You’ll have noticed it’s a bit quiet on here – I ran out of time to keep this updated but have been maintaining an active Twitter presence at @crimepsychblog. More recently I’ve joined mastodon @crimepsychblog@mstdn.social and depending on what happens with Twitter, I may end up being more active on there and winding down my Twitter presence.

Life is still pretty hectic and not much time for blogging. But hoping things will get a bit calmer next year and I might also reactivate this site. No promises but let’s see…

New Journal Issues

• Women & Criminal Justice 20(4), articles on IPV, life sentences and risk http://retwt.me/1Qjtd
• Justice Qtrly 27(6), articles on transgender prisoners, gangs, social learning theory, self-control, in-reach http://is.gd/jtBjs
• Dec 10 issue of Learning & Individual Differences 21(1) has special section on education of children in detention http://retwt.me/1QjrH
• Violence Against Women 16(12), includes special section on false allegations of sexual assault http://retwt.me/1QceY

See also:

• Law Journal of the Month – Oxford Journals offer free access to all content for one journal for one month http://retwt.me/1QcYq

Deception and interviewing

Scholarly articles:

• Thermal Imaging as a Lie Detection Tool at Airports http://retwt.me/1QhzC
• Influence of Investigator Bias on the Elicitation of True & False Confessions http://retwt.me/1QhzB
• Eliciting Cues to False Intent: A New Application of Strategic Interviewing http://retwt.me/1QhzA
• Looks & Lies: Physical Attractiveness in Online Dating Self-Presentation and Deception. Communication Research 37(3) http://retwt.me/1QgIz
• New research on fMRI-based deception detection measures’ vulnerability to countermeasures http://retwt.me/1QbCJ
• New research: Improving efficacy of Concealed Information Test? “Denoised P300 & machine learning-based CIT method” http://retwt.me/1QbCC
• Psychophysiological Response Pattern in Symptom Validity Testing Arch Clin Neurology http://retwt.me/1QbDE
• Free access: The Polygraph and Forensic Psychiatry (Don Grubin) J. American Academy of Psychiatry & Law http://retwt.me/1QggR
• Great write-up of a rare study of fMRI countermeasures (via @ResearchBlogs) How To Fool A Lie Detector Brain Scan http://goo.gl/fb/7oNFv

See also:

• Spotting liars: The Law of Sufficient Motivation, in Psychology Today http://retwt.me/1QgI9
• Article on fMRI in court is one of Nature News top stories of 2010. Well worth a (re)read. http://retwt.me/1QfBJ
• Cricket’s old boys are proposing lie detectors as a way to combat corruption: http://ht.ly/3q4KH Someone plse tell them it doesn’t work
• From Scientific American What Makes An Honest Smile Honest? http://bit.ly/hkX7HN
• RT @vaughanbell ” Fascinating @evbasedmummy piece on how and why parents lie to their children http://is.gd/ivosZ “
• RT @psypress Can deception be a life skill? http://bit.ly/e4jYYk
• RT @NeuroCog Beliefs, predictions and shortcuts in the deceitful brain (Uni of Cambridge article): http://bit.ly/eK1rVw
• RT @researchdigest Articles on cognitive neuroscience of confabulation, free access til Feb 28 (scroll down ->symposia) http://ht.ly/3qYl8
• RT @vaughanbell Frequent truth telling makes lying more difficult, but frequent lying makes lying easier. http://is.gd/hQeIM
• RT @readinglies Ocular motor deception detection technology http://secprodonline.com/articles/2010/09/01/seeing-through-the-lies.aspx
• Great summary of the DWP ‘Lie Detector’ trials from @Unity_MoT http://tinyurl.com/2366dlg
• “When volunteers suspected they were being lied to activity levels rose in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex” New Scientst http://retwt.me/1Qcgj

Video games and aggression

• How interacting with aggressive virtual characters in video games affects trust and cooperation of players http://retwt.me/1QhBJ
• Press release: “New study shows that depression, not video games, could be to blame for youth violence” http://retwt.me/1QbDr

Elsewhere in the forensic research literature

• Howard Zonana & the Transformation of Forensic Psychiatry J. American Academy Psychiatry & Law 38(4) http://retwt.me/1QggM
• Free access, explores propensity to blame female rape victims. Social Justice Research 23(4) http://retwt.me/1QggK
• Free access, investigating psychological dynamics underlying demonizing (seeing others as pure evil) http://retwt.me/1QggH
• Intelligence-led & traditional policing approaches to drug markets – comparison of offenders http://retwt.me/1QcYs
• Free research article on traumatic brain injury in male young offenders in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation 20(6) http://is.gd/iCayc
• Press release: link between an individual’s sensitivity to testosterone and aggressive behaviour http://retwt.me/1QbDp
• Press release: Preteen conduct problems leads to teenage serious violence and delinquency http://retwt.me/1QbDw

And:

• In December’s APA Monitor: Researchers disagree about whether violent video games increase aggression http://retwt.me/1QdVa
• Study fr Berkeley Ctr fr Crim Justice: Increasing Employment Opportunities for People with Prior Convictions http://retwt.me/1QbDD
• Online interactions involving suspected paedophiles who engage male children http://tinyurl.com/3ygu8ls
• ‘Impulsivity gene’ found in violent offenders. New Scientist 23 December 2010 http://retwt.me/1QgIB

