Most recent papers:

• Drawing conclusions: Instructing witnesses to draw what happened to them.
  Daniel G. Derksen, Deborah A. Connolly.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 06, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nWe reviewed the child and the adult literature on the impact of witnesses drawing what happened on the number of details recalled and the accuracy of the reported details. Most experiments reported a beneficial effect of drawing what happened (or drawing the scene) on the number of details reported primarily in free recall and sometimes also in cued recall. The consensus across studies was that drawing protocols did not negatively impact the accuracy of reported details (when accuracy was attainable) unless suggestive details were drawn. These results were largely consistent regardless of interviewer expertise or protocol used. Draw‐and‐tell instructions should be considered by forensic investigators for the following reasons: (1) the beneficial effect on number of details recalled with no detriment to accuracy, (2) the added benefit for children who need additional interviewer support, and (3) the ease at which the instruction can be implemented with minimal expertise or training. However, more ecologically valid research is needed to establish the efficacy of drawing (1) in forensic interviews, (2) in the presence of misinformation, (3) across instances of repeated event memory, and (4) across sequential interviews.\n"]

  October 06, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1604   open full text
• Killing your children to hurt your partner: A South African perspective on the motivations for revenge filicide.
  Melanie Moen, Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 01, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThe aim of the study was to investigate the offence characteristics and motivations for revenge filicides. Revenge filicide is an act where one parent kills their own offspring for retribution to hurt and upset the other parent. The cases of 20 revenge filicide murderers (14 male and six female) were analysed to determine the motivations and offence characteristics of revenge filicide offenders. It is the first South African study to highlight the motivations and associated characteristics in revenge filicides. Themes such as a loss of social identity due to rejection; extreme rage type anger; external locus of control; sadism; a desire to cause pain and a need to inflict harm are highlighted in this article. The initial emotional response may escalate from mild anger to a level of narcissistic rage which eventually culminates in the murdering of the child to punish and hurt the other parent and to restore control.\n"]

  October 01, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1603   open full text
• The effects of building and maintaining rapport on cooperative mock eyewitness recall.
  Andrea C. F. Wolfs, Danielle Sneyd, Jonathan P. Vallano, Nadja Schreiber Compo, Leanett Reinoso.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 151-166, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nAlthough building rapport before an investigative interview is recommended—and sometimes empirically beneficial—to eyewitness memory, no research has experimentally examined the effects of maintaining rapport during a witness interview on adult eyewitness recall. As a result, the present study assessed the impact of rapport on eyewitness recall accuracy by comparing a pre‐interview rapport only condition with a maintained rapport condition (where rapport was built before and maintained during the interview) and a no rapport control condition. Results revealed no benefits (or detriments) of building initial rapport—or any additional benefits of maintaining rapport—on witness recall quality, quantity, or ‘don't know’ responses. Our findings suggest that rapport or its maintenance may not directly affect eyewitness recall. However, as rapport is a humane eyewitness interviewing technique with some empirical support, we still advocate for its continued use.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1586   open full text
• A new Geographic Profiling Suspect Mapping And Ranking Technique for crime investigations: GP‐SMART.
  Sophie Curtis‐Ham, Wim Bernasco, Oleg N. Medvedev, Devon L. L. Polaschek.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 103-117, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nThis study developed and tested a new geographic profiling method for automating suspect prioritisation in crime investigations. The Geographic Profiling Suspect Mapping And Ranking Technique (GP‐SMART) maps suspects' activity locations available in police records—such as home addresses, family members' home addresses, prior offence locations, locations of non‐crime incidents, and other contacts with police—and ranks suspects based on both the proximity and nature of these locations, relative to an input crime. In accuracy tests using solved burglary, robbery and extra‐familial sex offence cases in New Zealand (n = 4511), GP‐SMART ranked the offender at or near the top of the suspect list at rates greatly exceeding chance. Highlighting the benefit of its novel inclusion and differentiation of many different types of activity location, GP‐SMART also outperformed baseline methods—approximating existing algorithms—that ranked suspects using only the proximity of their activity locations, or home addresses, to the input crime.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1585   open full text
• The cognitive interview for suspects: A test with customs officers.
  Mathilde Noc, Magali Ginet, Nadine Deslauriers‐Varin.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 167-184, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nThe current study aimed at testing the impact of the cognitive interview for suspects (CIS) used by trained custom officers on the quantity of gathered details, compared to a control standard interview (SI) used by untrained officers. Forty‐five mock‐suspects were required to perform a series of actions and each was interviewed by a pair of customs officers. Participants had to give statements containing truthful parts and deceptive parts. The CIS elicited significantly more details than the SI. Truthful parts of the statements contained more details than deceptive parts. An interaction effect revealed that the CIS elicited a higher number of action details in truthful parts. It is worthwhile for professionals in the field to adopt the CIS, which provides valuable benefits for information gathering. Moreover, the increase in action details raise the question of considering it as a possible lie detection tool.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1587   open full text
• When the eyewitness to a crime is an English language learner: Identifying and resolving troubles in understanding in interviews.
  Meredith Allison, Jennifer Gerwing, Cecily B. Gadaire.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 185-203, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nInvestigative interviewing can be a difficult task. Challenges may be exacerbated when interviewing English language learners. The field of eyewitness testimony lacks research on what troubles of understanding are generated by non‐native speakers and how these troubles are resolved. Thus, we undertook an exploratory study in which we aimed to provide definitions for identifying and characterising both troubles of understanding and resolutions. Data were simulated interviews between 17 dyads of native English‐speaking student‐interviewers and English language learner witnesses of a mock crime. We identified misunderstandings in each interaction and tracked who misunderstood, when the misunderstanding occurred (free/cued recall), whether it was resolved, and resolution strategies. We validated video analysis by checking for information consistency in the subsequent interviewer notes. Across dyads, 40 misunderstandings were found, with at least one in each interview. Witnesses misunderstood significantly more in the cued recall portion of the interview, while interviewers misunderstood more during free recall. Notably, participants resolved misunderstandings more often than not, used a variety of resolution strategies, and employed more strategies in unresolved instances. Interviewer notes confirmed our resolution analysis in 39/40 instances. The results suggest that the interviewers used creativity, flexibility, and a repertoire of different strategies when misunderstandings occurred.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1588   open full text
• A free account or not? Its effect upon information yield in strategic interviews with suspects.
  Martijn L. J. Beek, Ray Bull, Suzana Mijalkovic.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 261-278, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nAsking suspects for a free account (FA) at the start of an interview is considered good practice in a growing number of police organisations, whereas in others it still is not commonplace. This study explored whether interviews with or without such an invitation yielded more information from guilty suspects. Students in safety and security committed a mock crime and were then interviewed using a strategy of gradual disclosure of evidence, in the experimental condition preceded with an FA invitation (n = 20) and without such an invitation in the control condition (n = 17). On average, relatively little information was collected in the FA phase and far more in the subsequent gradual disclosure phase. However, the FA condition yielded seven confessions, four of which were given already in the FA phase. The No FA condition yielded only two confessions. Other differences in yield were not found. These findings indicate that an FA invitation could lead to some relevant and important information, such as a confession, being gathered already at an early stage of an interview, and that such an invitation does not hamper the gathering of further information later in the interview.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1600   open full text
• Looking guilty: Handcuffing suspects influences judgements of deception.
  Mircea Zloteanu, Nadine L. Salman, Eva G. Krumhuber, Daniel C. Richardson.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 231-247, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nVeracity judgements are important in legal and investigative contexts. However, people are poor judges of deception, often relying on incorrect behavioural cues when these may reflect the situation more than the sender's internal state. We investigated one such situational factor relevant to forensic contexts: handcuffing suspects. Judges—police officers (n = 23) and laypersons (n = 83)—assessed recordings of suspects, providing truthful and deceptive responses in an interrogation setting where half were handcuffed. Handcuffing was predicted to undermine efforts to judge veracity by constraining suspects' gesticulation and by priming stereotypes of criminality. It was found that both laypersons and police officers were worse at detecting deception when judging handcuffed suspects compared to non‐handcuffed suspects, while not affecting their judgement bias; police officers were also overconfident in their judgements. The findings suggest that handcuffing can negatively impact veracity judgements, highlighting the need for research on situational factors to better inform forensic practice.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1597   open full text
• An exploration of unsolved missing persons cases suspected of a criminal outcome: A forensic victimology approach.
  Julien Chopin, Eric Beauregard, Christophe Baroche, Miganouch Piridjani, Magalie Sabot, Francis Fortin.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 118-134, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nThe purpose of this study is to explore cases of missing persons suspected of being criminal. Specifically, this research aims to empirically describe the circumstances surrounding criminal disappearances and examine whether there are different subcategories within these cases using a victimological framework. The data used in this study come from an operational police database. The sample includes 155 unsolved missing person cases whose thorough investigation by the police concluded that a criminal motive remained the most likely hypothesis. These cases occurred on the entire territory of metropolitan France and overseas. Multidimensional scale analysis was used to explore the context of disappearance according to missing person characteristics, lifestyle, everyday activities, and situational exposure at the time of the disappearance. Results show that the distribution of variables in a two‐dimensional space reveals four distinct different categories related to lifestyle and situational exposure: riskier lifestyle, riskier situation, safer situation, and safer lifestyle. This study is the first to empirically explore unsolved missing person cases suspected of a criminal outcome. Moreover, the framework used in this study demonstrates the importance of victimology in an investigative context.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1599   open full text
• The attrition problem: The role of police officer's decision making in rape cases.
  Olivia Sinclair.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 135-150, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nRape offences in England and Wales garner incredibly low levels of convictions. The policing stage of a complaint experiences high levels of case discontinuances. The aim of this research is to explore police officer's decision making in rape cases and how that shapes the attrition of cases. The method employed in this study is qualitative interviews, with retired or serving police officers, with the use of vignettes. This study found that police officers prioritise and continue with cases that they predict to be most likely to reach a conviction. Such predictions are guided by assessments over the strength of the evidence in cases, informed by a range of legal and extra‐legal factors. An overarching prediction employed is how likely a jury would be to convict a case. However, the participants reported that they find it incredibly difficult to accurately predict jury verdicts, making such decisions premised on a flawed logic.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1601   open full text
• Observers' accuracy in detecting deception in non‐native speakers versus native speakers: A systematic review.
  Keith Wylie, Michelle M. Pena, Kevin B. Miller, Maley E. Palmer, Elizabeth Tate.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 204-220, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nAs immigration and homeland security become of greater concern both at a global and national level, it is imperative to review existing research on observers' ability to accurately detect deception in non‐native speakers. Objectives of this systematic review were to summarise the evidence on adult observers' ability to accurately detect deception in non‐native speakers compared to native speakers; identify response biases in observers' judgements when judging native versus non‐native speakers' statements; and explore whether differences in observers' deception detection accuracy varies across targets' proficiency levels. Two reviewers independently searched five databases and screened for all quantitative studies that met pre‐selected search criteria. Out of 1885 records identified through database searching, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Discriminability for non‐native speakers was above chance in four samples. Most studies found support for a lie bias when judging non‐native speakers and a truth bias when judging native speakers. In addition to further research, these results highlight the need for better reporting of stimuli and observer samples as well as a standardised measure of individuals' proficiency level.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1595   open full text
• Staged body disposal sites and homicide: Investigating the multivariate approach of a serial killer.
  Mark Pettigrew.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 221-230, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nWhilst crime scene staging in homicide, as an attempt to avoid detection, has attracted some scholarly attention in recent years, staging a body disposal site has not been similarly scrutinised. Indeed, whilst some statistical studies note moving a homicide victim's body as a distinct crime scene behaviour, there is little discussion or analysis of body disposal sites generally. This case seeks to illustrate how a body disposal site may be staged—in three different forms—and to supplement existing quantitative data on offender behaviours undertaken to avoid detection. In so doing, a new category of staging is proposed: staging a body disposal site.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1596   open full text
• Exploring the impact of population density on journey‐to‐crime in cases of stranger sexual assault and stranger homicide.
  Louise Almond, Michelle McManus, Natasha Hankey, Naomi Trevett, Richard Mee.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 248-260, October 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nThe purpose of this research is to further understanding of how environmental factors impact on the distance an offender travels from their home to their crime scene ‐ the so called ‘journey‐to‐crime’ (JTC.). Currently, Geographic Profilers rely on relatively generic JTC research to form inferences about the likely distance travelled by an offender, and may be missing the opportunity to make a more bespoke assessment which takes these factors into account. 1186 cases of female stranger sexual assault (Study 1) and 124 cases of stranger homicide (Study 2) were analysed. Euclidean measurement of distance was provided from the offender's recorded home to 3 crime site locations: (1) the initial contact with victim, (2) the assault/murder, and (3) the victim release/body disposal. Each crime site location was coded according to: (a) population density and (b) urban or rural. Initial analysis examined the median distance travelled from an offender's residence to the three different crime site locations. Significant findings for stranger sexual assaults indicated that the initial contact location was significantly further from an offender's residence compared to the sexual assault and victim release location. This was not replicated for stranger homicide offences. Both sexual assault and homicide cases revealed that the distance travelled to the ‘initial approach’ location did not differ according to population density, or whether the location was urban or rural. Regarding ‘sexual assault’ locations, offenders were found to travel significantly further from their home to attack their victim in low population density and rural areas. Results showed that both sexual assault and homicide offenders travelled significantly further from their home to the ‘victim release/body disposal’ site in low population density areas and rural areas. These findings have important, practical applications for investigations, allowing Geographic Profilers to provide more bespoke inferences about an offender's journey to crime.\n"]

  September 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1598   open full text
• ‘Honour’‐based abuse: A descriptive study of survivor, perpetrator, and abuse characteristics.
  Keziah Ridley, Louise Almond, Nefeli Bafouni, Afrah Qassim.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 26, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nCurrent literature on ‘honour’‐based abuse (HBA) has largely focussed on exploring the lived experience of individuals, with limited analysis of the prevalence and associations of abuse characteristics. The aim of this study was to identify base rates of survivor, perpetrator and abuse characteristics. To identify these characteristics and their prevalence, 160 cases from Savera UK, a charity specialising in HBA and harmful practices, were coded for 66 variables and descriptive statistics produced. Fifteen of the coded abuse characteristics were present in more than 50% of cases, with ‘Emotional/psychological abuse and coercive control’, ‘Specific family cultural traditions’, ‘Gender‐based socialisation’ and ‘Physical violence’ being the only characteristics seen in more than 75% of cases. These represent the core characteristics of HBA but there are indications of qualitative and quantitate differences in this sample. Understanding the prevalence of characteristics is key to effectively identifying abuse, supporting survivors and improving effective prevention strategies.\n"]

  September 26, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1602   open full text
• Remote video interface psychological assessment during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Experiences of consultants and clients.
  Maria‐Teresa Martínez‐Cengotitabengoa, Andoni Sanchez‐Martinez, Daniel Long‐Martinez, Monike Sanchez‐Martínez, Araminta Peters‐Corbett, Eleanor J. Pugh, Fraser W. F. Field, Mónica Martínez‐Cengotitabengoa.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 2, Page 88-99, June 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nThe need for remote psychological assessment came to the fore during the Covid‐19 pandemic lockdown. This paper examines the qualitative experiences of psychologists and patients using remote video interfaces for psychological assessment during that period. The aim was to gain qualitative data on the personal experiences of both parties and explore whether remote assessment via video interface is a satisfactory method for psychological evaluations. Patients were seen for psychological assessments by consultant Clinical and Counselling Psychologists via through videoconference. Consultants and patients were asked about their experience of the video assessment and the consultant recorded their responses. Content Analysis was used to analyse the responses. The remote mode of assessment was found to be satisfactory to both patient and psychologist, although technical issues were highlighted to be the most disruptive to assessments. Consultants reported a certain level of fatigue, particularly after evaluations, and some of them commented that they had to try harder than in a face‐to‐face evaluation. Distraction in the patient environment was considered detrimental. The small sample size which requires further replication studies. Overall, the use of videoconference was found to be a satisfactory method for psychological assessment with some areas for improvement, such as technical difficulties and fatigue.\n"]

  May 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1589   open full text
• A systematic review of the United Kingdom's contact child sexual exploitation perpetrator literature: Pointing a way forward for future research and practice.
  Vicky Mooney.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 2, Page 40-57, June 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nUntil recently, empirical evidence exploring Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) has been scarce, particularly in relation to contact exploitation, where the convicted perpetrator seeks direct physical (offline) contact as opposed to solely targeting the victim online. This article presents a systematic review of the UK's contact CSE perpetrator literature, searching from 2009 to the present day to ensure that studies encompass the categorisations detailed within the CSE statutory definitions. Twenty‐three research articles were appraised using a Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). A narrative synthesis approach was used to synthesise the findings from qualitative and mixed methods studies identifying four significant analytical themes including (a) barriers to examining a complex phenomenon, (b) recognising the contact CSE perpetrator, (c) understanding the contact CSE perpetrator and (d) responding to the contact CSE perpetrator. This review synthesises evidence in a singular study, ideal for policy‐makers and stakeholders to provide a more comprehensive safeguarding response, guide future research directions, and provide suggestions for law enforcement disruption strategies within the United Kingdom. Recommendations for policy, practice, procedure and training include improving the recording of data, re‐categorising CSE as CSA, targeting harmful sexual behaviour and group offending, and designing evidenced based perpetrator treatment programmes. Future research centring on the perpetrator's adverse experiences and the strategies used to instigate sexual contact could advance understanding of how these crimes could be prevented.\n"]

  May 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1580   open full text
• Understanding the role of uncertainty and anxiety in police decision‐making during the investigation of sudden unexpected deaths in children.
  Jonathan Holmes, Laura Boulton, Heather Panter.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 2, Page 58-72, June 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nExisting policing policy offers a rational approach to decision‐making with minimal reference to human judgement within child death investigations. This study adopted a mixed methodology to capture decisional processes of 26 serving detective inspectors and detective sergeants whilst responding to an immersive scenario which simulated the first hours of a Sudden and Unexpected Death in Children (SUDC) investigation. Participants were presented with four decision points, during which they were asked to choose from decision options while reflecting upon personal and situational factors influencing that decision. Thematic analysis of responses found that investigators disclosed ‘anxiety’ and ‘uncertainty’ throughout their decision‐making during the scenario. In addition, there was no evidence of investigators utilising the models formally advocated within policing literature to make their decisions and assessments. As a result, it is suggested that further improvements are made regarding investigative decision‐making models within operational policing where ‘anxiety’ and ‘uncertainty’ is heightened.\n"]

  May 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1583   open full text
• Gender and victim stereotypes in perceptions of child sexual abuse in Puerto Rico.
  Sigrid Vázquez‐Tirado.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 30, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 2, Page 73-87, June 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nFactors such as cultural norms and stereotypes influence how child sexual abuse (CSA) is perceived in relation to gender of the offender and perceptions of responsibility and harm in Puerto Rico. Finkelhor and Browne's traumagenic dynamics model served as the theoretical framework for the investigation because it addresses four key factors related to the experience of CSA victims. A total of 525 people living in Puerto Rico participated in the study. They were asked to read a hypothetical case of CSA by a teacher with a minor student and answer related questions. Point‐biserial correlational analyses were used to assess the influence of gender of the offender on perceptions of CSA. Results of the study indicated the male offender was attributed more responsibility and harm for the offence. Both male and female minor victims were identified by participants as partly responsible for the offence. Male and female offenders were identified as victims. Findings of this study could help to improve understanding of cultural differences in perceptions of CSA cases and its consequences.\n"]

  May 30, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1590   open full text
• The relative impact of different ‘resistant behavioural responses’ on interrogative suggestibility in children: The powerful contribution of ‘direct explanation’ replies to unanswerable questions.
  Gisli Gudjonsson, Monia Vagni, Tiziana Maiorano, Valeria Giostra, Daniela Pajardi.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 21, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 1, Page 3-19, January 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nThe aim of this study was to investigate the different types of resistant behavioural responses to unanswerable questions, their respective individual contribution to the overall variance in resistance efficacy, and their differential protective effect on repeated questioning, interrogative pressure, and delayed suggestibility. The participants were 360 children aged between 7 and 17 years, 180 of whom were suspected victims of sexual abuse and 180 matched peers for age, sex and IQ. All children completed the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2. Delayed suggestibility was measured after a 1‐week delay. The findings show that ‘don't know’, ‘direct explanation’, and ‘no’ answers are unrelated response styles that have individual effects on resistance to misleading questions. ‘Direct explanation’ answers are most stable and robust and increase incrementally with age in children, whilst ‘no’ answers decline. The findings suggest that ‘Don't know’, ‘direct explanation’, and ‘no’ answers are driven by different cognitive and social processes.\n"]

  January 21, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1581   open full text
• Masking in murder: An exploratory study into the act of covering the victim’s face in UK homicide.
  Lee Rainbow, Caitlin Benson, Louise Almond, Alicia Tandy, Michelle McManus.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 21, 2022
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 19, Issue 1, Page 20-32, January 2022. ", "\nAbstract\nPrevious literature suggests that covering of a homicide victim's face by an offender indicates a pre‐existing relationship. Operational definitions discriminate between three forms of victim covering (i) Masking (ii) Cloaking and (iii) Concealment. 126 UK homicide cases were examined to explore whether any evidence‐based investigative inferences could be supported in cases of victim covering viewed through an instrumental/expressive framework. No statistically significant differences were found between face covering behaviour and the relationship between victim and offender, previous convictions, and offender age, although there was a high frequency of elderly female victims of masking. The findings are discussed in relation to offender‐profiling.\n"]

  January 21, 2022   doi: 10.1002/jip.1582   open full text
• A description and examination of cyber‐bullying victimisation in the UK.
  Calli Tzani, Maria Ioannou, John Synnott, Dean McDonnell, Ntaniella‐Roumpini Pylarinou.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 04, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 3, Page 157-169, October 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nCyber bullying (CB) might be relatively new in comparison to School‐Bullying (SB); nonetheless, both types have a negative impact on victims' psychological state. This project investigated CB in the UK and examined the victimisation means, as well as the reasons behind it. Four hundred and eight participants completed an online survey, which includes the 52‐item measure Cyber‐bullying and Online Aggression survey (CBOAS). The survey was advertised on social media and was active for nine months. From the sample, 37.26% reported that they had experienced CB victimisation more than once. Females seem to be more frequently involved in CB, particularly on Facebook and by spreading rumours. Such incidents usually result from arguments in real‐life settings. Many victims were able to stop their CB victimisation by standing up to their CB perpetrators. There are indications that CB functions as a subtype of SB. Implications and limitations are discussed in detail.\n"]

