Lonnie H. Athens' path-breaking work examines a problem that has baffled experts and the general public alike: How does a person become a predatory violent criminal? In the original edition, the process that Athens labeled "violentization" encompassed four stages: brutalization, defiance, dominative engagements, and virulency. In this edition, Athens identifies a new final stage, violent predation, as the culmination of the violent criminal's development. He uses vivid first-person accounts gleaned from in-depth interviews and participant observation of nascent and hardened violent criminals to back up his theory. In this vastly expanded edition, Athens examines how his thinking and ideas have evolved over the past thirty years and renames and clarifies two stages of development. Athens also addresses, for the first time, criticisms of his original theory. Milestones of this important work are discussed, as well as the paradoxes surrounding its present-day status in the field of criminology. Athens proposes a revised theoretical model that will be useful for classroom use, as well as for interested general readers and professionals.

"Forensic Reports & Testimony: A Guide to Effective Communication for Psychologists and Psychiatrists" provides a roadmap for the mental health professional who wants to provide consistently accurate, defensible, and useful reports and testimony to the legal system. Authors Randy K. Otto, Richart L. DeMier, and Marcus Boccaccini, recognized experts in the field, cover all aspects of the process, including preparing affidavits and reports, preparing for depositions, and testifying.

Every written or spoken communication for the courts must be clear and precise, and distinguish between facts, inferences, and opinions. This book uniquely:

-Shows the critical differences between forensic psychological reports and the clinical reports psychologists and psychiatrists are accustomed to writing

-Includes and explains important maxims of forensic report writing, including separating facts from inferences, focusing on offering expert opinions, explaining why you think what you think, and connecting the dots between facts and conclusions

-Provides numerous examples of experts' testimony, affidavits, reports-with commentary and critiques

Expert forensic work deserves to be presented in a clear, precise, and understandable way so that it is useful to attorneys, judges, and juries. "Forensic Reports & Testimony" provides the guidelines and models forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists need to make that happen.

The Wiley Handbook of the Psychology of Mass Shootings gathers together the latest insights from research and practice in one timely and much-needed reference work. * The first full-length academic examination of mass shootings from a psychological perspective * Contains 21 essays written by a global team of experts * Covers a broad range of topics, including the psychology of perpetrators, the role of the media, psychological considerations and clinical interventions for affected individuals, prevention, ethical issues, and areas for future research * Provides best practices for clinicians, academics, and policymakers dealing with these increasingly prevalent incidents of violence

By presenting current psychological theories alongside individual case studies, this book will guide you to understand the theory as it applies to specific instances of each crime. Covering a wide range of cases, from economic crimes, to terrorism and sexual and violent crimes, this book provides a comprehensive and engaging resource to develop an understanding of forensic psychology.

False confessions do occur and no legal system can afford to deny that serious mistakes have been, and will continue to be, made without radical change.

The impact of psychological research and expert testimony on legal changes, police practice and legal judgements in England and Northern Ireland is unparalleled in the rest of the world and valuable lessons have been learned as a result. A number of high profile murder and terrorist convictions based largely on confession evidence have been quashed on appeal. In The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions, Gisli Gudjonsson traces the scientific advances and relevant cases, many of which he was directly involved with, and demonstrates their legal and psychological significance.

The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions is a comprehensive and authoritative handbook that demonstrates the crucial relationship between research and practice. In Part I, interrogation tactics used by the police in the USA and Britain are reviewed and the reasons why suspects confess to crimes are examined. In Part II, differences between English and American legal systems are highlighted and the concepts of suggestibility, compliance and acquiescence are discussed in detail, along with the effects of drugs and alcohol. Twenty-two leading disputed confession cases are presented and evaluated in Part III, showing how high court judges have become more sophisticated in the way they admit and rely on expert psychological and psychiatric testimony. Part IV provides a detailed discussion of seven high profile cases from outside Britain. They demonstrate how different legal systems approach, view and evaluate disputed confession evidence and expert testimony, providing material of international significance.

