Crime Stoppers

The mere thought of abduction sends chills down the spine and is one of the most feared offences in the UK. Whenever such an offence occurs, the headlines will be dominated for weeks. However, despite this concern, very little research is conducted to understand the reasons behind the offence.  This talk intends to tackle some of the perceptions surrounding what child abduction actually looks like - what do offenders do and why do they do it that way? Together, let us start to understand the science behind the myths.

We all make complex decisions on a daily basis and sometimes our brains take shortcuts to help us to do this. These short cuts can lead to our decision making being influenced by the world around us, biasing our outcomes. In this talk, we will explore subconscious influences on the judgments and decisions that we make every day and take a journey through current research that reveals the subjective nature of apparently objective processes within forensic science.