See also:

• Compendium of reoffending statistics & analysis – selection of papers summarising analysis by Ministry of Justice http://retwt.me/1QbDo
• Call for chapter proposals – Police and Protesters: Motives and Responses http://retwt.me/1PZzP
• “Scared Straight not only doesn’t work, it may actually be more harmful than doing nothing” via World of Psychology http://retwt.me/1PUpf
• RT @vaughanbell Excellent @chriscfrench piece on how UK prosecutions have been based entirely on ‘recovered memories’ http://is.gd/hLwgP
• New (to me) blog on false Confessions (HT to @cjprof) http://retwt.me/1Qhzu

New journal issues

Free:

Others:

• • Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Volume 26, Number 4 http://retwt.me/1PORx
• Journal of Family Violence, Volume 25, Number 8 http://retwt.me/1PORw
• Critical Criminology 18(4). Special Issue on Green Criminology. http://retwt.me/1PORt
• International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 33(5-6) http://retwt.me/1PORs
• Policing 4(4). Special issue on police corruption. http://retwt.me/1PORg
• Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 16(4) http://retwt.me/1PORf
• Homicide Studies November 2010, 14 (4) http://retwt.me/1PySs
• Special Issue of Journal of Experimental Criminology [6(4)]: Experimental Studies of Violence Against Women http://retwt.me/1PyQI
• Crime, Law & Social Change 54(2). Special Issue: The Present and Future of Left Realism http://retwt.me/1PrU6
• Violence Against Women 16 (10) http://retwt.me/1PrU2
• Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 49(7) http://is.gd/gwiwL
• Aggression & Violent Behavior 14(6). Ethics, female offenders, child abuse, IPV, PTSD, & athletics (rly) http://retwt.me/mvdD

Journal articles that caught my eye

• New research on traumatic brain injury in youth offenders – balanced press release here: http://retwt.me/1POQI
• Psychological science & sound public policy: Video recording of custodial interrogations American Psychologist 65(8) http://is.gd/hwocg
• In press: social status of drug procurers & their social distance from drug dealers affects sales, fraud & gift-giving http://retwt.me/1PyRR
• Interactional norms in the Australian police interrogation room Discourse & Society 21(6) http://retwt.me/1PyQH
• Women’s testimony on domestic violence in India & legal implications. Indian J of Gender Studies 17(3) http://retwt.me/1PyQg
• Forensic evidence: Materializing bodies, materializing crimes. European J of Women’s Studies 17(4) http://retwt.me/1PyQf
• Child abuse victims who blame themselves & families present higher rates of PTSD http://retwt.me/1Pr3i

New deception research and commentary:

• Sanity at last. “Government abandons lie detector tests for catching benefit cheats” http://is.gd/gXtqI
• Jo Are You Lying to Me? Temporal Cues for Deception — Journal of Language and Social Psychology http://retwt.me/1PORv
• Is It Always Bad To Lie? Review of a new book on deception, via http://retwt.me/1POR5
• Interviewers outperform thermal imaging technology in identifying liars & truth-tellers. Great study, FREE til 30/11 http://is.gd/hxePN
• In press: Role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in deception when remembering neutral & emotional events Neurosci Res http://is.gd/hxdN4
• Neat new study on deceptive groups: Extracting Concealed Information from Groups in J. of Forensic Sciences. http://retwt.me/1PO2N
• “Trusting people make better lie detectors” from SAGE Insight. Includes link to free PDF of journal article http://retwt.me/1PyQX
• In The Job Hunt, People Do Lie, But Honesty Pays Off, Study Finds http://retwt.me/1PyQd
• Misguided: Polygraphs provide false reassurance. Sigh. “Polygraph Testing Against Border Corruption” via Secrecy News http://retwt.me/1Pr4k
• To detect lies it’s equally as important to be able to detect when someone is being truthful. http://retwt.me/1Pr3Q via @humintell
• Blog post from @humintell on interesting new research: Are Children Good Liars? http://retwt.me/1Pr3k

Research and resources on terrorism and counter-terrorism

• Methods to Detect and Characterize Terrorist activity, report from Institute for Homeland Sec Solutions http://retwt.me/1POQO
• Deradicalization: Literature review and comparison with research on anti-cult and anti-gang initiatives http://retwt.me/1POQN
• The Impact of Emotion in the American Public’s Assessments of and Reactions to Terrorism, summary and link to full txt http://retwt.me/1POQL
• via Resource shelf: Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism Suicide Attack Database http://retwt.me/1Pr42

Retweets and other miscellaneous links

• @PhilipBecnel’s article in Pursuit Magazine called “A Private Investigator’s Take on Social Media”: http://bit.ly/cqfz0r
• RT @vaughanbell What makes a psychopath? http://is.gd/hq2f9 The Economist on recent findings.
• @navarrotells Four opportunities to detect deception in an interview: http://bit.ly/braLm1 in Psychology Today
• Mental illness in US prisons – video via @channelNvideo http://retwt.me/1Pr41
• The awesome @kfranklinphd explains what it takes to become a forensic psychologist at her new Psychology Today blog http://retwt.me/1Pr3l

