Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

Keatley, D. A.; Clarke, D. D.

doi: 10.1007/s11896-020-09367-1pmid: N/A

Solving serious crimes such as sexual assault, rape, and murder takes a considerable amount of investigation time. Despite efforts, many crimes may be unsolved, and go ‘cold’. These cases are typically extensive and reviewing the material can be prohibitively time consuming. The current manuscript proposes the combination of two methods, or ‘tools’, for timeline analyses: Matrix Forecasting and Behaviour Sequence Analysis (BSA). Matrix Forecasting provides a clear and comprehensive approach to outlining predictions investigators make, the rationale underlying these predictions, the accuracy, and the evidence. Matrix Forecasting also outlines areas for future investigation, for example, if new technology becomes available or new test results are returned. The BSA provides a statistical, visual pathway map that outlines the proposed or proven steps in a crime. The combination of these methods provides a new approach to mapping criminal investigations and has been effectively used in several real-world cold case reviews. To illustrate the benefits of this combined approach, a real-world example, the Jeffrey MacDonald, aka Green Beret Killer case, will be analysed using Matrix Forecasting and BSA to show the benefits of the method in terms of providing a quick-guide for future review and solvability factors.

Semrad, Monica; Scott-Parker, Bridie; Vanags, Thea

doi: 10.1007/s11896-020-09378-ypmid: N/A

Law enforcement officers in undercover roles, working with informants and in police interviews, use deception to uncover critical evidence in criminal investigations. Therefore, lie production is a critical skill for these law enforcement officers. However, current selection processes for police assigned to these areas do not include tests to identify effective storytellers (liars), as standardised and reliable tests for this do not exist, despite the fact that the ability to lie is exceedingly important for both operational effectiveness and officer safety. This pilot study investigates the lie production abilities of 84 undergraduate students from an Australian university. Student scores in a game of deception were compared with their scores on the 100-item version of the HEXACO-PI-R (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience), a measure of personality traits, to explore relationships between deception abilities and personality traits. Results indicate that fairness, sincerity, honesty-humility, sentimentality, social boldness and creativity were associated with lie production ability, while sociability and diligence were predictive of successful truth telling. Further research is required to validate these results in the law enforcement population. Notably, the findings did not support the existence of a relationship between lie production and lie detection ability, suggesting these are two separate skills.

Vitz, Paul C.; Faria, Amanda Aulbaugh

doi: 10.1007/s11896-020-09413-ypmid: N/A

This article summarizes psychological and social characteristics of mass or rampage school shooters. The sample of mostly teen-age males, N=20, wasrestricted to Americans whose shooting was at a secondary school, not college. Many negative characteristics of these or similar shooters already in theliterature were identified in our sample, e.g. obsession with violence, depression, family problems. Also, attention was paid to the possible presence ofpositive characteristics, such as having an active, important goal in sports, the media, professions, or an active participation in pro-social groups at school orin pro-social groups in the community. Not one example of such positive characteristics was found in the biographical material for any shooter in thesample. It was concluded that the absence of positive meaning is an important factor in the lives of school shooters; vaious possible positive responses tothis issue are briefly noted.

Brunel, Maite; Launay, Celine; Hermant, Morgan; Py, Jacques

doi: 10.1007/s11896-020-09416-9pmid: N/A

Since the 1980s, a large body of research has proven the superiority of enhanced or modified cognitive interviews over the standard interviews used by police officers around the world. Although the cognitive interview is well grounded in theory and has proven practical value, this tool is not always used by police officers. The objective of the present study was to measure the various dimensions of Nielsen’s 1993 acceptability model and thus understand what prevents police officers in France from using a modified cognitive interview. We recruited 23 police officers who had an average of ~ 20 years of police force experience, and trained them for at least two days in how to perform a modified cognitive interview. We measured the modified cognitive interview’s social acceptability, compatibility, and usability at different time points during the training. Our results showed that (i) a modified cognitive interview is social acceptable, (ii) environmental conditions and time constraints appears to be crucial facilitating or blocking factors, and (ii) the usability of the modified cognitive interview’s components is variable. These findings may be of value in improving police training.

Blaskovits, Brittany; Jenkins, Bryce; Brown, Andrew; Baldwin, Simon; Bennell, Craig

doi: 10.1007/s11896-021-09439-wpmid: N/A

People are known to offload memory processing tasks to devices, such as cameras. We examined whether body-worn cameras (BWCs) are used in this way by police officers. Fifty officers responded to a simulated domestic dispute that resulted in lethal force. Half the sample was provided a BWC and told their footage would be available to assist with post-event recall, but it was later feigned that there was a technological issue. The remaining officers were not equipped with a BWC and thus were aware they would not have any footage to rely on. The amount, accuracy, and type of details reported by officers were coded and subjected to analysis. The results revealed that wearing a camera did not promote cognitive offloading in officers, suggesting that the training officers receive, or other factors that might be unique to policing, may mitigate an effect that has been observed in other contexts.

de la Fontaine, Naama; Hahn, Hilary; Stover, Carla Smith; Marans, Steven

doi: 10.1007/s11896-021-09448-9pmid: N/A

Failure to immediately identify and support children exposed to violence (CEV) places them at great risk for traumatic dysregulation and long-term mental health difficulties. Police officers are in a unique position to identify and assist CEV in the immediate aftermath of exposure. Yet, law enforcement professionals do not typically receive training tailored towards effectively identifying and responding to the emotional needs of CEV. Protecting and Serving is a police training curriculum based on over two decades of successful mental health and law enforcement collaboration. The current study examined 152 police officers’ perceptions of, attitudes toward, and understanding of the training delivered at six police departments. Pre- and post-training surveys assessed the current state of practice and the effectiveness of the program presentation in three content areas: knowledge, practice, and attitude. McNemar’s test was used to evaluate pre- to post-change, chi-square analyses and one-way ANOVAs were used to assess variation associated with demographic variables, and qualitative analysis was conducted by two independent judges. Findings reflect strong officer motivation, coupled with specific gaps in knowledge and practices. Post-training results demonstrate significant gains in all three content areas. Findings underscore the need and potential utility for specialized training designed to better equip officers to respond effectively to CEV.

