ust after dusk on Good Friday, 6 April 2012, the peace and quiet permeating the small Northern Cape town of Griekwastad was disrupted when a young teenage boy sped into town in his father’s Isuzu bakkie and screeched to a halt in front of the town’s nearly deserted police station. It was shortly before 19h00 when Don Steenkamp jumped out of the vehicle and ran into the station’s charge office, covered in blood, to announce that his parents and sister had been brutally shot and killed on the family farm, Naauwhoek.

Although the killings were initially thought to be just another farm attack, months later Don was arrested for the murders, setting in motion a chain of events that would grip South Africa and divide the people of Griekwastad.

Based on interviews with all the role-players, including the investigating offi cers on the case, the forensic and ballistic experts, and family and friends of the deceased, and concluding with the verdict and the sentencing, this is the riveting account of what really happened on Naauwhoek farm on that fateful day, as told by the reporter who followed the case from day one…

More riveting cases from the files of former police psychologist and bestselling author Gérard Labuschagne.

In this second instalment of The Profiler Diaries, former South African Police Service (SAPS) head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, successor to the legendary Micki Pistorius, recalls more of the 110 murder series and countless other bizarre crimes he analysed during his career. An expert on serial murder and rape cases, Labuschagne saw it all in his fourteen and a half years in the SAPS. Often stymied by a lack of resources, office politics and legal incompetence, Labuschagne and his team were nevertheless determined to obtain justice for the victims whose cases they were tasked with investigating.

Tracking down a prolific serial stalker, linking the murders of two young women in Knysna, assessing a suspect threatening to assassinate Barack Obama and apprehending a serial murderer of sex workers are just a few of the intriguing – and often terrifying – cases he covers in his second book, The Profiler Diaries 2: From Crime Scene to Courtroom.

As Labuschagne says, catching a killer is one thing; getting them convicted in a court of law is an entirely different ball game. This book shows how it is done in fascinating detail.

Vir agt jaar het die sogenaamde Stasiemoordenaar die Kaapse Vlakte in sy greep gehou – van 1986 tot 1994 verdwyn 22 jong seuns spoorloos en die gemeenskap leef in vrees. Sommige van die seuns se liggame word later gevind, begrawe in vlak grafte in bosse en
sandduine, met hulle hande agter hul rûe gebind. Meeste van die misdade is egter nooit opgelos nie en talle ouers soek steeds na die waarheid.

Norman Simons, ’n laerskoolonderwyser, is in hegtenis geneem, maar is in 1995 slegs skuldig bevind aan een van die moorde. Ná 28 jaar van gevangenisstraf is Simons op parool vrygelaat in 2023, met talle onbeantwoorde vrae. Waarom het ooggetuies destyds ’n ander
man beskryf? Aan wie behoort die DNA wat op tonele gevind is?

Die gesoute joernalis en skrywer, Julian Jansen, volg die spoor van die Stasiemoordenaar en ondersoek hierdie donker raaisel wat steeds by die families en gemeenskap spook.

A robbery victim tries to remember how the crime unfolded and who was present at the scene. A medical patient recalls the doctor saying that the pain in her side wasn't worrisome, and now that the tumor is much larger, she's suing. An investigation of insider trading hinges on someone's memory of exactly what was said at a particular business meeting. In these and countless other examples, our ability to remember our experiences is crucial for the justice system. The problem, though, is that perception and memory are fallible. How often do our eyes or memories deceive us? Is there some way to avoid these errors? Can we specify the circumstances in which perceptual or memory errors are more or less likely to occur?
Professor Daniel Reisberg tackles these questions by drawing on the available science and his personal experience training attorneys. He provides detailed pragmatic advice that will prove helpful to law enforcement, prosecutors, defenders, and anyone else who hopes to maximize the quality of the evidence available to the courts -- whether the evidence is coming from witnesses, victims, or defendants.
This book is carefully rooted in research but written in a way that will make it fully accessible to non-scientists working in the justice system. Early chapters provide an overview of the relevant science and a broad portrait of how perception and memory function. Later chapters offer practical solutions for navigating situations involving eyewitness identifications, remembered conversations, evidence obtained from interviews with children, confession evidence, and the risks of false confession.