Freebies:

• Springer is offering free access to many journals til 30 November. No registration required. Here’s Law and Human Behavior http://retwt.me/1Pl5h and here is Law and Human Behavior, 34(1), a special on interrogation and confession http://retwt.me/1Pl5F
• The entire digital archive of the Royal Society’s publications is free to access from Monday until 30th November http://bit.ly/bToROe

New issues:

• Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 38, Issue 5 (September-October 2010) http://retwt.me/1Pl7b
• J. Investigative Psych & Offender Profiling 7(3) Articles on line-ups, evidence, lie detection, witnesses http://retwt.me/1Pl6V
• Behavioral Sciences & the Law 28(5) Special on Adjudicative competencies http://retwt.me/1Pl6T
• European Journal of Criminology 7(6). Special on European criminal careers research http://retwt.me/1Pl6N
• British Journal of Criminology 50 (6) http://retwt.me/1Pl4U
• Aggressive Behavior 36(6) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1098-2337 [Also links to some free articles]
• J. Research in Crime & Delinquency 47(4) http://jrc.sagepub.com/content/vol47/issue4/
• Child Abuse and Neglect 34(1) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01452134
• Punishment & Society 12(4) http://pun.sagepub.com/content/vol12/issue4/
• Journal of Sexual Aggression 16(3) now online http://is.gd/g5ifY

Deception articles:

• The Reliability of Lie Detection Performance in Law Hum Beh 2009, currently free access til 30 Nov PDF: http://retwt.me/1Pl6M
• Outsmarting the Liars: The Benefit of Asking Unanticipated Questions in Law Hum Beh 2009, currently free access PDF: http://retwt.me/1Pl6l
• Police Lie Detection Accuracy: The Effect of Lie Scenario from Law Hum Beh 33(6) Free access til 30 Nov http://retwt.me/1Pl5J
• Aw, bless. New research in Psychol Science 21(10) shows 3-yr-olds have highly robust bias to trust what people say. http://is.gd/g5hB2
• Articles on reality monitoring, deceptive handwriting (FREE) & false memory in latest issue of Applied Cog Psy 24(8) http://is.gd/g5iAc
• Fascinating in press article on how honesty is rewarded and deception punished across cultures, in Pers Soc Psychol Bull http://is.gd/g5h3s

Other articles that caught my eye:

• From SSRN-Psychological Syndromes and Criminal Responsibility by Christopher Slobogin http://retwt.me/1Pl4G
• New in Acta Psych: Photos can create false memories if events perceived as personally plausible, less likely otherwise http://is.gd/gfqYS
• Interesting. SSRN-The Devastating Impact of Prior Crimes Evidence – And Other Myths of the Criminal Justice Process http://retwt.me/1Pl4a
• Mapping and Measuring Cybercrime: a Forum Discussion Paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1694107
• Abstract: “When serial killers go unseen: The case of Trevor Joseph Hardy” in Crime Media Culture http://ht.ly/2WO89 (via @Understanding Crime)
• CSI effect and criminals? New analysis suggests rapists are inconsistent in their forensic awareness http://is.gd/g5iZH
• New research in J. Personality & Soc Psych Emotion Guided Threat Detection: Expecting Guns Where There Are None http://is.gd/g5imo
• New in Psychol Science 21(10): alienated youth are more aggressive than others when they experience acute peer rejection. http://is.gd/g5hJH
• New: Confidence & Professional Judgment in Assessing Children’s Risk of Abuse, Research on Social Work Practice 20(6) http://is.gd/g5gY5

And finally:

• In Guardian Science: How juries are fooled by statistics http://bit.ly/a3UywM
• Karen Franklin PhD reviews “groundbreaking new book on sex offender treatment” http://retwt.me/1PeRw
• The Situationist Blog highlights SSRN paper by Davis & Leo on eliciting confessions and the risk of false confessions http://retwt.me/1PeKq

New research

• New issue: The latest Journal Contemporary Criminal Justice [26(4)] is a special on criminal investigation, with articles on police procedures, confessions, offender profiling and more http://is.gd/fCkNU (and it’s free til 15/10 via http://is.gd/eUubM)
• Extraordinary new analysis calculates each US homicide costs public average $17.25m, average murderer costs $24m. http://retwt.me/1P8Zy
• New journal from APA: Psychology of Violence, coming 2011. Introductory issue online now http://bit.ly/PA-vio
• “Beyond Social Capital: Triad Organized Crime in Hong Kong and China” http://ht.ly/2NL4k (via @UnderstandCrime – Aaron Jacklin)
• A new study shows that men, but not women, have an impaired ability to recognize faces when under stress http://j.mp/9skzMd [PDF] (via @mocost – Mo Costandi)