  October 04, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1578   open full text
• Investigative interviewing of high‐status fraud suspects.
  Manon R. Hoekstra, Willem‐Jan Verhoeven.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 04, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 3, Page 185-200, October 2021. ", "\nSummary\nWhile earlier studies of investigative interviews with suspects have primarily been conducted within the context of police work, few have considered the interview practices with high‐status suspects in the financial area. This article aims to provide insight into distinctive features of interviewing these suspects. The study focuses on the impact various interviewing techniques can have on suspects’ disclosing information. To this end, 205 h of audio‐recorded actual interviews with 28 high‐status suspects were examined. Next to rapport building and confrontation, displaying authoritative behaviour can be considered a separate interviewing category. A positive correlation between rapport building and information disclosure was found. Finally, challenging the accounts of suspects results in more case‐related information than an authoritative approach.\n"]

  October 04, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1579   open full text
• Contextualising mass school shootings in the United States.
  Gabriel R. Paez, Joel A. Capellan, Madison G. Johnson.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 04, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 3, Page 170-184, October 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nThe data from the K‐12 School Shooting Database (K‐12 SSDB) of 1,544 school shootings were used to explore patterns of mass school shootings in the United States, with particular focus on the interplay between relevant predictors of these tragic events. Through a conjunctive analysis of case configurations (CACC), results from the current study show that (1) mass school shootings are rare and cluster significantly among dominant situational profiles, defined by the unique combination of variables attributes; (2) mass school shootings are never pre‐planned and in no case involve hostages. Current findings are discussed in light of existing school shooting scholarship and recommendations for policy and future areas of research are offered.\n"]

  October 04, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1577   open full text
• Profiling homicide cases based on matched victim‐offender demographic characteristics.
  Avdi S. Avdija, Christian W. Gallagher, DeVere D. Woods.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 05, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 101-115, June 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nThe purpose of this study is to develop an evidence‐based set of inductive profiles based on matched victim‐offender characteristics of homicide cases. To develop these homicide profiles, we used national data from the FBI's supplementary homicide reports that were reported by law enforcement agencies for a period of 42 years, from 1976 to 2017 in the United States. The findings that emerged from the study show that female offenders tend to kill victims of the opposite gender; whereas male offenders kill more victims within their own gender. The probability of becoming a victim of homicide increases for white people and decreases for black people as the offender's age increases. Overall, offenders tend to kill victims about their own age, and as offenders get older, they are more likely to kill female victims than male victims.\n"]

  June 05, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1570   open full text
• A study on the journey to homicide and offender characteristics in Spain.
  Jorge Santos‐Hermoso, David Villalba‐García, Miguel Camacho‐Collados, Ricardo Tejeiro, José L. González‐Álvarez.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 05, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 81-100, June 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nIn this study, the displacement of 687 murderers in Spain (2010–2012) is analysed. The Euclidean distance between the offender's residence and the furthest scene related to the event has been calculated. The analyses showed that the murderers registered a displacement of 0.5 km, with 255 cases of non‐traveller homicide (37.1%). The bivariate analysis found that men, young and foreign, with a criminal record and unrelated to the victim, registered a large distance, as well as multi‐offender homicides and were related to criminal activities. Traveller homicide registered a displacement of 4.3 km, with adults unrelated to the victim travelling the farthest. Multi‐offender and crime‐related homicides continued to show the largest distance. Multivariate analyses showed that if the offender is foreign, has no previous relationship with the victim and there are several offenders involved, the distance will be larger. When only traveller homicides were analysed, only the type of relationship showed significant differences.\n"]

  June 05, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1568   open full text
• Finding the right fit: Mock victims' preferences for police interviewer characteristics.
  Mark D. Snow, Davut Akca, Christina J. Connors, Quintan Crough, Joseph Eastwood.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 05, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 129-141, June 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nVictims can provide details necessary to resolve criminal investigations but may be reluctant to come forward and fully disclose an incident to law enforcement. Although evidence‐based interviewing techniques such as rapport‐building have shown promise in increasing cooperation, the potential impact of interviewers' inherent characteristics (e.g., age and gender) on information disclosure has been relatively under examined. We investigated mock sexual assault victims' preferences for various police interviewer characteristics and the impact of these preferences on hypothetical reporting behaviour. Participants rated interviewers' interpersonal skills as highly important. Gender differences were observed, with only female participants consistently reporting that having a same‐gender interviewer was important. Participants also indicated that if they were provided with their preferred interviewer, they would feel more comfortable, provide more detail, and would be more willing to report the offence to police. Our findings suggest that matching interviewees with their preferred interviewers may improve interviewing and investigative outcomes.\n"]

  June 05, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1571   open full text
• Stress response of police officers during COVID‐19: A moderated mediation model.
  Qi Jiang.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 05, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 116-128, June 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, police officers have been at the frontline of danger. Their mental health should arouse the attention of society. To test the relationship between the psychological support they received and their stress response, the present study built a moderated mediation model to examine this and the effects of underlying mechanisms. A total of 553 Chinese police officers participated in this study; four scales were measured by standardised questionnaires (Emotional Identity of Profession Scale; DSM‐5 Self‐Rated Level 1 Cross‐Cutting Symptom Measure‐Adult; Psychological Support Scale; Active Work Adaptation Scale). Stress response was negatively correlated with psychological support, emotional identity of profession and active work adaptation. Psychological support, emotional identity of profession and active work adaptation were all positively correlated. Psychological support had a negative direct effect on stress response, and emotional identity of profession's mediating effect was distinct and was moderated by active work adaptation.\n"]

  June 05, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1569   open full text
• Personality characteristics of the successful liar.
  Alvin Malesky, Alicia Nicole Isenberg, David McCord.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 05, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 142-154, June 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nThe relationship between personality, behavioral cues, and the ability to tell a convincing lie was examined. Participants were administered the M5‐120 personality inventory and videotaped while retelling a partially scripted story. A group of raters reviewed the video clips and decided whether the participants were lying or being honest. Findings revealed a significant relationship between successful lying and the Agreeableness domain of personality. Specifically, the modesty and sympathy facets of the Agreeableness domain were significantly correlated with successful lying. These results suggest that personality may play a role in the ability to successfully lie. In addition, significant correlations were demonstrated between body language and successful lying and between facial expressions and successful lying.\n"]

  June 05, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1572   open full text
• Applying the criminal narrative experience framework to missing children.
  Daniel Hunt.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 15, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 1, Page 18-34, January 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nOver 320,000 missing persons are estimated to go missing annually in United Kingdom due to a variety of intentional and unintentional factors. This article aims to investigate whether the criminal narrative experience framework can be applied to missing persons to acquire a deeper insight into the psychological differences between missing children. Sixty‐one previously missing persons completed a missing experience survey, narrative roles questionnaire, and emotions questionnaire. Data were content analysed and subjected to a non‐metric, multi‐dimensional scaling procedure in the form of smallest space analysis. The results identified four distinct behavioural themes as follows: depressed throwaway victim, distressed pushaway revenger, calm runaway professional and elated fallaway hero. Following a stringent criterion, 88.50% of the sample could be differentiated into one dominant behavioural theme with the remaining 11.50% identified as a hybrid theme. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, additional exploration of the applicability of the framework is required.\n"]

  January 15, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1567   open full text
• Dull versus creative liars—Who deceives better? Fantasy proneness and verifiability of genuine and fabricated accounts.
  Irena Boskovic, Ayla Ramakers, Ali Yunus Emre Akca.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 15, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 1, Page 56-67, January 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nThe Verifiability Approach (VA), a lie detection method, postulates that genuine statements contain more verifiable information, whereas fabricated reports include more non‐verifiable details. We investigated whether participants low (n = 19), medium (n = 23) and high (n = 26) on fantasy proneness differ in the (non)verifiability of their genuine and fabricated accounts. The results showed that groups did not differ in terms of statements' (non)verifiability. Overall, fabricated accounts included more non‐verifiable details, but did not differ in verifiable details from genuine stories. The fabricated accounts from each group were given to legal psychology experts (N = 13) who rated accounts' authenticity. Experts more often recognised false accounts from the high fantasy proneness group, hence, high fantasy prone deceivers might be easier to detect than people with lower fantasy engagement. Overall, our results show that the VA is not sensitive to fantasy proneness, however, that experts might be.\n"]

  January 15, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1565   open full text
• Serial theft case linkage based on a two‐step cumulative probability model.
  Ning Ding, Mingyuan Ma, Yiming Zhai.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 15, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 1, Page 3-17, January 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nAt present, serial theft case linkage remains at the stage of empiricism. In order to overcome this subjective arbitrariness, this study proposes using a ‘two‐step cumulative probability model’ for investigation. In the first step, based on expert grading method, the opinions of 99 policemen were combined to quantify the serial theft case characteristics. In the second step, when a new case occurred, the characteristics of it were compared with the characteristics of each serial theft case, and the corresponding probabilities were added according to the calculations of the second step; when the accumulated points exceeded the threshold, we considered concatenating the new case with the corresponding serial cases. The results demonstrated that the average accuracy of the two‐step cumulative probability model was 87.5% and that the average response rate of the irrelevant case (control group) was 12.3%. We concluded that the two‐step cumulative probability model could assist in criminal investigations.\n"]

  January 15, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1564   open full text
• A critical analysis of the Model Statement literature: Should this tool be used in practice?
  Cody Normitta Porter, Rachel Taylor, Giacomo Salvanelli.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 15, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 1, Page 35-55, January 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nInvestigators need to elicit detailed statements from interviewees to find potential leads, whilst simultaneously judging if a statement is genuine or fabricated. Researchers have proposed that the Model Statement (MS) can both (a) increase information elicitation from interviewees and (b) amplify the verbal differences between liars and truth tellers, thereby enhancing lie‐detection accuracy. Based upon a critical analysis of the MS literature, we argue that this tool is not currently ready for practical usage, as its utility has not been fully established. We highlight a diverse range of existing MS scripts, and a greater diversity in the dependent measures examined in conjunction with this tool. More robust replications of these procedures are needed. We also highlight why some measures of verbal content may not be suitable as outcome measures and suggest that new research could use the well‐established reality monitoring criteria to allow for standardisation across studies.\n"]

  January 15, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1563   open full text
• The application of Newton and Swoope's geographical profile to serial killers.
  Daniel Salafranca Barreda.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 15, 2021
  ["Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 18, Issue 1, Page 68-78, January 2021. ", "\nAbstract\nQuite possibly, the first application of geographic analysis to identify and characterise the spatial behaviour of the offender concerning the crime scene was developed in 1980 by Milton Newton. Although previous studies have used Newton and Swoope's geoforensic process (Kent, 2009, Essays on the integration of anisotropic landscapes within contemporary geographic profiling models [LSU doctoral dissertations]; Leitner et al., 2007, Police Practice and Research, 8[4], 359–370) to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, there are, to our knowledge, no investigations that have validated the procedure with cases of serial murderers. The main objective of the study is to analyse a sample of 41 serial killers with a minimum number of six crimes and to evaluate the method proposed by Newton (1988, Geographical discovery of the residence of an unknown dispersing localized serial murder). The results confirm only Newton's first assumption in which after the fifth crime in the series, the estimated ‘haven’ is close to the actual ‘haven’, ruling out that the search area becomes progressively smaller and that the ‘haven’ is located in the search area.\n"]

  January 15, 2021   doi: 10.1002/jip.1566   open full text
• Behavioural profiles and offender characteristics: Typology based on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in homicide cases.
  Jonghan Sea, Eric Beauregard, Donna Youngs.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThis study used cluster analysis in 126 homicide cases based on Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1999). PAI was implemented by 126 homicides and then dichotomously coded for the presence or absence of cut‐off PAI scale score in order to create criteria for analysis. These cases were input for the agglomerative hierarchical cluster using Ward's method as the clustering algorithm. The results of the analysis classified five clusters: “normal,” “antisocial,” “submissive‐depressive,” “soma‐anxiety” and “isolated.” The representative characteristics were explored and compared with five clusters. As a result, these five clusters significantly differed in various criminogenic variables, such as criminal record and imprisonment experience. But, other variables were not significantly discriminated.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 310-331, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1559   open full text
• A critical examination of Iacono and Ben‐Shakhar's critique of Ginton's innovative technique for estimating polygraph CQT accuracy in real‐life cases.
  Avital Ginton.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nGiven the inherent difficulties in validating the comparison question polygraph test (CQT) by using a wide range of the conventional two categories of studies—field and laboratory— (NRC ‐ The polygraph and lie detection, 2003), the innovative method presented by Ginton (Psychology, Crime & Law, 2013, 19, pp. 577–594), has been considered to be a breakthrough (Raskin & Kircher, 2014, Validity of polygraph techniques and decision methods. p. 82). In their recent review of the current status of polygraph validity, Iacono and Ben‐Shakhar (Law & Human Behavior, 2019, 43, pp. 86–98), dedicated a significant portion of their article to scrutinising that novel approach. They did applaud Ginton's innovation for the development of the new methods but criticised its outcomes to the point that nullified any contributions it might have had in dealing with the long‐lasting controversy regarding the CQT validity. The present response to that critique examines their argumentations in dismissing Ginton's study point by point, indicating reliance on some speculations that had nothing to do with reality and a profound misunderstanding or misinterpreting of the data.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 296-309, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1558   open full text
• Examining witness interviewing environments.
  Katherine Hoogesteyn, Ewout Meijer, Aldert Vrij.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe literature on information elicitation in psycholegal settings has predominantly focused on the investigator–interviewee dynamic, with little attention to the environment in which the interview takes place. The present study compared the impact of two interview locations on the disclosure of crime‐related information and perceptions of rapport building. Participants experienced a virtual reality mock crime, and 1 week later were interviewed at either their homes, or a formal room akin to a real‐world police interview room. Participants in the home setting reported feeling more at ease and in control compared to participants interviewed in the formal room. However, we found no differences between conditions on the quantity and quality of information disclosure and participants' perceptions of rapport building. Based on our findings, we found no advantages or disadvantages for conducting witness interviews at their homes. However, these results underscore the practicality of interviewing witnesses outside the police interview room if deemed as more convenient.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 238-249, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1549   open full text
• Characteristics of drug‐facilitated sexual assault in Spain.
  José Manuel Quintana, Álvaro García‐Maroto, Olga Moreno, Antonio L. Manzanero.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe aim of this study consisted in analysing the cases of drug‐facilitated sexual assault— chemical submission—from 2008 to 2017. A total of 240 cases registered during this period within the territorial area of the Spanish Civil Guard were analysed. Results show an increasing incidence of sexual assault cases that are drug‐facilitated in order to annul the will of the victim, or at least that there is a greater awareness to report these cases. From the analyses carried out, distinctive characteristics of this type of sexual offences were observed with respect to other modalities, in the sense that they are linked to leisure situations (at night, on weekends and holiday periods) although the place of commission is fundamentally the victim's or the perpetrator's residence. The profile of the victim is that of a young woman, of legal age (with a mean age of 25 years) and Spanish, although foreign women are also vulnerable victims. When the victim is male, the mean age decreases notably (20 years) with a higher incidence among minors. The aggressor is eminently male, older (around 30 years) and also Spanish. Databases can be a good starting point to frame the phenomenon, elucidating some of the main variables that intervene in these crimes, such as the moment and place of commission, as well as those persons most inclined to suffer them and, in the opposite pole, those most likely to carry out this type of criminal act.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 215-223, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1550   open full text
• The effects of liking on informational elements in investigative interviews.
  Hyisuing C. Hwang, David Matsumoto.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe efficacy of principles of persuasion and influence in aiding uncooperative individuals to become more cooperative has been well documented in the basic science literature. Less known is their effects in investigative interviews. This study examined the effects of liking (positivity) on informational elements produced in investigative interviews. Interviewees participated in a mock theft experiment and were randomly assigned to tell the truth or lie about the potential theft. Half the interviews were conducted in a high liking condition, the other half in a low liking condition. High liking produced less relevant details in both the interviews and written statements for truthtellers. Rapport had direct, positive effects on relevant and irrelevant details in the interviews but not the written statements and mediated the association between liking and relevant and irrelevant details in the interviews. Veracity condition moderated the association between liking and informational elements; liking had negative effects on relevant details for truthtellers in the interviews and written statements but positive effects on irrelevant details for liars in written statements. These findings suggested the need to examine how and when liking as a social influence tactic may be effective in investigative interviews.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 280-295, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1556   open full text
• The relationship between trauma symptoms and immediate and delayed suggestibility in children who have been sexually abused.
  Gisli Gudjonsson, Monia Vagni, Tiziana Maiorano, Daniela Pajardi.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThere is general absence of research about the relationship between trauma symptoms and immediate and delayed suggestibility in children who have been sexually abused. The participants were 134 children aged between 7 and 17 years with a history of reported sexual abuse. All children completed the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (2), a non‐verbal IQ test, and The University of California at Los Angeles Child/Adolescent Reaction Index for post‐traumatic stress (UCLA‐PTSD‐RI‐5). Delayed suggestibility was measured after a 1 week delay. A Hierarchical Regression showed that trauma symptoms accounted overall for 43.4% of the variance in delayed suggestibility after controlling for age, sex, IQ, and immediate recall (a large effect size). There was a small shared variance between trauma and immediate suggestibility (low effect size). The findings strongly suggest that the severity of trauma symptoms impact more on delayed than immediate suggestibility. The theoretical and forensic implications are discussed.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 250-263, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1554   open full text
• Multiple‐victim parricides in South Africa, 1990–2019.
  Melanie Moen, Phillip Shon.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nPrevious studies of homicides in South Africa have examined serial murders and mass killings. While some scholars have examined parricides in African countries such as Ghana and Zimbabwe, few have examined the intersection of parricide and multiple victim homicides in the context of South Africa. This paper examines multiple victim parricides in a South African context using newspapers and court records as data. Eighteen cases of multiple‐victim parricides were identified and analysed. Our findings indicate that multiple victim parricides in South Africa are shaped by residential patterns as well as social and cultural factors that are unique to South Africa that are embodied in the offence characteristics. The implications on the findings are discussed.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 264-279, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1555   open full text
• An analysis of question style and type in official Finnish asylum interview transcripts.
  Jenny Skrifvars, Julia Korkman, Veronica Sui, Tanja Veldhuizen, Jan Antfolk.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nInterviews with asylum seekers are an important part of investigating the applicant's need of international protection. Few studies have examined if the questions used in interviews allow detailed and accurate narratives. In the current study, we analysed question style, question type, and question order from interviews of 80 official asylum cases realised by Finnish state authorities in 2017–2018. In accordance with best practise, questions were predominantly asked in an information‐gathering style. However, four‐fifths of the questions were closed questions, and one‐tenth were open questions. The recommended question order was followed to a small degree. Possibilities on how to improve the quantity and the accuracy of the information elicited from the interviews are discussed. Future research should assess which type of questions that are most efficient in eliciting relevant information within the asylum context as well as investigating the accuracy of the interpretation.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 333-348, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1557   open full text
• Behavioural themes in Spanish missing persons cases: An empirical typology.
  Néstor García‐Barceló, José Luis González Álvarez, Penny Woolnough, Louise Almond.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe high number of missing person reports that occur globally each year highlights the need for research in this academically neglected field. This research focuses on establishing whether there are different scenarios or behavioural themes that consistently appear in missing person cases in Spain, which could assist the police investigation process. A representative sample of 341 missing person police reports was collated and up to 27 behaviours, which occur during the disappearance, have been codified, as well as circumstances surrounding the case. Through multidimensional scaling four behavioural themes have been identified: intentional‐escape, intentional‐dysfunctional, unintentional‐accidental, and forced‐criminal. These findings entail implications, both in terms of prevention and in the scope of police investigations. Specifically, this research is considered a key step in the development of: (a) a predictive risk assessment system for harmed or deceased outcomes, and (b) in‐depth review of forced‐criminal disappearances that concur with homicide.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 349-364, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1562   open full text
• Deception detection in repeated interviews: The effects of immediate type of questioning on the delayed accounts.
  Aleksandras Izotovas, Aldert Vrij, Lorraine Hope, Leif A. Strömwall, Pär A. Granhag, Samantha Mann.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nIn this study, we examined how different types of interviewing (eliciting more complete vs. less complete accounts) used in an interview conducted shortly after an event affected truth tellers' and liars' responses when they were interviewed again after a two‐week delay. Participants (n = 80) were shown a mock intelligence operation video and told either the truth or lied about its contents in two interviews, immediately after watching the video, and after a two‐week delay. In the immediate interview participants were instructed either to report everything they remembered, or asked spatial questions related to the event. In the delayed interview, all participants were asked to report everything. The differences between truth tellers and liars were slightly larger in the report everything than in the spatial questions condition. Results suggest that an immediate “report everything” instruction can aid to effectively discriminate between truthful and deceptive accounts.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 3, Page 224-237, October 2020. "]