Social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts of evil. Waller offers a sophisticated and comprehensive psychological view of how anyone can potentially participate in heinous crimes against humanity. He
outlines the evolutionary forces that shape human nature, the individual dispositions that are more likely to engage in acts of evil, and the context of cruelty in which these extraordinary acts can emerge. Eyewitness accounts are presented at the end of each chapter. In this second edition, Waller
has revised and updated eyewitness accounts and substantially reworked Part II of the book, removing the chapter about human nature and evolutionary adaptations, and instead using this evolutionary perspective as a base for his entire model of human evil.

Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. He has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings and listens as the men and women he works with explore new ways to think about their situation. Could we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness? Could someone in prison ever be more free than someone outside? These questions about how to live are ones we all need to ask, but in this setting they are even more urgent. When Andy steps into jail, he also confronts his inherited guilt: his father, uncle and brother all spent time in prison. He has built a different life for himself, but he still fears that their fate will be his. As he discusses questions of truth, identity and hope with his students, he searches for his own form of freedom. Moving, sympathetic, wise and frequently funny, The Life Inside is an elegantly written and unforgettable book. Through its blend of memoir, storytelling and gentle philosophical questioning, readers will gain a new insight into our justice system, our prisons and the plurality of lives found inside.

Principles and Practices of Forensic Psychology & Other Related Professions explores the intersection between psychology, other mental health professions and the law in South Africa and Namibia. The book fills a gap because limited literature is available to provide guidelines for mental health professionals for forensic work in these regions. The aim is to clarify what is relevant to the court regarding the evaluation of a subject, be it an accused in a criminal case, a child in a care or guardianship dispute, or a person who is no longer competent to manage their own affairs. The book emphasises the importance of the mental health professional's role as an expert witness who should provide information beyond the ordinary to enable the court to reach a fair verdict. Written by experts from different fields, Principles and Practices of Forensic Psychology & Other Related Professions equips readers with guiding principles - anchored in relevant laws, rules and ethical precepts - to conduct sound assessments and effectively communicate findings to relevant stakeholders. Students in psychology, social work and other mental health subjects, as well as law students, will find this book an invaluable resource. It is comprehensive and can be prescribed in educational institutions offering courses in forensic psychology. Qualified professionals in this field will benefit from this book.

Christopher Berry-Dee, criminologist and bestselling author of books about the serial killers Aileen Wuornos and Joanne Dennehy, turns his uncompromising gaze upon women who not only kill, but kill repeatedly. Because female murderers, and especially serial murderers, are so rare compared with their male counterparts, this new study will surprise as well as shock, particularly in the cases of women like Beverley Allitt, who kill children, and Janie Lou Gibbs, who killed her three sons and a grandson, as well as her husband. Here too are women who kill under the influence of their male partners, such as Myra Hindley and Rosemary West, and whose lack of remorse for their actions is nothing short of chilling. But the author also turns his forensic gaze on female killers who were themselves victims, like Aileen Wuornos, whose killing spree, for which she was executed, can be traced directly to her treatment at the hands of men. Christopher Berry-Dee has no equal as the author of hard-hitting studies of the killers who often walk among us undetected for many years, and who in so many cases seem to be acting entirely against their natures.

This exciting new book brings together the experiences and expertise of a range of practitioners who work within criminal justice and provides a broad and informative account of a variety of intervention techniques. From pharmacological approaches, through the treatment of various specific conditions and on to the use of poetry and art by prisoners, the book offers a series of thought-provoking chapters that will help inform the practice of anyone who works with this vulnerable population. The book is edited by Peter Jones, a leading figure in the field of working therapeutically with offenders. Vital information for: Probation officers, social workers, counsellors, psychologists who work within the criminal justice system.

