Traditional techniques for detecting deception, such as the 'lie-detector test' (or polygraph), are based upon the idea that lying is associated with stress. However, it is possible that people telling the truth will experience stress, whereas not all liars will. Because of this, the validity of such methods is questionable. As an alternative, a knowledge-based approach known as the 'Concealed Information Test' has been developed which investigates whether the examinee recognizes secret information - for example a crime suspect recognizing critical crime details that only the culprit could know. The Concealed Information Test has been supported by decades of research, and is used widely in Japan. This is the first book to focus on this exciting approach and will be of interest to law enforcement agencies and academics and professionals in psychology, criminology, policing and law.

Justice-a word of great simplicity and almost frightening scope. When we were invited to edit a volume on justice in law, we joked about the small topic we had been assigned. Often humor masks fear, and this was certainly one of those times. Throughout the project, we found daunting the task of covering even a fraction of the topics that usually fall under the umbrella of justice research in law. Ultimately, the organization of the book emerged from the writing of it. Our introductory chapter provides a road map to how the topics weave together, but as is so often the case it was written last, not ?rst. It was only when we had chapters in hand that we began to see how the many strands of justice research might be woven together. Chapters 2-4 on the basic forms of justice-procedural, retributive, and distributive-are the lynchpin of the volume; they provide the building blocks that permit us to think and write about each of the other substantive and applied chapters in terms of how they relate to the fundamental forms of justice. In the large central section of the volume (Chapters 5-9), the contributors address many ways in which the justice dimensions relate to one another. Most important for law is the relationship of perceptions of procedural justice and the two types of substantive justice-retributive and distributive.

This text provides a complete overview of the applications of psychology to the law. Incorporating the contributions of social and clinical psychology, this new text presents the material with an objective view towards the complete scope of the subject matter. In its clear coverage of the fundamentals of this field, it is an invaluable introduction for students, as well as a reference for practitioners.

This book invites the legal and psychology communities to work together in solving some of our most pressing social problems. It examines four controversial areas involving people 's perceptions of others. The book is therefore a guide to understanding the valuable contribution of social scientific research in policy formulation in the law, and it addresses the role of psychology in substantive law and legal decision making.

Dramatic cases of child abuse and neglect are featured with tragic regularity in the news. The stories vividly demonstrate both the urgent need for improved child protection services and the unwieldiness and ineffectiveness of the systems charged with the task. To complicate matters further, the original intent of child welfare policy is becoming increasingly obscured as legal responses to child maltreatment become more complex, intrusive, and even contradictory. Fueled by a consistent narrative and a lucid ethical stance, Child Maltreatment and the Law analyzes the increasing role legal systems play in family life and traces rapidly evolving legal concepts as they apply to child protection. This unique volume helps readers: (1) Navigate the various layers of legal regulation - federal and state - involved in child protection and family life. (2) Identify variations and discrepancies in definitions of maltreatment and legal responses. (3) Critique the relationships and boundary disputes between the criminal and civil justice systems and agencies dedicated to children's welfare. (4) Analyze controversies (e.g., removing children from maltreating families) and other prime areas for possible reform. Child Maltreatment and the Law is a must-read for psychologists, developmentalists, sociologists, social workers, criminologists, and researchers focusing on family life as well as policymakers and advocates working within the legal system. The book is particularly useful for courses relating to child welfare law or child abuse and neglect.

This book details possible ethical situations and pitfalls that forensic psychiatric experts would commonly encounter when making a court testimony. Richly illustrated with cases from medicine, psychiatry, and law, this elegantly written volume examines the common moral ground that links these usually separate domains, and relates forensic ethics to larger concepts of morality and justice.

• expands traditional inquiry regarding the significance of psychopathology in the criminal process to include blameworthiness for sentencing, criminal competence at various stages in the process, and dangerousness
• pairs legal analysis with empirical research in order to promotoe integration of these two aspects of relevant inquiry
• addresses a wide range of participants in the legal, clinical, and academic disciplines

PTSD, pain syndromes, traumatic brain injury: these three areas are common features of personal injury cases, often forming the cornerstone of expert testimony. Yet their complex interplay in an individual can make evaluation and explaining the results in court extremely difficult.