With its fascinating, detailed vignettes, The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions is essential reading for clinical and forensic psychologists and others in the legal, psychological and psychiatric professions. Police officers will find many parts of the book directly applicable to their work, as will social workers and probation officers.

Forensic psychology is where psychology meets the criminal justice system. An understanding of the intersection of criminal law and psychological issues relating to criminal responsibility is critical for criminal justice students. This accessible text focuses on the criminal law implications of forensic psychology as it relates to topics such as competency to stand trial, state of mind at the time of the crime, suicide by cop, and involuntary psychiatric medication administered in custody. Unlike more traditional texts on this topic, which are primarily concerned with the clinical practice of forensic psychology, this book focuses on critical thinking as it relates to these topics. Each chapter presents a critical analysis of the topic under study, going beyond merely identifying the legal parameters of criminal responsibility to explore the ethical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of that concept.

Though institutional care for people suffering from mental illness was phased out in the last century, mentally disordered offenders remain the exception to this rule. The numbers detained in medium secure care have increased and new initiatives in high secure care have created specialist facilities for individuals thought to be particularly dangerous to other people. This means that the nature of institutional life, and in particular the balance between continuing detention for its own sake and care and treatment designed to allow for discharge to a more normal life in the community, should continue to pre-occupy us. Secure Lives is a unique study of life in a high security hospital, based on original research material obtained in the mid 1990s. Compelling personal accounts from staff and patients, as well as case study material, illustrate the complex culture of a high security hospital. The book explores the complex relationship that exists between staff and patients, the social hierarchy, and life amongst potentially dangerous and mentally ill individuals. Though there are many texts on forensic psychiatry in practice, this book provides a first-hand account of life in an environment never seen by those outside its walls.

Effective Learning After Acquired Brain Injury provides clear guidance on delivering productive educational programmes for adolescents and adults with acquired brain injury (ABI). Written for the non-specialist, the book provides an accessible overview of the neuropsychological deficits resulting from ABI and the ways in which these can affect an individual's ability to learn and to benefit from educational programmes. This is the first book of its kind to focus on the adaptation of educational programmes for adults rather than children. The authors explain how to take the results of a neuropsychological assessment as a guide in order to construct a cognitive profile and to create individually tailored educational plans and rehabilitation programmes. They also describe specific strategies that can be taught or utilised, and ways in which they can be set out in a simple plan. The book includes an extensive collection of resources which can be reproduced for the reader's own use. Effective Learning After Acquired Brain Injury will be an invaluable resource for general facilitators, clinicians and practitioners who provide educational opportunities in rehabilitation centres for individuals with a variety of neurological conditions, and also for those delivering education in forensic settings. It will maximise the quality of teaching, and the person's potential to learn, and improve the success rate of rehabilitation programmes and those aimed at reducing offending.

Is there an alternative way of treating sexual offenders beyond traditional psychiatry? Sexual Offenders explores and develops personal construct theory in terms of forensic and social psychology, and examines the possibilities for sexual offender assessment and therapy. Rather than viewing sexual offenders as having a mental illness or possessing a set of pathological personality traits, personal construct theory indicates that all people learn particular ways of understanding their own experience, and use these 'personal constructs' to anticipate the future. Through a variety of experiences, sexual offenders appear to develop a set of constructs that demands a particular understanding of themselves and other people. James Horley suggests that if they desire change sexual offenders can alter these constructs through psychotherapy. Sexual Offenders describes a number of techniques used by the author and other clinicians as well as presenting new and more dynamic approaches to psychological assessment. Based on over 20 years of the author's clinical and research work, this book will provide professionals and students in the field of forensic psychology and psychiatry with an alternative way of treating sex offender clients.

