Robyn Lincoln

The Effect of Rapport in Forensic Interviewing

The psychological literature suggests that establishing rapport between interviewer and subject — whether in clinical, experimental or forensic settings — is likely to enhance the quality of the interaction. Yet there are surprisingly few studies that test this assumption. This article reports a study of the effect of rapport on eyewitness recall of a dramatic videotaped event by creating three interviewer-attitude conditions — “rapport”, “neutral” and “abrupt”. Participants were randomly assigned to the three conditions, and recall was elicited by two methods — free narrative and a semi-structured questionnaire. The results indicate participants in the rapport interview recalled more correct information, and the same amount of incorrect information as participants in the other two conditions. However, prompting via the semi-structured questionnaire yielded additional correct as well as incorrect information for the neutral and abrupt conditions. The results are discussed for their relevance to interviews conducted in forensic settings, and to highlight the need for more specific and improved interview training for police and other justice personnel.

Risk and Resilience: Crime and Violence Prevention in Aboriginal Communities

Developmental prevention involves the manipulation of multiple risk and protective factors early in developmental pathways that lead to offending, often at transition points between life phases. The emphasis is not just on individuals but also their social contexts. Risk and protective factors for crime and violence in Aboriginal communities include such standard factors as child abuse, school failure and supportive family environments, but additional factors arise from unique aspects of Aboriginal history, culture and social structure. This paper draws on existing literature, interviews with urban Aboriginal community workers, and data from the Sibling Study to delineate those interrelated risk factors (forced removals, dependence, institutionalised racism, cultural features and substance use) and the equally interrelated protective factors (cultural resilience, personal controls and family control measures). These are ‘meta factors’ that provide a lens through which the standard lists can be interpreted, and are a starting point for the understanding of indigenous developmental pathways.

Validity, utility and ethics of profiling for serial violent and sexual offenders

Despite its apparent popularity, criminal personality profiling has been poorly evaluated as either an investigative aid or a conceptual tool. This article documents some aspects of the development of offender profiling. Importantly, it identifies and differentiates the different styles of profiling and their distinct conceptual orientations. The literature is also reviewed to extract what conclusions can be drawn with respect to the validity, utility and ethics of offender profiles in criminal investigations and what this may mean for psychiatry, psychology and the law in general.

Toward a Cross-Cultural Theory of Aboriginal Crime: a Comparative Study of the Problem of Aboriginal Overrepresentation in the Criminal Justice Systems of Canada and Australia

This article provides a theoretical starting point for the development of a more encompassing cross-cultural theory of aboriginal crime. The authors contend that any attempt to develop such a theory has to proceed on three fronts: (a) through offering a cross-cultural explanation of the problem of aboriginal overrepresentation; (b) through undertaking comparative research aimed at accounting for aboriginal offending patterns that often lie outside the official picture of overrepresentation; and (c) through developing a primarily societal-based (as opposed to individualist) cross-cultural theory of aboriginal criminality that is able to account for identified cross-national patterns of aboriginal overrepresentation and aboriginal offending. As a takeoff point for this series of interconnected and overlapping comparative research efforts, the authors undertake an examination of the state of research and theory about the causes of aboriginal overrepresentation in the criminal justice systems of Canada and Australia. In order to explain the similar patterns of overrepresentation found among aboriginal peoples in Canada, Australia, and other countries, the authors identify and synthesize a number of different cross-cultural theories of crime recently developed by comparative criminologists that can be used in working toward the development of a more encompassing cross-cultural theory of aboriginal crime.

The Probity of Profiling: Opinions of Australian Lawyers on the Utility of Criminal Profiling in Court

Criminal profiling and its investigative utility for policing have been examined at some length despite there being only an embryonic body of robust empirical research. The use of profiling knowledge in assisting the curial process in Australian courts, however, has had much less attention, although a few academics and legal commentators have debated its probative value. At present, profiling evidence is generally not accepted in this country, although some limited aspects have been introduced into court settings. Yet no empirical work has investigated the opinions of lawyers regarding its probative versus prejudicial nature. This preliminary study of lawyers in two states suggests that barristers and solicitors possess little knowledge about profiling; maintain that profiling is not accurate or valid and is of little value in adjudications; and subscribe to the view that the discipline of psychology is the most likely area of expertise to proffer profiling opinions. The following issues are considered: the need for greater training within the legal profession; the elements of profiling processes that might yield utility; and the necessity for further development of the field to generate the greater confidence that will be required if it is ever to be widely accepted in Australian courtrooms.

