Gareth Norris

Crime and Criminal Justice

Part 1: Exploring and Explaining Crime 1. Introduction - Crime: The Historical Context 2. Biological Explanations for Criminal Behaviour 3. Psychological Explanations for Criminal Behaviour 4. Sociological Explanations for Criminal Behaviour 5. Explaining the Criminal Behaviour of Women 6. Explaining the Criminal Behaviour of Ethnic Minorities Part 2: Exploring and Explaining Criminal Justice 7. Why Punish? Philosophies of Punishment 8. Theories of Punishment 9. The History of Crime and Justice 10. Victimology 11. Police and Policing 12. The Courts, Sentencing and the judiciary 13. Prisons and Imprisonment

An Examination of Content Preference in Offender Profiles

This study examined preferences for the content of offender profiles between two different groups of participants to assess the importance of presentation style and linguistic emphasis. The sample consisted of 70 undergraduate psychology students and 30 serving police officers who were each presented with a case study and three profiles constructed to represent three stylistically different representations of the offender. The accompanying questionnaire indicated significant differences in the profile selection between police officers and students, and also, more important, some disparity in the way these preferences are articulated and justified. Detailed analysis of results and suggestions for future research are also included.

The influence of vehicle model and colour on assessments of speed and culpability: the case for (and against) Computer Generated Exhibits (CGE)

Computer Generated Exhibits (CGE) are frequently deployed in legal contexts under the rubric of demonstrative evidence, i.e. to facilitate juror comprehension. However, a number of legal and academic commentators have suggested that the nature of the computerised moving image could exert undue prejudice on decision makers, e.g. judge and/or jury. The current study aimed to assess the manipulation of vehicle characteristics (make and colour) when a road traffic accident was presented in the format of a computer generated animation (CGA). In experiment 1, two groups of subjects watched two different makes of car, a Range Rover Sport and a Volkswagen Touran in a black-and-white format; no significant differences emerged over vehicle model with regards to vehicle speed or overall responsibility for the accident. Experiment 2 presented the same vehicles to four groups of participants in full colour, with the cars in contrasting red or beige; significant differences emerged with regards to culpability for vehicle make only. The findings could have implications for the format and style of CGE used in legal settings.

The Influence of Angle of View on Perceptions of Culpability and Vehicle Speed for a Computer-Generated Animation of a Road Traffic Accident

Some early research examining the use of computer-generated animation (CGA) in legal settings [e.g., Kassin, S., & Dunn, M.A. (1997). Computer-animated displays and the jury: facilitative and prejudicial effects. Law and Human Behaviour, 21, 269–281] has suggested that whilst this type of evidence can be beneficial, it can also exhibit a strong prejudicial effect upon estimations of plausibility and accuracy. To address these problems, Feigenson and Dunn propose a number of key areas for further exploration and this experiment examined the extent to which a different angle of view can affect peoples perceptions of culpability [Feigenson, N., & Dunn, M.A. (2003). New visual technologies in court: directions for research. Law and Human Behaviour, 27, 109–126]. Results indicated that, when viewing an animated sequence depicting a two-vehicle automobile collision, the three viewpoints presented (overhead, facing and internal) had a significant impact upon these judgements. No differences were found for estimations of vehicle speed. The results suggest that caution should be taken when presenting such evidence in court to address the potential for CGA to bias judgements depending upon the angle of view presented.

Validation of the Ceredigion Youth Screening Tool

Evidence suggests that only a small minority of youth offenders will continue their behaviour in the longer term and largely independent of any interventions they may receive (Bateman, 2011; Haines & Case, 2015). Hence, “screening out” this larger low-risk cohort could have a positive impact upon the individual through a reduction in stigmatisation/labelling and free up resources for higher risk clients. This article outlines development of the Ceredigion Youth Screening Tool (CYSTEM)—developed and tested to address the two facets of criminality and vulnerability—closely aligned to the eight key risk indicators identified in the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (R-N-R) literature (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). Initial results with two cohorts of 372 young people indicate good convergent and discriminative validity in screening out the lowest level referrals, while also identifying 90% of potential future offenders. More importantly, CYSTEM is able to screen out approximately 35% of the low-risk offenders that are unlikely to require formal evaluation and/or intervention. It is suggested that the streamlining of this process using CYSTEM reduces demand on staff time and decreases the stigmatisation of young people referred for minor offences. Potential improvements to the tool and future developments in statistical risk prediction are also discussed.

