Science scene: criminal mind & police strategy

They provide material that makes good movies and they commit severe crimes, being responsible for almost 40% of crimes, although representing only 15% of prisoner populations: psychopaths. Why do they commit crimes? What is going on in their brain that might be related to their antisocial behavior? We will scan their brains and have a look at the underlying pathways that might contribute to their low anxiety, low empathy and antisocial, even violent behavior. From this, we’ll try to derive ideas about what impact those pathways have on potential treatment: any chance to change a psychopath?

Have you ever been in a situation where you believed the use of force was necessary? Perhaps having to smash a window due to misplacing keys? In hindsight such actions might seem excessive - especially if your keys were at the bottom of your bag! Aaron will discuss police tactical decision making from an ‘at the time’ perspective, including the events leading to a situation which might require the use of force. The talk will focus on how individuals process information during such situations and how such an understanding might have applications beyond forensic psychology.