Citizen surveil-labour: Analysing Crime Stoppers and its alliance of police, media, and publics

An examination of a Crime Stoppers initiative – a weekly page published in a major city-based tabloid newspaper – afforded a rare glimpse into this understudied global entity. It also offered a means of reflecting on the co-option of CCTV images; partnerships between police, media organisations, and diverse publics; and the harnessing of citizen labour in a culture of surveillance. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on the images, accompanying texts, and rhetoric of this feature page for a two-year period. From a media criminology perspective, the portrayals underscore the abrogation of the presumption of innocence, a focus on mundane property offences, with the potential to exacerbate fear of crime and to engender more punitive public attitudes. From a conceptual frame, this article proffers the notion of surveil-labour where the repurposing of CCTV data in the context of a Crime Stoppers scheme reinforces an alliance of police, media, and the public to enhance an infrastructure of informing.

Reciprocity and exchange: Perspectives of male victims of family violence

Abstract Those interested in understanding personal and family violence will quickly identify the topic as highly politicized and controversial, particularly in the context of gender. Domestic violence tends to be conceptualized as a gendered crime—one that is mainly perpetrated against women and, to a lesser extent, children. This notion ignores research that women perpetrate violence against partners and children at similar rates to men. This chapter explores the gender debate and the biases and stereotypes that work against male victims of partner violence. In particular, it presents analyses of a set of narratives from the perspective of male victims. An understanding of the dynamic and interactive nature of family violence and its sociopolitical influences can reveal why men so often fail to report partner violence. Only when such aggression is conceptualized as a family issue rather than a gendered one will we adequately address the needs of those affected by it.

Changing policing theories for twenty-first-century societies

and what it has to offer from a multi-disciplinary point of view. Not only is it intuitive, but also it is based on empirical studies carried out by the authors and provides a holistic view to the cognitive and behavioral manifestations that constitute stalking. Following this taxonomy, the authors go on to review a number of ‘special’ groups, including juvenile stalkers, female stalkers, the stalking of clinicians, and in the samegender stalking chapter, a comparison is made of sameand opposite-gender stalkers. This is another useful addition as it provides some point of reference through which to identify differences in stalker types. All sections are again augmented with numerous case examples throughout. With the advent of social media and Internet-enabled devices, it would be remiss in any work of this type to neglect cyber stalking, and the authors dedicate a chapter, albeit short, to this topic. Here, cyber stalking is defined, some common behaviors are listed, and laws, prevalence, and victim and offender information are presented. If there is one critique of this work, it is that this chapter should be expanded, especially given the increase and popularity of social networking on other online activities. It may even be true that online stalking is as, if not, more prevalent than its terrestrial counterpart. The last chapters of the book are dedicated to assessing and managing risk, therapeutic approaches to intervention, reducing the impact of stalking, and prosecuting the stalker. This combination of topics elevates the book to perhaps one of the most useful among those available on the subject. Whilst the book adheres to principles of good academic writing and employs a strong research base, the overall style is highly accessible to individuals from a variety of backgrounds, from university students looking for assignment stock, through to clinicians, intervention professionals, and law enforcement personnel. It is suggested also that this broad base would reflect suitable audiences. Going one step further, this book would also be of some value to the lay audience, particularly if they are being stalked. This is especially true as insight into the problem, from both that of the offender and victim, is a key to managing or stopping this particular type of harassment. This new edition is an must read for any group involved in the investigation, management, or intervention of stalking, with either the stalkers themselves, or with victims or victim groups. It represents a significant update on the previous edition, and as the entire work is written by a single group rather than a collection of invited authors, it is more cohesive in its presentation than much of its competition. As a final note, Stalkers and their Victims is set at a price point which makes it financially viable for most, if not all, interested parties.

No-one Knows You're a Dog on the Internet: Implications for Proactive Police Investigation of Sexual Offenders

There is a body of literature dealing with the increased capacity for deception in online environments. This corpus of academic work has relevance for the widespread public concern about the anonymity of the Internet with respect to children who may be contacted by sex offenders. The present paper reports findings from a deception condition study where pairs of subjects engaged in computer-mediated interaction and were asked to evaluate the age and sex of their interlocutors. They were generally successful at this and tended to base their decisions on the content of the conversation. It demonstrates that individuals, despite the anonymity theoretically offered by the Internet, can discern the age and sex of those they are conversing with online, which has implications for police training and practice when engaged in online covert operations.

Book Reviews : FACES OF HATE: HATE CRIME IN AUSTRALIA Chris Cunneen, David Fraser and Stephen Tomsen (eds) Sydney, Hawkins Press, 1997, v, 250 pp.,

ture despite the paucity of such studies. Heilpern suggests that the ’causal factors’ are power issues, overcrowding and the violent backgrounds of perpetrators. He proposes a number of reforms to alleviate such exploitation that range from educative programs, eliminating doubling-up in cells, through to better management of protective custody, and harm reduction measures addressed at transmission of disease. The book does suffer from some repetition that could have been alleviated by judicious editing, and there are inconsistencies in the treatment of the material. Key findings, for example, are presented at the end of only two chapters and this is a device