Effective Learning After Acquired Brain Injury provides clear guidance on delivering productive educational programmes for adolescents and adults with acquired brain injury (ABI). Written for the non-specialist, the book provides an accessible overview of the neuropsychological deficits resulting from ABI and the ways in which these can affect an individual's ability to learn and to benefit from educational programmes. This is the first book of its kind to focus on the adaptation of educational programmes for adults rather than children. The authors explain how to take the results of a neuropsychological assessment as a guide in order to construct a cognitive profile and to create individually tailored educational plans and rehabilitation programmes. They also describe specific strategies that can be taught or utilised, and ways in which they can be set out in a simple plan. The book includes an extensive collection of resources which can be reproduced for the reader's own use. Effective Learning After Acquired Brain Injury will be an invaluable resource for general facilitators, clinicians and practitioners who provide educational opportunities in rehabilitation centres for individuals with a variety of neurological conditions, and also for those delivering education in forensic settings. It will maximise the quality of teaching, and the person's potential to learn, and improve the success rate of rehabilitation programmes and those aimed at reducing offending.

A "New Scientist" Best Book of 2013
Winner of The Athenaeum of Philadelphia's Annual Literary Award
Why do some kids from good environments become mass murderers? Is there actually such a thing as a natural born killer? And, if so, what can we do to identify and treat those born with a predisposition to criminal behavior?
For more than three decades Adrian Raine has sought answers to these questions through his pioneering research on the biological basis for violence. In this book, he presents the growing body of evidence that shows how genetics and environmental influences can conspire to create a criminal brain, and how something as seemingly innocent as a low resting heart rate can give rise to a violent personality. Bristling with ingenious experiments, surprising data, and shocking case studies, this is also a clear-eyed inquiry into the thorny ethical issues this science raises about prevention and punishment. Passionate, courageous, and at times controversial, "The Anatomy of Violence" is a ground-breaking work that will challenge your core human values and perspectives on violence.

Criminal Behavior explores crime as a developmental process from birth through early adulthood. It further examines the role that legal, political, and criminal justice systems play in the development of criminal behavior. Criminal Behavior: takes into account biological, genetic, developmental, familial, social, educational, cultural, political, and economic factors correlated with crime; references actual cases and events to serve as examples of the principles introduced; critically examines the roles of the criminal and juvenile justice systems and methods of punishment in the development of and response to criminal behavior; explores the effects of crime on victims and looks at correlations between crimes and victim characteristics and behaviors; examines the role of childhood and adolescent behavioral and mental health disorders in the development of criminal behavior; and investigates the differences between criminals and the rest of society, and the differences and similarities between and among criminals. Chock-full of personal anecdotes, this engaging text is unique in that it combines the experience of Doug Bernstein, a clinical psychologist and a successful textbook author, and Elaine Cassel, a practicing attorney who regularly teaches psychology and law. Organized around five dimensions related to the causes, characteristics, and consequences of crime, the book summarizes the programs that research suggest offer the best hope for doing a better job of dealing with crime in the 21st century. The authors argue that prevention is the key to dealing with crime, and present comprehensive suggestions for crime prevention. The new edition features the latest criminal statistics available, as well as the most current research on the causes and correlations of crime and violence. Other highlights include: discussion of the latest brain-imaging research in psychopathy - how psychopaths' brains are different from "normal" brains; the latest on gang activities and how their venues have migrated to suburban and rural areas; terrorism and its roots; Internet crimes, especially sexual predator crimes; the latest research on how media violence, especially violent interactive video games, contributes to criminal behavior; the examination of drug and mental health courts as alternatives to punishment; and recent Supreme Court rulings eliminating the death penalty for juveniles and the mentally retarded. Intended as a textbook for upper-level courses on criminal behavior, psychology and law, and developmental psychopathology taught in departments of psychology, criminology, criminal justice, law, and sociology and/or criminal justice training academies.

Criminal Recidivism intends to fill a gap in the criminological psychology literature by examining the processes underlying persistent criminal careers. This book aims to investigate criminal recidivism, and why, how and for how long an individual continues to commit crimes, whilst also reviewing knowledge about risk assessment and the role of psychopathy (including neurocriminological factors) in encouraging recidivism. It also focuses on the recidivism of sex offenders and on what works in reducing reoffending. At an empirical level, this book attempts to explain criminal persistence and recidivism using longitudinal data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD). At a psycho-criminological level it joins together quantitative and qualitative analyses, making its content a practical guide to explain, predict, and intervene to reduce the risk of criminal recidivism. The authors present quantitative analyses of criminal careers, as well as qualitative life histories of chronic offenders, in order to bring home the reality and consequences of a life of crime. The book is aimed not only at advanced students and academics in psychology, criminology, probation studies, social sciences, psychiatry, sociology, political science, and penology, but also at decision makers, policy officials, and practitioners within the realm of crime intervention and prevention, and also at forensic experts, judges and lawyers.

