Chapter Summary

• The police have gone through a lengthy evolution to arrive at their current role and responsibilities within society. It is only very recently that Psychology has played any role in policing.
• One aspect of Psychology applied to policing is concerned with the police themselves and looks at, for example, who is attracted to police work, the impact of the police culture on new recruits and types of problems faced by the police.
• Another aspect of Psychology applied to policing is the use of psychological research to augment police work as, for example, with contributions to the recruitment and training of new police officers, and in stress management for serving officers.
• Psychological research into memory has been instrumental in assisting in the development of procedures for maximising the accuracy of eyewitness testimony and for interviewing witnesses and suspects.
• Some psychological techniques, such as hypnosis and offender profiling, have been a cause of some debate both professionally and operationally.

Reading List

Bull, R., Valentine, T., and Williamson, T. (Eds.) (2009). Handbook of psychology of investigative interviewing. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Canter, D., & Youngs, D. (2009). Investigative psychology: Offender profiling and the analysis of criminal action. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Conlon, G. (1990). Proved innocent. The story of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four. London: Hamish Hamilton.

Gudjonsson G. H. (2003). The psychology of interrogations and confessions: A handbook. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Hain, P. (1976). Mistaken identity: The wrong face of the law. London: Quartlet Books.

Kebbell, M. R., & Davies, G. M. (Eds.). (2006). Practical psychology for forensic investigations and prosecutions. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Kee, R. (1989). Trial and error. The true events surrounding the convictions and trials of the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven. London: Penguin.

Tong, S., Bryant, R. P., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2009). Understanding criminal investigation. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Vrij, A. (2008). Detecting lies and deceit: Pitfalls and opportunities (2nd ed.). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Weblinks

http://www.cps.gov.uk/index.html

http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/

International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL): www.interpol.int/public/children/sexualabuse/nationallaws/default.asp

Information about the work and responsibilities of the Crown Prosecution Service can be found at:http://www.cps.gov.uk/

Details of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) and the regulation of investigative interviews can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/powers/pace-codes/

The official website of the International League of Polygraph Examiners has a great deal of information about detecting lies and deceit: http://www.theilpe.com

The case against polygraph testing can be read at: http://www.antipolygraph.org/

The use of the internet to organise campaigns is seen in two sites, one British the other American, which campaign for those wrongfully convicted. INNOCENT is an independent English organisation, composed of families, friends and supporters of wrongly convicted prisoners, which campaigns for innocent people in prison in the UK. http://www.innocent.org.uk/

This American project aims to exonerate those people wrongfully convicted through DNA testing. http://www.innocenceproject.org/

The professional problems faced by Elizabeth Loftus in relation to her views on false memories and therapy can be found at:http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2339

Study Questions

Open Questions

Why do police officers have the nicknames 'bobbies' and 'peelers'?

Is it the case that the police force attracts a certain type of person or does the police culture change the values of recruits?

What may be the best way for police officers to manage occupational stress?

Is it the setting in which the interrogation takes place or the qualities of the suspect that produce false confessions?

What's the difference between a 'clinical' and a 'structured' or 'statistical' approach to offender profiling?