Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling最新文献

Although 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.

Existing 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.

Previous 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.

The 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.

Until 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.