Bound academic journals and red-tabbed index cards on a dark library table under one lamp.
Sources

Every source, and what it supports

This is the allow-list. A fact appears on this site only if one of these says it. Studies link by DOI. Under each is the specific finding we use it for, so you can check us.

  1. Alison, L. J., Smith, M. D., Eastman, O., & Rainbow, L. (2003). Toulmin's philosophy of argument and its relevance to offender profiling. Psychology, Crime & Law, 9(2), 173–183. doi.org/10.1080/1068316031000116265

    Used for 21 profiles used in real investigations; nearly 4,000 claims; nearly 80% unsubstantiated; under 31% falsifiable. The profile and the common

  2. Amnesty International & Afrewatch. (2016). "This is what we die for": Human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo power the global trade in cobalt (AFR 62/3183/2016). Amnesty International. www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr62/3183/2016/en/

    Used for Cobalt for lithium-ion batteries traced from DRC mines where children as young as seven worked in dangerous conditions; the DRC produces at least half the world's cobalt; UNICEF estimated about 40,000 children worked in mines in southern DRC in 2014.

  3. Appellant's submissions, PGA v The Queen, No. A15 of 2011 (High Court of Australia, 2011). www.hcourt.gov.au/sites/default/files/assets/cases/a15-2011/PGA_App.pdf

    Used for Dates each immunity ended by statute: NSW 14 July 1981; Victoria 22 January 1986; Western Australia 1 April 1986; Tasmania 26 November 1987; Queensland 3 July 1989.

  4. Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193–209. doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3

    Used for Moral self-sanctions can be switched off by a set of mechanisms (moral justification, euphemistic labelling, advantageous comparison, displacement and diffusion of responsibility, disregarding or distorting consequences, dehumanisation, attribution of blame); the same mechanisms run in everyday conduct and in atrocities.

  5. Boccaccini, M. T., Turner, D. B., & Murrie, D. C. (2008). Do some evaluators report consistently higher or lower PCL-R scores than others? Findings from a statewide sample of sexually violent predator evaluations. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 14(4), 262–283. doi.org/10.1037/a0014523

    Used for 321 offenders, 20 evaluators; over 30% of score variance came from which evaluator scored; two prolific evaluators differed by almost 10 points on average; agreement ICC .47. Forty points

  6. Book, A., Costello, K., & Camilleri, J. A. (2013). Psychopathy and victim selection: The use of gait as a cue to vulnerability. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(11), 2368–2383. doi.org/10.1177/0886260512475315

    Used for 47 maximum-security inmates in Ontario; higher PCL-R Factor 1 related to more accurate vulnerability judgements from gait, and to naming gait as the reason. The walk

  7. Caspar, E. A., Christensen, J. F., Cleeremans, A., & Haggard, P. (2016). Coercion changes the sense of agency in the human brain. Current Biology, 26(5), 585–592. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.067

    Used for People who hurt another person (small shocks, money taken) on an experimenter's order showed less intentional binding and smaller brain responses to the outcome than when they chose freely: under orders the brain treats the act more like a passive movement.

  8. Caspar, E. A., Ioumpa, K., Keysers, C., & Gazzola, V. (2020). Obeying orders reduces vicarious brain activation towards victims' pain. NeuroImage, 222, Article 117251. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117251

    Used for fMRI: when ordered to shock someone, people rated the same shock as less painful, felt less responsible, and showed less activity in pain-empathy regions (anterior cingulate, insula) and in a neural guilt signature.

  9. Cleckley, H. (1941). The mask of sanity: An attempt to reinterpret the so-called psychopathic personality. Mosby.

    Used for The clinical portrait psychopathy research starts from. Forty points

  10. Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588–608. doi.org/10.2307/2094589

    Used for Crime needs a likely offender, a suitable target and the absence of a capable guardian meeting in time and space; rising US crime after 1960 tracked activity moving away from the household. The long approach, The walk, Cold and hot

  11. Coid, J., Yang, M., Ullrich, S., Roberts, A., & Hare, R. D. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits in the household population of Great Britain. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32(2), 65–73. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.01.002

    Used for 638 adults in British households scored on the PCL:SV; weighted prevalence 0.6% at a cut score of 13. The low end of the range given on the front page.

  12. Craven, S., Brown, S., & Gilchrist, E. (2006). Sexual grooming of children: Review of literature and theoretical considerations. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 12(3), 287–299. doi.org/10.1080/13552600601069414

    Used for Three types of grooming: self-grooming, grooming the environment and significant others, grooming the child; the term is poorly defined. The long approach

  13. Darley, J. M., & Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 377–383. doi.org/10.1037/h0025589

    Used for Students who believed they alone heard another student having a seizure were far more likely to help, and faster, than those who believed four others also heard it (85% versus 31% before the end of the seizure).

  14. DeMatteo, D., Hart, S. D., Heilbrun, K., Boccaccini, M. T., Cunningham, M. D., Douglas, K. S., Dvoskin, J. A., Edens, J. F., Guy, L. S., Murrie, D. C., Otto, R. K., Packer, I. K., & Reidy, T. J. (2020). Statement of concerned experts on the use of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised in capital sentencing to assess risk for institutional violence. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(2), 133–144. doi.org/10.1037/law0000223

    Used for Experts, including the PCL-R's own researchers, state it should not be used in capital sentencing to argue risk of violence in prison. Forty points

  15. DePaulo, B. M., Kashy, D. A., Kirkendol, S. E., Wyer, M. M., & Epstein, J. A. (1996). Lying in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5), 979–995. doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.5.979

    Used for Diary studies: college students told about two lies a day, community members about one.

  16. Dror, I. E., Charlton, D., & Péron, A. E. (2006). Contextual information renders experts vulnerable to making erroneous identifications. Forensic Science International, 156(1), 74–78. doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2005.10.017

    Used for Five experienced examiners shown prints they had each matched before, now framed as the Mayfield prints; four of five no longer reported a match. The print on the bag

  17. Elliott, M., Browne, K., & Kilcoyne, J. (1995). Child sexual abuse prevention: What offenders tell us. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(5), 579–594. doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(95)00017-3

    Used for 91 offenders interviewed; access through caretaking such as babysitting; bribes, gifts and games; gradual desensitisation through touch and talk; nearly half had no bad feelings about it. The long approach

  18. Farrell, G., & Pease, K. (1993). Once bitten, twice bitten: Repeat victimisation and its implications for crime prevention (Crime Prevention Unit Series Paper No. 46). Home Office.

    Used for Victimisation concentrates: being victimised predicts being victimised again, soon; prevention can follow the victim. The walk

  19. Findley, K. A., & Scott, M. S. (2006). The multiple dimensions of tunnel vision in criminal cases. Wisconsin Law Review, 2006(2), 291–397.

    Used for Tunnel vision as a product of ordinary cognition, institutional pressure and incentives, not individual malice. The print on the bag, The profile and the common

  20. Grayson, B., & Stein, M. I. (1981). Attracting assault: Victims' nonverbal cues. Journal of Communication, 31(1), 68–75. doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1981.tb01206.x

    Used for More than 60 pedestrians videotaped in a high-assault area of New York; 53 inmates convicted of assaults on strangers rated them; movement that looked less whole and organised was rated more assailable. The walk

  21. Hare, R. D. (1980). A research scale for the assessment of psychopathy in criminal populations. Personality and Individual Differences, 1(2), 111–119. doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(80)90028-8

    Used for The research checklist that became the PCL-R. Forty points

  22. Hare, R. D. (2003). Manual for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (2nd ed.). Multi-Health Systems.

    Used for 20 items, each scored 0, 1 or 2 from interview and file review; total 0–40. Forty points

  23. Harris, L. T., & Fiske, S. T. (2006). Dehumanizing the lowest of the low: Neuroimaging responses to extreme out-groups. Psychological Science, 17(10), 847–853. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01793.x

    Used for The medial prefrontal cortex, active when we think about people, responded to photos of most social groups but not to the most despised (homeless people, drug addicts), which drew a disgust pattern instead. Small sample.

  24. International Labour Organization, Walk Free, & International Organization for Migration. (2022). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage. International Labour Office. www.ilo.org/publications/global-estimates-modern-slavery-forced-labour-and-forced-marriage-1

    Used for 49.6 million people in modern slavery on any given day in 2021, 27.6 million of them in forced labour.

  25. Kassin, S. M., Drizin, S. A., Grisso, T., Gudjonsson, G. H., Leo, R. A., & Redlich, A. D. (2010). Police-induced confessions: Risk factors and recommendations. Law and Human Behavior, 34(1), 3–38. doi.org/10.1007/s10979-009-9188-6

    Used for Risk factors for false confession (youth, disability, long interrogation, false evidence, minimisation); recommends recording every interrogation. The print on the bag

  26. Kassin, S. M., Dror, I. E., & Kukucka, J. (2013). The forensic confirmation bias: Problems, perspectives, and proposed solutions. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2(1), 42–52. doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2013.01.001

    Used for Context, including a confession, biases forensic judgements; proposes procedures such as shielding examiners from irrelevant information. The print on the bag

  27. Leclerc, B., Proulx, J., & Beauregard, E. (2009). Examining the modus operandi of sexual offenders against children and its practical implications. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14(1), 5–12. doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2008.08.001

    Used for Review of modus operandi research: offending against children is a sequence of decisions (access, trust, isolation) that prevention can target. The long approach

  28. Meloy, J. R. (1988). The psychopathic mind: Origins, dynamics, and treatment. Jason Aronson.

    Used for The clinical account of predatory violence in psychopathy. Cold and hot

  29. Meloy, J. R. (2006). Empirical basis and forensic application of affective and predatory violence. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40(6–7), 539–547. doi.org/10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01837.x

    Used for Reviews the evidence (animal, neurochemical, psychophysiological, forensic) for two modes of violence, affective and predatory, and how to apply the distinction in forensic work. Cold and hot

  30. Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. doi.org/10.1037/h0040525

    Used for 26 of 40 men obeyed fully and gave what they believed was the top shock on a generator marked 15 to 450 volts; the learner was an actor and no shocks were real.

  31. Murrie, D. C., Boccaccini, M. T., Guarnera, L. A., & Rufino, K. A. (2013). Are forensic experts biased by the side that retained them? Psychological Science, 24(10), 1889–1897. doi.org/10.1177/0956797613481812

    Used for 108 forensic psychologists and psychiatrists paid to score the same files; those told they worked for the prosecution scored higher risk; effect sizes up to d = 0.85. Forty points

  32. National Research Council. (2009). Strengthening forensic science in the United States: A path forward. National Academies Press. doi.org/10.17226/12589

    Used for The national review that found much forensic pattern evidence lacked a tested scientific basis. The print on the bag

  33. O'Brien, B. (2009). Prime suspect: An examination of factors that aggravate and counteract confirmation bias in criminal investigations. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 15(4), 315–334. doi.org/10.1037/a0017881

    Used for Experiment: naming a suspect early biases how participants read later evidence. The print on the bag, The profile and the common

  34. Office of the Inspector General. (2006). A review of the FBI's handling of the Brandon Mayfield case. U.S. Department of Justice. oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/special/s0601/final.pdf

    Used for Madrid bombings 11 March 2004; FBI identification 19 March; SNP "negativo" report 13 April; arrest 6 May; court expert concurred 19 May; SNP identified Ouhnane Daoud; release to home detention 20 May; FBI withdrew 24 May; causes: unusual similarity, circular reasoning from the known prints, failure to reconsider after the Spanish report. The print on the bag

  35. Paulhus, D. L., & Williams, K. M. (2002). The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(6), 556–563. doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6

    Used for Names the Dark Triad: overlapping but distinct traits in ordinary samples. Forty points

  36. PGA v The Queen [2012] HCA 21, (2012) 245 CLR 355. www.hcourt.gov.au/sites/default/files/eresources/2012/HCA/21.pdf

    Used for Charges in 2010 for rapes alleged in 1963 against the accused's then wife; the High Court held that by 1963 marriage gave no immunity at common law. The Queensland Criminal Code of 1899 defined rape of a woman "not his wife"; the Queensland, Western Australian and Tasmanian codes were amended in 1989, 1985 and 1987; South Australian changes began with the 1976 Act; R v L (1991) settled that the immunity was no longer the common law.

  37. R v L (1991) 174 CLR 379, [1991] HCA 48.

    Used for On 3 December 1991 four of five High Court justices said it was no longer the common law of Australia that a husband could not rape his wife.

  38. R v Napper (Central Criminal Court, 18 December 2008) (unreported).

    Used for Robert Napper pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility; identified after a cold-case DNA review. The profile and the common

  39. R v Stagg (Central Criminal Court, September 1994, Ognall J) (unreported).

    Used for Trial judge excluded the evidence of the covert operation as deceptive conduct of the grossest kind; prosecution offered no evidence; Stagg acquitted. The profile and the common

  40. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. (2017). Final report. Commonwealth of Australia. www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/final-report

    Used for Final report presented to the Governor-General on 15 December 2017; 17 volumes; 189 new recommendations, 409 in all; 8,013 private sessions. The long approach

  41. Sallmann, P., & Chappell, D. (n.d.). Rape law reform: A study of the South Australian experience (Criminology Research Council Report 11/77). Australian Institute of Criminology. www.aic.gov.au/crg/reports/crg-11-77

    Used for South Australia's 1976 Act made it possible to prosecute a husband for raping his wife, but not as a blanket removal of the immunity: it was "hedged about with qualifications and conditions".

  42. Sanz-García, A., Gesteira, C., Sanz, J., & García-Vera, M. P. (2021). Prevalence of psychopathy in the general adult population: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 661044. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661044

    Used for Pooled prevalence of psychopathy in the general adult population: 4.5%; higher in men (7.9%) than women (2.9%); 1.2% where the PCL-R or its versions were used. The 4.5% on the front page.

  43. Skeem, J. L., & Cooke, D. J. (2010). Is criminal behavior a central component of psychopathy? Conceptual directions for resolving the debate. Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 433–445. doi.org/10.1037/a0008512

    Used for The field risks equating the PCL-R with psychopathy; criminal behaviour is better seen as a correlate than a component. Forty points

  44. Smith, J. (2002). The Shipman Inquiry: First report. Death disguised. The Stationery Office. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16350

    Used for Harold Shipman, a general practitioner, killed 215 of his patients between 1975 and 1998; real suspicion about 45 more.

  45. Snook, B., Eastwood, J., Gendreau, P., Goggin, C., & Cullen, R. M. (2007). Taking stock of criminal profiling: A narrative review and meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(4), 437–453. doi.org/10.1177/0093854806296925

    Used for Profiling literature rests largely on commonsense justifications; profiler groups did not clearly outperform comparison groups. The profile and the common

  46. von Hentig, H. (1948). The criminal and his victim: Studies in the sociobiology of crime. Yale University Press.

    Used for An early book of victimology: the victim as part of the event, not only its object. The walk

  47. Wheeler, S., Book, A., & Costello, K. (2009). Psychopathic traits and perceptions of victim vulnerability. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36(6), 635–648. doi.org/10.1177/0093854809333958

    Used for Students higher on self-reported psychopathic traits judged vulnerability from short walking clips more accurately. The walk

  48. Whittle, H. C., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Beech, A. R., & Collings, G. (2013). A review of online grooming: Characteristics and concerns. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(1), 62–70. doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.09.003

    Used for Review of online grooming research; the same process moves online. The long approach

  49. Winters, G. M., & Jeglic, E. L. (2017). Stages of sexual grooming: Recognizing potentially predatory behaviors of child molesters. Deviant Behavior, 38(6), 724–733. doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2016.1197656

    Used for Participants given vignettes at different grooming stages rated the adult no more likely to be an abuser at any stage: grooming is hard to recognise prospectively. The long approach

  50. Woodworth, M., & Porter, S. (2002). In cold blood: Characteristics of criminal homicides as a function of psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(3), 436–445. doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.111.3.436

    Used for 125 Canadian homicide offenders; 93.3% of homicides by psychopathic offenders were primarily instrumental, against 48.4% by others. Cold and hot

  51. Yang, M., Wong, S. C. P., & Coid, J. (2010). The efficacy of violence prediction: A meta-analytic comparison of nine risk assessment tools. Psychological Bulletin, 136(5), 740–767. doi.org/10.1037/a0020473

    Used for Nine tools predict violence at about the same moderate level; PCL-R Factor 1 at chance among men; not accurate enough alone for decisions like preventive detention. Forty points