  October 16, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1561   open full text
• Becoming a police officer: Influential psychological factors.
  Yolanda Navarro‐Abal, María José López‐López, Juan Gómez‐Salgado, José Antonio Climent‐Rodríguez.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\n\nObjective\nTo analyse the existing relationships between motivation, self‐concept and family and social influence when choosing the profession of police officer.\n\n\nMethods\nCross‐sectional descriptive study, through intentional sampling, carried out using a protocol for collecting information from different socio‐demographic variables, the Motivation scale and the Self‐concept Form‐5 questionnaire. The sample consisted of 258 local police officers from the Public Security School of Andalusia (Spain).\n\n\nResults\nThe results showed an association between the influence of family and social environment and the different motivations (achievement, affiliation and power). On the other hand, between these motivations and the different dimensions of self‐concept (working, social, emotional, family and physical).\n\n\nConclusions\nThe prevalence of motivation can be observed. Professional motivation, self‐concept and family influence are relevant variables in relation to professional choice, efficacy and productivity in professional performance. In fact, a higher degree of family self‐concept promotes power motivation to face life changes.\n\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 118-130, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1544   open full text
• Eliciting information and cues to deception using a model statement: Examining the effect of presentation modality.
  Cody Normitta Porter, Giacomo Salvanelli.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nForensic interviewing involves gathering information from a suspect or eyewitness. Administering a model statement during an interview results in greater information elicitation, which can enhance lie detection. Typically, a model statement is a highly detailed statement, on an unrelated topic to that of the interview. This study examined the effect of manipulating the modality of the MS, either by allowing participants to listen to (Audio‐MS), or read (Written‐MS) a model statement. A total of 162 (81 truth tellers, 81 liars) participants were randomly allocated to one of three interviewing conditions where they received either the Audio‐MS, Written‐MS, or No‐MS (control condition). Truth tellers honestly reported a “spy” mission, whereas liars performed a covert mission and lied about their activities. Results showed both model statements were equally more effective at eliciting information and facilitating lie detection, compared with a control condition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 101-117, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1541   open full text
• The relationship of offending style to psychological and social risk factors in a sample of adolescent males.
  Sally‐Ann Ashton, Maria Ioannou, Laura Hammond, John Synnott.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nResearch has indicated that life‐course persistent offenders typically vary their offending style, following a criminal career progression from co‐ to solo‐offending. Few studies have investigated the offenders who contemporaneously mix their style of offending. A sample of 1,047 male adolescent offenders from the Pathways to Desistance study was investigated over a 7‐year period. Participants were identified as solo, co or contemporaneous mixed style (CMS) offenders for each wave of data and one‐way between groups analysis of variance was conducted to examine variations between the different offending styles in terms of offending frequencies, exposure to violence, peer antisocial behaviour and influence, resistance to peer influence, impulse control and psychopathy. CMS offenders were found to consistently report significantly higher rates of offending and present significantly higher negative risk factors and lower protective risk factors than solo‐ and co‐offenders for the duration of the study. A multinomial logistic regression was used to investigate predictors of offending style with CMS as the reference category. Higher levels of exposure to violence and peer antisocial behaviour and lower levels of impulse control predicted membership of the CMS group for the first part of the study when compared with co‐offenders; and higher levels of exposure to violence and peer antisocial behaviour continued to predict CMS offending when compared to solo‐offenders until the end of the study.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 76-92, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1548   open full text
• Loneliness of adult and juvenile prisoner influences on psychological affect: Mediation role of control source.
  Xiaojun Zhao, Changxiu Shi.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nPrisoners' affective education is a hot topic in criminal psychology. The lack of the social support for prisoners means that they are more prone to loneliness. The mental health status of the prisoners directly concerns their social adaptation when released. We therefore explored the relationship between loneliness, psychological affect, and control source in 201 prisoners. Prisoners completed the state and trait loneliness scale, the affectal scale, the internal control, powerful others, and chance scale. Mediation effect analysis was conducted to explore the mediation role of the control source from influence of loneliness on psychological affect. State loneliness indirectly affected positive affect through internal control factors. Trait loneliness directly affected negative affect, and trait loneliness indirectly affected negative affect through opportunity factors. Overall, this study uncovers some of the psychological mechanisms underlying emotional state in prisoners, highlights the need for effective psychological correction programmes in the prison system and provides reference for effectual ascension of prisoners out of jail.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 93-100, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1547   open full text
• How do the questions asked affect suspects' perceptions of the interviewer's prior knowledge?
  Meghana Srivatsav, Timothy J. Luke, Pär Anders Granhag, Aldert Vrij.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe aim of this study was to understand if guilty suspects' perceptions regarding the prior information or evidence held by the interviewer against the suspect could be influenced through the content of the investigative questions. To test this idea, we explored three question‐phrasing factors that we labeled as topic discussion (if a specific crime‐related topic was discussed or not), specificity (different levels of crime‐related details included in the questions), and stressor (emphasis on the importance of the specific crime‐related detail in the questions). The three factors were chosen based on relevance theory, a psycholinguistic theory that explores how people draw inferences from the communicated content. Participants (N = 370) assumed the role of the suspect and read a crime narrative and an interview transcript based on the suspect's activities. After reading the narrative and the transcripts, participants responded to scales that measured their perception of interviewer's prior knowledge (perceived interviewer knowledge [PIK]) regarding the suspects' role in the crime, based on the questions posed by the interviewer in the transcripts. Of the three factors tested, we found that questioning about a specific crime‐related topic (topic discussion) increased their PIK. This study is the first to explore the underlying mechanisms of how suspects draw inferences regarding the interviewer's prior knowledge through the content of the investigative questions adopting concepts of psycholinguistic theory.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 160-172, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1546   open full text
• Examining the narrative roles in suicide notes.
  Stacey Grayson, Calli Tzani‐Pepelasi, Ntaniella‐Roumpini Pylarinou, Maria Ioannou, Vasiliki Artinopoulou.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe present study examines suicide notes, using a sample of suicide notes from published corpora (N = 50), combined with a sample of recent suicide notes from a suicide website (N = 50). The present study proposes a model of differentiation in completed suicides. The characteristics of the suicide notes were analysed using a content dictionary developed by Giles in 2007, and the data subjected to smallest space analysis. Four themes of suicide completer were discovered: Egoistic Victim, Anomic Hero, Altruistic Professional and Fatalistic Revenger. The implications of these findings and the potential use in therapy work with suicide survivors and those with suicidal ideation are discussed, as well as suggestions for the direction of future research.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 142-159, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1545   open full text
• Stereotypical behavioural cues — but not their order — influence credibility judgements.
  Glynis Bogaard, Ewout H. Meijer.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nTo what extent stereotypical deceptive behaviours such as gaze aversion and fidgeting actually influence people's credibility judgements remain largely unknown. In this study, we directly manipulated the presence/absence of such behaviours to investigate this. Participants were shown four truthful videos in which we manipulated the presence of stereotypical cues and asked them to judge how credible the person in each video is. Moreover, research consistently shows that decision making is influenced by various cognitive biases. One example is the primacy effect, which implies that people form an opinion early in the decision process. Information acquired early will have the largest influence on how subsequent information will be interpreted. To investigate a possible primacy effect, we also manipulated whether these cues were present towards the beginning or the end of the video (i.e. the timing of the manipulation). In line with our expectations, the presence of stereotypical cues significantly lowered the observed credibility, showing that the presence of these cues indeed influences credibility judgements. The timing of the cues had no effect.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 131-141, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1543   open full text
• Eliciting intelligence from sources informed about counter‐interrogation strategies: An experimental study on the Scharff technique.
  Sara Rantamäki, Jan Antfolk, Pär Anders Granhag, Pekka Santtila, Simon Oleszkiewicz.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe Scharff technique aims to elicit information by affecting the source's perception of the interviewer's existing knowledge. Although the technique has been found to be effective for gathering new information, countermeasures to the technique have not been examined. In a 2 × 2 between‐subjects experiment, we informed half of the 120 sources about the counter‐interrogation strategy of carefully considering the interviewer's prior knowledge and the tactic of providing information perceived as already known to the interviewer. After this, sources were interviewed with the Scharff technique or the Direct approach, widely used in human intelligence‐gathering situations and consisting of open‐ended and direct questions. We found that “informed sources” did not succeed in revealing information already known to the interviewer, where informed sources and uninformed sources revealed known information to a similar degree (1.62 pieces vs. 1.65 pieces). Sources interviewed with the Direct approach (vs. Scharff technique) revealed a larger amount of information previously known to the interviewer (2.18 pieces vs. 1.08 pieces). When interviewed with the Scharff technique, sources informed about the counter‐interrogation strategy attempted to adopt more counter‐interrogation strategies. The present study replicates earlier research on the Scharff technique as a technique effective in affecting the source's perception of the interviewer's prior knowledge. The results of the current study indicate that both the Scharff technique and the Direct approach might be similarly robust against counter‐interrogation strategies, in terms of gathering new information. Future studies should focus on implementing more comprehensive training in counter‐interrogation strategies for the sources.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 191-211, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1542   open full text
• Freedom deprivation in prisons of Serbia.
  Goran Jovanić, Vera Petrović, Nebojša Macanović.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2020
  ["\nAbstract\nThe subject of this research is the deprivation of freedom at two time points. A total of 490 convicts from open, semi‐open, and closed prisons participated in the research. Freedom deprivation intensity was determined by using the freedom deprivation scale (α = .93). The results of the research indicate that almost all the participants reported freedom deprivation. The prison type had an impact on freedom deprivation intensity, whereas an influence of the ward type on deprivation was not demonstrated. Freedom deprivation intensity was consistent from the turn of the century to the present day.\n", "Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 173-190, June 2020. "]

  June 10, 2020   doi: 10.1002/jip.1540   open full text
• An appraisal of investigative psychology and the applications to suspicious approaches to children in the Irish criminal justice system.
  Padraig O'Meara, Angela Coyne, Mary Brassil.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 15, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Policymakers have a duty to base their decision making in the best available evidence relevant to the question at hand. This paper discusses why it is important for policymakers to recognize the valuable contributions to be made from within the fields of investigative and forensic psychology and particularly to inform the process of policymaking and legislative frameworks currently in place regarding suspicious approaches to children offences in the Irish Criminal Justice System. Discrepancies between legal and psychological considerations infer potential issues with policymaking; resulting in evidence‐based concerns regarding how suspicious approaches to children are handled. It is argued that in cases of suspicious approaches to children, important research is available within the fields of investigative and forensic psychology that warrants adequate consideration by policymakers. Additionally, the need for further collaboration between policymakers, researchers and front‐line enforcement agencies to ensure evidence‐based approaches for dealing with suspicious approaches to children and other criminal behaviours within the Irish criminal justice system is highlighted. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 16, Issue 3, Page 213-221, October 2019. '

  October 15, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1530   open full text
• Mental Reinstatement of Context: Do individual differences in mental time travel and eyewitness occupation influence eyewitness performance over different delay intervals?
  Karen Bangs, James H. Smith‐Spark.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 29, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract The Cognitive Interview is a memory‐enhancing interview protocol designed to optimise the access and retrieval of eyewitness memories. Its Mental Reinstatement of Context (MRC) component requires interviewees to mentally reconstruct the crime event they witnessed. Individual differences in mental time travel (MTT) relate to the extent to which a person mentally re‐experiences personal events from his or her past. Individual differences in MTT have been found to predict correct recall of a simulated crime event under immediate MRC recall conditions. To explore the relationship between MTT and performance under MRC conditions further, the present study presented a simulated crime video to 30 police officers and 26 members of the public. Eyewitness recall was tested under MRC conditions either immediately or 1 week later. Participants' general MTT and also MTT relating specifically to the crime video itself were measured via self‐report. Less correct information and more confabulations were produced after 1 week, but delay had no effect on the amount of incorrect information reported. No difference in recall was found between police officers and members of the public. Better quality MTT relating to the crime video was found to be a positive predictor of the amount of information correctly recalled under immediate conditions but not after 1 week. General MTT scores did not predict correct recall under either delay condition. Interviewers need to be aware that, due to individual differences, some witnesses may perform better under the MRC component than others. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  August 29, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1536   open full text
• A test of the micro‐expressions training tool: Does it improve lie detection?
  Sarah Jordan, Laure Brimbal, D. Brian Wallace, Saul M. Kassin, Maria Hartwig, Chris N.H. Street.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 20, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the micro‐expressions training tool (METT) in identifying and using micro‐expressions to improve lie detection. Participants (n = 90) were randomly assigned to receive training in micro‐expressions recognition, a bogus control training, or no training. All participants made veracity judgements of five randomly selected videos of targets providing deceptive or truthful statements. With the use of the Bayesian analyses, we found that the METT group did not outperform those in the bogus training and no training groups. Further, overall accuracy was slightly below chance. Implications of these results are discussed. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  August 20, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1532   open full text
• Investigating the effects of age and gender on cowitness suggestibility during blame attribution.
  Dara Mojtahedi, Maria Ioannou, Laura Hammond, John Synnott.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 20, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Despite a large body of research investigating the effects of age and gender on eyewitness suggestibility, the majority of studies has focussed on the impressionability of participants when attempting to recall the presence of items from an event. Very little research has attempted to investigate the effects of age and gender on the suggestibility of eyewitnesses when attempting to attribute blame. Participants (N = 268) viewed and discussed a crime (video) with cowitnesses before giving individual statements. Confederates were used to expose the participants to misinformation during the discussion, suggesting that the wrong bystander was responsible for the offence. Findings indicated that participants who encountered the misinformation were more likely to make a false blame attribution and were more confident in their erroneous judgements. The results found no significant age‐ or gender‐related differences in blame conformity rates; however, male eyewitnesses showed greater levels of overconfidence in their false responses than female participants, after encountering cowitness misinformation. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  August 20, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1533   open full text
• Born and raised to be a fraudster.
  Richard G. Brody, Ryan C. Knight, Jessica N. Nunez.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 19, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Although a great deal of research has focussed on and continues to focus on fraud prevention and detection, there is still no reliable way to predict who will become a white‐collar criminal/fraudster. Significant benefits would result if and when this can be done. This paper recognizes that there are many common characteristics that exist among fraudsters and investigates whether fraud can be predicted based on the psychological, sociological, and environmental state of children throughout their upbringing. Research shows that children with a negative childhood develop negative habits, emotions, and mentalities, including disorders that can linger well into their adult lives. These negative characteristics can ruin relationships and possibly even influence an individual to commit fraud. This paper provides initial evidence regarding the potential significance of some childhood characteristics that may contribute to the likelihood that someone will become a white‐collar criminal. Given that no other similar research exists, this paper may help guide future researchers who are also attempting to solve this complex problem. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  August 19, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1535   open full text
• “I think you did it!”: Examining the effect of presuming guilt on the verbal output of innocent suspects during brief interviews.
  Shiri Portnoy, Lorraine Hope, Aldert Vrij, Pär‐Anders Granhag, Karl Ask, Carly Eddy, Sara Landström.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 19, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Innocent suspects interviewed by a guilt‐presumptive versus innocence‐presumptive or neutral interviewer may tend more to display non‐verbal behaviours which neutral judges consider indicative of guilt. We examined the effects of interviewer's presumption of guilt on innocent mock suspects' alibis. Participants (N = 90) provided an alibi to convince an interviewer of their innocence of a theft after she implied that she believed that they were guilty or innocent or that she had no belief about their veracity. On the basis of existing conflicting findings for suspects' verbal behaviour during accusatory interviews, we predicted that alibis in the guilt‐belief condition would contain the highest or lowest number of correct details with overall higher or poorer accuracy rates, respectively. Although participants perceived the interviewer's presumptive approach, the number of correct details provided and accuracy rates of alibis did not differ significantly between conditions. We propose explanations to these findings and future research paths. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  August 19, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1534   open full text
• The practice of crime linkage: A review of the literature.
  Kari Davies, Jessica Woodhams.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 19, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Crime linkage has been the subject of increasing attention in academic research. Research has found support for the principles of behavioural consistency and distinctiveness, which underpin crime linkage, but this does not provide direct evidence as to whether crime linkage is useful in practice. This literature review draws together documentation that refers to the practice of crime linkage, from assessing analysts' efficacy, to discussing the usage of computerised tools to assist with the linkage process, to providing a comprehensive outline of the process itself. The implications of the amount and type of information currently available are discussed, including the variations in practice and terminology that were explored. Avenues for future investigation and the manner in which future research could be conducted are set out in a research agenda. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  July 19, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1531   open full text
• Language and eyewitness suggestibility.
  Charlotte Alm, Nora Helmy Rehnberg, Torun Lindholm.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 19, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract During forensic interviews, eyewitnesses are to retrieve correct information from memory. Cognitive load should be high, leading to risks of giving in to suggestive questions and difficulties in memory retrieval generally. Testifying in a non‐native vs. native language may require even more cognitive effort due to the need to inhibit the interference of the native language. Such witnesses may also be more motivated to appear credible because they often belong to ethnic outgroups relative to forensic professionals, risking more scepticism. In this study, Swedish participants (N = 51) reported their memory of a simulated crime event either in English (non‐native language) or in Swedish (native language) and were tested for suggestibility and accuracy. Results showed that English‐speaking witnesses yielded to more suggestive questions, perceived themselves as less credible but were equally accurate. Results suggest that testifying in a non‐native language is taxing cognitive resources, in turn increasing suggestibility and suboptimal memory search. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  July 19, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1529   open full text
• Linking property crime using offender crime scene behaviour: A comparison of methods.
  Matthew Tonkin, Jan Lemeire, Pekka Santtila, Jan M. Winter.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 03, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract This study compared the ability of seven statistical models to distinguish between linked and unlinked crimes. The seven models utilised geographical, temporal, and modus operandi information relating to residential burglaries (n = 180), commercial robberies, (n = 118), and car thefts (n = 376). Model performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic analysis and by examining the success with which the seven models could successfully prioritise linked over unlinked crimes. The regression‐based and probabilistic models achieved comparable accuracy and were generally more accurate than the tree‐based models tested in this study. The Logistic algorithm achieved the highest area under the curve (AUC) for residential burglary (AUC = 0.903) and commercial robbery (AUC = 0.830) and the SimpleLogistic algorithm achieving the highest for car theft (AUC = 0.820). The findings also indicated that discrimination accuracy is maximised (in some situations) if behavioural domains are utilised rather than individual crime scene behaviours and that the AUC should not be used as the sole measure of accuracy in behavioural crime linkage research. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 16, Issue 2, Page 75-90, June 2019. '

  June 03, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1525   open full text
• Using baseline to diagnose internal states? Listen closely.
  Drew A. Leins.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 03, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Little is known about the mechanisms underlying how interviewers establish and monitor baselines of respondent behaviour. This study addresses this knowledge gap by characterising the practice of establishing baselines and measuring the accuracy of interviewer judgements based on assessments of baseline and departure behaviours. Eighteen professional interviewers viewed two videos of naturalistic interviews, reported the cues they perceived as informative for establishing and assessing a baseline, and diagnosed respondents' internal states. Participants reported multiple cue types as informative, but predominantly relied on non‐verbal cues. Overall, participants were sensitive to 27% of respondents' identified internal states but showed improvement over time. They achieved a hit rate of 20% during early interview stages and a hit rate of 33% during late stages. Although non‐verbal cues dominated reports, attending to verbal cues afforded participants greater efficiency in identifying respondent internal states. Implications and recommendations for practice are discussed. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 16, Issue 2, Page 138-149, June 2019. '

  June 03, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1524   open full text
• Examining modus operandi in stranger child abduction: A comparison of attempted and completed cases.
  Craig J.R. Collie, Karen Shalev Greene.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 03, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract Existing inquiries purporting to study and describe offender behaviour in stranger child abduction (SCA) have utilised an overly narrow definition of modus operandi (MO), focusing only on very outset of the offence. The study aims to reflect changes that occur as the offence proceeds and to examine whether differentiating between attempted and completed cases can provide greater understanding of MO in SCA. The MO utilised by offenders in 78 cases of SCA retrieved from publicly available U.K. sources were examined. Descriptive analysis was used to determine which types of behaviour were present. Multidimensional scaling was used to categorise these behaviours and to establish whether any relationships existed between them, with view to ascertaining whether there were any clear patterns among strategies. Results found support for differentiating attempted and completed offences, with the analysis highlighting that offenders who utilised multiple means of control, who were more aggressive, and who shifted their MO from one theme to another, were more likely to complete the offence. The study concludes that more nuanced categorisations of SCA offending approaches, which reflect change over time, are required, and argues for additional, contextual information to be incorporated into future work. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 16, Issue 2, Page 91-109, June 2019. '

  June 03, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1523   open full text
• Quality of written record following mock eyewitness testimony: Note taking should be a minimum standard!
  Jessica Meise, Anja Leue.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 03, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract By using a video‐based narrative (unidirectional) eyewitness statement of an alleged victim, participants were asked to imagine they were police officers. We compared the quality of mock police officer written records in a between‐subjects design comprising three conditions: (a) a free recall (n = 27), (b) a free recall by using recall strategies of the cognitive interview (n = 27), or (c) note taking while watching the video (n = 26). The quality of the reports was determined by the amount of correctly recalled details, omitted details, added details (commission errors), and changed details (confabulations). As predicted, the number of correct details was higher in the “Note Taking” condition whereas performance in the “Free Recall” and in the “Cognitive Interview” conditions did not differ. Higher verbal memory ability resulted in a better quality of the written records. Our results suggest that note taking facilitates the quality of written records. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 16, Issue 2, Page 124-137, June 2019. '

  June 03, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1522   open full text
• Crime location choices: A geographical analysis of German serial killers.
  John Synnott, Marije Bakker, Maria Ioannou, David Canter, Jasper Kemp.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 03, 2019
  --- - |2 Abstract The present study examined whether there are different processes operating in the crime location choices between body‐disposing and non‐body‐disposing serial killers and between sexual serial killers and acquisitive serial killers. A sample of 49 series of solved German serial killings is used to examine the differences in travelled distances between these groups of killers. Nonparametric tests revealed that body‐disposing and non‐body‐disposing serial killers and sexual and acquisitive serial killers did not constitute subgroups of serial killers regarding their spatial behaviour. The results suggest that the compared groups are subjected to the same factors that influence their travelled distances. Furthermore, the possible role of planning and anticipated emotions in crime location choices of serial killers is discussed, as well as the limitations of the study and recommendations for future research. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 16, Issue 2, Page 110-123, June 2019. '

  June 03, 2019   doi: 10.1002/jip.1521   open full text
• No rapport, no comment: The relationship between rapport and communication during investigative interviews with suspects.
  Kimberly Collins, Nikki Carthy.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 11, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract There are few studies that have focused on systematically measuring indicators of rapport during police investigative interviews. Using Tickle‐Degnen and Rosenthal's model as the basis for a systematic measurement of rapport, this study examined police interviews to identify whether rapport with suspects influences investigation relevant information (IRI). Eighty‐two interview transcripts with male suspects accused of child internet sex offences were coded across three rapport components: attention, positivity, and coordination. Attention and coordination were the most frequently used, and both positively correlated with the production of information. Positivity did not significantly correlate with IRI. The interviews were broken down into three different stages to examine the relationship between the rapport indicators and IRI across the interviews. Attention related to IRI throughout the entire interview, coordination during the middle and end, and positivity did not relate to IRI for any of the time points. This study offers a methodology for measuring rapport during real life interviews, and implications for interviewing and training are discussed. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  October 11, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1517   open full text
• Issue Information.
  
