The aim of this page is to showcase the work of Professor David Canter. In doing so readers will be introduced to the concept of investigative psychology.
David Canter was Professor of Psychology at the University of Surrey for ten years, where he founded the MSc course in Investigative Psychology; he is now the director of The International Research Centre for Investigative Psychology at the University of Huddersfield (UK).
He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a member of its Forensic Division, a Chartered Forensic Psychologist and the President of the International Academy of Investigative Psychology. In addition, he is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a Member of the Forensic Science Society. He has published 20 books and over 150 papers in learned professional journals, and lectured around the world on various aspects of scientific psychology. His book, 'Criminal Shadows', won the Golden Dagger Award for crime non-fiction and its US equivalent, an Anthony Award.
Professor David Canter has given evidence to a number of major government enquiries and to a House of Commons select committee, including unchallenged evidence to the enquiry into the Kings Cross underground fire concerning whether the fire was accidental or malicious, and given evidence to the Appeal Courts in Belfast and in a murder trial at the Old Bailey. He has also given advice in response to requests from over 150 police investigations world wide.
His main area of expertise is the systematic analysis of human behaviour in order to identify the dominant trends within it. This has also involved a number of studies of the inferences about the probable characteristics of an offender that may validly be derived from the consideration of the ways in which he commits a crime. This has included a detailed study of the behaviour of many criminals and the analysis of spoken and written material to indicate its origins and links to other questioned material.
Professor David Canter has recently been elected an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences; this recognises his important and seminal contributions to the social sciences.
Investigative Psychology
Professor David Canter coined the term Investigative Psychology in discussion with Detective Constable Rupert Heritage, in early 1990 at the University of Surrey. It grew out of the recognition that there were many ways in which psychology could contribute to criminal and other investigations. The earliest studies in this area focused upon sexual assault (Canter & Heritage, 1990).
In deliberating on these matters it became clear to David Canter that a new field of applied psychology was emerging. This field posed many challenges to conventional research methodology demanding a special approach able to cope with the muddiness and patchiness of its central data. Canter's very significant contribution to this activity lies in the wisdom of involving those who work with the problems at the 'coal face' in the academic questions.
Whilst early studies tended to focus on what the offender did, increasingly it has become apparent that attention to what the police do is also of great academic and practical interest. Thus, increased attention has, in recent years, begun to explore the significance of decision making, problem solving and interviewing alongside exploring the psychological significance of how offenders operate.
Studying Investigative Psychology
The University of Huddersfield (UK):
MSc Investigative Psychology:
An intensive 1 year Masters course, developed from the original Investigative Psychology MSc, the unique, internationally-renowned course set up by Professor David Canter. Investigative Psychology (IP) is the systematic science that developed out of early ‘offender profiling’ contributions by psychologists and the F.B.I to police investigations and court cases.
Graduates of this course work in diverse legal and forensic contexts typically progressing rapidly to senior levels as Crime and Intelligence Analysts, Behavioural Investigative Advisors, Forensic Lecturers, Applied Researchers or within commercial organisations or Government agencies such as the National Policing Improvement Agency. In these important positions, graduates of this course are now advancing the application of IP to forensic and investigative practice around the world.
The course is being submitted for IA-IP accreditation, ESRC research methodology recognition and BPS forensic accreditation.
Opportunities for PhD study under the supervision of world-authority Professor David Canter and his long-standing colleague Dr Donna Youngs. These researchers run a structured, formal PhD activity, with group workshops and master classes as well as focused individual supervisions.
Candidates accepted on to the IRCIP Doctoral program are assigned to teams under one of the themes within the Canter & Youngs research program:
1. Modelling Sexual and Violent Crime (including Domestic Violence & stalking)2. Geographical Offender Profiling of property and violent crime3. Criminal's Narratives, action patterns and offending experiences4. Psychological Pathways to Terrorism and Radicalisation5. Investigative Psycholinguistics of threat, extortion and fraud
During their PhD, all successful applicants are encouraged to participate in the activities of the centre as well as the Academy (IA-IP). Publication and collaborative projects are also encouraged. Some opportunities for part time work may be available within IRCIP. International applicants and experienced practitioner applicants are particularly welcomed.
David Canter leads us through the labyrinthine psyches of serial killers, rapists and other violent criminals exploring the twisted logic of those whose crimes have shocked the world. He takes us on the murderer's journeys in both the psychological and geographical sense. From Jack The Ripper and Jill Dando to Fred West's constructed 'spiders web' to lure and then kill victims, Canter lifts the lid on geographical profiling, explaining how this new approach to solving crimes is changing both the way police think and work, and our understanding of the criminal mind.
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