High risk offenders can have a disproportionate impact on their communities because, despite all manner of sentencing options, they continue to commit a wide range of crimes, both minor and serious. It is tempting to throw the book at them, sometimes even to throw away the key. However, anything that helps offenders to change their propensity for re-offending can really make a difference. Over the last 30 years, scientific research has guided the provision of treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration services that lead to reductions in re-offending. Much of what we know, however, comes from work with medium-risk offenders. Although this work is important and valuable, there is a lower level of complexity to working with medium-risk offenders than most high-risk offenders require. This book recognizes the need to research and develop different approaches to rehabilitating high-risk offenders. Each of the contributions takes a different approach, with a different group of offenders, in a different setting. Cumulatively, the chapters provide encouragement for those working with high risk offenders, along with a wide range of ideas about how to develop better services. This book was originally published as a special issue of Psychology, Crime & Law.

This edited book explores how psychology can be used to improve our understanding of terrorism and counterterrorism. This work firstly aims to provide balanced and objective insight into the psychology of terrorists; what their motivations are, what keeps them involved in terrorist groups, and what eventually forces most to end their active involvement in terrorism. Secondly, the contributors focus on the challenging issue of how to respond to terrorism. These chapters provide information for those concerned with short-term tactical problems (e.g. interviewing), as well as those looking towards the more long-term strategic questions of bringing an entire terrorist campaign to an end. Ultimately, the individuals involved in terrorism require a more complex response from society than simply a quest for their apprehension. Believing inaccurate and misleading characterizations leads inevitably to damaging policies and deficient outcomes and campaigns of violence are needlessly prolonged. It is from this perspective that the concern arises with how researchers -- and the policy makers guided by them -- perceive the psychology of terrorists and of terrorism. This innovative book will be of great interest to students of terrorism and counter-terrorism, security studies, psychology and politics, as well as security professionals and military colleges.

Beliefs and expectancies influence our everyday thoughts, feelings, and actions. These attributes make a closer examination of beliefs and expectancies worthwhile in any context, but particularly so within the high-stakes arena of the legal system. Whether the decision maker is a police officer assessing the truthfulness of an alibi, a juror evaluating the accuracy of an eyewitness identification, an attorney arguing a case involving a juvenile offender, or a judge deciding whether to terminate parental rights these decisions matter and without doubt are influenced by beliefs and expectancies. This volume is comprised of research on beliefs and expectancies regarding alibis, children s behaviour while testifying, eyewitness testimony, confessions, sexual assault victims, judges decisions in child protection cases, and attorneys beliefs about jurors perceptions of juvenile offender culpability. Areas for future research are identified, and readers are encouraged to discover new ways that beliefs and expectancies operate in the legal system.

This book was originally published as a special issue of "Psychology, Crime & Law.""

For too long, divorce and remarriage literature has focused only on the outcome in the personal lives of the divorcees during and after divorce. But now, in Child Custody: Legal Decisions and Family Outcomes, you'll see that divorce is a chain reaction that begins in the courtrooms and branches out into the families of the world, changing the lives of children, parents, and grandparents alike. Child Custody is an incisive, up-to-date collection of studies that addresses both child custody decisions and the varied and often surprising outcomes for those children and their families. Divided into two main sections, one focusing on legislative guidelines and the other on family issues, this unique compilation of recent divorce and remarriage research gives you a rare view of the attitudes some judges have toward divorce. In addition, those people in both law and family research fields will have at their disposal the many aspects of the legal decision-making process and the legislative guidelines that currently hold sway over custody and post-divorce cases.Here are some of the topics you'll read about: the evolution of three types of residential custody arrangements--father, mother, and joint--followed over a two-year period legal reforms aimed at guaranteeing parental access to children how social research has shaped New Hampshire's child support policy divorced fathers and mothers in Greece the stigmas on lesbian mothers in custody cases how grandparent involvement shapes post-divorce families Meant as a catalyst for further research and study, this book begins to touch upon the intrinsic flaws in both legal and family systems that continue to exist. Too often, we think of divorce and child custody as merely legal decisions. In Child Custody, however, you'll find that what matters in court is also a family matter.