The book Application of Criminal Psychology in Different Types of Crime discusses how criminal psychologists examine criminals such as robbers, rapists, white-collar criminals, and identity thieves, especially their thoughts, intentions, and motives, reactions, emotions and feelings when individuals engage in these criminal acts. The purpose of this book is determining why an offender commits a crime, from the time the criminal decision was made to the time the person appeared in court. The book emphasizes that effective criminal psychologists will use their knowledge to help find and capture criminals, thus ensuring the world is safe for everyone. This book mentions that criminal psychology is a niche profession in the field of psychology, in which psychologists hold various positions, including working with law enforcers to determine the profile of people who may have committed a particular crime, and giving their opinion in court where they describe the mental state of the offender, or work directly with the captured offender to catch others in their criminal network. This book explains how criminal psychologists understand the inner mechanisms of the human mind and brain. And apply their accumulated knowledge and professional training to evaluate a person's mental and physical state by studying the person and talking with them.

The Clinician's Guide to Geriatric Forensic Evaluations provides practical guidance to clinicians performing forensic evaluations on older adults. The book begins with how geriatric forensic evaluations differ from those done on non-geriatric adults. DSM-5 criteria for neurocognitive disorders are discussed and differentiated from the previous criteria in DSM-IV. Coverage includes assessing decision-making capacity/competence and evaluating undue influence, elder abuse, and financial exploitation. Each chapter opens with a case study and then highlights specific assessment techniques, best practices, and common pitfalls to avoid. The book additionally covers forensic report writing, court testimony, and when to refer to an outside independent expert. Samples of geriatric forensic reports are provided.

The fifth volume in the Mathematical Cognition and Learning series focuses on informal learning environments and other parental influences on numerical cognitive development and formal instructional interventions for improving mathematics learning and performance. The chapters cover the use of numerical play and games for improving foundational number knowledge as well as school math performance, the link between early math abilities and the approximate number system, and how families can help improve the early development of math skills. The book goes on to examine learning trajectories in early mathematics, the role of mathematical language in acquiring numeracy skills, evidence-based assessments of early math skills, approaches for intensifying early mathematics interventions, the use of analogies in mathematics instruction, schema-based diagrams for teaching ratios and proportions, the role of cognitive processes in treating mathematical learning difficulties, and addresses issues associated with intervention fadeout.

aThe Criminal Brain will have an important impact on social, political, and moral debates as biological criminology becomes increasingly prominent in coming years.a
--Simon A. Cole, author of "Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification"

What is the relationship between criminality and biology? Nineteenth-century phrenologists insisted that criminality was innate, a trait inherent in the offenderas brain matter. While they were eventually repudiated as pseudo-scientists and self-deluded charlatans, today the pendulum has swung back. Both criminologists and biologists have begun to speak of a tantalizing but disturbing possibility: that criminality may be inherited as a set of genetic deficits that place one at risk for theft, violence, and sexual deviance. If that is so, we may soon confront proposals for genetically modifying aat riska fetuses or doctoring up criminals so their brains operate like those of law-abiding citizens. In The Criminal Brain, well-known criminologist Nicole Rafter traces the sometimes violent history of these criminological theories and provides an introduction to current biological theories of crime, or biocriminology, with predictions of how these theories are likely to develop in the future.

What do these new theories assert? Are they as dangerous as their forerunners, which the Nazis and other eugenicists used to sterilize, incarcerate, and even execute thousands of supposed aborna criminals? How can we prepare for a future in which leaders may propose crime-control programs based on biology? Enhanced with fascinating illustrations and written in lively prose, The Criminal Brain examines these issues in light ofthe history of ideas about the criminal brain. By tracing the birth and growth of enduring ideas in criminology, as well as by recognizing historical patterns in the interplay of politics and science, she offers ways to evaluate new theories of the criminal brain that may radically reshape ideas about the causes of criminal behavior.

A fascinating guide on the psychology of crime

Thinking of a career that indulges your CSI fantasies? Want to understand the psychology of crime? Whether studying it for the first time or an interested spectator, "Forensic Psychology For Dummies" gives you all the essentials for understanding this exciting field, complemented with fascinating case examples from around the world.