Deception

• Insurance “claim fraudsters think too much”. Some great Portsmouth Uni research covered by Irish Independent http://retwt.me/1P8R0
• “If You Want to Catch a Liar, Make Him Draw” David DiSalvo @Neuronarrative on more great Portsmouth Uni research http://retwt.me/1P8ZB
• fMRI scans of people with schizophrenia show they have same functional anatomical distinction between truth telling & deception as others http://bit.ly/aO5cI2 via @Forpsych
• In press: Promising to tell truth makes 8- 16 year-olds more honest (but lectures on morality don’t). Beh Sciences & Law http://is.gd/fCa7X

Other links of interest:

• Sam Sommers on testifying as expert witness on eyewitness identifications, in a complex case. http://retwt.me/1P8ZA
• From Docuticker: “In Their Own Words: Domestic Abuse in Later Life” training video released by DoJ http://retwt.me/1P8Zq
• RT @lenagroeger First blog post up on Scienceline! The Brain Scan Appeal: bringing neuroscience into the courtroom http://bit.ly/bH2p1Y
• RT @sciam (Scientific American) Are war crimes caused by bad apples or bad barrels? http://bit.ly/c4bFYh
• RT @vaughanbell Why do people confess to crimes they didn’t commit? http://is.gd/fKmDo Excellent NY Mag article on false confessions.
• RT @kfranklinphd (Karen Franklin) Why exempting sexually violent predator evaluators from traditional psychology ethics is a bad idea: http://t.co/VHHu4Tg
• RT @kfranklinphd (Karen Franklin) Black and female young offenders lack access to legal advice, UK study finds gu.com/p/2k6ng/tw
• RT @cjprof (Dr. Blankenship) Breakthrough in Britain’s war on drugs and crime – Crime, UK – The Independent http://goo.gl/hVqQ
• Great story by @bmahersciwriter on “a surreptitious and malicious side of science” – sabotage in the lab. http://bit.ly/c5TJDK
• RT @mindhacksblog: how murder is a social act: wp.me/ptsTD-3Lz
• RT @vaughanbell Fascinating 2003 NYT piece on medieval crime statistics, modern manners and murder. http://is.gd/fBcsW HT MH reader Alex C
• RT @Slate A New Orleans man who spent 29 years in solitary for a crime he didn’t commit http://slate.me/aREfbu
• RT @vaughanbell Insight into pimping from interviews. DePaul University study. pdf: http://is.gd/fvO0Q Sad and surprising via @kfranklinphd

• J. Contemporary Criminal Justice 26(2) focuses on General Strain Theory http://ccj.sagepub.com/content/vol26/issue2/
• Deviant Behavior 31(8) crime & solidarity, female prisoners, criminalisation of midwives http://is.gd/ftsGh
• Victims & Offenders: Volume 5 Issue 4 http://is.gd/ftsvr
• Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy 20(3) http://is.gd/ftsjo

New articles:

• “When children commit atrocities in war”, Global Change, Peace & Security 22(3) http://is.gd/ftsro
• People with higher Need for Cognition are more accurate at classifying truthful & deceptive msgs J Exp Soc Psy 46(6) http://is.gd/fts8u
• New research on personality, cognitive ability & motivation of academic cheaters. In J Exp Psych: Applied, Vol 16(3) http://is.gd/ftrRw
• Violent & nonviolent video games produce opposing effects on aggressive & prosocial outcomes J Exp Soc Psy 46(6) http://is.gd/ftrNL

And some retweets and other links of interest:

• RT @SocialPsych: Violent Video Games Increase Aggression Long After Games End http://bit.ly/9V4aOh
• RT @DrShock Bid to find cyberstalking victims – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11404284
• RT @Forpsych: Is there a cure for Britain’s most dangerous criminals? Gwen Adshead inThe Independent http://ind.pn/dCeD6Z
• RT @navarrotells: Some thoughts on the body language of deceivers: http://bit.ly/8igh89
• Joe Navarro @navarrotells picks apart the CEO CFO deception study and has some words of warning about the conclusions http://bit.ly/bcvoq0
• Depressing commentary in Guardian’s CiF: “No wonder rapists walk” by Joseph Harker http://gu.com/p/2jpzn/tw
• “Forensic science was not always CSI-style teamwork” by Deborah Blum in Guardian Science Blogs http://gu.com/p/2jq49/tw
• “A brainwave for catching a criminal?” @mocost posts at Guardian Science Blogs http://gu.com/p/2jzeg/tw
• On the Leonard Lopate show: “Negotiating evil”: Mitchell B. Reiss on whether we should negotiate with terrorists http://is.gd/ftQ2e

• Law and Human Behavior 34(5) http://is.gd/fhQvR Recidivism risk, psychopathy, informants, quality of forensic examiners and more
• Criminal Justice Matters 81(1) Articles on pre-crime, masculinity & violence, probation, secure envts & more http://is.gd/fbBVC
• Psychology, Crime & Law 16(8) http://is.gd/fhQqp Articles on execution, prisoners, rape myths, child abuse, eyewitness testimony

New research articles:

• Murder–suicide: A reaction to interpersonal crises. Forensic Science International 202(1-3) http://is.gd/fhQjP
• The role of perpetrator similarity in reactions toward innocent victims Eur J Soc Psy 40(6) http://is.gd/fhPZ3 Depressing.
• Detecting concealed information w/ reaction times: Validity & comparison w/ polygraph App Cog Psych 24(7) http://is.gd/fhPMW
• Eliciting cues to children’s deception via strategic disclosure of evidence App Cog Psych 24(7) http://is.gd/fhPIS
• Can fabricated evidence induce false eyewitness testimony? App Cog Psych 24(7) http://is.gd/fhPDd Free access
• In press, B J Soc Psy Cues to deception in context.http://is.gd/fhPcY Apparently ‘context’ = ‘Jeremy Kyle Show’. Can’t wait for the paper!
• Narrative & abductive processes in criminal profiling http://is.gd/fgjH3 Free if u register for Sage trial http://is.gd/eUubM
• Children’s contact with incarcerated parents: Research findings & recommendations American Psych 65(6) http://is.gd/fd45s
• Comparing victim attributions & outcomes for workplace aggression & sexual harassment in J App Psych 95(5) http://is.gd/fd3Vb
• Correctional Psychologist Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction. In Psych Services 7(3) http://is.gd/fbBKC
• It’s okay to shoot a character. http://tinyurl.com/32u3w9v Paper on morals in video games
• Perceptions about memory reliability and honesty for children of 3 to 18 years old – http://ht.ly/2z8O1

And some other links of interest:

• Robots learn how to deceive http://bit.ly/bTPCHh
• At The Situationist blog Prof Andrew Papachristos Explains Why Criminals Obey the Law http://is.gd/fdafn

The most important tweet of the last two weeks was notification that Sage Pubs are offering FREE online access to their entire collection until October 15, 2010. Sage do this every year or so and it’s a great time to stock up new and classic research. Register here: http://is.gd/eUubM

Once you’ve done that, check out new issues of the following Sage journals:

• Criminology & Criminal Justice 10(3) http://is.gd/eUL9d
• Violence Against Women 16(8). http://is.gd/eUL1T
• J. Research in Crime & Delinquency 47(3) http://is.gd/eUKUM
• Social & Legal Studies 19(3) http://is.gd/eUKBX.
• European J. Criminology 7(5) http://is.gd/eUKk4

Also out, the first September issue of JUSTINFO, published by NCJRS. Funding opps, new publications, courses, resources etc http://www.ncjrs.gov/justinfo/sep0110.html

In other non-forensic journals, the following articles caught my eye:

• Meta-analytic comparison of 9 violence risk assessment tools. Psychological Bulletin 136(5):740-767 http://is.gd/f6J9Q
• Construct-driven development of video-based situational judgment test for police integrity http://is.gd/f6J3h
• Unconfirmed loss of husband has specific negative mental health consequences vs suffering a confirmed loss http://is.gd/f6IIF
• Social ties & short-term self-reported delinquent behaviour of personality disordered forensic outpatients http://ht.ly/2z9z8
• Prediction & expln of young offenders’ intentions to reoffend from behavioral, normative & control beliefs http://is.gd/f6INT
• Psych Bulletin 136(5) Surviving the Holocaust: A meta-analysis of the long-term sequelae of a genocide. http://is.gd/eUsUq
• Screening offenders for risk of drop-out and expulsion from correctional programmes – http://ht.ly/2z9u4
• Distinguishing truthful from invented accounts using reality monitoring criteria – http://ht.ly/2z8FC
• Can people successfully feign high levels of interrogative suggestibility & compliance when given instructions to malinger? http://ht.ly/2z8Wz
• New research – FMRI & deception: “The production and detection of deception in an interactive game” in _Neuropsychologia_ http://is.gd/eUMO3
• And in the free access PLoS1: fMRI study indicates neural activity associated with deception is valence-related. PLoS One 5(8). http://is.gd/f6IaM

Other bits and pieces, including retweets:

• “How to Catch a Terrorist: Read His Brainwaves-ORLY?” Wired Danger Room is sceptical about P300 tests as CT measure http://is.gd/f5JFT
• RT@vaughanbell: Good piece on the attempts to get dodgy fMRI lie detection technology introduced to the courtroom. http://is.gd/eSdP6
• NPR: A Click Away: Preventing Online Child Porn Viewing http://t.co/VRfaNiz
• How Can We Help Gang Members Leave the Violence Behind? Share your thoughts on the newest PsycCRITIQUES Blog entry http://bit.ly/blpV04
• Do prison conditions have more of a deterrent effect on crime than the death penalty? http://su.pr/1WUpIg
• Great documentary with forensic issues regarding induced delusional or acute polymorphic psychotic disorder: http://bit.ly/bHkJpy

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Tell us about some of your cases

I mostly get asked to give an opinion on the authorship of a text, which can be a book, a set of mobile phone texts, letters, emails and so on. I also do plagiarism analysis. For example, about four years ago I was approached by Lew Perdue, the novelist, who claimed that his book had been plagiarised by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. This was a very big case and it went all the way to the US Supreme Court. Most of my work is criminal work. I did the authorship analysis in the case of Garry Weddell, the police inspector accused of murdering his wife. He was released on bail and later shot his mother in law and then himself. I also did the linguistics in the case of Julie Turner, the woman whose body was found in an oil barrel in Yorkshire.

What other kinds of cases do you get involved in?