Why do we steal?

This question has confounded everyone from parents to judges, teachers to psychologists, economists to more than a few moral thinkers. Stealing can be a result of deprivation, of envy, or of a desire for power and influence. An act of theft can also bring forth someone s hidden traits paradoxically proving beneficial to their personal development.

Robert Tyminski explores the many dimensions of stealing, and in particular how they relate to a subtle balance of loss versus gain that operates in all of us. Our natural aversion to loss can lead to extreme actions as a means to acquire what we may not be able to obtain through time, work or money. Tyminski uses the myth of Jason, Medea and the Golden Fleece to explore the dilemmas involved in such situations and demonstrate the timelessness of theft as fundamentally human. "The Psychology of Theft and Loss" incorporates Jungian and psychoanalytic theories as well as more recent cognitive research findings to deepen our appreciation for the complexity of human motivations when it comes to stealing, culminating in consideration of the idea of a perpetually present inner thief .

Combining case studies, Jungian theory and analysis of many different types of stealing including robbery, kidnapping, plagiarism and technotheft, "The Psychology of Theft and Loss" is a fascinating study which will appeal to psychoanalysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, family therapists and students."

From Henry Mayhew's classic study of Victorian slums to Studs Terkel's presentations of ordinary people in modern America, oral history has been used to call attention to social conditions. By analyzing the nature and circumstances of the production of such histories of delinquency, James Bennett argues that oral history is a rhetorical device, consciously chosen as such, and is to be understood in terms of its persuasive powers and aims. Bennett shows how oral or life histories of juvenile delinquents have been crucial in communicating the human traits of offenders within their social context, to attract interest in resources for programs to prevent delinquency. Although life history helped to establish the discipline of sociology, Bennett suggests concepts for understanding oral histories generated in many fields.

This volume focuses on the complex relation between offending and the transition from school to the workplace: how employment and education are related to breaking the law and getting in contact with the criminal justice system. The contributors report results from several large scale and sophisticated studies conducted in the Netherlands that gathered rich data on employment, education and criminal behaviour. Each of the studies focuses on a particular period during the life course and particular risk categories. Taken together, they contribute to our understanding of how getting out of school, getting into a job and doing illegal things are intertwined over the life-course, and how these relations differ with age and gender. The background of this volume is our interest in the often-studied relation between offending and employment, or more generally, between offending and the transition from school to work, including dropping out, part-time work and joblessness. The available literature casts little doubt that employment and education are indeed related to less crime and offending. However, this relation is much more complex than it appears at first hand. The volume is primarily aimed at researchers and students in the fields of criminology, sociology and economics. However, it may also be of use for non-academic professionals, in particular policy makers and practitioners in the field of criminal justice, probation/rehabilitation, and youth/schools.

In cases where minimal or no physical evidence exists, behavioral evidence may be all that investigators have available to help them focus the investigation. It may be the only aspect of the case that can link one unsolved case to another, or to numerous other unsolved cases. Sexually Motivated Crimes: Understanding the Profile of the Sex Offender and Applying Theory to Practice discusses the dynamics and behaviors associated with sex offenders and explains their direct application to both the criminal investigation and to society. Content chapters include an introduction to the subject matter, a discussion of the existing research and literature regarding the issue, and an explanation of the topic's importance and application through practical illustrations. These chapters are followed by actual case studies that illustrate practical application of the content. The book presents the foundational concepts of the nature of criminal sexuality and then explores: The importance of recognizing nuisance offenses-commonly dismissed by police officers-as a precursor to more serious crimes of violence Essential literature pertaining to rapists, including basic motivations, typologies, methods of approach, and levels of force, as well as the importance of a proper victim interview The definition of sexual homicide and the dynamics between victims and offenders Reasons why child sex offenders choose to offend children, and reasons children fail to disclose or delay in disclosing their abuse The three components of child sexual exploitation: molestation, pornography, and prostitution Written in an accessible style geared to police officers and practitioners, this volume builds and expands upon the existing literature, uses unique theories and perspectives derived from the author's years of training and investigative experience, and provides clear and precise information that law enforcement officers can apply to their daily work.