Inside you'll find out why people commit crime, how psychology helps in the investigative process, the ways psychologists work with criminals behind bars - and how you too can become a forensic psychologist. You'll discover what a typical day is like for a forensic psychologist, how they work with the police to build offender profiles, interview suspects or witnesses, and detect lies Covers the important role psychology plays in assessing offendersExplains how psychology is applied in the courtroomExplains complicated psychology concepts in easy-to-understand terms

If you're a student considering taking forensic psychology or just love to learn about the science behind crime, "Forensic Psychology For Dummies" is everything you need to get up-to-speed on this fascinating subject.

Discover more about the fascinating field of forensic and criminal psychology with this widely praised book, ideal for the students who want to understand how psychology relates to criminal justice and the law. Introduction to Forensic and Criminal Psychology, 7th edition is an essential resource for students studying psychology, applied psychology, criminology, and other relevant subjects, providing a clear and comprehensive introduction to this developing discipline. This market-leading text follows an accessible pedagogical approach, focusing on contextualising theory stemming from extensive, up-to-date research and key empirical findings. It covers major areas in the field, such as profile analysis, lie detecting, mental disorders and crime - among others. It also explores further relevant and significant research studies from the UK and international perspectives and introduces new, contemporary material such as the impact of COVID-19 on crime and police use of force. The book aims to support your broader understanding of the key concepts surrounding the field, helping you develop your critical thinking skills and challenging group discussion in class. Some of the helpful features introduced in the chapters are 'Key Concepts', 'Forensic Psychology in Action', and 'Controversies', which encourage a deeper understanding of the subject. The Overview section at the beginning of each chapter and the comprehensive list of figures and diagrams further support your learning experience on the extensive research data and theory developed. Along with its comprehensive Glossary on key terms for easy reference, this is an invaluable tool for those who would like to follow a career in criminology and forensic psychology and is guaranteed to keep you engaged.

After heart disease and cancer, the third leading cause of death in the United States is iatrogenic injury (avoidable injury or infection caused by a healer). Research suggests that avoidable errors claim several hundred thousand lives every year. The principal economic counterforce to such errors, malpractice litigation, has never been a particularly effective deterrent for a host of reasons, with fewer than 3% of negligently injured patients (or their families) receiving any compensation from a doctor or hospital's insurer. Closing Death's Door brings the psychology of decision making together with the law to explore ways to improve patient safety and reduce iatrogenic injury, when neither the healthcare industry itself nor the legal system has made a substantial dent in the problem. Beginning with an unflinching introduction to the problem of patient safety, the authors go on to define iatrogenic injury and its scope, shedding light on the culture and structure of a healthcare industry that has failed to effectively address the problem-and indeed that has influenced legislation to weaken existing legal protections and impede the adoption of potentially promising reforms. Examining the weak points in existing systems with an eye to using law to more effectively bring about improvement, the authors conclude by offering a set of ideas intended to start a conversation that will lead to new legal policies that lower the risk of harm to patients. Closing Death's Door is brought to vivid life by the stories of individuals and groups that have played leading roles in the nation's struggle with iatrogenic injury, and is essential reading for medical and legal professionals, as well as lawmakers and laypeople with an interest in healthcare policy.

'Tense and intimate... an education.' Geoff Dyer 'Written with sensitivity and humanity... a remarkable insight into prison life.' Amanda Brown 'Authentic, fascinating and deeply moving.' Terry Waite 'Enriching, sobering and at times heartrending... a wonder' Lenny Henry __________ Can someone in prison be more free than someone outside? Would we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness? Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. Every day he has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings, and listens as they explore new ways to think about their situation. When Andy goes behind bars, he also confronts his inherited trauma: his father, uncle and brother all spent time in prison. While Andy has built a different life for himself, he still fears that their fate will also be his. As he discusses pressing questions of truth, identity and hope with his students, he searches for his own form of freedom too. Moving, sympathetic, wise and frequently funny, The Life Inside is an elegantly written and unforgettable book. Through a blend of memoir, storytelling and gentle philosophical questioning, it offers a new insight into our stretched justice system, our failing prisons and the complex lives being lived inside. __________ 'Strives with humour and compassion to understand the phenomenon of prison' Sydney Review of Books 'A fascinating and enlightening journey... A legitimate page-turner' 3AM