Psychological Knowledge in Court focuses on this triad separately and in combination, creating a unique guide to forensic evaluations that fulfills both legal and clinical standards. Its meticulous review of the literature identifies and provides clear guidelines for addressing core issues in causality, chronicity, and assessment, such as:

- Are there any definable risk factors for PTSD?

- How prevalent is PTSD after trauma?

- How do patients emotions relate to their pain experience?

- Are current pain assessment methods accurate enough?

- What is the role of pre-existing vulnerabilities in traumatic brain injury?

- What exactly is "mild" TBI?

This book offers a welcome expansion on key concepts, terms, and issues in causality. It brings much needed clarity to psychological injury assessments and the legal contexts that employ them.

Focusing on PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and chronic pain (and grounding readers in salient U.S. and Canadian case law), the book sets out a multifactorial causality framework to facilitate admissibility of psychological evidence in court.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has grown into a specialization informed by research and professional guidelines. This series presents up-to-date information on the most important and frequently conducted forms of FMHA. The 19 topical volumes address best approaches to practice for particular types of evaluation in the criminal, civil, and juvenile/family areas. Each volume contains a thorough discussion of the relevant legal and psychological concepts, followed by a step-by-step description of the assessment process from preparing for the evaluation to writing the report and testifying in court.
Volumes include the following helpful features:
. Boxes that zero in on important information for use in evaluations
. Tips for best practice and cautions against common pitfalls
. Highlighting of relevant case law and statutes
. Separate list of assessment tools for easy reference
. Helpful glossary of key terms for the particular topic
In making recommendations for best practice, authors consider empirical support, legal relevance, and consistency with ethical and professional standards. These volumes offer invaluable guidance for anyone involved in conducting or using forensic evaluations. This book places juvenile risk assessment within the context of FMHA for juveniles, so those using it will find it particularly useful to incorporate into their evaluations of risk and needs for adolescents in the juvenile justice system."

Terrorism and torture are twin evils that have dominated news headlines - particularly since the horrifying events of 9/11. In this thought-provoking volume, scholars from a diverse range of disciplines examine the complex motivational and situational factors contributing to terrorist acts and state-sponsored torture, and the potential linkage between those two heinous human behaviors. They also consider the strategies that might reduce the threat of future terrorist acts, and the perceived necessity to engage in morally reprehensible - and often illegal - torture practices. With its integrated synthesis of contemporary theories and research on the complex dynamics of the terrorism-torture link, this is an authoritative source for scholars and students of psychology, criminal justice, law, media, communication studies, and political science. It will also appeal to students of other disciplines with an interest in the study of terrorism and torture.

In the UK, we lock up more individuals per year than in any other part of Europe. Many of these are suffering from some form of treatable mental disorder, yet too often, prison is viewed as the only option. Part of the problem is the range of individuals and specialities involved in making these crucial judgements. Government departments, health and social care and voluntary sector organisations, and frontline criminal justice and penal institutions are all engaged in the definition, management, and processing of the mentally disordered offender (MDO), leaving the invidual in 'spiders web' of a system - often to their disadvantage. This book presents a penetrating and thought provoking analysis of the forensic mental health system - how it operates, the people involved, the problems inherent in such a system, and the huge ethical dilemma of depriving an individual of their freedom. It brings together a range of specialists, each with considerable experience, who describe the processes involved in dealing with an MDO - from their own unique perspective. The book starts with a section on violence and risk - covering a range of ideas from the disciplines of criminology, sociology, psychiatry and psychology that contribute to an understanding of these concepts. The second section, on Forensic Psychotherapeutic Approaches to MDOs details the contributions of both cognitive and psychodynamic psychotherapies to understanding and managing the psychopathology, risk and interpersonal interactions of MDOs. Legislation, both statutory and case law, has changed substantially in relation to MDOs over the last decade and the third section on Law discusses these changes as well as the fierce debate that has surrounded them. The fourth section, on Ethics, develops some of these ideas on capacity, autonomy, vulnerability and responsibility. It describes common ethical dilemmas for professionals in forensic settings as it lays out the different duties involved in the different professional roles intrinsic to multi-agency working. The fifth section on Social Policy discusses the development of the concept of the MDO and how penal, health and social care institutions are designed to meet their needs. It illustrates how much has changed, especially in the last fifteen years and how much of that change has been driven by the risk agenda. The book concludes with an International Section - exploring how other countries think about anti-social and violent behaviour and how their circumstances and dilemmas have led to approaches to MDOs both similar to and different from those of England and Wales. The book will be essential for both students and professionals in the complex and ethically challenging discipline of forensic mental health.

Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are increasingly being asked to prepare reports for legal purposes. These might involve issues regarding the clients own mental state at the time they committed the crime, or it might involve the neuropsychological effects of an injury to a third party. In addition, they might be looking at issues regarding impulsivity, and the role of underlying disorders, such as ADHD and antisocial or borderline personality disorders. These topics are typically the preserve of the field of forensic neuropsychology, yet for many, this discipline is seen as a highly specialized one beyond the scope and skill of the clinical psychologist.l
This book fills a major gap in the literature by providing a practical reference text for clinical and forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who are working in these important areas of forensic consultancy, and who need a working knowledge of neuropsychological assessment and legal processes. Topics include: aggression and violence; learning disabilities and developmental disorders--such as autism or ADHD; epilepsy; amnesia; alcohol and substance misuse, and traumatic head injury. In addition, the book looks at expert testimony, malingering, and other ethical and professional issues. It will help practitioners deal with the clinical and neuropsychological problems in the field and negotiate the legal labyrinths involved in issues such as competency, fitness to plead and stand trial, mental capacity, and mitigation.
With chapters written by leading practitioners and clinicians that provide a synthesis of key knowledge and best practice in their areas, this thought-provoking and pragmatic guide will be essential for clinical and forensic neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and lawyers.

In recent years it has become apparent that mentally ill people are at increased risk of committing crimes of violence. Most writing and research about crime and mental disorder has focused necessarily on the immediate problems which confront clinicians and law makers - assessing and managing the future risk of violence. In this important new book the authors attempt to step back from these immediate preoccupations and describe the criminality of the mentally ill and try to identify the complex chain of factors which cause it. As part of their analysis they examine a unique cohort composed of 15,117 persons born in Stockholm who were studied from pregnancy to the age of thirty. While they conclude that we still do not understand exactly how and why persons with major mental disorders commit crimes, their findings make a valuable contribution to ongoing debates on mental health and criminal justice policy and practice.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has grown into a specialization informed by research and professional guidelines. This series presents up-to-date information on the most important and frequently conducted forms of FMHA. The 19 topical volumes address best approaches to practice for particular types of evaluation in the criminal, civil and juvenile/family areas. Each volume contains a thorough discussion of the relevant legal and psychological concepts, followed by a step-by-step description of the assessment process from preparing for the evaluation to writing the report and testifying in court.
Volumes include the following helpful features:
- Boxes that zero in on important information for use in evaluations
- Tips for best practice and cautions against common pitfalls
- Highlighting of relevant case law and statutes
- Separate list of assessment tools for easy reference
- Helpful glossary of key terms for the particular topic
In making recommendations for best practice, authos consider empirical support, legal relevance, and consistency with ethical and professional standards. These volumes offer invaluable guidance for anyone involved in conducting or using forensic evaluations.