I often get asked by coroners to look at suicide notes, or other texts surrounding incidents of suspicious death. I also do a lot of hate mail work and I’ve done quite a number of product contamination cases. I also do a lot of insurance and other security work in fraud and forgery cases. Mobile phone text authorship is also a key area in forensic linguistics.

How would you describe ‘Forensic Linguistics’?

There are two parts to forensic linguistics: language as evidence and the language of the law. Language as evidence involves the linguist being asked to give an expert opinion on the authorship, or possibly meaning, of a text. This involves making an analysis, writing a report and going to court to give evidence.

How do you find the experience of giving evidence in court?

I enjoy it and I also believe it’s right that we should be made to defend our views. Lawyers should not hesitate to be as probing as possible when it comes to experts.

When was forensic linguistics first used?

Forensic linguistics was first used in an analysis of a suspect statement in 1968 by a Swedish linguist by the name of Jan Svartvik. However, it did not make its first appearance in court in any serious way until the 1990’s.

How long have you been practising as a forensic linguist?

I have been practising since about 1995, working with police forces all over the UK and the US, and with lawyers in the UK and abroad. I have prepared over 300 reports for court and have given evidence many times, mostly for prosecution.

Do you think forensic linguistics has been beneficial for the justice system?

I believe forensic linguistics has had a major impact on the justice system in that it has helped courts to clarify the linguistic evidence either in favour of or against suspects.

How should police officers and lawyers brief forensic linguists?

It’s important that lawyers and police officers brief experts carefully. In a few cases people have ‘overbriefed’ experts, giving them information which is not only unnecessary, but which the expert should not know. Another important factor is when to approach the expert. I suggest the earlier the better – even if it is just to get an opinion on the viability of a particular piece of evidence.

How can Forensic Linguistics be used in a criminal investigation?

To identify the author of a text, such as a ransom demand or suicide note, or series of hate mail letters, mobile phone texts or emails. To clarify the meaning of a word or phrase. For example, in one case I was asked the meaning of a slang word in a murder trial and to evaluate the word in context and assess its meaning within the scope of the crime that had been committed.

What should investigators, solicitors or private clients consider when requesting help from Forensic Linguists?

The primary issue is whether the expert is appropriate for the task. Even forensic linguistics is becoming more and more specialised. Most linguists will be happy to tell the client if there is someone else who is better qualified or more current in the particular area under examination.

How long does a Forensic Linguist need to analyse a piece of evidence?

It very much depends on the evidence. In cases where there are many texts (whether emails, letters, mobile phone texts, etc) it can take several months. However, where there are only a few texts to analyse, the work can be completed within a week or ten days. Most linguists will give a preliminary opinion at little or no cost.

Is the science behind it robust enough to use in a trial as evidence?

Forensic Linguistics has been used successfully in courts many times, both in the UK and abroad. I believe linguistic evidence stands up as well as any other kind of forensic evidence in court. Behind every case is a considerable body of research: we base our conclusions on linguistic principles, on evidence from language databases, on previous experience and findings. In fact, just like any other forensic scientist, we use all the tools available to us.

What difficulties have you come across when analysing a piece of evidence?

All evidence is difficult to analyse: you can never underestimate the task. Perhaps the most difficult task is estimating the contribution of a particular piece of evidence to the overall case. Does it tend to support an identification of a suspect? Does it tend to support the identification of someone other than the suspect? It is important not to overstate an opinion or cause problems for courts by being over-confident. All forensic scientists have these issues.

Where do you see the future of Forensic Linguistics?

The only future that matters is that the justice system is well served and that investigators and lawyers are given useful, honest, impartial advice and evidence. I believe forensic linguistics can do this, and so will remain a good servant of the justice system. It is the integrity of the justice system that counts – nothing else matters.

Find out more:

• Crimepsych posts on forensic linguistics
• The Forensic Linguistics Institute (John’s website)
• Centre for Forensic Linguistics at Aston University
• Forensic Linguistics Discussion Group

Two books by John Olsson:

• Wordcrime: Solving Crime Through Forensic Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics: Second Edition

Forensic Science for the 21st Century: The National Academy of Sciences Report and Beyond

The Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University will host an international conference on April 3-4, 2009, in Tempe, Ariz., on the future of forensic science, with special attention to the highly anticipated report of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, “Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Sciences Community.”

In addition to experts from universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, Harvard Law School, the University of Michigan Law School, the University of California, Irvine, the University of Virginia and ASU, among others, participants will include state and federal judges, the NAS committee chairmen, the president of the American Association of Forensic Sciences, directors of the FBI laboratory and the Innocence Project, and prosecutors, defense attorneys, forensic scientists, and criminalists. Papers will be published in the ABA-ASU journal, Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science, and Technology, and in the Oxford University Press journal, Law, Probability & Risk.

As part of the conference, The Honorable Harry T. Edwards, Senior Circuit Judge and Chief Judge Emeritus of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and co-chair of the NAS Forensic Science Committee, will deliver the annual Willard H. Pedrick Lecture. The title of Judge Edwards’ talk is, ‘Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward.’