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 No abstract is available for this article. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 255-256, October 2018.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1490   open full text
• Facilitating disclosure in intelligence interviews: The joint influence of helpfulness priming and interpersonal approach.
  David Amon Neequaye, Karl Ask, Pär Anders Granhag, Aldert Vrij.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract This study examined the joint influence of helpfulness priming and a helpfulness‐focused interpersonal approach on information disclosure in an intelligence interview. We based the research on the theoretical proposition that consistency between an interviewee's primed dispositions and an interviewer's interpersonal approach would facilitate disclosure. Participants (N = 116) took on the role of an informant with information about an upcoming terror attack. Afterwards, an interviewer solicited information about the attack using an interpersonal approach that exhibited either high (helpfulness‐focused) or low (control) fit with helpfulness concerns. Prior to the interview, in a seemingly unrelated experiment, we primed participants' helpfulness motivation and assessed their cognitive accessibility to helpfulness‐related constructs. We observed that helpfulness priming increased information disclosure when the helpfulness‐focused interpersonal approach was used but not when the control protocol was used. This research suggests that implementation of an interpersonal approach that complements an interviewee's primed dispositions may function symbiotically with the previous priming to facilitate information disclosure. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 319-334, October 2018. '

  October 07, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1515   open full text
• The patterns of homicide offence characteristics and their associations with offender psychopathology.
  Valeria Abreu Minero, Hannah Dickson, Edward Barker, Sandra Flynn, Saied Ibrahim, Jennifer Shaw.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Previous research suggests different crime scene patterns reflect differences in the background characteristics of the offender. However, whether differences in crime scene patterns are related to offender psychopathology remains unclear. We hypothesise that schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depressive illness will each associate to a specific homicide crime scene pattern. Homicide data were obtained from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness. Our sample comprised 759 homicides committed by offenders in contact with mental health services in the year preceding the offence and with an available psychiatric report. We used joint correspondence analysis to examine patterns between different methods of homicide, circumstances of homicide, victim gender, and victim age groups. Three homicide patterns were identified: male conflict homicide, intimate female homicide, and child homicide. Additionally, each homicide pattern was associated with one or more mental illnesses. Results are discussed in terms of the possible role of psychopathology in “offender profiling” research. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 304-318, October 2018. '

  October 07, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1514   open full text
• The combined effects of questioning technique and interviewer manner on false confessions.
  Wendy Paton, Stella A. Bain, Lynsey Gozna, Elizabeth Gilchrist, Derek Heim, Euan Gardner, David Cairns, Paul McGranaghan, Rico Fischer.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Although it is known that interrogation tactics can elicit false confessions and interviewer manner may determine the outcome of an interview, the combined effects of questioning technique and interviewer manner on false confessions have not been examined empirically. Following a false accusation of theft, participants were interviewed in one of four questioning conditions (minimisation, repetitive questioning, leading questions, and nonleading questions) in which interviewers adopted a stern or friendly manner. Perceptions of pressure to confess and interviewer behaviours were measured. Significantly more false confessions were elicited using nonleading questions rather than repetitive questioning. More false confessions were elicited in the friendly interviewer condition than in the stern interviewer condition. Neither interviewer manner nor questioning technique had a significant effect on subjective ratings of pressure to confess. The finding that false confessions may be elicited in the absence of coercive tactics may have implications for informing best practices in investigative interviewing. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 335-349, October 2018. '

  October 07, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1513   open full text
• Correlates of narcissism, self‐reported lies, and self‐assessed abilities to tell and detect lies, tell truths, and believe others.
  Liza Zvi, Eitan Elaad.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract This novel research focuses on the relations amongst narcissistic features, self‐assessed communication abilities related to lies and truths, and reports about actual lying. One hundred twenty‐five participants rated their ability to succeed at telling lies, telling the truth convincingly, detecting lies, and believing others. The participants also completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and reported their weekly lying frequency using designated questions. Results indicated a positive link between narcissism and self‐ratings of the lie‐telling ability. High narcissistic scorers further exhibited confidence in their abilities to detect lies and to convince listeners using truthful communication. Finally, narcissism correlated with reports of telling frequent lies. Different narcissistic subscales correlated with telling different kinds of lies. The theoretical significance of the present results and their importance to the legal system were discussed. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 271-286, October 2018. '

  October 07, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1511   open full text
• Women offenders' emotional experience of crime.
  Kayley Ciesla, Maria Ioannou, Laura Hammond.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract The main aim of the study was to examine the emotional experiences of crime amongst women offenders. With a mean age of 36.40 years (SD = 11.12), 128 women offenders completed a questionnaire exploring emotions they had experienced whilst committing a crime. Participants included incarcerated individuals as well as those in community‐based projects. Smallest space analysis of the emotions highlighted four key themes; depression, distress, elation, and calm. Results reflected the circumplex model of emotions but highlighted strong distinction between pleasure and displeasure. Overall, the majority of women reported negative emotional experiences of crime. Understanding how individuals felt during their crime commission offers alternative perspectives of criminal behaviour and a framework for future explorations. Results offer crucial insights for policy makers, criminal investigations, and therapeutic treatment options. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 287-303, October 2018. '

  October 07, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1512   open full text
• The usefulness of past crime data as an attractiveness index for residential burglars.
  Aiko Hanayama, Shumpei Haginoya, Hiroki Kuraishi, Masakazu Kobayashi.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract This study examines the effects of neighbourhood attractiveness on the residential burglar's crime location choice process using a discrete choice model. We show that past crime data are an important index of a neighbourhood's attractiveness and can be combined with other attractiveness indices adapted from previous studies. We used data from 369 solved cases committed by 70 offenders and related these data to 1,134 areas (500 m grid cells) in Sendai City, Japan. The results showed that residential burglars were attracted to the following potential locations for crimes: (a) areas in proximity to his or her own residence; (b) areas having many or at least a higher proportion of residential burglaries in the past; (c) areas having many residential units; and (d) areas having a higher proportion of single‐family dwellings. The results confirm the validity of past crime data as an index of a neighbourhood's attractiveness for residential burglary. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 3, Page 257-270, October 2018. '

  October 07, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1507   open full text
• Eliciting human intelligence: The effects of social exclusion and inclusion on information disclosure.
  Karl Ask, Emma Ejelöv, Pär Anders Granhag.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 25, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Eliciting information from semicooperative sources presents a major challenge in investigative and intelligence settings. This research examines the role of the human need to belong in individuals' willingness to disclose critical information. We hypothesised that social exclusion would exert a threat to individuals' need to belong and self‐esteem, which would make them strive for social reconnection through sharing information with others. In two experiments (N = 150 and N = 135), social exclusion and inclusion were manipulated before participants were given the opportunity to disclose critical information in a semicooperative game setting (Study 1) or a mock intelligence interview (Study 2). Social exclusion did not influence information disclosure in any of the experiments. Instead, however, social inclusion unexpectedly increased information disclosure in the interview setting. We conclude that prior social experiences can influence the outcome of subsequent interviews, but the precise mechanisms underlying such influence are currently unknown. - 'Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, EarlyView. '

  September 25, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1516   open full text
• Issue Information.
  
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 04, 2018
  --- - |2 No abstract is available for this article. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 73-74, June 2018.
  

  June 04, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1489   open full text
• The mental nose and the Pinocchio effect: Thermography, planning, anxiety, and lies.
  A. Moliné, E. Dominguez, E. Salazar‐López, G. Gálvez‐García, J. Fernández‐Gómez, J. De la Fuente, O. Iborra, F.J. Tornay, E. Gómez Milán.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 25, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract We applied thermography to cognitive neuropsychology, particularly as a somatic marker of subjective experience during cognitive and emotional tasks. We found significant correlations between changes in facial temperature and mental set. Specifically, the temperature of the nose tended to decrease during emotional tasks and increase during cognitive tasks. However, for stress tests or high arousal reactions to emotional stimuli, the direction of the thermal change depended on the nature of the setting, real or simulated. Detection of deception is a mixed field where cognitive effort, physiological stress, and empathy have evolved, affecting the direction of the thermal variation—higher or lower temperature of the tip of the nose and forehead. We found that the temperature change of the nose and forehead may enable detecting when people lie about facts (the Pinocchio effect markers). In general, one important contribution is to recover mental thermometry as a potent tool for neurocognitive studies. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 234-248, June 2018.
  

  April 25, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1505   open full text
• The role of the oath in credibility assessment.
  Song Wu, Wei Cai.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 16, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Based on the adaptive lie detector theory, this study is an examination of whether taking an oath, as context‐general information, increases the credibility of a suspect. The consistency of the testimonies of 6 eyewitnesses was manipulated so that it could be used as individuating information. There were 2 sets of testimonies: one that was consistent and one that was inconsistent. The results supported the adaptive lie detector theory. The participants judged those persons who took an oath to be more credible than those who did not, but this only happened in situations where the testimonies of the eyewitnesses were inconsistent. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and future directions are then discussed. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 249-254, June 2018.
  

  April 16, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1506   open full text
• Screening for intellectual disability in Dutch police suspects.
  Koen Geijsen, Nicolien Kop, Corine Ruiter.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 14, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract The screener for mild intellectual disability (SCIL) was developed to screen for mild intellectual disability (IQ below 85). The aims of this study were (a) to examine the predictive validity of the SCIL in screening for intellectual disability among police suspects and (b) to explore the prevalence of cognitive intellectual disability among suspects in police custody in the Netherlands. An unselected sample of police suspects (N = 178) charged with a variety of offences was assessed with the SCIL, a Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)‐III‐NL short form, and a malingering measure. The SCIL screened 50.0% of the sample as having mild intellectual disabilities, whereas the short WAIS classified 84.3% of the sample with an IQ below 85. A principal component analysis of the SCIL showed ambiguous results. Furthermore, the short WAIS classified 55.6% of our sample with a borderline IQ (IQ = 70–84), 84.3% with an IQ below 85 and 28.7% with an IQ below 70. The prevalence of intellectual disability in this sample of Dutch (police) suspects appears to be higher than prevalence rates found in previous international studies. More exhaustive research is needed to examine the prevalence of intellectual disabilities in police suspects, and the utility of the SCIL to screen for these disabilities. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 200-214, June 2018.
  

  April 14, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1502   open full text
• Reducing tunnel vision with a pen‐and‐paper tool for the weighting of criminal evidence.
  Eric Rassin.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 14, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract In order to prevent tunnel vision, and ultimately miscarriages of justice, police, prosecutors, and judges must remain open to alternative scenarios in which the suspect is in fact innocent. However, it is not evident from the literature that people are sufficiently aware of how alternative scenarios should be employed in the decision‐making process. In the present research, participants read a case vignette and formed an impression of the suspect's guilt. Some participants were made familiar with an alternative scenario. Others were not only presented with an alternative scenario but were also instructed to score (with pen and paper) the extent to which every piece of evidence fitted in the primary and the alternative scenario. Findings suggest that this pen‐and‐paper task helped to reduce tunnel vision. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 227-233, June 2018.
  

  April 14, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1504   open full text
• When white collar criminals turn to fatal violence: The impact of narcissism and psychopathy.
  Tage Alalehto, Reza Azarian.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 11, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract The present article takes as its point of departure Perri's view, according to whom the impact of personality traits such as psychopathy and narcissism has unduly been omitted in research on white collar criminality. However, this article argues that although such factors have an important role to play in some cases when white collar criminals turn violent in order to prevent the detection of their felonies, they constitute neither the necessary nor the sufficient conditions for white collar criminals to commit murders. This means on the one hand that, although potentially increasing the risk for violence, these traits are not by themselves sufficient as the triggers of violent acts and can function so only under certain social‐contextual circumstances. However, such personality traits are not by themselves necessary, as there can be empirical cases of fraud detection murder committed by white collar criminals lacking them. This position is supported by both a logical analysis of Perri's main arguments and by empirical evidence, consisting of a few real‐life cases of Scandinavian white collar criminals who have “turned red.” - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 215-226, June 2018.
  

  April 11, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1503   open full text
• The conjunction fallacy in profiles of victims of homicide.
  Thomas E. Dearden.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 06, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Using basic probability theory, estimates of the characteristics of the average homicide victim are calculated using the notion of disjoint probability. The assumption of disjoint events (e.g., the victim's race bears no effect on the offender's weapon choice) is then tested empirically using the Uniform Crime Report‐Supplementary Homicide Report. Exploratory results suggest that many demographic and situational characteristics taken together are only slightly more related than chance. Put simply, the average profile of homicide victims portrayed by the media becomes less likely as demographic variables are added. A survey was conducted to test whether individuals conjoined these characteristics, thinking they were more likely to occur together. Consistent with the conjunction fallacy, many participants overestimated the likelihood that certain demographic or situational characteristics will occur together, and some overestimated it to a mathematically impossible degree. These two experiments showcase the difficulty in displaying statistical profiling and how it affects the public's perception of offenders. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 187-199, June 2018.
  

  April 06, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1501   open full text
• Comparing serial homicides to single homicides: A study of prevalence, offender, and offence characteristics in Sweden.
  Joakim Sturup.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 15, 2018
  --- - |2- Abstract Multiple and serial homicides constitute around 1.6% of all homicides but have unusually tragic outcomes. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence serial‐homicide offences and the characteristics of serial‐homicide offenders in a non‐North American context. The study included all convicted serial‐homicide offenders in Sweden from 1973 to 2012 (n = 25), as well as a population‐based control sample of single‐homicide offenders collected during 2007 and 2009 (n = 201). Similar to U.S. findings, approximately 1.6% of homicides could be attributed to serial‐homicide offenders. Serial offenders were more often diagnosed with personality disorders and autism‐spectrum disorders compared with single offenders; and serial offences more often involved victims who were female and unacquainted with the offender, as well as planning, sexual motives, and asphyxia as method of violence. One third of serial offences involved actions aimed at disguising the manner of death; such actions were considerably less common in single‐homicide offences. Few offenders displayed the traditional profile of a serial‐homicide offender; however, one third displayed sexual motives, a rate roughly 10 times higher than that in the single‐homicide group. The study concludes that serial‐homicide offenders should be subjected to forensic‐psychiatric examinations and that research involving cross‐contextual differences and similarities in serial‐homicide offenders is needed. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 75-89, June 2018.
  

  March 15, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1500   open full text
• Animal abuse: Offender and offence characteristics. A descriptive study.
  Anton Wijk, Manon Hardeman, Nienke Endenburg.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 14, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract This descriptive study was done to gain insight into the characteristics of animal abusers and animal abuse. On the basis of registrations by police, animal protection services, and the national reporting centre for animal welfare, 90 cases of animal abuse involving 97 offenders were analysed. Information about the offence and the offenders could be retrieved; the group of offenders was heterogeneous as to background and characteristics. Many were in debt, and 25% had 1 or more psychological disorders (e.g., antisocial personality disorders and autism spectrum disorders). Animal abuse often occurred because of frustration, and dogs were the main victims. Most cases of abuse took place in the home of the abuser. By taking the offence of animal abuse as starting point for studying the offenders' characteristics, we gained insight into a broad spectrum of characteristics and backgrounds than would have been found if we had started from a domestic violence perspective or the graduation hypothesis. A larger study is needed to verify findings. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 175-186, June 2018.
  

  March 14, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1499   open full text
• Geographical offender profiling: Dragnet's applicability on a Brazilian sample.
  Denis Lino, Bruna Calado, Danielly Belchior, Mayara Cruz, Aline Lobato.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. February 20, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Even though geographical offender profiling is already widely used and researched in countries such as England, Canada, and United States, it is still severely overlooked in Brazil, as there are no researches on the subject using a Brazilian sample. Therefore, the present paper aims to start filling this gap by analysing the applicability of the geographical offender profiling and Dragnet on a sample of Brazilian serial killers. In order to achieve this objective, the authors collected data through police records on 15 serial killers that were active between June 2009 and June 2015, in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. As a result, the circle hypothesis was confirmed, considering that 66.7% of the sample fell into the marauder category. Interestingly, the Dragnet's result accurately informed the area that contained the offender's base in the same cases in which the offender acted according to the marauder model. Also, other important correlations were found such as the influence of age, intelligence, resourcefulness, and method of approach on the distance travelled to commit a murder. Those results show that the geographical offender profiling can be effectively applied in Brazil and thus is a valid investigative tool to aid police officers in serial crimes investigations. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 149-161, June 2018.
  

  February 20, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1497   open full text
• Science‐based interviewing: Information elicitation.
  Susan E. Brandon, Simon Wells, Colton Seale.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. February 05, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract This article describes an ethical and effective science‐based model of interviewing. An initial planning phase assists the investigative team in separating facts from inferences, decreases the likelihood of errors based on cognitive biases, and prompts careful preparation of the environment. The interview begins with an explanation of why the subject is being questioned. The interviewer then metaphorically hands the interview over to the subject, making him the talker and the interviewer the listener. The interviewer engages in active listening, soliciting as much information from the subject as possible by deploying tactics that enhance memory based on science, including elements of the cognitive interview. Cues to deception are found in the details of the story, rather than in signs of anxiety or nonverbal behaviours, and by deploying Strategic Use of Evidence. This model has been shown to increase cooperation, decrease resistance, and provoke useful information in real‐world criminal interviews. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 133-148, June 2018.
  

  February 05, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1496   open full text
• Differentiating crisis incidents: A replication study using the action systems model.
  Lisa Hempenstall, Sean Hammond.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 31, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract Crisis incidents are volatile situations that can pose significant risk to those involved and to law enforcement. The idiosyncratic conditions that lead to such incidents, as well as their volatility, often militate against consistent explanatory models. However, the application of overarching paradigms, such as the action systems model, has shown some promise in imposing order in the domain. Recent research has successfully differentiated crisis incidents into the four distinct modes of the action systems model: conservative, adaptive, integrative, and expressive. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to replicate this recent study using 242 cases from the United States, Ireland, Canada, and Sweden. Data analysis involves smallest space analyses and constrained multidimensional scaling. Although the results supported the underlying structure of original proposed behavioural model, there are a few deviances. These differences along with the potential influence of cultural variations, offence variable selection, the type of incident, and the sample under scrutiny are discussed. It is evident that there remain several challenges, and further research is required, prior to developing a unified framework. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 162-174, June 2018.
  

  January 31, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1498   open full text
• Detecting deception through small talk and comparable truth baselines.
  Nicola Palena, Letizia Caso, Aldert Vrij, Robin Orthey.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 10, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract The present experiment investigates similarities in participants' nonverbal and verbal behaviours when responding to baseline and investigative questions, comparing two different types of baselines. Police literature suggests to obtain a baseline through small talk, whereas academic literature underlines the importance of baseline and investigative themes to be comparable. First, a baseline was obtained (either small talk or comparable), then the investigative questioning started. During the investigative questioning, participants either truthfully reported a set of actions they had actually performed or lied about them. Findings revealed that truth tellers and liars in the small talk condition did not differ in their level of similarity when responding to the baseline and investigative questions. In the comparable truth condition, levels of verbal similarity between the baseline and investigative questions were higher for truth tellers than for liars, but only for one variable: spatial detail. Results therefore showed that a small talk baseline should not be used to assess interviewees' credibility, and that a comparable truth baseline, although better than a small talk baseline, is still problematic. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 124-132, June 2018.
  

  January 10, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1495   open full text
• Solving the puzzle: The effects of contextual information and feedback on the interpretation of a crime scene.
  Claire A.J. Eeden, James Ost, Christianne J. Poot, Peter J. Koppen.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 10, 2018
  --- - |2 Abstract In this study, we examined how the provision of contextual information and the ability to ask questions and obtain feedback affected mock investigators' interpretation of a crime scene. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in a 2 × 2 design and assessed two photographs of the same crime scene. Participants were instructed to write a narrative about what they thought had happened at the scene. Results showed that the provision of contextual information and the ability to ask questions had no effect on the lengths of the narratives participants produced. However, participants who received contextual information wrote a more factual narrative containing more descriptions of actions before, during, and after the crime. Across all conditions, most of the questions were asked about persons who could in some way be involved in the crime. Results of this study indicate that the provision of contextual information helped participants to focus on the more factual, rather than speculative elements, of the crime. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 109-123, June 2018.
  

  January 10, 2018   doi: 10.1002/jip.1494   open full text
• The relationship between the adult attachment and the tendency to judge others as liars.
  Song Wu, Linjing Huang, Jiahui Li.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 27, 2017
  --- - |2 Abstract The relationship between 2 dimensions (anxiety and avoidance) of adult attachment and tendency to judge others as liars was examined in this study. We measured 308 participants' adult attachment and tendency to judge others as liars in self‐, other‐, or relationship‐oriented situations. Results supported our hypotheses by showing that (a) anxiety positively predicted the tendency to judge others as liars in self‐oriented situations and (b) avoidance moderated the relationship between anxiety and the tendency to judge others as liars in other‐ and relationship‐oriented situations. Attachment anxiety could positively predict the tendency to judge others as liars only when participants' avoidance was high. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future studies were discussed. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 90-98, June 2018.
  

  December 27, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1492   open full text
• Blame game in private investigation reports: The case of Deloitte examination at Telenor VimpelCom.
  Petter Gottschalk.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 27, 2017
  --- - |2 Abstract Business and public organisations hire fraud examiners to conduct private investigations when there is suspicion of misconduct or financial crime. Fraud examiners carry out their investigation based on a mandate. Often, individuals in the organisation are suspects. The blame game hypothesis is concerned with factors that cause blame attribution to some individuals but not to others. In this case study, only executives were blamed who had not disclosed corruption information to a major shareholder and to the chief executive officer. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 99-108, June 2018.
  