The literature on domestic violence will often treat homicide as its most extreme outcome. The reality is more nuanced, with many domestic homicides occurring within a history of abusive behaviour. This book offers a much-needed synthesis of the literature on domestic homicide, covering its history; the theories supporting it; its various forms such as filicide, intimate partner homicide, parricide, siblicide and familicide; and its prevention. The authors explore the predominant theories that have been used to explain domestic homicides in general, as well as specific subtypes of domestic homicide. Each chapter then takes a chronological approach in examining relationships between victim and perpetrator in the most prominent types of domestic homicide. Drawing on the empirical evidence, it offers a unique insight into the dynamics of domestic homicides, and debunks some of the common stereotypes surrounding it. The book concludes with an overview of the main areas of prevention of domestic homicide and offers recommendations for professionals working in domestic violence services, medical practitioners and mental health services. This book will be of interest to criminologists, psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists alike, and will be key reading for a range of courses on violence, abuse and aggression.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has grown into a specialization informed by research and professional guidelines. This series presents up-to-date information on the most important and frequently conducted forms of FMHA. The 19 topical volumes address best approaches to practice for particular types of evaluation in the criminal, civil, and juvenile/family areas. Each volume contains a thorough discussion of the relevant legal and psychological concepts, followed by a step-by-step description of the assessment process from preparing for the evaluation to writing the report and testifying in court.
Volumes include the following helpful features:
- Boxes that zero in on important information for use in evaluations
- Tips for best practice and cautions against common pitfalls
- Highlighting of relevant case law and statutes
- Separate list of assessment tools for easy reference
- Helpful gloassary of key terms for the particular topic
In making recommendations for best practice, authors consider empirical support, legal relevance, and consistency with ethical and professional standards. These volumes offer invaluable guidance for anyone involved in conducting or using forensic evaluations.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has grown into a specialization informed by research and professional guidelines. This series presents up-to-date information on the most important and frequently conducted forms of FMHA. The 19 topical volumes address best approaches to practice for particular types of evaluation in the criminal, civil, and juvenile/family areas. Each volume contains a thorough discussion of the relevant legal and psychological concepts, followed by a step-by-step description of the assessment process from preparing for the evaluation to writing the report and testifying in court.
Volumes include the following helpful features:
- Boxes that zero in on important information for use in evaluations
- Tips for best practice and cautions against common pitfalls
- Highlighting of relevant case law and statutes
- Separate list of assessment tools for easy reference
- Helpful glossary of key terms for the particular topic
In making recommendations for best practice, authors consider empirical support, legal relevance, and consistency with ethical and professional standards. These volumes offer invaluable guidance for anyone involved in conducting or using forensic evaluations.

Witness Identification provides an up-to-date review on identifying crime perpetrators based on psychological theory and research. Applying psychology to the area of criminal identification, the authors make reference to relevant legislation such as the PACE Codes of Practice as they explore the psychology involved in identification.
This insightful and practical title will inform anyone interested in this area. The authors outline the psychological information relevant to constructing and delivering identification parades, such as the point of view of the suspect and witness or victim, how witnesses remember, and the factors likely to affect the accuracy of person descriptions. They also consider the effects of stereotypes and expectancies on identification performance, as well as a discussion of the technologies involved in identification procedure. The book includes a chapter on how to assist people who are deemed vulnerable in order to elicit accurate identification evidence. It also looks at other methods of identification in addition to face identification, such as methods to identify a person's voice and gait.
By providing an overview of legislation and guidelines to conducting identity parades alongside a psychological underpinning, this book is a valuable resource to anyone whose work involves identification procedures, as well as students of psychology, law and police studies.

This title examines the role of political culture and penal populism in the response to the emotive subject of child-on-child homicide. Green explores the reasons underlying the vastly differing responses of the English and Norwegian criminal justice systems to the cases of James Bulger and Silje Redergard respectively. Whereas James Bulger's killers were subject to extreme press and public hostility, and held in secure detention for nine months before being tried in an adversarial court, and served eight years in custody, a Redergard's killers were shielded from public antagonism and carefully reintegrated into the local community. This book argues that English adversarial political culture creates far more incentives to politicize high-profile crimes than Norwegian consensus political culture. Drawing on a wealth of empirical research, Green suggests that the tendency for politicians to justify punitive responses to crime by invoking harsh political attitudes is based upon a flawed understanding of public opinion. In a compelling study, Green proposes a more deliberative response to crime is possible by making English culture less adversarial and by making informed public judgment more assessable.

