Interviewing and Deception

by David Canter (editor), Laurence Alison (Editor)

First published in 1999, this volume brings together a unique range of previously unpublished studies that explore the psychological processes involved in interviewing, statement validation, detecting deception and the use of expert witnesses for the examination of such processes.

One major challenge of any police enquiry is to filter out the distortions in the collection, collation and employment of the information on which all subsequent actions rely. These distortions may be produced by poor witness recall, deliberate obfuscation and deception, professional negligence or as a product of a variety of communication problems. The contributors to the volume tackle these and many related issues.

Recent developments in our understanding of the investigative interview process are covered in a number of insightful studies by leading researchers, combining academic rigour with direct practical relevance.

The wide range of topics covered in this volume will be of value and interest to all students of crime and its investigation as well as those who have a broader interest in interviewing and the assessment of information from naturally occurring accounts. Social scientists and those psychologists concerned to develop their understanding of accounts of crime will find the volume of particular utility, as will all those in law enforcement who wish to see an improvement in these crucial aspects of all criminal investigations.

244 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Professor of Psychology, university of Huddersfield.

David Victor Canter (born 5 January 1944) is a psychologist. He began his career as an architectural psychologist studying the interactions between people and buildings, publishing and providing consultancy on the designs of offices, schools, prisons, housing and other building forms as well as exploring how people made sense of the large scale environment, notably cities. He set up the Journal of Environmental Psychology in 1980. His work in architecture led to studies of human reactions in fires and other emergencies. He pioneered Investigative Psychology in Britain. He helped police in 1985 on the Railway Rapist case. He was the Professor of Psychology at the University of Surrey for ten years, where he developed Investigative Psychology described in detail in Investigative Psychology: Offender Profiling and the Analysis of Criminal Action and a course curriculum. He was Director of the Centre For Investigative Psychology which is based at the University of Liverpool. Since 2009 he has been at the University of Huddersfield. At Liverpool University Canter developed the MSc programme in Investigative Psychology which he directed until 2007. He no longer directs this programme which has consequently changed to reflect the wider arena of Forensic Psychology and a more balanced view of the field. He is the founder and director of the International Academy for Investigative Psychology, a professional academy for researchers seeking to apply social science to investigative and legal processes.

Reviews

[Jane Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a general overview of the topic.