities

Crime and Communities Review (UK, published 18 June, Cabinet Office): A major review examining how to better engage communities in the fight against crime and raise public confidence in the Criminal Justice System - link to pdf downloads.

Gangs at the Grassroots: Community solutions to street violence (UK, published 17 July 2008, New Local Government Network) - pdf

Investigations

Witness and victim experience survey: early findings (UK, published 3 July 200, Ministry of Justice) - pdf

Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims: A 21st Century Strategy (US, International Association of Chiefs of Police) - pdf (Hat tip Docuticker)

First Response to Victims of Crime (US, published April 2008, National Sheriffs Association) - pdf (Hat tip Docuticker)

Police Enforcement Strategies to Prevent Crime in Hot Spot Areas (US, Department of Justice) - pdf (Hat tip Docuticker)

Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators (US, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit) - pdf (Hat tip Docuticker)

Prisons

International profile of women’s prisons (UK, published April 2008, Kings College London for HM Prison Service) - pdf (Hat tip Intute)

Prosecuting Sexual Violence in Correctional Settings: Examining Prosecutors’ Perceptions (US, published May 2008, American University, WCL Research Paper, via SSRN)

Juveniles

Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context (US, published May 2008, US Department of Justice) - pdf (Hat tip Docuticker)

Differential Response to Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect (US, published February 2008, Child Welfare Information Gateway) - pdf (Hat tip Docuticker)

Photo credit: ex_libris_gul, Creative Commons License

Filed in Child abuse, Community policing, Crime Prevention, Investigations, Juvenile offending, Policing, Prison, Serial and mass killing, Victims and treatment, Witnesses | Comments (0) »

The influence of Muslim headgear and induced affect on aggressive responses in the shooter bias paradigm

22-Jul-08

muslim headgearOn the third anniversary of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent man shot dead by police in London who thought he was a suicide bomber, a timely and depressing article currently in press in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology:

Does Islamic appearance increase aggressive tendencies, and what role does affect play in such responses? In a computer game, participants made rapid decisions to shoot at armed people, some of whom wore Islamic head dress. We predicted and found a significant bias for participants to shoot more at Muslim targets. We also predicted and found that positive mood selectively increased aggressive tendencies towards Muslims, consistent with affect-cognition theories that predict a more top-down, stereotypical processing style in positive mood. In contrast, induced anger increased the propensity to shoot at all targets. The relevance of these results for our understanding of real-life negative reactions towards Muslims is discussed, and the influence of affective states on rapid aggressive responses is considered.

Reference:

Photo credit: “Muslim Crop” by Olly Farrell, Creative Commons License

Filed in Guns, Hate crime | Comments (2) »