Strengthen your understanding of the persuasive mechanisms used by terrorist groups and how they are effective in order to defeat them. Weaponized Words applies existing theories of persuasion to domains unique to this digital era, such as social media, YouTube, websites, and message boards to name but a few. Terrorists deploy a range of communication methods and harness reliable communication theories to create strategic messages that persuade peaceful individuals to join their groups and engage in violence. While explaining how they accomplish this, the book lays out a blueprint for developing counter-messages perfectly designed to conquer such violent extremism and terrorism. Using this basis in persuasion theory, a socio-scientific approach is generated to fight terrorist propaganda and the damage it causes.

The Language of Sexual Crime explores the role of language in the construction of identity of both perpetrators and victims of sexual violence, the ways in which language is used in the detection of sexually-motivated crime, and the articulation/manipulation of language in police interviews, the courtroom and the media.

Testimonial evidence remains the greatest source of information available to those who try cases in court.Witness Testimony: Psychological, Investigative, and Evidential Perspectives provides a comprehensive and easily accessible guide to the decision-making and actions of the complete spectrum of practitioner involvement in the criminal justice process, right from initial investigation through to court-room proceedings. It builds on the content and structure of its ground-breaking predecessor Analysing Witness Testimony: A Guide for Legal Practitioners and Other Professionals (Blackstone Press, March 1999), and consists of 25 chapters written by an expert author team of practitioner and academic lawyers, forensic psychiatrists, and psychologists. The team is led by criminal evidence specialist barristers Anthony Heaton-Armstrong and David Wolchover, chartered forensic psychologist Dr Eric Shepherd, and Professor of Forensic Psychology, Gisli Gudjonnson. The book is logically divided into three sections, looking in turn at each of the three inter-related perspectives upon a witness' account; psychological, investigative, and evidential. Section One explains and examines psychological issues, including; witness memory; the effect of learning disabilities; false allegations of sexual assault; and the effect of physical factors such as head injuries and drugs. Section Two covers the crucial investigative issues and concerns in respect of false allegations; the impact of investigative and questioning style upon children and vulnerable persons; memory performace of witnesses; and linguistic interpretations. Section Three explores evidential issues such as; visual identification procedures; the status of witness demeanour; the reliability of oral evidence; the relevance of information technology to presentation of evidence; disclosure; the use of expert evidence; and judicial training. The book will therefore be indispensable to all those involved in the resolution of contentious or disputed evidence, including; members of the judiciary and legal practitioners; crime investigators; and forensic psychologists and psychiatrists.

Few crimes generate greater public reaction than those where a mother murders her child. We are repelled, yet mesmerized, by the emerging details of cases such as Andrea Yates and Susan Smith. Annually, hundreds of infants and young children perish at the hands of their mothers. How could a mother destroy the first and most fundamental relationship we experience?
In Why Mothers Kill: A Forensic Psychologist's Casebook, Geoffrey R. McKee, Ph.D. uses more than a dozen case studies from his 29-year forensic psychological evaluation practice to help us, and most importantly, prevent these horrific events from occurring. He applies current research findings to analyze, explain, and suggest practical interventions to alter the personal, familial, and situational circumstances that may influence some mothers to kill. With an emphasis on prevention, Dr. McKee sets out specific strategies that might have been employed at various "risk intervention points" occurring before the child's death.
Through the use of extended narratives the author brings to life the thoughts and emotions experienced by women in each of the five categories of mothers he has identified from his years of practice. Additionally, the author presents the Maternal Filicide Risk Matrix which he developed to help mental health and medical professionals determine the risk and protective factors that lead mothers to kill their children.
Students, as well as mental health and medical professionals will find this an important and unique resource.