  December 27, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1493   open full text
• Do female offenders differ? Comparing the criminal histories of serious violent perpetrators with a control sample.
  Rebecca Coleman, Louise Almond, Michelle McManus.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 28, 2017
  In view of earlier research, female offenders have not received as much attention as male perpetrators. Thus, the research aimed to gain insight into the types of offences committed by serious violent female offenders (n = 206; those who had committed grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, or homicide) and to explore differences with control female perpetrators (n = 447); control offenders were matched according to age and year of offence of the serious violent offenders. The purpose was to, therefore, gather an understanding of female offenders and to determine if the serious violent perpetrators differed from the control sample. A UK police force provided data of offences committed between April 2001 and April 2011. Descriptive information was analysed, with comparisons being made using Mann–Whitney U tests and chi‐square analyses. About 72.3% (n = 149) of serious violent offenders had one or more recorded convictions and were significantly more likely to have committed a previous violent offence than the control sample. On the other hand, control perpetrators had a higher likelihood of having previously committed a theft‐related offence, when compared to serious violent females. Therefore, the findings indicate the types of offences committed by female offenders and highlight the differences between serious violent perpetrators and offenders in the control sample. The implications and limitations are discussed.

  August 28, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1485   open full text
• Redefining the psychological autopsy: A proposal for collaboration between forensic pathology and investigative psychology.
  Nadia Solomon.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 03, 2017
  Excepting psychiatry, psychology and medicine remain largely separate disciplines. In forensic inquiries, the psychologist assesses the mind, whereas the pathologist examines the body. Both fields, however, actively participate in the same investigations, albeit from different standpoints, contributing to explorations of crime scene dynamics, identification of offenders, and legal proceedings. In recent years, peer review has become a staple of research, because subjecting work to scrutiny by other experts promotes accuracy. Forensic pathologists would benefit from insights provided by investigative psychology, particularly if asked to apply psychology to their testimony, and integration with forensic pathology may increase the acceptance of empirical profiling evidence in the courtroom. Additionally, incorporation of medical findings—such as wound patterns, evidence of range of fire, and cause of death determinations—could add another level of detail to techniques like smallest space analysis. The following functions as a proposal for the incorporation of forensic pathological findings into investigative psychology research and the application of investigative psychology to forensic pathology practice. Cooperation has the potential to extend the scope of knowledge in both disciplines, to increase their applicability to and acceptance in legal contexts and to maximize the probative value of evidence provided in the court of law.

  August 03, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1487   open full text
• Assessing threats of violence: Professional skill or common sense?
  Renate Geurts, Pär Anders Granhag, Karl Ask, Aldert Vrij.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 20, 2017
  When faced with threats of violence, it is of great importance to assess the risk for actual harm to occur. Over the last decades, this task has developed into a domain of its own and professionals have specialised in threat assessment. However, it is yet unknown whether professional experience affects the quality of threat assessments. The present study examined how threat assessment professionals (N = 44), university students (N = 44), and laypersons (N = 45) assessed the risk for violence in three fictitious cases. The assessments (i.e., assigning risk values to different pieces of information) were found to be strikingly similar across the three groups. Yet, professionals agreed more with one another on their assessments, and professionals identified more relevant (empirically supported) threat cues when given the opportunity to request additional information. These results suggest that threat assessment professionals know better than nonprofessionals what information to look for, and hence, they may contribute most in the process of gathering information to clarify the threat. Such knowledge can help to optimise the use of expertise, which may improve the quality of threat assessments. The current findings can be of value to those who consult threat assessment professionals, as well as to the professionals themselves.

  July 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1486   open full text
• On the anatomy of social engineering attacks—A literature‐based dissection of successful attacks.
  Jan‐Willem Hendrik Bullée, Lorena Montoya, Wolter Pieters, Marianne Junger, Pieter Hartel.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 14, 2017
  The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which persuasion principles are used in successful social engineering attacks. Seventy‐four scenarios were extracted from 4 books on social engineering (written by social engineers) and analysed. Each scenario was split into attack steps, containing single interactions between offender and target. For each attack step, persuasion principles were identified. The main findings are that (a) persuasion principles are often used in social engineering attacks, (b) authority (1 of the 6 persuasion principles) is used considerably more often than others, and (c) single‐principle attack steps occur more often than multiple‐principle ones. The social engineers identified in the scenarios more often used persuasion principles compared to other social influences. The scenario analysis illustrates how to exploit the human element in security. The findings support the view that security mechanisms should include not only technical but also social countermeasures.

  July 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1482   open full text
• Male‐on‐male sexual assault: Victim, offender and offence characteristics.
  Maria Ioannou, Laura Hammond, Laura Machin.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 29, 2017
  Unlike male‐on‐female sexual assaults, little is known about the nature of male‐on‐male sexual assault, especially in terms of victim, offender and offence characteristics. The present paper systematically reviews the limited research into male‐on‐male sexual offences in order to ascertain the current state of knowledge with regards to these issues. An extensive search resulted in the identification of 15 empirical studies, with a total of 5,112 cases of male‐on‐male sexual assaults, for inclusion in the analyses. Findings revealed that, in the main, both victims and offenders of this type of offence tend to be young and heterosexual. Offenders tend to act alone during the assault and to be previously acquainted with the victim. Most male‐on‐male sexual assaults are violent in nature, taking place in either the victim's or the offender's home. Victims are subjected to various sexual acts, with anal penetration being the most frequent, and victims are frequently forced to perform oral sex on the offender. The implications of these findings, as well as limitations of the reviewed studies and directions for future research, are discussed.

  May 29, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1483   open full text
• Pathways in the offending process of sex offenders who target marginalised victims.
  Loren Horan, Eric Beauregard.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 25, 2017
  Prior literature shows that although marginalised populations are at a high risk of severe violence and homicide, research has focused on their offenders as if they constituted a homogeneous group. On the basis of a sample of 213 sex offenders who targeted marginalised individuals (i.e., sex trade worker, homeless individual, and severe drug user), we investigate the different pathways that these offenders take both prior to and during the commission of their crimes. Results of 2‐step cluster analysis regarding the offender's development, criminal history, crime context, and modus operandi revealed 3 distinct pathways of the offending process. The coercive pathway was characterised by the amount of violence used against the victim. The explosive pathway was defined by offenders who were in a state of rage at the time of the offence. Finally, offenders in the situational pathway committed their crimes out of opportunity and used very little violence. Differences between pathways were investigated with regard to characteristics of the index offence.

  April 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1481   open full text
• Police officers' beliefs about, and use of, cues to deception.
  Clea Wright, Jacqueline M. Wheatcroft.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 26, 2017
  Meta‐analytic findings indicate that people, including police officers, are generally poor at detecting low‐stakes deception. Related to this, investigations of behaviours that people reportedly use to make truth or lie judgements tend to conclude that people rely on incorrect stereotypes. However, consistent findings suggest that police officers are able to detect high‐stakes deception; this implies that, at least in some contexts, police officers utilise reliable cues to deception. The research presented here was an investigation of cues to deception used by police officers (N = 69), when making veracity decisions about real world, high‐stakes communications. Data were collected on both free report cues, and also prescribed cues that were known (from previous research), to discriminate between liars and truth‐tellers in the communications that the police officers observed. Officers free reported using cues related to verbal content, emotion, body language, eyes, vocal cues, and external cues. Most prescribed cues were self‐reportedly used correctly by large majorities of the officers, suggesting that they may not rely on inaccurate stereotypes. Self‐report use of categories of free report cues, and prescribed cues, was not related to accuracy in detecting deception. As people may not always be aware of the behaviours on which their judgements are based, the relationships between some of the behaviours actually displayed in the communications, and group accuracy in detecting deception in those communications, were also investigated. Group accuracy was related to the presence of subjective, emotion‐related cues in the communications.

  March 26, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1478   open full text
• The elimination‐plus lineup: Testing a modified lineup procedure with confidence.
  Emily Pica, Joanna Pozzulo.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 21, 2017
  The present study examined whether a modified form of a preidentification confidence rating would provide evidence of a suspect's guilt in addition to the identification decision confidence. Participants (N = 241) viewed a videotaped mock crime and were presented with a target‐present or target‐absent simultaneous, sequential, elimination, or elimination‐plus lineup procedure; both elimination procedures required 2 separate judgments from the witness (i.e., relative and absolute). The elimination‐plus procedure was identical to that of the elimination procedure with the addition of the confidence rating in between judgment 1 and judgment 2. Confidence after judgment 1, confidence after judgment 2, and the average of the 2 confidence ratings with the elimination‐plus procedure significantly predicted accuracy for choosers. Given that confidence has been recognised by the Supreme Court of the United States, these results shed light on a novel way of utilising confidence in the investigative process.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1477   open full text
• Witnesses' failure to detect covert manipulations in their written statements.
  Anna Sagana, Melanie Sauerland, Harald Merckelbach.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 21, 2017
  Law enforcement agencies and legal professionals often have to rely on witness statements. Undetected errors in witnesses' statements, however, could impede the accurate reconstruction of a crime and lead to the incrimination of innocent suspects. Here, we examined whether witnesses can detect manipulations in their written statements. We expect that writing a statement could provide a good means for discrimination between what is truly recalled and what is an error. This is because writing allows to monitor and control the previously produced information. In 3 experiments, participants watched a mock crime film and subsequently provided a written statement of what they had witnessed. Following a delay of several minutes (Experiment 1), 48 hr (Experiment 2), or 1 month (Experiment 3), participants were exposed to and interviewed about their testimony. Unknown to them, they were confronted with statements, which included 4 secretly manipulated details. Participants' missed a substantial number of manipulations in their written statements. Importantly, the detection rates varied as a function of delay (Experiments 1 and 2: 74–89%; Experiment 3: 36%–52%). Detection rates also varied as a function of the type of details that were manipulated. Our findings indicate that writing a statement comes with limited benefits in witnesses' ability to detect errors in their statements.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1479   open full text
• Moral variables before and after a court‐mandated psychological treatment of men convicted of violence against their partners: Evolution and relationship with sexist attitudes.
  Maria L. Vecina.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 21, 2017
  Assuming that some moral variables can play a role in explaining intimate partner violence (IPV) and its treatment, this study explores the evolution of the relationship between some moral variables, which have recently been connected to IPV, and sexist attitudes in 160 men convicted of violence against the partner. The general hypothesis is that the moral variables can change during psychological treatments, and therefore be intervention targets, because they are related to more traditional variables in the field of IPV, such as sexist attitudes. To test this idea, we took pretreatment and posttreatment measures on moral variables (moral absolutism and moral foundations) and sexist attitudes (benevolent and hostile sexism) and analyzed their relationships and their changes after the completion of a prescribed psychological treatment. The results showed that (a) the moral variables were significantly correlated with the sexist attitudes before and after the treatment; (b) the men convicted of violence against the partner held with less certainty their general beliefs about morality and their particular beliefs about the binding moral foundations (in‐group, authority, and purity) after the unspecific psychological treatment; and (c) their moral absolutism before the treatment predicted the remaining sexist attitudes after the treatment. Practical implications can be drawn to better understand this kind of prevalent violence and eventually to improve the psychological treatments.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1480   open full text
• Examining different types of comparison questions in a field study of CQT polygraph technique: Theoretical and practical implications.
  Avital Ginton.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 23, 2017
  Two types of questions are most important in the CQT polygraph examination, relevant questions that deal directly with the case under query and comparison questions, which usually deal with past probable misdeeds of the examinees that they choose to deny. The simplistic core reasoning behind the CQT is that the risk of being detected for lying is a threatening situation and like any kind of threat, it automatically triggers the autonomic nervous system to respond with the “fight or flight” type of reaction. For the deceptive examinee, the relevant questions pose the main threat, whereas the truthful examinee, knowing that he is telling the truth on the relevant issue while probably lying to the comparison questions, perceives the latter as more threatening, considering his goal to appear truthful on the test. Accordingly, the deceptive examinee reactions are focused on the relevant questions, whereas the truthful focuses them on the comparison ones. Results of the current field study suggest that at least with truthful examinees, comparison questions, which do not incorporate any lies to be afraid of their exposure, or any lies at all, might function similarly to probable lie questions, by just increasing their salience in a manner that presumably creates some concerns about them. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in line with the RIG strength notion (Ginton, ).

  January 23, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1475   open full text
• Organizational climate and investigation performance in the Norwegian police: A qualitative study.
  Jon Anders Lone, Alexander Garnås, Trond Myklebust, Roald Bjørklund, Thomas Hoff, Cato Bjørkli.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 21, 2017
  The present study aimed to identify organizational climate dimensions that are salient for police investigation performance and to explicate the mechanisms of the relationship between organizational climate and investigation performance. We conducted 38 semistructured interviews with participants at three job levels of police investigative work (chiefs of police, n = 11, senior investigating officers, n = 14, detectives, n = 13) in 11 Norwegian police districts. We analyzed the interview data by using a model of organizational climate based on the competing values framework (Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1983). Two types of climate, human relations climate and rational goal climate, were perceived to enhance investigation performance. The findings indicate that a human relations climate enhances investigation performance by developing collective human capital and by supporting internal and external cooperation and coordination of resources. Moreover, the findings suggest that a rational goal climate increases investigation performance by encouraging planning, goal setting, and task focus.

  January 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1474   open full text
• Lay perceptions of interrogation techniques: Identifying the role of Belief in a Just World and Right Wing Authoritarianism.
  Angela M. Jones, Laure Brimbal.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 19, 2017
  False confessions due to overtly coercive interrogation techniques have led to the development of more ethically‐minded alternative techniques. Several studies have surveyed the public about their perceptions of confession‐oriented techniques (e.g., Leo & Liu, ), although none have examined the use of information gathering and strategic interviewing techniques or individual differences in such perceptions. Thus, the current study assessed public perceptions of a wide variety of techniques by recruiting a total of 332 participants. Results indicated that our participants would rather risk releasing a guilty person than convicting an innocent. Overall, confession‐oriented techniques were rated the least acceptable and effective across participants. However, perceptions of these techniques varied as a function of Belief in a Just World (BJW; Lipkus, ) and Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA; Zakrisson, ). Specifically, those higher in these two individual differences found confession‐oriented techniques to be both more acceptable and effective than those scoring lower on these measures. The results speak to the importance of individual differences and the potential for such differences to bias juror decision‐making when interrogation evidence is at stake.

  January 19, 2017   doi: 10.1002/jip.1476   open full text
• The role of risk and protective factors in the modification of risk for sexual victimization, sexual risk behaviors, and survival sex among homeless youth: A meta‐analysis.
  Jessica A. Heerde, Sheryl A. Hemphill.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. November 24, 2016
  Youth homelessness is a multifaceted and significant social problem. For many homeless youth, the risk for exposure to sexual exploitation is high, with the experience of sexual victimization and engaging in sexual risk behaviors and survival sex commonplace. This meta‐analysis appraised internationally published literature to investigate the role of risk and protective factors in modifying the occurrence of sexual victimization, sexual risk behaviors, and survival sex among homeless youth. A comprehensive search of psychology, sociology, medicine, health, and criminology electronic abstraction databases was conducted for the period 1990–2016. Search terms included “homeless,” “rape,” “sexual victimization,” “unsafe sex,” and “survival sex.” The perpetration of sexual offences was included in the search strategy. Eighteen studies, examining sexual victimization, sexual risk behavior, and survival sex, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta‐analysis. All but two studies were conducted in the United States. No retrieved studies examined sexual offending; hence, this could not be included in the meta‐analysis. Findings showed that substance use, exposure to violence and crime (as victims and perpetrators), childhood abuse, sexual behavior, and peers' antisocial and sexual behavior were unique factors increasing the likelihood for each of sexual victimization, engagement in sexual risk behavior, and engagement in survival sex. Protective factors were peer and family social support. Moderator analyses showed that the influence of risk factors may differ based on study design, sample size, study country of origin, and participant age and gender. Findings suggest that risk and protective factors may be important mechanisms by which to modify the occurrence of adverse sexual behavior outcomes and better contextualize prevention and early intervention strategies for homeless youth.

  November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1473   open full text
• Reconstructing with trace information: Does rapid identification information lead to better crime reconstructions?
  Madeleine Gruijter, Christianne Poot, Henk Elffers.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. November 13, 2016
  Currently, promising new tools are under development that will enable crime scene investigators to analyze fingerprints or DNA‐traces at the crime scene. While these technologies could help to find a perpetrator early in the investigation, they may also strengthen confirmation bias when an incorrect scenario directs the investigation this early. In this study, 40 experienced Crime scene investigators (CSIs) investigated a mock crime scene to study the influence of rapid identification technologies on the investigation. This initial study shows that receiving identification information during the investigation results in more accurate scenarios. CSIs in general are not as much reconstructing the event that took place, but rather have a “who done it routine.” Their focus is on finding perpetrator traces with the risk of missing important information at the start of the investigation. Furthermore, identification information was mostly integrated in their final scenarios when the results of the analysis matched their expectations. CSIs have the tendency to look for confirmation, but the technology has no influence on this tendency. CSIs should be made aware of the risks of this strategy as important offender information could be missed or innocent people could be wrongfully accused.

  November 13, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1471   open full text
• Interviewing asylum seekers: A vignette study on the questions asked to assess credibility of claims about origin and persecution.
  Tanja S. Veldhuizen, Robert Horselenberg, Sara Landström, Pär Anders Granhag, Peter J. Koppen.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. November 02, 2016
  The aim of the current vignette study is to map the style, type, and themes of questions that are asked when assessing the credibility of asylum seekers' claims. Sixty‐five officials from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), were asked to respond to one out of four different vignettes that contained fictitious asylum narratives. Each vignette presented the types of problems often encountered by officials at the migration board. Two of the vignettes contained no evidence of the origin of the asylum seeker. The other two contained no evidence for the claim of persecution. The asylum officials were asked to formulate five questions that would help them to assess the veracity of the applicant's claim. Our analyses showed that they mainly formulated open questions in an information gathering style. A thematic analysis of the questions revealed that when a claim about origin was assessed, asylum officials mostly asked questions about life in the country of origin, identity documents, and the flight to Europe. When the claim about persecution was assessed, in contrast, asylum officials mostly formulated case‐specific questions (e.g., how the applicant was arrested). Hence, when the credibility of claims about origin is assessed, there seems to be a typical set of questions that asylum officials use. The asylum officials seem to assume that if the applicant is truly originating from a specific country or area, he or she should have ample knowledge about that area, its customs, and frequently encountered objects.

  November 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1472   open full text
• The illusion of the perfect alibi: Establishing the base rate of non‐offenders' alibis.
  Ricardo Nieuwkamp, Robert Horselenberg, Peter J. Van Koppen.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 24, 2016
  The present study was designed to establish the base rate of alibis and supportive evidence for alibis of non‐offenders. That is important because the presence and lack of an alibi are often seen as a clear indicator of innocence and guilt, respectively, of a suspect. A large sample of laypersons (N = 841) was randomly assigned to one of 32 conditions in which they were asked to generate a true alibi after they were falsely accused of being the perpetrator of a mock robbery. Each condition consisted of either a Tuesday or a Saturday and one of 16 timeframes. In general, the majority of the participants had an alibi (99.5%) and supportive evidence for their alibis (92.4%). The supportive evidence often consisted of a combination of supportive evidence rather than one distinct form of supportive evidence (33.3%). Although it is widely assumed that the alibi believability is determined based on the strength of the supportive evidence, our results show that the type of evidence that can be presented by laypeople depends upon the day and the timeframe wherein the crime has been committed. The results of the study therefore imply that determining alibi believability solely on the strength of the supportive evidence is not a fair measure. We suggest that the believability should also be based on the base rate of alibis and its supportive evidence.

  October 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1470   open full text
• Rape investigation and attrition in acquaintance, domestic violence and historical rape cases.
  Marianne Hester, Sarah‐Jane Lilley.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 17, 2016
  This paper looks at the progression of rape cases through the criminal justice system, from report to court, exploring the different attrition trajectories for cases that can be characterized as involving acquaintance, intimate domestic violence, and historical child sexual abuse contexts. Using police data from three police forces in England covering 87 cases, interviews relating to 15 victim/survivors and interviews with criminal justice professional, the paper explores investigative processes and victim engagement across rape cases and their different trajectories through the criminal justice system. The legal and extra‐legal factors that have been identified in the previous literature as increasing attrition, such as relationship between victim and offender, vulnerability of victim, and evidential issues, were all seen to play some part in the attrition and trajectories of the cases discussed here, but were relevant to different degrees depending on whether the cases involved acquaintance, intimate domestic violence, or historical child sexual abuse. If we are to more effectively deal with the “justice gap” that exists in rape cases, an important aspect is to understand the differences between these groups of cases and the particular circumstance and needs of the victims in these different contexts.

  October 17, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1469   open full text
• Crime linkage of sex offences in Japan by multiple correspondence analysis.
  Kaeko Yokota, Kazumi Watanabe, Taeko Wachi, Yusuke Otsuka, Kazuki Hirama, Goro Fujita.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 10, 2016
  This study examined the effectiveness of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) for linking crimes. The data consisted of 720 incidents committed by 360 individual offenders of serial criminal sexual contact cases (i.e., rape and forced indecency). According to the measured similarity obtained from the Euclidean distance in the MCA configuration, a rank‐score was assigned to each linked pair and unlinked pair. The validity of MCA for linking crimes was evaluated with a 10‐fold cross‐validation procedure and a receiver operating characteristic analysis. The t‐test of rank scores showed a statistically significant difference between linked pairs and unlinked pairs (t(641.43) = −18.53, p < .001, d = 1.38). The value of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was .83 (95% CI = .80–.86), indicating a high level of discriminative accuracy in distinguishing offences committed by the same person from those committed by different persons.