Offers a new understanding of jailhouse informants and the role they play in wrongful convictions Jailhouse informants-witnesses who testify in a criminal trial, often in exchange for some incentive-are particularly persuasive to jurors. A jailhouse informant usually claims to have heard the defendant confess to a crime while they were incarcerated together. Research shows that such testimony increases the likelihood of a guilty verdict. But it is also a leading contributor to wrongful convictions. Informants, after all, are generally criminals who are offering testimony in return for some key motivator, such as a reduced sentence. This book offers a broad overview of the history and legal and psychological issues surrounding the testimony of jailhouse informants. It provides groundbreaking psychological research to address how they are used, the number of convictions that have ultimately been overturned on other evidence, how such informants are perceived in the courtroom, and by what means jurors might be informed about the risks of this type of testimony. The volume provides a much-needed examination of legal remedies to the impact of jailhouse informants and suggests best practices in dealing with jailhouse informant testimony in court. There is a critical need to understand the influence of jailhouse informants and how their testimony can best be handled in court in the interests of justice. Jailhouse Informants is the first work of its kind that rises to the challenge of answering these difficult questions.

Clinical neuropsychologists are increasingly involved in the evaluation of civil capacities and are in demand by other professionals, particularly attorneys and judges, to assist their decision-making about these sometimes complex issues. While there has been some neuropsychological research in this area, this has not been assembled into a single volume nor have practice recommendations been provided. This volume fills these gaps. The first part of this volume reviews and synthesizes the research literature on neuropsychological aspects of civil capacities. The specific capacities addressed include driving, financial and healthcare decision-making, testamentary (i.e., will-making) capacity, and personal care and independence. Each chapter addresses relevant background issues, conceptual/theoretical advances, and empirical findings. The chapters also include an illustrative case study that demonstrates how the authors (each expert in the various areas) evaluated and conceptualized the case. Each chapter is written from an evidence-based perspective and, where appropriate, uses research to inform practice recommendations. The second part of this volume provides recommendations to practitioners on how to conduct civil capacity evaluations that utilize neuropsychological assessment. There are chapters on an evaluative framework for the assessment, capacity test selection and psychometric issues, working with other data sources besides testing (e.g., collateral interviews), best practices in report-writing and testifying, as well as common ethical issues in such cases. Throughout, these chapters provide practical "how to " advice to improve neuropsychological practice and consulting in civil capacity cases. In addition to these chapters, there is a chapter written by legal consumers of psychological reports. This chapter offers a wealth of useful information and recommendations that, if followed, will further serve to advance psychological report-writing and consultation in civil capacity evaluations.

When Children Kill Children: Penal Populism and Political Culture examines the role of political culture and penal populism in the response to the emotive subject of child-on-child homicide. The book 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, held in secure detention for nine months and tried in an adverserial court; Redergard's killers were shielded from public antagonism and carefully reintegrated into the local community. This book argues that English adverserial political culture creates far more incentives to politicize high-profile crimes than Norwegian consensus political culture. Drawing on a wealth of empirical research, the author 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, this book proposes a more deliberative response to crime that accommodates the informed public in news ways - ways that might help build social capital and remove incentives for cynical penal populism.

A comprehensive resource for practitioners working with sexual offenders. Discusses assessments and interventions, as well as providing a comprehensive literature review There are around 10,000 convictions or cautions for sexual offences in the UK each year; early evidence suggests that treatment programmes can halve re-conviction rates Edited by a University of Birmingham team who are world leaders in researching this area; the subject is of interest worldwide, with strong markets in Canada and New Zealand Includes material on managing offenders with developmental disabilities and those with Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder