Laurence Alison – författare

'Laurence Alison is one of my academic heroes. He does what every writer longs to do. He makes the difficult clear - without losing his rigour.' Malcolm Gladwell'They are quietly revolutionising the study and practice of interrogation... Their findings are changing the way law enforcement and security agencies approach the delicate and vital task of gathering human intelligence.' GuardianGet what you want from even the most difficult charactersAll of us have to deal with difficult people. Whether we're asking our neighbour to move a fence or our boss for a pay rise, we can struggle to avoid arguments and get what we want.Laurence and Emily Alison are world leaders in forensic psychology, and they specialise in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. They advise and train the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects when the stakes are high. After 30 years' work - and unprecedented access to 2,000 hours of terrorist interrogations - they have developed a ground-breaking model of interpersonal communication. This deceptively simple approach to handling any encounter works as well for teenagers as it does for terrorists. Now it's time to share it with the world.Rapport reveals that every interaction follows four styles: Control (the lion), Capitulate (the mouse), Confront (the Tyrannosaur) and Co-operate (the monkey). As soon as you understand these styles and your own goals you can shape any conversation at will. And you'll be closer to the real secret: how to create instant rapport.

Offender profiling is now viewed as an integral part of serious crime investigations by many law enforcement agencies across the world and continues to attract a high public and media profile. Despite almost three decades of research and developments in the field, the public impression of offender profiling is still influenced by misleading media portrayals, which fail to acknowledge the significant developments in theory, research and practice.This book is the only book on the market to illustrate in detail the actual practice of Behavioural Investigative Advice, its diversity in application, the underpinning academic literature and the remaining research questions and recommendations. Focussing on the professionalization of this developing discipline, it provides a fascinating insight into the modern role of a Behavioural Investigative Adviser, dispelling many of the myths still associated with offender profiling, and illustrating the continued aspiration of contemporary practitioners to adhere to the highest scientific standards. It provides a journey through the significant efforts to professionalise both the process and product of Behavioural Investigative Advice, supported by relevant theoretical, methodological and operational considerations.Edited by and containing contributions from some of the most respected and experienced researchers and practitioners working today, this book will be essential reading for Police Officers, researchers, students and anyone with an interest in the professionalization and contemporary contribution of forensic psychology to 21st century criminal investigation.

Offender profiling is now viewed as an integral part of serious crime investigations by many law enforcement agencies across the world and continues to attract a high public and media profile. Despite almost three decades of research and developments in the field, the public impression of offender profiling is still influenced by misleading media portrayals, which fail to acknowledge the significant developments in theory, research and practice.This book is the only book on the market to illustrate in detail the actual practice of Behavioural Investigative Advice, its diversity in application, the underpinning academic literature and the remaining research questions and recommendations. Focussing on the professionalization of this developing discipline, it provides a fascinating insight into the modern role of a Behavioural Investigative Adviser, dispelling many of the myths still associated with offender profiling, and illustrating the continued aspiration of contemporary practitioners to adhere to the highest scientific standards. It provides a journey through the significant efforts to professionalise both the process and product of Behavioural Investigative Advice, supported by relevant theoretical, methodological and operational considerations.Edited by and containing contributions from some of the most respected and experienced researchers and practitioners working today, this book will be essential reading for Police Officers, researchers, students and anyone with an interest in the professionalization and contemporary contribution of forensic psychology to 21st century criminal investigation.

The aim of this book is to examine the qualities of leadership and decision-making in the police service. Based on groundbreaking research using unique, advanced methods for examining policing in complex critical incident environments, the book focuses principally on a series of police debriefs following live major critical incidents. It captures the views of the Senior Investigating Officers (SIOs) who worked on these cases and draws upon the very rich set of experiences that they have had in dealing with complex, stressful and demanding enquiries.The book provides an introduction to new methods for exploring leadership and decision-making in critical incidents. It will be an essential resource for developers of police training in leadership and decision-making, senior police officers involved in critical incident management, organisational psychologists who work within policing, and for students whose area of study covers policing, decision-making or criminal investigation.

'Profilers' and 'Profiling' are now widely discussed, often with almost mythical respect. This is the first volume to cut through the confusions and misunderstandings surrounding this topic to report on detailed, original, scientific research that examines the variations in criminal behaviour from which any 'profile' must be derived. The studies included examine both early approaches to the field and the future problems and potential for an Investigative Psychology approach of offender profiling. This book will be of great value to all those who have been waiting for a scientific, psychological basis to police investigations. It will be read with interest by those who want to get behind the rhetoric and controversy that surrounds 'offender profiling' and require an up to date account of current research and recent discoveries.

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.

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.

A field guide to the next decade of forensic psychology—40 innovative ideas that will influence investigations, courts, and correctional decision-making In Big Ideas in Forensic Psychology: 40 Innovations that will Define the Future of the Field, Professors Neil Shortland (Director, Centre for Terrorism and Security Studies, UMass Lowell) and Laurence Alison MBE (Director, CAMI Research, University of Liverpool) curate an insightful and provocative look at what’s coming next in policing, corrections, and criminal law decision-making. Drawing on contributors who span policing, courts, corrections, intelligence, and security, the book tackles the hard problems practitioners face – false confessions, biased decision rules, digital crime, AI-enabled workflows – and shows how to address them with defensible, research-anchored methods. Organized as a fast, “annual question”–style collection, each chapter answers: What big idea will change the field in the next ten years? The result is a panoramic and rigorous map of near-term shifts: science-based interviewing beyond confession seeking, rights-consistent detention and oversight, digital-trace analytics for threat assessment, simulation-driven training, and the governance of frontier AI. As the launch title in the refreshed Wiley Series in the Psychology of Crime, Policing and Law, it situates these ideas within the series’ broad focus – from courtroom psychology to extreme-team decision support – giving readers both immediate takeaways and a durable research agenda for practice. A deliberately cross-sector view – chapters from senior detectives, trial consultants, clinical evaluators, intelligence specialists, and methodologists – distills what will actually change interviews, hearings, and field operations on Monday morning This resource offers: Concrete, testable advances: SUE-informed questioning, verbal baselining 2.0, rapport-based interrogation, and live-time intelligence provenance—each framed with constraints, failure modes, and implementation stepsTechnology with guardrails: practical blueprints for using AI in investigations, risk triage, and simulation training—paired with governance principles to avoid rights violations and model-drift harmsLaw and policy integration: chapters on virtual courts, prosecutorial communication with CSA survivors, plea validity, and judicial decision-making research pipelines—bridging bench, bar, and behavioral scienceThreat and prevention, not just post-incident response: leakage analysis, grievance-fueled violence models, and environmental harm-reduction strategies grounded in transparent data practicesPerfect for investigative leaders, interview trainers, forensic clinicians, courtroom psychologists, threat assessment teams, and methodologists responsible for evidence standards, Big Ideas in Forensic Psychology will also benefit policy makers, prosecutors/defense, judicial researchers, and graduate programs aligning curricula to real-world constraints. The compresses state-of-the-art, field-tested ideas into actionable, defensible guidance that anticipates the technology and governance pressures already reshaping practice in the real world.

Crime is always part of a social process. In many cases that process determines the form the crime takes. In this ground-breaking book, a wide range of crimes are examined in terms of the social psychological processes that influence the participants and their relationships with each other. Crimes as diverse as fraud and hostage taking are examined from a range of social science perspectives, including broad anthropological perspectives on differences in the structure of criminal cultures as well as the detailed consideration of the roles offenders play in groups and teams of criminals. This book opens up a new area of empirical study of relevance to students of crime as well as law enforcement officers. It will also be of value and interest to all those social scientists who wish to understand how their disciplines can contribute more effectively to the investigation of crime.

'Profilers' and 'Profiling' are now widely discussed, often with almost mythical respect. This is the first volume to cut through the confusions and misunderstandings surrounding this topic to report on detailed, original, scientific research that examines the variations in criminal behaviour from which any 'profile' must be derived. The studies included examine both early approaches to the field and the future problems and potential for an Investigative Psychology approach of offender profiling. This book will be of great value to all those who have been waiting for a scientific, psychological basis to police investigations. It will be read with interest by those who want to get behind the rhetoric and controversy that surrounds 'offender profiling' and require an up to date account of current research and recent discoveries.

This book aims to demonstrate how forensic psychology contributes to police investigations, providing practical information about the type of reports provided by psychologists and behavioural advisors, and set within a broader theoretical context. It asks the question 'What do practitioners actually do when they provide advice for the police and the courts and how do they do it?' The contributors to the book are all experts in the field of offender profiling and behavioural investigative advice. The chapters provide valuable insights into particular case details, the ethical and legal consequences of advice, coverage of the relevant theoretical context, explanations for conclusions drawn, practical difficulties in preparing reports, potential pitfalls, and an account of how cases are resolved.

This book aims to demonstrate how forensic psychology contributes to police investigations, providing practical information about the type of reports provided by psychologists and behavioural advisors, and set within a broader theoretical context. It asks the question 'What do practitioners actually do when they provide advice for the police and the courts and how do they do it?' The contributors to the book are all experts in the field of offender profiling and behavioural investigative advice. The chapters provide valuable insights into particular case details, the ethical and legal consequences of advice, coverage of the relevant theoretical context, explanations for conclusions drawn, practical difficulties in preparing reports, potential pitfalls, and an account of how cases are resolved.