Risk Assessment in Youth Justice: A Child-Centered Approach to Managing Interventions

Abstract Risk assessment in the criminal justice system is a complex and dynamic concept that covers a wide range of behaviors and situations, for example, dangerousness. In addition, it also aims to predict outcomes for a number of different potential outcomes and scenarios, such as reoffending. Not surprisingly, even the most valid and reliable instrument has to balance the competing elements of sensitivity against specificity. While risk assessment inventories have largely demonstrated increased efficiency in guiding practitioner decision making, the problems with being able to accurately limit the false-positive/-negative nexus have particularly stark implications for practice in youth justice settings. Evidence from many recent international studies suggests that for the majority of young people referred to youth services a “light touch” approach is the most suitable approach and that these individuals should be seen as potential suffering further harm if embroiled within formal sanctions. Interventions such as restorative approaches in schools have demonstrated a more practical and pragmatic approach to dealing with problematic behaviors in youth cohorts.

Judgement heuristics and bias in evidence interpretation: The effects of computer generated exhibits

The increasing use of multi-media applications, trial presentation software and computer generated exhibits (CGE) has raised questions as to the potential impact of the use of presentation technology on juror decision making. A significant amount of the commentary on the manner in which CGE exerts legal influence is largely anecdotal; empirical examinations too are often devoid of established theoretical rationalisations. This paper will examine a range of established judgement heuristics (for example, the attribution error, representativeness, simulation), in order to establish their appropriate application for comprehending legal decisions. Analysis of both past cases and empirical studies will highlight the potential for heuristics and biases to be restricted or confounded by the use of CGE. The paper will conclude with some wider discussion on admissibility, access to justice, and emerging issues in the use of multi-media in court.

Order Effects in Animated Sequences of Computer-Generated Evidence (CGE)

Order effects have been experimentally demonstrated to exert influence on judgements, dependent upon where the most salient pieces of information are presented in the sequence, either first (primacy) or last (recency). In a legal context, it has been recognized that this can have a major impact upon the assessment and relative importance jurors place upon pieces of evidence and testimony. Computer-generated evidence (CGE) is frequently used in courts as a technique with which to demonstrate complex sequences of events and/or collate various discrete pieces of evidence into a more coherent account. One of the advantages of CGE is that it allows a number of different viewpoints to be examined in a way which is often not possible with still images. However, research has indicated that these viewpoints may produce disparate judgements themselves. Subsequently, where multiple views are presented, using CGE may present order effects within the animated sequence itself. The current study examines the primacy–recency phenomena in relation to a road traffic accident depicted using three different viewpoints. Results indicate that some order effects exist, but that they are far from uniform. The legal implications are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

Criminal Profiling : A Continuing History

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the history of criminal profiling. The early explorations into the criminal mind by forensic practitioners, such as James Brussel, paved the way for the agents from the FBI to develop the principles into a more structured and systematized approach to classifying criminals and identifying their likely attributes. The work of David Canter has refined the early explorations into a rigorous and comprehensive methodology that has been applied to many different crime types and situations. Canter has been a strong proponent of the importance of time and space, and these ideas resonate in the work on geographical profiling by Kim Rossmo. It is found that although the work of Brent Turvey somewhat distances itself from these methods, it was born of the concern that the generalizations on which they are based may be the result of inaccurate data, and it provides a healthy warning on the nature of being too complacent in the profiling process. It is observed that the term profiling has been extended into other areas of the legal system, and has become increasingly linked with the notions of jury and racial profiling.