For more information about the conference, co-sponsored by the National Judicial College and the Criminal Justice and Science and Technology Law sections of the American Bar Association, and to register, go to http://LST.law.asu.edu.

Part 1: Discussion of who can catch a liar and some research on signs of lying.

Part 2: New technologies and deception detection, particularly recent advances in the debate over fMRI but also some news about ERP-related deception detection.

Part 3: It’s magic! Reporting on the little flurry of interest in understanding how magicians deceive us, with some lessons for how practiced liars might achieve the same effect.

Part 4: When people lie in specific situations, from 911 calls to deception by the police.

Part 5: Polygraphy, and some recent research on the psychophisiology of lying.

Part 6: Kids’ lies, online lies and my deception book of the year.

Blogging is likely to continue to be sporadic on both this and the other crimepsych blogs over the next few months as I try and finish the doctorate, but if all goes to plan I hope to be back to better blogging by the summer of this year.

Wishing you all the best for a happy, safe and successful year in 2009!

This paper contributes to the science of crowd dynamics and psychology by examining the social psychological processes related to the relative absence of “hooliganism” at the Finals of the 2004 Union Européenne de Football Association (UEFA) Football (Soccer) Championships in Portugal. Quantitative data from a structured observational study is integrated with data from a questionnaire survey of a group associated ubiquitously with ‘hooliganism’ – namely England fans. This analysis provides support for the contention that the absence of ‘disorder’ can be attributed in large part to the non-paramilitary policing style adopted in cities hosting tournament matches. Evidence is presented which suggests that this style of policing supported forms of non-violent collective psychology that, in turn, served to psychologically marginalise violent groups from the wider community of fans. The study highlights the mutually constructive relationships that can be created between psychological theory, research, policing policy and practice, particularly in relation to the successful management of ‘public order’. The paper concludes by exploring some of the wider implications of this research for theory, policy, the management of crowds, social conflict, and human rights more generally.

Reference:

• Clifford Stott, Otto Adang, Andrew Livingstone and Martina Schreiber (2008). Tackling Football Hooliganism: A Quantitative Study of Public Order, Policing and Crowd Psychology. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 14(2):115-141

Can I, in particular, recommend you take a look at the latest issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior? It’s a special on “Pseudoscientific Policing Practices and Beliefs” pulled together by guest editor Brent Snook. Scott Lilienfeld and Kristin Landfield’s overview of science and pseudoscience is just ok (I don’t think it’s as good as it could be), but there are useful reviews (among others) of hypnosis in a legal setting (Graham Wagstaff), of detecting deception (Aldert Vrij), and of false confessions (Saul Kassin). These reviews will prove invaluable if you’re new to these areas of research or need a refresher.

Also in this issue, Snook and colleagues examine why criminal profiling is so seductive, when much of what passes for profiling is simply – according to the authors – “smoke and mirrors”. They conclude:

There is a growing belief that profilers can accurately and consistently predict a criminal’s characteristics based on crime scene evidence… We contend that this belief is illusory because a critical analysis of research on CP [criminal profiling] showed that the field lacks theoretical grounding and empirical support.

And there’s an extraordinary and provocative critique of the FBI’s programme to introduce Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for its agents, co-authored by a former agent who was involved in the programme. The authors bemoan the fact that although the business of “law enforcement is inextricably tied to facts, objectivity, organization, and high standards of proof” (p.1342), the FBI did not (according to the authors) apply the same standards when evaluating a stress debriefing programme for its agents. The evidence for the effectiveness of CISD is scant, argue the authors (and there is some evidence that CISD may even be harmful to people exposed to severe trauma). So, the authors explain: “We are thus compelled to consider how an idea so poorly grounded and so seriously discredited came to hold so tenacious a footing in the employee assistance practices of what is arguably the world’s most sophisticated law enforcement agency” (p.1342). Newbold, Lohr and Gist’s concluding comments could serve as an epitaph for the entire issue:

Pseudoscience finds its foothold where the blurring of boundaries allows the imperatives of evidentiary warrant shared by both domains to become compromised. It takes many years of training and experience to become competent as either a law enforcement agent or a psychologist, and either role requires strong focus and strict boundaries to be executed effectively. Police officers who want to play shrink and psychologists who want to play cop run a serious risk of blurring those boundaries.

Here are the contents in full:

• Brent Snook – Introduction to the Special Issue: Pseudoscientific Policing Practices and Beliefs
• Scott O. Lilienfeld and Kristin Landfield – Science and Pseudoscience in Law Enforcement: A User-Friendly Primer
• Michael G. Aamodt – Reducing Misconceptions and False Beliefs in Police and Criminal Psychology
• John Turtle and Stephen C. Want – Logic and Research Versus Intuition and Past Practice as Guides to Gathering and Evaluating Eyewitness Evidence
• Brent Snook, Richard M. Cullen, Craig Bennell, Paul J. Taylor, and Paul Gendreau – The Criminal Profiling Illusion: What’s Behind the Smoke and Mirrors?
• Graham F. Wagstaff – Hypnosis and the Law: Examining the Stereotypes
• William G. Iacono – Effective Policing: Understanding How Polygraph Tests Work and Are Used
• Saul M. Kassin – Confession Evidence: Commonsense Myths and Misconceptions
• Aldert Vrij – Nonverbal Dominance Versus Verbal Accuracy in Lie Detection: A Plea to Change Police Practice
• Katherine M. Newbold, Jeffrey M. Lohr, and Richard Gist – Apprehended Without Warrant: Issues of Evidentiary Warrant for Critical Incident Services and Related Trauma Interventions in a Federal Law Enforcement Agency
• David C. Flagel and Paul Gendreau – Commentary: Sense, Common Sense, and Nonsense

The ambiguity of the concept of crime is evident in the two strands of anthropological research covered in this review. One strand, the anthropology of criminalization, explores how state authorities, media, and citizen discourse define particular groups and practices as criminal, with prejudicial consequences. Examples are drawn from research on peasant rebellion, colonialism, youth, and racially or ethnically marked urban poor. The other strand traces ethnographic work on more or less organized illegal and predatory activity: banditry, rustling, trafficking, street gangs, and mafias. Although a criminalizing perspective tends to conflate these diverse forms of “organized” crime, in particular erasing the boundary between street gangs and drug trafficking, the forms have discrete histories and motivations. Their particularities, as well as their historical interactions, illuminate everyday responses to crime and suggest ways to put in perspective the “crime talk” of today, which borders on apocalyptic.

Reference

• Jane Schneider & ­Peter Schneider (2008). The Anthropology of Crime and Criminalization. Annual Review of Anthropology Vol. 37: 351-373

…debates [that] are ongoing about what roles profilers should play in criminal investigations, how profiles should be constructed, delivered, and evaluated, whether the contributions made by profilers are valid and, if so, how, and whether there are new, potentially more productive approaches to profiling that could improve upon or even replace the methods that are currently being used.

Though he rightly notes that it’s impossible to do the topic justice in one issue Bennell argues that he has pulled together some examples of research that “will help in some small way to move the profiling field forward”. One problem with this issue, however, is that it only shines a spotlight on research being conducted by members of Bennell’s research lab at Carlton University and Bennell’s current or former associates. As such, it offers a somewhat partial view of the range of research that is and could be done in this area. So I can’t help but agree that this issue represents only a small step forward, but science is generally built on small steps rather than great leaps.

What Bennell has done here is offer a taster of the kind of research that could and should be done to advance this field, including papers on the reliabilility of data that profiles are based on, the theoretical assumptions underlying some forms of profiling, the ways in which readers might interpret profiles and new, potentially fruitful approaches to profiling. There is plenty here that will be of interest to a range of readers including students, more established researchers and practitioners. Contents and further comments after the break.

The contents include:

• Investigating the Reliability of the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) Crime Report – Melissa M. Martineau, Shevaun Corey
• A Failure to Find Empirical Support for the Homology Assumption in Criminal Profiling – Brandy Doan, Brent Snook
• The False Recognition Effect in Criminal Profiling – Craig Bennell, Rebecca Mugford, Alyssa Taylor, Sarah Bloomfield, Catherine M. Wilson
• Body Disposal Patterns of Sexual Murderers: Implications for Offender Profiling – Eric Beauregard, Jessica Field
• Taming the Beast: The UK Approach to the Management of Behavioral Investigative Advice – Lee Rainbow

I’ve only had time to skim some of the articles in this issue, but I was particularly taken with experienced Behavioural Investigative Advisor Lee Rainbow’s ‘future challenges’ section in his article on the provision of behavioural investigative advice in the UK. Rainbow explains in detail how behavioural advice is used in police investigations in the UK and summarises the various steps taken in the last decade to put such advice on a scientific and professional footing, including strict accreditation standards for individuals offering behavioural investigative advice and systematic evaluation of their reports. But Rainbow argues that the first challenge for the future is addressing a growing misconception that ‘profiling’ skills are widespread and easy to obtain, a misconception that has been created by “the expansion and availability of post-graduate forensic psychology courses, and courses more specifically focussing on some form of ‘profiling’ ”. Rainbow goes on to suggest that this

has created a situation where individuals within the police service itself are exploiting the opportunity to apply the principles of behavioral science to the investigative process, but for which the appropriate quality assurance mechanisms could be lacking. Such ambiguous provision of support must be addressed to arrest the potential dilution and undermining of the current high standards of the service.

A second, and Rainbow suggests, more significant challenge

results from the intense media interest in such activity. Media coverage of any major crime story in the UK is almost exclusively accompanied by a psychologist or “profiler” waxing lyrically about the offender’s likely characteristics, personality, psychopathology and the resulting recommended investigative actions. Whilst such observations are a somewhat inevitable product of both the popular fascination of “getting inside the mind of the killer” and 24 hour news scheduling, the apparent readiness with which some individuals feel compelled to feed such appetites may be viewed as contrary to expected levels of professionalism.

As longtime readers will know, psychologists and psychiatrists offering speculative comments on high-profile cases is something I (and many others) have criticised before. As Rainbow points out:

These individuals should be acutely aware from experience that the information available within the public domain during investigations is a deliberately restricted subset of the known facts in the case. To base speculation on such limited information demonstrates a disregard for expected standards of scientific integrity.