Overview of Investigative Psychology

Professor David Canter coined the term Investigative Psychology in discussion with Detective Constable Rupert Heritage, sometime in early 1990 at the University of Surrey, UK. It grew out of the recognition that there were many ways in which psychology could contribute to criminal and other investigations.

While some areas of the research such as the detection of deception and the evaluation of eyewitness testimony have a much longer history and rather different development, Investigative Psychology as a coherent discipline is surprisingly young.

The earliest studies in this area focused upon sexual assault (Canter & Heritage, 1990) and geographical offender profiling partly as a response to David and Rupert’s collaboration on the now frequently cited “Railway Rapist” case (see Canter, 1994 for a detailed discussion of the nature of this collaboration) although very soon all forms of criminality were being considered by Investigative Psychologists. The spirit of co-operation between practitioner and academic remains as crucial, if not more so, today, over a decade later but the field has grown very significantly since those early studies.

In deliberating on these matters it became clear 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. Investigative Psychology would also involve 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 police decision making, problem solving, evaluating legal testimony and investigative interviewing alongside exploring the psychological significance of how offenders operate.

For Canter, Investigative Psychology goes beyond a concern with the contributions that psychologists can make to investigations and the legal process, to encapsulate an overall approach to, philosophy and methodology for psychological research.

He distinguishes between this “investigatory” approach to research and “applied” research, arguing that applied research is defined in terms of the issues of interest to the psychologist and then attempts are made to apply the findings to a given real world problem or context afterwards.

By contrast, within an “Investigatory” approach, the research questions are defined by the real world problem, in terms relevant to that particular context, so that the research findings integrate seamlessly and immediately with the problem, offering direct solutions.

Aspects of this investigatory approach to psychological research are explored in Canter, D. (2000) Seven Assumptions for an Investigative Environmental Psychology. In S. Wapner, J.Dmick, T. Yamamoto & H Minami (Eds) Theoretical Perspectives in Environmental Behaviour Research: Underlying assumptions, research problems and methodologies. New York: Plenum pp 191-206. And Youngs, D. (Ed.) (2008). The Behavioural Analysis of Crime: New Directions in Offender Profiling. A Festschrift in Honour of David Canter; Ashgate Publishing: Aldershot, England.

Overview of the FBI Behavioural Science Unit

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) moved the National Training Academy from Washington DC to Quantico in 1972 and named it the Behavioural Science Unit in response to a rising number of sexual assaults and homicides. From the mid 1970’s Special Agents John E. Douglas and Robert Ressler began to compile a centralized database on serial offenders. These agents set out to gather information from serial rapists and killers on their motives, planning, details of their crimes, and how they disposed of evidence. They travelled around America and interviewed 36 serial offenders in depth.

Ressler and Douglas created the terms ‘Organised’ and ‘Disorganised’ to categorise violent serial criminals. They outlined a range of characteristics of those who carried out each crime type were likely to possess.

They suggested the crime scene of Organised offender’s showed obvious signs of planning; weapons taken to scene; control used at crime scene; targeted attacks; little evidence left behind. They suggested that these individuals are likely to be intelligent (possibly an under achiever); socially skilled; sexually competent; living with a partner. They are likely to have a mask of normality hiding antisocial or psychopathic personality. The Organised offender is possibly experiencing a great deal of anger at time of killing and suffering depression. They are also likely to follow news reports of the crime and leave the area following the attack.

In contrast, the Disorganised offender showed little or no preparation; showed random unplanned disorganised behaviour; used whatever was on hand as a weapon; left the weapon at the crime scene; little attempt to conceal evidence. These individuals are likely to live alone; live near crime scene; socially and sexually incompetent; low intelligence; sever mental illness; likely to have suffered physical or sexual abuse at a young age; frightened or confused when crime committed.

Ressler is credited with coining the term “serial killer” in the year 1974. This came about when Ressler heard an officer describing crimes occurring as a series. Ressler recalled that the movie industry referred to short films on a particular subject as ‘serial adventures’. These series of films never had a satisfactory conclusion and always ended on a cliff-hanger and built tension.  Just as these films built tension, each crime in an offender’s series increased the criminal’s tensions and never satisfied the criminals fantasies.

In 1984, the Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) also created the Behavioural Science Investigative Support Unit (BCISU). The BSU is responsible for training cadets in behavioural science while the BSISU is responsible for in-field investigation and consultations. This was later replaced by The National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) and continues to give investigative and operational support, in regards to research and training, to federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies which are conducting investigations of unusual or repetitive violent crimes, terrorism, and other serious crimes.

The Behavioural Science Unit remains a part of the FBI Academy under the official name of Behavioural Research and Instruction Unit.