Biggs, Adam T.; Huffman, Gregory; Hamilton, Joseph; Javes, Ken; Markwald, Rachel

doi: 10.1007/s11896-021-09453-ypmid: N/A

Lethal force training incorporates a wide variety of methods to prepare an individual for a potential use of force encounter. Although many efforts aim to increase realism through stress, there is a critical aspect of lethal force training that does not often receive careful attention or intervention: target design. Realistic targets are essential to simulating a threat assessment that could prompt use of lethal force, making the targets themselves critical to training initiatives. Among various target types, there is a specialized variety known as “shock targets.” These variants have an intentionally complex or provocative design intended to challenge the shooter by making shoot/don’t shoot decisions particularly difficult. We explored the limitations of repeatedly using these targets. Experiment 1 compared two repeated target types among novel threats, including a clearly threatening individual (clear threat) and a seemingly approachable individual attempting to conceal a pointed weapon (shock target). Participants demonstrated robust learning effects for the shock target throughout the experiment. More importantly, the target lost most of its shock value by the third presentation, indicating a valuable but limited use for this target type. In experiment 2, we reduced contextual information to a simple drawpoint, and participants responded as quickly to the obscured threat as if it were clearly presented. These combined results indicate that target repetition is problematic for realistic threat assessments, and trainees will not benefit from repeated use of shock targets.

Keatley, David; O’Donnell, Chris; Chapman, Brendan; Clarke, David D.

doi: 10.1007/s11896-021-09457-8pmid: N/A

The majority of geographical profiling research focuses on the relationship between offender and location, which works particularly well when a burial site is known. In real-world investigations, however, burial or dump sites are often not known. The aim of the current paper is to outline a relatively under-used method of geographic profiling: Winthropping. While the method has been around for several decades, few studies have provided any research findings using it. There are two likely reasons for Winthropping being under-used: first, it has not been clearly, theoretically explained; second, given its relative novelty, it may not be immediately clear how to use it in research and real-world scenarios. The current paper outlines several key psychological (e.g., satisficing and affordances) and criminological (e.g., rational choice theory and crime geometry) theories that may explain why Winthropping works. Case studies are provided, and a methodological approach (matrix forecasting) is then provided to show how it could work in research practice and real-world applications. Overall, Winthropping is deemed to be highly useful, and it is hoped that experts in the field will begin developing this tool for wider, applied use.

Meterko, Vanessa; Cooper, Glinda

doi: 10.1007/s11896-020-09425-8pmid: N/A

Psychological heuristics are an adaptive part of human cognition, helping us operate efficiently in a world full of complex stimuli. However, these mental shortcuts also have the potential to undermine the search for truth in a criminal investigation. We reviewed 30 social science research papers on cognitive biases in criminal case evaluations (i.e., integrating and drawing conclusions based on the totality of the evidence in a criminal case), 18 of which were based on police participants or an examination of police documents. Only two of these police participant studies were done in the USA, with the remainder conducted in various European countries. The studies provide supporting evidence that lay people and law enforcement professionals alike are vulnerable to confirmation bias, and there are other environmental, individual, and case-specific factors that may exacerbate this risk. Six studies described or evaluated the efficacy of intervention strategies, with varying evidence of success. Further research, particularly in the USA, is needed to evaluate different approaches to protect criminal investigations from cognitive biases.

Lane, Jeanine; Le, Marina; Martin, Krystle; Bickle, Korri; Campbell, Erin; Ricciardelli, Rosemary

doi: 10.1007/s11896-021-09467-6pmid: N/A

Public safety personnel (PSP), including police officers, often work in high-stress environments that expose them to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE). As a result, PSP are at a higher risk than most other occupational roles for the development of new or worsening mental health concerns, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, general or social anxiety disorder, and substance use disorders (Carleton et al., Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 63(1):54–64, 2018; Haugen et al., Journal of Psychiatric Research 94:218–229, 2017; Velazquez and Hernandez, Policing: An International Journal 42(4):711–724, 2019). Given these higher rates, research examining how to support the mental health of individuals in these occupations and how to improve our understanding of mental health help-seeking beliefs is critical. Consequently, the overall objective of the current study was to examine predictors of help-seeking attitudes among a group of police officers, while accounting for the effects of gender, years of employment, type of training experience, and mental health status (i.e. presence of mental illness, perceived resilience) on mental health-related help-seeking behaviours. A total of 112 police officers in a mid-sized law enforcement organization in Ontario, Canada, completed an online survey as part of a larger study exploring their mental health. Results indicate that years of experience and mental health training may improve attitudes toward seeking help for mental health. Our discussion offers suggestions for law enforcement organizations to consider to encourage their members to seek help for mental health difficulties.