  October 10, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1468   open full text
• Police officers' use of evidence to elicit admissions in a fictitious criminal case.
  Serra Tekin, Pär Anders Granhag, Leif A. Strömwall, Aldert Vrij.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 23, 2016
  We examined how police officers planned to interview suspects in a situation where they lacked information about a critical phase of a crime (i.e., the time during which the crime took place) but possessed information about less critical phases of the crime (i.e., the time before and/or after the crime took place). The main focus was the officers' planned use of the available information (evidence) to elicit admissions about the critical phase. A survey was distributed to police officers (n = 69) containing a fictitious murder case for which they were to prepare an interview with a suspect. The investigators planned to disclose the evidence more often in a strategic manner (obtaining the suspect's statement and exhausting alternative scenarios before revealing the evidence) than in a non‐strategic manner (revealing the evidence before requiring an explanation). The investigators' most frequently reported reason for their planned evidence use was to collect additional information about the particular phase to which the disclosed evidence pertained. It was rare that the investigators planned to disclose the evidence about a less critical phase of the crime in order to elicit admissions about the more critical phase (e.g., by disclosing the evidence to try to shift the suspect's counter‐interrogation strategy from less to more forthcoming). The investigators may benefit from recent research showing that strategic evidence disclosure can be used as a means to elicit admissions about a phase of a crime for which information is lacking.

  August 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1463   open full text
• Suspects' consistency in statements concerning two events when different question formats are used.
  Haneen Deeb, Aldert Vrij, Lorraine Hope, Samantha Mann, Pär‐Anders Granhag, Gary L. J. Lancaster.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 23, 2016
  Lie detection research has typically focused on reports about a single event. However, in many forensic and security contexts, suspects are likely to report on several events, some of them may be untruthful. This presents interviewers with the challenge of detecting which reports are true and which are not. Varying question format in a second interview, we examined differences in liars' and truth‐tellers' statement consistency about two events. One hundred and fifty participants viewed a meeting in which a noncritical and a critical event were discussed. Truth‐tellers were instructed to be honest in their reports about both events, whereas liars had to lie about the critical event. In the first interview, all participants provided a free recall account. In a second interview, participants either gave another free recall account or responded to specific questions presented sequentially (concerning one event at a time) or nonsequentially (concerning both events simultaneously). Liars' accounts featured fewer repetitions than truth‐tellers for both events, particularly in response to questions presented in nonsequential order. The implications for the use of this question format are discussed.

  August 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1464   open full text
• The characteristics of registered sexual offenders in an Australian jurisdiction.
  Andrew Day, Elli Darwinkel, James Vess.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 09, 2016
  Current policies to manage convicted sexual offenders living in the community do not differentiate between those at different levels of risk. This is important if risk management strategies are to be better targeted. However, current methods of categorizing risk bands rely on the application of data from other populations, and thus may lack validity when used in jurisdictions other than those in which the validation data were collected. This study provides a descriptive analysis of cases managed by police in one Australian jurisdiction, presenting the offence histories and risk profiles of this population. The analysis shows that the heterogeneity exists in relation to offence type, level of risk, and victim characteristics, suggesting that more sophisticated systems of offender classification are likely to be required if judgements about risk are to inform offender management and the investigation of new sexual crime.

  August 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1461   open full text
• Perceptions of male rape and sexual assault in a male sample from the United Kingdom: Barriers to reporting and the impacts of victimization.
  Laura Hammond, Maria Ioannou, Martha Fewster.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 28, 2016
  The present study explored the prevalence of myths about male sexual assault, assault by penetration, and rape in a male general population sample (N = 98; mean age = 26.17 years), with the aim of determining potential barriers to the reporting of incidents of male sexual victimization and reasons for reluctance to report. In addition, the impacts of prior experience of male sexual victimization, both direct and indirect, on rape and sexual assault myth acceptance and on attitudes to reporting were evaluated. Participants completed an online survey indicating their levels of agreement with a range of statements reflecting different rape and sexual assault myths identified within the previous literature. Overall, there were high levels of disagreement (>90%) with the majority of the statements. The only items generating higher agreement ratings were those suggesting that the police are unlikely to take male sexual victimization seriously and—where the offence in question was sexual assault or assault by penetration and the perpetrator female—that men should be able to defend themselves against such crimes. Those without any prior experience of male sexual victimization tended to disagree more with the rape myths than those with previous experience. When asked whether they would report these offences if they were to happen to them, participants said that they were more likely to report each of the types of offences when the perpetrator was male than when they were female. Potential implications of the findings, for male sex offence investigations and for the criminal justice system more generally, are discussed.

  July 28, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1462   open full text
• Incarcerated Sex Offenders in Rehabilitation Account for their Offending.
  Brenda Geiger, Michael Fischer.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 21, 2016
  This research examines the accounts of 10 out of 22 incarcerated sex offenders undergoing therapy in one of the prison‐based sex‐offender rehabilitation units in Israel and their ability to renegotiate reality to reject stigmatisation and maintain a favourable identity. The research participants had been convicted either of child molestation or of date/statutory rape against an acquaintance. This differentiation was maintained when analysing the individual interviews conducted in prison. Prior to the provision of accounts, to establish the soundness of their character, the interviewees resituated themselves within a normative background in terms of setting, routine activities, and interactions preceding and following the offence. Offenders convicted of child molestation attributed their behaviour to a sudden unpredictable shift in the setting and interactions with the child that resulted in an erection and consequent impulsive sexual behaviour of which they could not be held responsible. Offenders convicted of date/statutory rape admitted responsibility for their action, yet minimised its harm by attributing it to the dynamic chain of interactions with the victim whose behaviour had deviated from the ‘good’ girl or ‘macho’ man on a date and thus had precipitated the act. Rather than discounting sex offenders' accounts as cognitive distortions of a sick mind, prevention and education programme are to rely on such accounts to increase youth and young adult awareness to traditional gender‐role schemata and dating scripts espoused by Israeli macho men that facilitate date rape and to the dynamics of interactional and situational factors placing young children at risk of sexual victimisation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 21, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1460   open full text
• Investigating Sexual Violence and Abuse.
  
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 20, 2016
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 20, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1452   open full text
• Adult Missing Persons: Can an Investigative Framework be Generated Using Behavioural Themes?
  E. Bonny, L. Almond, P. Woolnough.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 07, 2016
  There is a limited amount of research in the area of missing persons, especially adults. The aim of this research is to expand on the understanding of missing people, by examining adults' behaviours while missing and determining if distinct behavioural themes exist. Based on previous literature it was hypothesised that three behavioural themes will be present; dysfunctional, escape, and unintentional. Thirty‐six behaviours were coded from 362 missing person police reports and analysed using smallest space analysis (SSA). This produced a spatial representation of the behaviours, showing three distinct behavioural themes. Seventy percent of the adult missing person reports were classified under one dominant theme, 41% were ‘unintentional’, 18% were ‘dysfunctional’, and 11% were ‘escape’. The relationship between a missing person's dominant behavioural theme and their assigned risk level and demographic characteristics were also analysed. A significant association was found between the age, occupational status, whether they had any mental health issues, and the risk level assigned to the missing person; and their dominant behavioural theme. The findings are the first step in the development of a standardised checklist for a missing person investigation. This has implications on how practitioners prioritise missing adults, and interventions to prevent individuals from going missing. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 07, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1459   open full text
• Using the Verifiability lie Detection Approach in an Insurance Claim Setting.
  Aldert Vrij, Galit Nahari, Rebecca Isitt, Sharon Leal.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 28, 2016
  In this experiment, we tested the verifiability approach in an insurance claim setting. Core of the verifiability approach is that truth tellers give more details that can be verified than liars. Fifty undergraduate students took part, who produced true and false insurance claim statements related to theft, loss, or damage. These statements were coded in terms of verifiability (the number of details that could be checked by an investigator) and witness factors (friends, police, other officials and CCTV cameras). Truth tellers provided more verifiable details than liars and liars provided more unverifiable details than truth tellers. In addition, truth tellers (versus liars) more frequently informed their friends about the incident or referred to CCTV footage of the incident. The potential and limitations of using the verifiability approach in insurance settings are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 28, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1458   open full text
• The Effectiveness of Victim Resistance Strategies against Stranger Child Abduction: An Analysis of Attempted and Completed Cases.
  Craig J. R. Collie, Karen Shalev Greene.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 23, 2016
  Existing research, policy information, and materials intended to teach child safety assumes that certain behaviours will protect children in the event that a stranger tries to abduct them. However, there is little empirical basis for these assumptions. This paper examines the effectiveness of strategies thought to increase the likelihood that a child will be able to resist an attempted stranger child abduction event. Seventy‐eight cases of stranger child abduction that occurred in the UK between 1988 and 2014, including 25 attempted cases and 53 completed cases, were examined in order to ascertain the relative prevalence of various resistance types and to assess their effectiveness of six key resistance strategies based on whether the presence or absence affected the outcome of the abduction. Results show that direct, unequivocal verbal resistance, running away, and a composite approach where the victim runs away, calls for help, and reports the offence were highly effective means of resisting an offender, whereas physical resistance, indirect verbal resistance, and non‐resistance were not effective. Female victims were almost twice as likely to employ any kind of resistance strategy against an offender as male victims were. The implications of these findings for augmenting ways in which children are taught about safety are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1457   open full text
• Variations in the Journey from Crime: Examples from Tiger Kidnapping.
  John Synnott, David Canter, Donna Youngs, Maria Ioannou.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. February 10, 2016
  The current paper explores the journey offenders make after their offence through a series of tiger kidnap offences from the north and south of Ireland. Tiger kidnap is the abduction of a person of importance to a victim (generally a bank manager) in which that person is used as collateral until the victim complies with the requests of the offenders. Data were provided by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Siochana. Three stages of the offences were highlighted: (1) the journey from the abduction location to the hostage location; (2) the abduction location to the robbery location; and (3) the robbery location to the money exchange location. Analysis found significant difference between offences in the north and south for stages 1 and 2 but not for stage 3. This is due to the type of offenders committing the offence, for example, offences in the north being committed by ex‐paramilitary offenders. Further study should focus on understanding complex tiger kidnap offences. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 10, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1454   open full text
• Hitmen and the Spaces of Contract Killing: The Doorstep Hitman.
  Liam Brolan, David Wilson, Elizabeth Yardley.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. February 10, 2016
  This exploratory paper considers the spaces where hits take place within Britain. It concentrates on those hits that have occurred on the doorstep of the victim and offers analysis of why this location might be chosen. It suggests an emerging modus operandi (MO) of doorstep hits and how knowledge of this MO might be useful to law enforcement. Two cold cases are re‐considered in light of this MO. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 10, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1453   open full text
• Transcribing the First Decade of Children's Videotaped Testimonies in Cyprus: Tourist Season Times.
  Marilena Kyriakidou, Alexia Zalaf.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 29, 2016
  Familiarising researchers and practitioners with different countries' policies for police interviews with children contributes to an exchange of knowledge and strengthens global approaches against child abuse. We start by describing the system of videotaped testimonies in Cyprus during the first 10 years of this system's implementation. We then continue on to the effects of tourism on police interviews with children. Police forces in destinations with high tourist numbers need to comprehend how tourist seasons could influence police interviews with children. No studies investigated whether children of tourists testified in police departments during their holidays. We explored how tourist seasons affected the number of testimonies obtained by Cyprus police forces, taking into account the presence of non‐Cypriot and non‐native speaking children, the number of testimonies taken in languages other than Greek, and the presence of translators during the interviews. We analysed the national sample of police interviews with children for a period of a decade using official police records and copies of transcripts of children's testimonies. As expected, the results revealed no significant differences in police interviews with children during tourist seasons but show a slight increase in the number of interviews with non‐Cypriot children during tourist seasons. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 29, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1456   open full text
• Police Attitudes in England to Return Interviews, in Repeat Missing Person Cases.
  Michael F. Harris, Karen Shalev Greene.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 26, 2016
  The aim of this article is to examine the attitudes of English police officers to return interviews of people who are reported missing repeatedly (e.g. three times or more). In addition to a brief police ‘Safe & Well Check’ a return interview is also carried out by a police officer and seeks to find out where people went and why, in order to identify potential risks to their safety and whether they experienced harm whilst they were missing. A mixed‐methods survey of 50 constables from one police force in England ran in March 2014, using quantitative and open qualitative questions. Key themes that emerged were individual frustration at repetition, negativity around usefulness of the interviews, a challenge to involve third sector partners, and development areas in training. Statistical significance was found in variables relating to officer experience and gender, against views on interviewing missing people. The article looks at the limited existing literature and makes recommendations about best practice with return interviews, advocating a multi‐agency approach to improve interventions, and better training to improve positivity towards missing people. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1455   open full text
• Characterising the Personality of the Public Safety Offender and Non‐offender using Decision Trees: The Case of Colombia.
  Víctor Hugo Masías, Mauricio A. Valle, José J. Amar, Marco Cervantes, Gustavo Brunal, Fernando A. Crespo.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 05, 2016
  The aim of this paper was to create a decision tree (DT) to identify personality profiles of offenders against public safety. A technique meeting this requirement was proposed that uses the C4.5 algorithm to derive decision rules for personality profiling of public safety offenders. The Mini‐Mult test was used to measure the personality profiles of 238 individuals. With the test results as our database, a C4.5 DT was applied to construct rules that classify each profile into one of two groups, those without and those with records of offences against public safety. The model correctly classified 80% of the personality profiles and delivered a set of decision rules for distinguishing the profiles by group, and the principal personality profiles were interpreted. We conclude that DTs are a promising technique for analysing personality profiles by their offender or non‐offender status. Finally, we believe that the development of a classifying model using DT may have practical applications in the Colombian prison system. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 05, 2016   doi: 10.1002/jip.1451   open full text
• Testing Serial Crime Events for Randomness in Day‐of‐Week Patterns with Small Samples.
  Andrew P. Wheeler.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 16, 2015
  This paper discusses exact tests for evaluating whether a series of offences are randomly distributed across days of the week for small sample sizes. The context is if an analyst has identified a series of related events, can the analyst determine if those events are randomly distributed with respect to the day‐of‐week given only a few offences? This paper develops exact reference distributions because the number of potential permutations is small, and this research finds that the likelihood ratio G‐test under realistic circumstances is quite powerful. Only three crimes need to occur on the same day of the week to reject the null. Several examples of using the test under realistic circumstances are illustrated; a series of thefts of catalytic converters where the exact dates are unknown, gang shootings, and arsons over a year. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 16, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1449   open full text
• Exploring the Online Communicative Themes of Child Sex Offenders.
  Michelle A. McManus, Louise Almond, Ben Cubbon, Laura Boulton, Ian Mears.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 02, 2015
  This exploratory study aimed to examine online communications between contact reality and non‐contact fantasy child sex offenders (CSOs). This research wanted to ascertain whether it was possible to differentiate between these offenders based on the content of their online communications, something which has not previously been examined. The sample consisted of five contact reality and seven non‐contact fantasy offenders, all convicted of a Child Sex Offence. Content analysis revealed 26 them. Results showed that non‐contact fantasy offenders discussed Adult sexual relationships significantly more than contact reality offenders. All other comparisons were non‐significant. The themes were then grouped into five higher order themes: (i) Adult relationships, (ii) Child sexual interest, (iii) Media, (iv) Sexual self, and (v) Rapport. The average largest proportion of the online communication related to Child sexual interest (34%) followed by Rapport (28%). There were no significant differences between the two types of offenders in relation to these five higher order themes. Explanations for the findings are discussed with implications for police investigations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 02, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1450   open full text
• Countermeasures Against the Strategic Use of Evidence Technique: Effects on Suspects' Strategies.
  Timothy J. Luke, Maria Hartwig, Benjamin Shamash, Pär Anders Granhag.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 14, 2015
  As the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique becomes more widely taught to practitioners, it is important to investigate possible countermeasures to the technique. It is possible that guilty suspects who are aware of the SUE technique will employ forthcoming verbal strategies to make themselves appear innocent. Mock suspects committed a richly detailed simulated transgression (or a benign analogue) and were interviewed about their activities. Prior to questioning, some suspects received information about SUE tactics the interviewer was likely to use. Guilty suspects who were informed about the SUE technique employed more verbally forthcoming strategies than their uninformed counterparts. Guilty suspects who were given SUE information also reported planning for the interview in different ways. However, guilty‐informed suspects did not become as forthcoming as innocent suspects overall. In sum, it appears that information about the SUE technique induces guilty suspects to alter their strategies, but only to a relatively small degree.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 14, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1448   open full text
• Linguistic Cues of Deception Across Multiple Language Groups in a Mock Crime Context.
  Hyisung C. Hwang, David Matsumoto, Vincent Sandoval.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 22, 2015
  A recent study showed that specific linguistic and grammatical features of a technique commonly referred to as statement analysis are applicable across different language groups. One limitation of that study was that it used an eyewitness crime video paradigm, which might be different from writing a statement after committing an actual criminal act. We remedied that limitation by using a mock crime paradigm. In this study, three language groups (English, Spanish, and Chinese) produced statements after committing a mock crime, taking a check, in an experimental context. Certain linguistic features significantly discriminated truths from lies similarly across the different language groups, suggesting that statement analysis might be applicable as a reliable indicator of deception across languages. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 22, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1442   open full text
• Train the Trainers: A First Step towards a Science‐Based Cognitive Lie Detection Training Workshop Delivered by a Practitioner.
  Aldert Vrij, Samantha Mann, Sharon Leal, Zarah Vernham, Martin Vaughan.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 20, 2015
  A training workshop utilising recent research in cognitive lie detection was designed and evaluated. A unique future of the training was that a practitioner (retired police detective) instead of scientists (e.g. the training developers) introduced the techniques. To evaluate the training, 27 experienced police detectives each interviewed one mock suspect (a truth teller or liar) before training, and another group of 23 experienced police detectives interviewed one mock suspect (a truth teller or liar) after training. The police detectives were free to interview the mock suspect in any way they felt appropriate, but those who had received training were asked to try to incorporate (some of) the taught techniques in their interviews. The detectives made veracity judgements, and the interviews were transcribed and coded for the amount of detail elicited and the questions asked. Training had a modest effect on the ability to distinguish between truths and lies but resulted in a higher percentage of appropriate questions asked. Trainees did not implement the taught techniques to an equal extent, but when they did, the techniques enhanced the elicitation of information. The training study also revealed challenges, particularly difficulty in implementing the taught techniques into practice and asking the right questions to elicit differences in detail between truth tellers and liars. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 20, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1443   open full text
• Driving, Pseudo‐reality and the BTK: A Case Study.
  Adam Lynes, David Wilson.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2015
  The significance of occupational choice, in particular those that involve driving, has not yet been studied or investigated in relation to serial murder. This paper, which adopts a case study approach, attempts to shed light on how driving as an occupation may instrumentally influence the offending behaviour of one North American serial murderer—Dennis Rader. Attention is given towards how spending such significant amounts of time driving may have held deep psychological importance for Rader, with regard to the development of his offending‐oriented fantasies. In particular, the “offending space model” is used to examine the relationship between ‘thinking and doing’. In providing this micro‐level analysis, we suggest that transient oriented occupations provide a rich array of practical advantages that may aid serial murderers in avoiding detection, whilst also holding deep psychological influence in the nurturing and development of their fantasies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 10, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1441   open full text
• Blame Game and Rotten Apples in Private Investigation Reports: The Case of Hadeland and Ringerike Broadband in Norway.
  Petter Gottschalk.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 13, 2015
  Blame game is a term often used to describe a phenomenon that happens in groups of people when something goes wrong. The blame game hypothesis postulates that private investigators may be misled in their search for suspects and that suspected individuals do not necessarily become subject to a fair investigation by financial crime specialists and fraud examiners. The rotten apple hypothesis postulates that it is comforting to assume that one bad apple within an organisation is essentially responsible for the crime that is all too prevalent. The rotten apple view of white‐collar crime is a comfortable perspective to apply to business and public organisations as it allows them to look no further than suspect a single individual. Based on a case study of the Norwegian company Hadeland and Ringerike Broadband, this paper discusses blame game and rotten apple issues in an internal investigation report written by an external financial crime specialist. The study finds support for both hypotheses, as blame is mainly isolated to the criminal and his superior, and both board and top management are protected from scrutiny. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 13, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1440   open full text
• Mimicry and Investigative Interviewing: Using Deliberate Mimicry to Elicit Information and Cues to Deceit.
  Dominic J. Shaw, Aldert Vrij, Sharon Leal, Samantha Mann, Jackie Hillman, Pär Anders Granhag, Ronald P. Fisher.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 27, 2015
  We examined the effect of deliberate mimicry on eliciting (accurate) information and cues to deceit. Mimicry is considered to facilitate cooperation and compliance in truth tellers, whereas liars are constrained to provide detail. We therefore expected truth tellers to be more detailed than liars, particularly after being mimicked. A total of 165 participants told the truth or lied about a meeting they attended. During the interview, an interviewer mimicked half of the participants. Truth tellers were more detailed than liars, but only in the ‘mimicry present’ condition. Truth tellers also gave more accurate units of information than liars, and the difference was most pronounced in the ‘mimicry present’ condition. Mimicry as a tool for eliciting information and cues to deceit fits well with the emerging ‘interviewing to detect deception’ literature, particularly in the ‘encouraging interviewees to say more’ approach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 27, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1438   open full text
• Offender and Offence Characteristics of School Shooting Incidents.
  F. J. Gerard, K. C. Whitfield, L. E. Porter, K. D. Browne.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. March 25, 2015
  School shootings are a concern due to their impact in the local community. This paper aimed to (a) establish frequent characteristics of the offender and offence, (b) explore the differences between offenders who are over the age of 18 years and those who are younger, and (c) consider the underlying themes of the offence characteristics. Data were collected on 28 cases through accessing resources such as West Law and case studies. The majority of the offenders were Caucasian and US citizens and suffered from depression. Their offences were primarily well planned, involved more than three deaths, and resulted in the offender committing suicide. Pearson's chi‐square test and Fisher's exact test identified significant differences between the two age groups. Offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to experience depression, be US citizens and be linked to the school. Additionally, offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to have stolen their weapons and made threats prior to the incident. Smallest space analysis revealed four thematic regions in relation to the offence characteristics: making an impact, delivering a message, doing unrestrained activity, and targeting specific individuals. These findings have implications for risk assessment and furthering understanding. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 25, 2015   doi: 10.1002/jip.1439   open full text
• In Search of the ‘Angels of Death’: Conceptualising the Contemporary Nurse Healthcare Serial Killer.
  Elizabeth Yardley, David Wilson.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. November 19, 2014
  Focusing specifically upon nurses who commit serial murder within a hospital setting, this paper aims to establish insights into this particular subcategory of healthcare serial killer. In addition, the paper aims to test the usefulness of an existing checklist of behaviours among this group of serial murderers. Drawing upon existing lists of healthcare serial killers produced by other scholars as well as legal records and an online news archive, we identified and researched healthcare serial killer nurses, collating socio demographic and criminological data and applying the aforementioned checklist to each case. Our findings suggest that to date, the label ‘healthcare serial killer’ has been applied in too loose a manner, making the understanding of this phenomenon problematic. In further refining the definition and identifying the socio‐demographic and criminological characteristics of the victims, perpetrators and crimes, we have developed more specific and therefore useful insights for practitioners and identified a potentially useful checklist which, with revisions, could contribute towards preventative strategies and interventions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1434   open full text
• Private Investigations of White‐Collar Crime Suspicions: A Qualitative Study of the Blame Game Hypothesis.
  Petter Gottschalk.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 13, 2014
  The activity of private investigations by fraud examiners is a business of lawyers, auditors, and other professionals who investigate suspicions of financial crime by white‐collar criminals. This paper presents results from an empirical study of investigation reports. The available sample consists of 28 reports written mostly by auditing firms such as Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PwC. The blame game can occur at two stages in a private investigation. First, the mandate formulated by a client may point investigators in a specific direction. Next, investigators sometimes suffer from a tunnel view of predetermined opinions. In the sample of 28 investigations reports, more than half of them involve potential blame game victims. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 13, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1431   open full text
• Choice of Weapon or Weapon of Choice? Examining the Interactions between Victim Characteristics in Single‐victim Male Sexual Homicide Offenders.
  Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan, Eric Beauregard.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 08, 2014
  As most studies report that the majority of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) prefer to kill with their own hands, research has largely neglected to examine the choice of weapon by these offenders. The US Supplementary Homicide Reports show that although a large number of SHOs murder their victim using personal weapons (e.g. bare hands and manual or ligature strangulation), the majority use an alternative weapon (e.g. edged weapons, contact weapons, and firearms). The present study hypothesises that the choice of weapon is in part influenced by victim characteristics. To identify specific combinations and interactions between victim characteristics and the choice of a personal or edged weapon during the commission of a sexual homicide, a combination of exhaustive chi‐square automatic interaction detector and conjunctive analysis is used on a sample of 2,472 single‐victim male SHOs from a 36‐year period of Supplementary Homicide Report data (1976–2011). Findings show that SHOs choose their weapon according to some victim characteristics. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of police suspect prioritisation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 08, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1432   open full text
• Linkage Analysis as Evidence in Court: A Thematic Analysis of Mock Juror Deliberations.
  Hannah Fawcett, Katie Clark.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 02, 2014
  Linkage analysis has, albeit occasionally, been presented in courts across the world as evidence that a series of offences possess behavioural similarities and distinctiveness from other offences, meaning they have probably been committed by the same individual. It is therefore imperative to ascertain how linkage analysis is regarded by juries within the context of deliberations. Three groups of participants (N = 22) eligible for jury duty in England and Wales viewed a simulated rape and murder trial derived from an actual South African case. Linkage analysis formed the sole evidence against the defendant in the two later offences, although DNA matches and eyewitness identifications of the defendant were present in the two earlier offences. Participant deliberations were recorded and subjected to thematic analysis. Five themes were discovered: behavioural consistencies and inconsistencies, physical versus case linkage evidence, barriers to admissibility, potential uses of linkage analysis, and dependence of lay knowledge. Jurors' over‐reliance on erroneous lay knowledge contributed to their conclusion that linkage analysis is, at present, unrepresentative evidence that cannot independently indicate a defendant's culpability. However, participants believed that linkage analysis could be a useful tool within investigations and, with further research evidence, in court in England and Wales. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 02, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1429   open full text
• Behavioural Profiles and Offender Characteristics across 111 Korean Sexual Assaults.
  Jonghan Sea, Kyungil Kim, Donna Youngs.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 01, 2014
  Although the potential usefulness of the offence action–offender characteristic (A–C) relationships is widely accepted and operational ‘offender profiling’ units now exist around the world, few such relationships have been empirically established. To explore this, the offending action patterns within 111 sexual assault cases from South Korea were coded in terms of 16 distinctive, objective crime scene criteria and subjected to an agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis. Background psychiatric and general characteristics, Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) scale scores, and criminal histories were described for each cluster. The cluster analysis drew attention to six clusters or behavioural profiles within the sexual assaults. Cluster 1 included serial offenders who aggressively raped and robbed adult women, with some pseudo‐intimate sexual behaviour, in their homes. Two thirds of these offenders had histories of sexual assault. Cluster 2 included offenders who again targeted adults in their homes, but without pseudo‐intimate sexual behaviour. Cluster 3 included offenders who targeted adults outdoors at night. These offenders showed high antisocial personality PAI scores and psychiatric histories of sexual sadism. Cluster 4 included unarmed offenders who targeted adults in their homes without robbery. These offenders often had psychiatric histories of depression. Cluster 5 included offenders who targeted adults outdoors with a blitz‐style attack, and Cluster 6 included offenders who targeted minors outdoors, without weapons, using a confidence‐trick style of approach. Paedophilia and histories of psychiatric treatment were prominent amongst these offenders. The results indicate therefore some of the key empirical relationships that future research may develop as the basis for sexual assault ‘profiles’. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 01, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1430   open full text
• Classification of Planning and Violent Behaviours in Serial Homicide: A Cross‐National Comparison Between South Africa and the US.
  Marina Sorochinski, C. Gabrielle Salfati, Gerard N. Labuschagne.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. September 15, 2014
  Recent literature suggests that different ‘styles’ of homicide will most appropriately be reflected in the different types of behaviours committed by offenders during the crime. In the last few years, there has been a move to standardise classification systems of single homicides and establish their cross‐national generalisability. Literature on serial homicide to date has mostly centred on homicides occurring in the US. However, national differences due to factors such as culture, national identity, political, and socio‐economic circumstances may decrease the applicability of these models or certain aspects thereof in other countries and thus must be evaluated. The present study tested the applicability in the South African context of a recently developed US‐based serial homicide crime scene classification framework. Specifically, this study compared the thematic differentiation in planning and violent behaviours that the offenders engage in and how this differentiation compares with that in the US. The sample consisted of 25 homicides that were in total responsible for the murder of 267 victims. Results indicated that overall, the framework is useful and applicable in the South African sample, but important environmental and contextual constraints must be taken into account. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 15, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1427   open full text
• An Examination of Serial Homicide in South Africa: The Practice to Research Link.
  Gérard N. Labuschagne, C. Gabrielle Salfati.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 07, 2014
  In this paper, South African serial homicide cases will be used to illustrate how practice can inform research and how research can aid practice by highlighting key questions that need to be answered and practice‐based assumptions that need to be empirically tested. The cases will also be used to highlight some of the unique features of series in South Africa. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 07, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1415   open full text
• South African Serial Homicide: Offender and Victim Demographics and Crime Scene Actions.
  C. Gabrielle Salfati, Gerard N. Labuschagne, Amber M. Horning, Marina Sorochinski, Jackie De Wet.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 07, 2014
  There is an abundance of literature on serial homicide from a Western perspective that outlines operational definitions, types of offenders and how they prey upon their victims. However, currently, there is a lack of studies that compare serial homicide in different countries. The current study aims to give an overview of the demographics of serial homicide offenders and victims in South Africa and compare these to the demographics of offenders and victims from other currently available empirical studies of other countries. The sample consisted of 33 out of the total 54 solved series in South Africa between 1936–2007, which includes a total of 33 offenders, 302 victims, and 254 crime scenes. Results of the sample as a whole showed that South African serial homicide offenders are similar to offenders in other countries in terms of their actions at the crime scene and victim choice, with some notable exceptions. Additional analysis looked at the offender's consistency of targeting certain types of victims across their homicide series in comparison with the patterns of serial homicide offenders in other countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 07, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1425   open full text
• South African Serial Homicide: A Victim‐Focused Behavioural Typology.
  Amber M. Horning, C. Gabrielle Salfati, Gerard N. Labuschagne.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 07, 2014
  This current study assessed the value of the Interpersonal Model in differentiating serial homicide offences in South Africa, notably in terms of how the offender may display behavioural patterns that are indicative of them dealing with the victim as a Person, an Object, or a Vehicle. The sample consisted of 302 offences committed by 33 offenders that occurred from 1953 to 2007 in South Africa. Multidimensional scaling analysis was used to test the Interpersonal Model and results indicated that crime themes did not directly correspond to the threefold model. Instead, two crime scene types were present: Victim as Object (where the focus was on tangible gains, interaction with the victim throughout the phases of the crime was limited, and victims included men and live women) and Victim as Vehicle (where the victim might be construed as a conduit through whom the offender could realise their specific psychological needs, the interaction was extensive, and victims tended to be vulnerable). South African serial homicides did not appear to have a specific sub‐theme of Victim as Person, suggesting that the themes engaged in centred more on instrumentally focused actions but in qualitatively different ways. However, victim types were integral to the overall behavioural model. Using the Victim as Object/Vehicle dichotomy, 85.7% of the offences could be seen to engage dominantly in one of the two patterns at the crime scene. This not only supported the results of a twofold model, but having these many offenders showing a dominant crime scene type also shows that the model is an excellent representation of serial homicide offending in South Africa. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 07, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1426   open full text
• South African Serial Homicide: Consistency in Victim Types and Crime Scene Actions Across Series.
  C. Gabrielle Salfati, Amber M. Horning, Marina Sorochinski, Gerard N. Labuschagne.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 07, 2014
  Key to understanding the significance of behavioural evidence for linkage purposes is in establishing how consistently an offender displays the same or similar behaviours across their series. There have however to date been very few studies aiming at identifying salient components of offending behaviour that can be used reliably for linking individual crimes as part of a single series. In addition, studies that have been conducted have all dealt with serial homicide in the Western world and have been based on small samples of cases from each country. Some of the recent literature has started to disentangle some of these salient features, notably the victim, violence levels, control, and planning. The current study focused on evaluating the consistency of these features across series, using a sample of serial homicides from South Africa consisting of 30 offenders with a total of 283 victims and 235 crime scenes. Results indicate that the level of interaction with the victim may be influential to the stability or instability of offending patterns across the series. How offenders approach planning in their offence also showed a certain degree of consistency, with patterns of violence being the least consistent across the series of all components tested. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 07, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1428   open full text
• Differences in Word Usage by Truth Tellers and Liars in Written Statements and an Investigative Interview After a Mock Crime.
  David Matsumoto, Hyisung C. Hwang.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 23, 2014
  Although much is known about word usage differences between truths and lies, most of the research to date involves an examination of truths and lies in low stakes situations, written statements or interviews but not both, and native speakers of a single language. We examined differences in word usage between truth tellers and liars in a moderately high stakes, real‐life scenario (mock crime) involving participants from four cultural/ethnic groups—European‐Americans, Chinese, Hispanics and Middle Easterners. Each participant produced a written statement and participated in an investigative interview; word usage in both was analyzed. Word usage differentiated truths from lies in both the written statement and the investigative interview, and the effect sizes associated with these findings were substantial. For the written statement, word usage predicted truths from lies at 68.90% classification accuracy; for the investigative interview, word usage predicted truths from lies at 71.10% accuracy. Ethnicity did not moderate these effects. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications to cross‐cultural applicability of the psychological demands placed on liars and in terms of their practical field utility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 23, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1423   open full text
• Are Two Heads Better than One? Assessing the Influence of Collaborative Judgements and Presentation Mode on Deception Detection for Real and Mock Transgressions.
  Scott E. Culhane, Andre Kehn, Jessica Hatz, Meagen M. Hildebrand.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 18, 2014
  The current study examined three primary goals within the deception detection literature that have not been previously assessed in combination. First, we assessed if decisions about the veracity of a statement are more accurate in dyads than individuals. Second, we evaluated whether type of lie (mock transgressions versus real transgression [RT]) influenced observers' ability to distinguish a truthful statement from a lie. Third, we assessed if the presentation mode (audio versus video with audio) impacted deception detection accuracy. A sample of college students (n = 282) evaluated eight previously recorded statements for veracity. True and false statements were elicited through a cheating paradigm (i.e. RTs) or a mock transgression paradigm. Participants either viewed and listened to these statements or only listened to an audio recording. Results of an analysis of variance indicated that working in dyads did not improve deception detection accuracy. Participants were significantly more accurate in detecting deception in situations where the speaker believes a RT has occurred. The highest accuracy rates were achieved in the real transgression audio condition. Implications of these results for the practice of detecting deceit are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 18, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1424   open full text
• An Exploration of Rapists' Motivations as Illustrated by Their Crime Scene Actions: Is the Gender of the Victim an Influential Factor?
  Joanna Jamel.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 08, 2014
  An aim of this paper was to examine if the rapist's motivations of anger and power as inferred from rape crime scene behaviours differentiates between rape victim genders. In addition, it was sought to analyse the resistance strategies employed by rape victims to investigate whether gender influences victim–offender behavioural interactions. A sample of 24 female and 12 male rape victims aged from 13 to 39 years were analysed. The data were extracted from the US National Crime Survey, which contained 12 reported cases of male rape. It was hypothesised that the theme of power would be evident from the rapists' behaviour as illustrated by the crime scene actions and victim–offender interaction. Smallest Space Analysis, a multi‐dimensional scaling technique, was employed to identify the themes present in the perpetration of rape. The crime scene actions illustrated several distinctions relating to the theme of power present in the offender's motives irrespective of the victim's gender. An additional finding was that victim resistance strategies differentiated between male and female rape victims. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 08, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1422   open full text
