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. The following information is taken from The Centre For Investigative Psychology.
Professor David Canter was Professor of Psychology at the University of Surrey for ten years, where he founded the MSc course in Investigative Psychology. He continues as Professor of Psychology at The University of Liverpool. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a member of its Forensic Division and a Chartered Forensic Psychologist. 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 Liverpool (UK):
Master of Science in Investigative Psychology:
The overall aims of the MSc in Investigative psychology course are to enable students to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience that will enable them to develop professional roles as investigative psychologists in law enforcement and similar agencies; and contribute to the growth of the discipline of investigative psychology through research, teaching and similar scholarly pursuits.
To achieve these aims the course provides the opportunity to gain relevant knowledge by providing the opportunity for students to gain a sound conceptual basis for the understanding of:
The available explanations of criminal behaviour.The varieties of criminal activities and approaches to their classification, including:
arson
burglary
fraud
homicide, single and serial
threat and extortion
rape
robbery
stalking
criminal violence
organised crime and drug networks
Approaches to the treatment and assessment of criminals.Psychological processes in investigative decision making.Procedures available for linking crimes to a common offender.The psychology of interviewing and approaches to training interviewers.Basic, relevant issues in the British legal system.Professional and ethical issues of relevance to Investigative Psychology.The history and critiques of 'offender profiling'.The processes of publication and dissemination of academic material.The nature and processes of police investigations.The procedures available for statement validation and detecting deception.The IT procedures drawn on from Crime Analysis.Approaches to inferring offender characteristics from crime information.Organisational psychology processes relevant to understanding police organisations and criminal networks.
Professor David Canter, is one of the key lecturers on the course and its Director. Dr Ian Donald convenes the methodology course, and Dr Graham Wagstaff the Investigative Actions theme. Other lecturers are drawn from the staff of the Psychology Department and other associated departments at Liverpool University, including the Faculty of Law and Department of Clinical Psychology.
Visiting lecturers from British and Overseas police forces and universities also contribute. A team of Post-Doctoral Fellows who are members of the Centre for Investigative Psychology, in which the course is based, also provide guidance and support.
Click on the following link to find out more about the six part documentary series starring Professor Canter which was first broadcast in 2002. The series provided new insights into some of the worst crimes on record by combining psychology with computer software.
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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Criminal Profiling Gift Range: The Criminal Profiler Collection
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