3. Defining and Measuring Crime

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about how crime can be defined and measured. We begin by exploring how conceptions of criminality may vary between different legal systems or social groups and think about some of the issues this creates for defining crime. We then look at different ways of measuring crime and their inherent challenges, focusing in particular on official records, victim surveys and offender self-reports.

Course

In this course, Professor David Canter (University of Liverpool) provides an introduction to the field of forensic psychology and some of the most important practices and areas of research associated with it.

We begin, in module one, with a definition of forensic psychology as a discipline that applies psychological insights to legal processes and the criminal justice system. In module two, we consider the different ways in which psychologists have theorised the causes of crime before moving on, in module three, to a discussion of how crime can be defined and measured. Next, we think about offender profiling and how this practice gradually developed into the broader area of investigative psychology. In module six, we take a closer look at the field of investigative psychology and how it can contribute to police investigations. We then focus on two specific aspects of investigative psychology in modules seven and eight: geographical offender profiling and investigative interviewing. Finally, in module nine, we explore a specific method for modelling serial murder, known as the ‘radex model’ of serial killers.

To find out more about forensic psychology and David Canter’s work visit www.davidcanter.com.

Lecturer

Although internationally known for introducing scientific psychology into ‘offender profiling’ and developing the field of Investigative Psychology beyond those origins, Prof. David Canter has a wide range of interests including his continuing work in Environmental Psychology.