Crime Linkage ─ Theory, Research, and Practice

A sufficient body of psychological research has amassed in the area of behavioural consistency and the detection of serial offenders. A number of innovations are also taking place in the field which have important implications for the practice of crime linkage and its use by police and the courts. This collection represents a comprehensive and informative text on the psychological and criminological theories underpinning crime linkage, how it is used in practice, the challenges practitioners face, and current innovations which will shape the future of crime linkage research and practice.

Dr. Craig Bennell is a professor of psychology at Carleton University (Canada). He is also the director of the Police Research Lab and editor of the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. His primary research examines the reliability, validity, and usefulness of psychologically based investigative techniques, including methods used to link serial crimes. He also studies police decision making, especially in use of force encounters. He is a founding member of the Crime Linkage International Network (C-LINK), which intends to build academic-practitioner partnerships for the purpose of making crime linkage research more operationally relevant.

Dr. Jessica Woodhams is a forensic psychologist and a senior lecturer in forensic psychology at the University of Birmingham (UK). In 2013, she founded the Crime Linkage International NetworK, a global network of practitioner and academic experts in the field of crime linkage. Her PhD thesis focused on investigating juvenile sex offending and included a large section on crime linkage. She is regularly invited to speak at international conferences regarding crime linkage and sexual offending. Her expertise has been sought by organizations such as the Metropolitan Police Service and the Scottish Crown Office on matters pertaining to crime linkage and behavioral similarity.