• The Role of Account Length in Detecting Deception in Written and Orally Produced Autobiographical Accounts using Reality Monitoring.
  Stamatis Elntib, Graham F. Wagstaff, Jacqueline M. Wheatcroft.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 02, 2014
  Reality monitoring lie‐detection studies, like others that use raw frequency counts as primary data, seem consistently to underestimate the influence of the length of (or number of words in) the account. The decisions as to whether to standardise or not, or what method of standardisation to use, are rarely empirically driven, so it is still unclear as to whether reality monitoring is more effective before or after standardisation for length. Another factor that also has received little attention in the reality monitoring literature is whether statements are produced orally or in written form. To investigate these issues, 42 autobiographical statements, 21 truthful, and 21 deceptive, including 22 oral and 20 written accounts, were analysed before and after word count standardisation. Results showed that reality monitoring criteria only discriminated significantly between truthful and deceptive accounts when no attempt to control for word count was made. Also, oral statements contained more evidence of reality monitoring criteria before standardisation for word count, whereas written statements were denser and contained more evidence of reality monitoring criteria after standardisation. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 02, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1420   open full text
• Tall Tales Across Time: Narrative Analysis of True and False Allegations.
  Kristine A. Peace, Ryan D. Shudra, Deanna L. Forrester, Ryan Kasper, Jeffrey Harder, Stephen Porter.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 17, 2014
  Little consensus exists regarding how the details of truthful and false allegations of traumatic victimisation may change over short and long time intervals, yet this cue is utilised in the assessment of witness, victim and suspect credibility. The present study involved a narrative analysis of the details written within 147 sets of allegation statements across both short‐term (~3 months) and long‐term (~6 months) intervals. Overall results indicated that true allegations contained more consistent details, omissions and commissions, although the rates of change over time were variable. These changes appear to result from natural variations in memory and recall over time. However, direct contradictions (inconsistent details) were more prevalent in false allegations, and these claims were more stable over time, suggesting ‘script‐like’ processing. These results have implications for our understanding of testimonial alterations and how determinations of veracity are influenced by statement details. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 17, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1421   open full text
• Detecting False Intent Amongst Small Cells of Suspects: Single Versus Repeated Interviews.
  Erik Mac Giolla, Pär Anders Granhag.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 10, 2014
  The study adds to the growing research field of true and false intentions. Specifically, we examined the benefit of asking unanticipated questions when interviewing groups of suspects on repeated occasions. Participants were divided into truth tellers and liars and were further divided into groups of three. Truth tellers planned a neutral task. Liars planned a mock crime and additionally prepared a cover‐story—thematically similar to the truth tellers' task—to be used if they were apprehended. Participants were intercepted after planning their tasks. In subsequent interviews, participants were asked anticipated questions on their intentions and unanticipated questions on the planning of their intentions. Participants were interviewed once in Experiment 1 (N = 132) and three times in Experiment 2 (N = 123). Truth tellers provided longer and more detailed answers than liars and had higher levels of within‐group consistency compared with liars. This was the case for answers to both anticipated and unanticipated questions. No differences between truth tellers and liars were found for between‐statement consistency. Repeated interviews had minimal effect on statement length or within‐group consistency. The results highlight within‐group consistency as an important cue to deceit. However, a number of limitations to the unanticipated questions approach were evident. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 10, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1419   open full text
• Unravelling Crime Series Patterns amongst Serial Sex Offenders: Duration, Frequency, and Environmental Consistency.
  Nadine Deslauriers‐Varin, Eric Beauregard.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. June 04, 2014
  Crime linkage and the investigation of behavioural consistency amongst serial offenders has been a flourishing field of research over the past decade or so, especially with respect to serial sex offenders. The emerging research in this field has often portrayed serial sex offenders as a single, distinct, and homogeneous group. Such an assumption, however, has never been empirically examined. Using a criminal career approach and a sample of 72 serial sex offenders who have committed a total of 361 sexual assaults on stranger victims, the current study aims to examine and describe subgroups of crime series patterns amongst serial sex offenders in terms of duration and frequency of offending. The level of environmental consistency display (i.e. offender's choice of crime location and characteristics of the crime site selected) across subgroups of crime series patterns is also examined. Study findings suggest the presence and heterogeneity of crime series patterns amongst serial sex offenders, advocating for the consideration of subgroups of crime series patterns when studying serial sex offenders. Moreover, the offenders' level of environmental consistency varies across the different crime series patterns identified, allowing for the identification of subgroups of offenders showing a higher or lower level of environmental consistency. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1418   open full text
• Improvement of Thematic Classification in Offender Profiling: Classifying Serbian Homicides Using Multiple Correspondence, Cluster, and Discriminant Function Analyses.
  Alasdair M. Goodwill, Jared C. Allen, Dag Kolarevic.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 27, 2014
  This paper investigates thematic classification of homicides for the purpose of behavioural investigative analysis (e.g. offender profiling). Previous research has predominantly used smallest space analysis (SSA) to conceptualise and classify offences into thematic groups based on crime scene behaviour data. This paper introduces a combined approach utilising multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), cluster analysis (CA), and discriminant function analysis (DFA) to define and differentiate crime scenes into expressive or instrumental and impersonal or personal crimes. MCA is used to derive the latent structural dimensions in the crime data and produce quantitative scores for each offence along these dimensions. Two‐step CA was then utilised to classify offences. Offence dimensional scores were then used to predict cluster membership under DFA, producing cluster centroids corresponding to MCA dimensions. Centroids were plotted on the MCA correspondence map to simultaneously conceptualise crime classification and the latent structure of the Serbian crime data. Classification of offences based on MCA dimensional scores were 91.5% accurate. This MCA–CA–DFA approach may reduce some of the more subjective aspects of SSA methodology used in classification, whilst producing a product more amenable to objective and cumulative review. Implications for offender profiling research utilising SSA and this approach are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1416   open full text
• Did Somebody See It? Applying the Verifiability Approach to Insurance Claim Interviews.
  Galit Nahari, Sharon Leal, Aldert Vrij, Lara Warmelink, Zarah Vernham.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 26, 2014
  We examined the application of the verifiability approach to insurance claim interviews. The verifiability approach states that truth tellers and liars differ from each other in terms of the number of details they give that can be verified. Eighty‐three true and false insurance claim statements, related to damage, theft, or loss, were coded in terms of ‘witnesses’ (was the incident witnessed by others) and ‘verifiability’ (the number of perceptual and contextual details provided that could be checked by the investigator). We found that the majority of liars, compared with half the truth tellers, described unwitnessed incidents. This difference between the groups allowed for the detection of liars only. Discrimination between liars and truth tellers based on the verifiability of details was not possible. The implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 26, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1417   open full text
• Drop the Small Talk When Establishing Baseline Behaviour in Interviews.
  Sarah Ewens, Aldert Vrij, Minhwan Jang, Eunkyung Jo.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 04, 2014
  The present experiment investigated the behavioural patterns of interviewees when comparing their baseline behaviour, prior to the interview, with their behaviour during the investigative interview. Similar to what has been advised in the police literature, the truthful baseline behaviour was established prior to the interview through non‐threatening questions. The investigative part of the interview then followed in which the interviewee was aware that they would be assessed on whether they were lying. During the investigative part, interviewees either discussed the job that they had (truth tellers, n = 128) or pretended to have (liars, n = 115). Findings revealed that both liars and truth tellers' behavioural patterns differed between the baseline behaviour and the investigative part of the interview. The findings suggest small talk should not be used as a baseline comparison with the investigative part of the interview when determining if the interviewee is being deceitful. An alternative way of using a baseline lie detection method, the comparable truth method, is discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1414   open full text
• Small Cells of Suspects: Eliciting Cues to Deception by Strategic Interviewing.
  Pär Anders Granhag, Jenny Rangmar, Leif A. Strömwall.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 24, 2014
  Investigators often have to deal with small groups of suspects, and this is true both for criminal cases and for suspected terrorist cases. There is, however, very little research examining the effectiveness of different interview techniques when facing cells of suspects. In order to remedy this shortcoming, we examined the extent to which three interviewing techniques elicited cues to deception from small groups of suspects. In one technique, the evidence was disclosed early in the interview (early evidence); in another, the evidence was disclosed late using the Strategic use of evidence technique (SUE‐basic); and in the third technique, the evidence was disclosed late and with an increased strength and precision (SUE‐incremental). We used a mock‐theft scenario with 126 participants randomly allocated to one of six conditions: guilty or innocent suspects interrogated with one of the three disclosure tactics. The SUE‐incremental proved to be the most effective technique, resulting in significant differences between guilty and innocent suspects for all three cues examined: statement‐evidence inconsistency, within‐statement inconsistency, and within‐group inconsistency. Based on the findings, we argue that the SUE technique is effective also for eliciting cues to deception when used for small groups of suspects. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 24, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1413   open full text
• Eliciting Intelligence Using the Scharff‐Technique: Closing in on the Confirmation/Disconfirmation‐Tactic.
  Lennart May, Pär Anders Granhag, Simon Oleszkiewicz.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 21, 2014
  The current study examined interview techniques aimed at eliciting intelligence from human sources. We compared two versions of the Scharff‐technique to the Direct Approach (a combination of open and direct questions). The Scharff conditions, conceptualised into four tactics, differed only with respect to the ‘confirmation/disconfirmation‐tactic’. The participants (N = 90) received background information and took the role as a source in a phone interview. They were instructed to strike a balance between not revealing too little and too much information. As predicted, the Scharff‐technique resulted in more new information than the Direct Approach. Importantly, the sources interviewed by the Scharff‐technique perceived that they had revealed less new information than they objectively did, whereas the sources interviewed by the Direct Approach perceived that they had revealed more new information than they objectively did. Furthermore, the interviewer's information objectives were better masked with the confirmation‐tactic than with the disconfirmation‐tactic. The results highlight the Scharff‐technique as a promising human intelligence gathering technique. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 21, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1412   open full text
• Motivation Enhances the Ability to Detect Truth from Deception in Audio‐only Messages.
  Song Wu, Wei Cai, Shenghua Jin.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 08, 2014
  Previous studies have found that motivation to detect deception impairs participants' ability to do so when truthful/deceitful statements are presented via an audio‐visual medium. However, the effect of motivation on detecting deception may be different if statements are presented via a different medium. The present study explored how motivation influences accuracy in detecting deception in an audio‐only context. Eighty‐one participants (45 women) were randomly assigned to a high‐motivation or low‐motivation condition, and participants' motivation was manipulated via a monetary reward. Participants were then asked to judge 10 audio‐only statements about a travelling experience on a binary scale (truth or deceit). A 2 (motivation: high vs low) × 2 (messages veracity: truth‐accuracy vs lie‐accuracy) × 2 (participant gender) mixed model analysis of variance revealed that highly motivated participants performed better than less‐motivated participants did in terms of truth‐accuracy and total accuracy rates but not in terms of lie‐accuracy rates. The theoretical and practical implications of the present results are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 08, 2014   doi: 10.1002/jip.1411   open full text
• Eyewitness Memory for Typical and Atypical Weapons in Cognitive Context.
  Kaichen McRae, Matthew J. Sharps, Justin Power, Alanna Newton.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 18, 2013
  The present research addressed eyewitness memory for weapons, specifically for a modern semi‐automatic pistol and an antique flintlock, in order to address the influence of weapon novelty on recall for the given weapon. Additionally, the effect of explanatory backstory was examined in the same context; respondents were given prior information, which was either consistent or inconsistent with the presence of the flintlock in the scene, in order to gauge the influence of appropriate or inappropriate explanatory cognitive context. Finally, the effects of these variables on line‐up identification of the ‘suspect’ holding the given weapon were addressed. The results showed that weapon type did not influence recall accuracy for given weapons, although explanatory backstory did have a significant effect here, as initially predicted. Both weapon type and explanatory backstory produced significant effects on weapon recall errors, with the exotic weapon and the more prosaic backstory producing larger numbers of mistakes. Neither of these variables was associated with significant differences in line‐up performance. These results indicate the importance of prior cognitive context, as well as the physical appearance of weapons, in a full understanding of eyewitness processing of scenes involving firearms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 18, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1410   open full text
• Victim Gender, Number of Perpetrators, and Interpersonal Interaction in Stranger Rape: An Analysis of Direct and Moderator Effects.
  Samantha Lundrigan.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 10, 2013
  This study examined the direct and moderator effects of number of perpetrators and gender of victim on interpersonal behaviour in stranger rape. Crime scene behaviours representative of hostility, involvement, control, and offender penetration in rape were examined for 496 UK, police‐recorded cases of stranger rape. Cases were grouped according to victim gender (male or female) and number of perpetrators (lone or multiple). This resulted in four groups (lone female, lone male, multiple female, and multiple male) with 124 cases in each. Binary logistic regression and one‐way analysis of variance were used to investigate the relationships between the two predictor variables and 11 criterion variables.Significant direct effects of number of perpetrators were found whereby multiple perpetrator offences were more likely to involve violence and less likely to involve involvement interactions than lone perpetrator offences. Significant direct effects of victim gender were also found whereby male victims were more likely than female victims to experience hostile interactions and be threatened with a weapon and were less likely to experience offender penetration and involvement interactions. Significant crossover interactions were also found for four hostility variables. The utility of the findings are discussed in relation to crime prevention, victim support, and offender intervention. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1408   open full text
• Using an Example Statement Increases Information but Does Not Increase Accuracy of CBCA, RM, and SCAN.
  Glynis Bogaard, Ewout H. Meijer, Aldert Vrij.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. November 27, 2013
  Verbal credibility assessment methods are frequently used in the criminal justice system to investigate the truthfulness of statements. Three of these methods are Criteria Based Content Analysis (CBCA), Reality Monitoring (RM), and Scientific Content Analysis (SCAN). The aim of this study is twofold. First, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy of CBCA, RM, and especially SCAN. Second, we tested whether giving the interviewee an example of a detailed statement can enhance the diagnostic accuracy of these verbal credibility methods. To test the latter, two groups of participants were requested to write down one true and one fabricated statement about a negative event. Prior to this request, one group received a detailed example statement, whereas the other group received no additional information. Results showed that CBCA and RM scores differed between true and fabricated statements, whereas SCAN scores did not. Giving a detailed example statement did not lead to better discrimination between truth tellers and liars for any of the methods but did lead to the participants producing significantly longer statements. The implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 27, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1409   open full text
• Escalation from Fetish Burglaries to Sexual Violence: A Retrospective Case Study of Former Col., D. Russell Williams.
  Andrew E. Brankley, Alasdair M. Goodwill, Kylie S. Reale.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. November 05, 2013
  Criminal history narrative studies reveal an escalation in sexual offender behaviour from non‐contact to contact offending, with an ever‐increasing likelihood of sexual violence and homicide. In particular, researchers have found that sexual offenders often have a history of committing burglaries prior to contact offences. Accordingly, researchers have suggested that burglaries may be associated with an increased likelihood of future sexual offending, particularly when they have a sexual element to them. However, to date, there has been little quantitative research focusing on the mechanisms of escalation in sexual offences. This paper seeks to study factors associated with sexual offence escalation in terms of changes in offence seriousness and frequency. Specifically, case evidence was gleaned from a series of fetish burglaries and subsequent sexual assaults and murders committed by the former Canadian Colonel David Russell Williams (RW). Cluster analysis, chi‐square, ANOVA, and regression analyses were conducted on the crime scene information of RW's 82 cases of fetish burglary. Analyses revealed a significant escalation in the frequency and seriousness of RW's fetish burglary offences prior to committing acts of sexual violence and ultimately sexual homicide. Recommendations for future research predicting escalation of sexual offending by frequency and seriousness of offending behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 05, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1406   open full text
• Special Issue of Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling on The Detection of Deception within Investigative Contexts.
  Maria Ioannou, Laura Hammond.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 17, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  October 17, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1397   open full text
• Offending Patterns of Serial Sex Offenders: Escalation, De‐escalation, and Consistency of Sexually Intrusive and Violent Behaviours.
  Ashley Hewitt, Eric Beauregard.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 16, 2013
  A series of stranger sexual assaults poses considerable obstacles for law enforcement officials. One such preoccupation is concerned with whether or not the offender will escalate in the severity of his behaviours with subsequent victims. The current study uses transition matrices to address whether or not the offending patterns of 72 serial stranger sex offenders change from one victim to the next as it pertains to their sexual acts and level of physical force used during the crime. Findings indicate that stability, specifically the offender's intrusive sexual acts and use of physical force, and versatility are present in this sample's offending patterns. To explain changes in offending patterns between victims, multinomial regression analyses indicate that situational factors and modus operandi strategies are important considerations. Implications for investigations are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 16, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1407   open full text
• Police Overestimation of Criminal Career Homogeneity.
  Jason Roach, Ken Pease.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. October 07, 2013
  Police presumptions about criminal career trajectories have been little studied. The exploratory study reported here involved 42 police staff of varying rank and experience. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that asked them to predict the type of offence that an individual with a specified prior record would most probably commit next. Participating police personnel substantially overstated the homogeneity of criminal careers, that is, the nature of prior offences determined their prediction of their next offence more than available official data would deem reasonable. An incidental finding was that officers who rated the probability of further offending highest were also those who thought criminal careers most specialised. The implications for operational police decision‐making were discussed and held to be profound. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 07, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1405   open full text
• Situationally Equivocal Eyewitness Evidence and the Violence of Crimes.
  Matthew Joseph Sharps, Megan R. Herrera, Jana Leigh Price‐Sharps.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. August 06, 2013
  Eyewitness evidence is amongst the most important types of evidence in investigative and juridical proceedings. Yet, eyewitness evidence frequently derives from observations made under situationally equivocal conditions, including such factors as darkness and physical obstruction of view. The effect of the violence of a given crime on potential jurors' evaluation of such equivocal evidence was addressed. A witness's identification of a suspect in a violent crime was generated in three versions, varying only in the level of violence of the crime. Respondents were more likely to accept this identification as accurate under more violent conditions and were also less likely to report noticing or considering equivocal aspects (darkness and physical obstruction) in situations of greater violence. Predisposing factors to judgement of guilt lay significantly in the acceptance of punishment as a viable deterrent to crime and of societal guilt for the criminal's behaviour, although political or religious orientations were not shown to influence these results, and none of these factors interacted with the violence of the crime to influence judgement of guilt or innocence. These findings indicate the importance of affective factors in judgements of guilt or innocence, especially when these judgements are based on situationally equivocal eyewitness evidence. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 06, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1398   open full text
• Linking Crimes Using Behavioural Clues: Current Levels of Linking Accuracy and Strategies for Moving Forward.
  Craig Bennell, Rebecca Mugford, Holly Ellingwood, Jessica Woodhams.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 26, 2013
  The number of published studies examining crime linkage analysis has grown rapidly over the last decade, to the point where a special issue of this journal has recently been dedicated to the topic. Many of these studies have used a particular measure (the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, or the AUC) to quantify the degree to which it is possible to link crimes. This article reviews studies that have utilised the AUC and examines how good we are currently at linking crimes (within the context of these research studies) and what factors impact linking accuracy. The results of the review suggest that, in the majority of cases, moderate levels of linking accuracy are achieved. Of the various factors that have been examined that might impact linking accuracy, the three factors that appear to have the most significant impact are crime type, behavioural domain, and jurisdiction. We discuss how generalisable these results are to naturalistic investigative settings. We also highlight some of the important limitations of the linking studies that we reviewed and offer up some strategies for moving this area of research forward. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 26, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1395   open full text
• Behavioural Investigative Advice: Assistance to Investigative Decision‐making in Difficult‐to‐detect Murder.
  Terri Cole, Jennifer Brown.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 23, 2013
  This paper considers the role of a Behavioural Investigative Adviser (BIA) in assisting with the decision‐making of a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) in difficult‐to‐detect murder investigations. It outlines the need for transparent evidence‐based decision‐making from both the SIO and the BIA. The paper then details a piece of relevant, applied research that can assist in this end. The research utilised a pragmatic psychology approach to analyse 312 detected murder cases from the Serious Crime Analysis Section database. Some significant patterns relating what is known about the offence at different stages of an investigation and inferences regarding the offender were found, indicating that certain offence information can lead to some reliable predictions and these can be refined as more information becomes available. However, the findings also indicate that base rate frequencies and a ‘best‐guess’ methodology may be as, if not more, useful than more complex statistical techniques when providing advice to investigations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 23, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1396   open full text
• Healthcare Serial Killers as Confidence Men.
  Christine Katherine Lubaszka, Phillip C. Shon, Ronald Hinch.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. July 02, 2013
  Although there is adequate coverage of serial murder in the extant homicide literature, there is a lack of systematic examination of healthcare professionals who serially murder their patients. Using a sample of 58 healthcare serial killers located within North America, South America, and Europe between the years of 1970 and 2010, this study examines notable pre‐offense and post‐offense behaviours of healthcare serial killers. Patterns related to offender aetiology, victim cultivation, crime scene behaviour, and techniques of evasion were explored. The findings from this study suggest that the pre‐offense and post‐offense behaviours of healthcare serial killers can be conceptualised from the theoretical framework of confidence men or ‘con men’. The findings from this study also suggest that healthcare serial killings and offenders who perpetrate them continue to be elusive and warrant additional scholarly attention to reduce their likelihood of engaging in homicide undetected for extended time. Policy implications are also discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 02, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1394   open full text
• Testing Existing Classifications of Serial Murder Considering Gender: An Exploratory Analysis of Solo Female Serial Murderers.
  Amanda L. Farrell, Robert D. Keppel, Victoria B. Titterington.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. May 20, 2013
  Serial murder is a genre of crime that has received a great deal of media and academic attention, yet, serial murder committed by women has only begun to garner a portion of this attention within the last 15 years. This study examines the reliability of Kelleher and Kelleher's classification rubric, the only classification system developed for female serial murderers, as well as considering Hickey's classification of serial offenders by location. Other variables associated with homicide research have also been examined to determine their roles in both these crimes and classifying offenders. The current research will demonstrate that offender motivation is not an ideal basis for the classification of female serial murderers, who tend to defy simple or singular classification within existing typologies. The other variables analysed indicate that victim–offender relationship and victim approach are important to understanding these female offenders and their crimes, as well as the possible development of more accurate classification systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 20, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1392   open full text
• Witness Vetting: What Determines Detectives' Perceptions of Witness Credibility?
  Kimberley A. McClure, Jill Joline Myers, Kyla M. Keefauver.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. April 29, 2013
  During the course of a criminal investigation witness vetting, a detective's process of determining the credibility and weight of witness information, can lead to errors in an investigation that can go virtually unchallenged. Witness confidence, opportunity to view, and type of information proffered were examined in relation to detective inferences about witness reliability, accuracy, and probable cause to arrest. Experiment 1 involved 39 sworn law enforcement officers, and experiment 2 involved 43 sworn law enforcement officers and 86 mock detectives. Participants viewed a digital recording depicting a witness describing a gas station robbery (Experiment 1) or a campus mugging (Experiment 2). Witness confidence and detectives' inferences about culprit information influenced the vetting process and lent credibility to a confident witness whose accuracy was objectively unknown. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that sworn law enforcement are comparable with untrained observers in their use of social inference cues (i.e. confidence) in determining witness credibility; however, social inference can be assuaged by the rational, rule‐governed, decision framework established for witness vetting. Social inference processes inherent in the detective‐witness dyad is influenced by legal procedures in vetting witness information. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 29, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1391   open full text
• Investigative Decision Making: Missing People and Sexual Offences, Crossroads to an Uncertain Future.
  L. Alys, K. Massey, S. Tong.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. February 18, 2013
  In recent years, detective competence and particularly investigative decision making have been subject to serious criticism and a number of high‐profile reviews. Concerns around investigative competence do not just focus around decisions made on the ground but police attitudes to certain crimes. This paper examines police decision making in the context of missing people and sexual violence and identifies challenges in the development of investigative competence in the context of police budget cuts and substantial reform. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 18, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1382   open full text
• Crowd Flight in Response to Police Dispersal Techniques: A Momentary Lapse of Reason?
  Chris Cocking.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 24, 2013
  There has been much debate about the use of certain public order policing tactics in Britain in response to the disorder seen in recent years. This paper explored the use of an indiscriminate public order tactic that has received comparatively less attention, that of crowd dispersal techniques. More specifically, the use of police charges (either by mounted police or on foot) and subsequent collective flight was investigated. An interview study was conducted with 20 participants who experienced such charges at protests in English cities. Thematic analysis of the data found that although participants reported fear and initial crowd scattering, these instinctive responses were quickly replaced by more socialised reactions, such as co‐operation with others and an increased sense of collective unity. Furthermore, participants reported greater determination to resist what were considered as illegitimate attacks by the police. This increased collective unity was explained in terms of a shared sense of experience that was similar to that found in previous crowd behaviour research. It was concluded that rather than fragmenting crowds, the tactic of crowd dispersal can unite previously heterogeneous groups to resist further police charges and so may be counter‐productive as a public order policing strategy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 24, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1389   open full text
• Homicide Detectives' Intuition.
  Michelle Wright.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 21, 2013
  Little is known about the decision‐making processes of homicide detectives; this study is a first step towards understanding the inferential processes they engage in during the initial stages of an investigation. A card sorting exercise consisting of 20 crime scene photographs showing homicide victims in situ was designed to examine how detectives categorise and conceptualise homicide crime scenes. Forty homicide detectives were asked to ‘think aloud’ whilst categorising the crime scenes. Qualitative content analysis of the ‘think aloud’ accounts revealed detectives' intuitive ability to automatically make detailed inferences regarding the circumstances surrounding each homicide on the basis of available crime scene information (victim's sex, location, and method of death). A cycle of cognition was evident whereby detectives drew upon the contextual information available to generate hypotheses regarding homicide type (domestic, male brawl, and crime‐related) and derive inferences about victim–offender relationship, offender behaviour, motive, and whether the offence was spontaneous or planned. The detectives made 594 inferences of which 67% (N = 398) were accurate. The sorting exercise proved to be ecologically valid, with detectives reporting that they assessed and interpreted the homicide crime scenes, as they would in an actual investigation. The implications for police training and ‘offender profiling’ research are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 21, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1383   open full text
• Decisions To Be Taken in the Use of Polygraph Examinations for Verifying Complaints About Violence: Analysis and Policy Recommendations.
  Avital Ginton.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 21, 2013
  The paper introduces the basic logic and assumptions underlying the most widespread polygraph technique, the Comparison Question Test. It then indicates that two of these assumptions encounter difficulties in cases involving victims of violence, which could increase the danger of error on the test. To handle this problem, it is required to take a few decisions related to specific professional procedures as well as to implement a special policy. Another line of problems stems from ethical considerations. The main point in this respect is that being polygraphed is quite an unpleasant experience. This is more so when the examinee is an authentic victim of violence whose complaint is under investigation. Polygraphing such a person adds to the suffering of the victim. The ethical question becomes a practical one, namely how to determine the situations in which polygraph examination on an alleged victim is, nevertheless, justifiable and differentiate them from other situations. A conceptual cost–benefit analysis is presented in this regard, and the need for taking specific decisions by the polygraph examiner, the criminal investigator, and the commanding officer, when facing the option of using the polygraph for investigating complaints about violence, is pointed out, together with a recommended policy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 21, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1390   open full text
• Decision Making and Decisional Tipping Points in Homicide Investigations: An Interview Study of British and Norwegian Detectives.
  Ivar Fahsing, Karl Ask.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 21, 2013
  An interview study explored criminal detectives' views of critical factors related to decision making in homicide investigations. Experienced homicide investigators in Norway (n = 15) and the UK (n = 20) were asked to identify decisional ‘tipping points’—decisions that put detectives in a mindset focused on verifying the guilt of a suspect—and situational or individual factors that relate to these decisions. Two types of decisions were identified as typical and potentially critical tipping points: (1) decisions to name, arrest, or charge a suspect, and (2) decisions on main strategies and lines of inquiry in the case. Moreover, 10 individual factors (e.g. experience) and 14 situational factors (e.g. information availability) were reported as related to the likelihood of a mindset shift, most of which correspond well with findings in previous decision‐making research. The consensus between British and Norwegian detectives was very high, and the findings indicate that experienced detectives are aware of many of the risk factors and obstacles to optimal decision making that exist in criminal investigations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 21, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1384   open full text
• The Victim as a Means to an End: Detective Decision Making in a Simulated Investigation of Attempted Rape.
  Emma C. Barrett, Catherine Hamilton‐Giachritsis.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. January 10, 2013
  Police decision making in rape cases is poorly understood, despite high levels of attrition for rape and sexual assault cases, with up to 75% lost at the investigation stage. A qualitative analysis was undertaken of the comments of 22 British detectives as they conducted a ‘virtual investigation’ of an allegation of attempted rape of an adult woman. Material was ‘drip fed’ to detectives in a simulation exercise, and officers were asked to express their thoughts as they processed each document in the ‘investigation’ to evaluate detective decision making. It was anticipated that this method would shed light both on the dynamic nature of detectives' thinking during an investigation and on variations in perception of the same material by different officers. It was found that the alleged rape victim was perceived primarily as a source of information to progress enquiries, with her welfare needs taking second place. Although some police officers revealed sceptical attitudes to rape allegations, the investigative approach that all took was professional and pragmatic, ‘investigating’ the report as true and focusing on corroborating the victim's account. The balance between the needs of the victim and the needs of the investigation is discussed, with implications for rape survivor support. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/jip.1385   open full text
• The Role of Rapport in Investigative Interviewing: A Review.
  Allison Abbe, Susan E. Brandon.
  Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. December 12, 2012
  Rapport often appears in training and discussions regarding investigative interviewing, yet very little empirical research has examined rapport systematically in law enforcement or intelligence settings. Using a model of rapport developed from therapeutic settings, we address in this paper the components of rapport and their relevance to investigative interviewing. Rapport can play a facilitating role in supporting the goals of an investigative interview, to include developing a working alliance between interviewer and source, exercising social influence, and educing information from a source. A better understanding of how rapport develops in these contexts and its impact on interview outcomes would enhance the effectiveness of investigative interviewing. Research on rapport in the investigative interview would enhance our understanding of the interpersonal dynamics in these situations. We identify several gaps that such research should address, including the relationship between rapport and social influence and the development of rapport in multiparty interactions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 12, 2012   doi: 10.1002/jip.1386   open full text