Abstract
Reviewed by: Simon Duff, Forensic & Family Psychology, University of Nottingham
This is the fifth edition of Howitt’s textbook, which, by itself is a testament to its wide acceptance as a text for students typically studying at undergraduate/MSc level in the UK on a forensic psychology course. It is broad in range, considering a wealth of material and providing some international context for the research and practice. Howitt’s aim here is to present the intellectual landscape of forensic psychology and in doing so ensure that the reader is provoked into thinking about research and its application from an eclectic range of perspectives such as policing, society, legal contexts, and psychology. It is a tough ask. Forensic psychology encompasses so many theories and models, and touches on so many aspects of human experience.
The text consists of 27 chapters, starting with three chapters covering the basic underpinnings of the forensic context; what is forensic and criminal psychology?; the social context of crime; crime and the public. These provide a solid basis to understand the focus and scope of forensic psychology, both within the UK and further afield and importantly make it clear that many of the subsequent issues under consideration need to be considered in relation to both society and the individual. For example, society might impose sanctions for particular offences, but what counts as an offence, why is it an offence, will it be reported, how common is that offence and, perhaps crucially, do we understand why crime occurs? There are numerous examples where we can analyse behaviour and see how both previously and now society, the individual, and the law may not have had a consistent view with regards to behaviours such as marital rape, homosexuality, stalking, and online grooming.
The next two introductory chapters consider victims of crime and theories of crime. For me this is the first example of, and the only area of criticism (other than the ‘Gavin Oxburgh’ reference on p. 576), where the chapter order does not seem to have a structure throughout the text. It does not immediately work that we are considering victims of crime until we know more about crime – it is implausible that the effect of crime on victims and the relationship between being a victim and being an offender are not dependent on the nature of the criminal activity. Similarly, the chapters concerned with profiling fall between chapters focusing on witnesses and allegations. However, it is not beyond the wit of a graduate student to negotiate through material to fit their own purposes. Both of these chapters are useful and important. We learn of the relationship between victim behaviour and offender behaviour, although such dynamics are bound to be more complex than research can identify; some sexual offenders may find that it is the resistance of the victim that heightens their arousal whereas others may be frightened off by victim aggression. Of note is that the theories chapter does not contain all the theoretical material on offer here as some is spared for specific chapters, for example, the evolutionary theory of rape, but it does give a good account of some of the more common theories that have been used and provides a useful overview of Agnew’s General Strain Theory.
Chapters 6 onwards are the chapters dealing with specific topics in forensic and criminal psychology and the material covers the main themes and delves into some detail in some of the less well explored areas too. For example, Chapter 8 is concerned with violent offenders, which would be expected in such a text. However, Howitt considers both domestic violence and more unusually the domestic violence of women against men. Interestingly, this chapter also deals with stalking, which researchers have suggested is an extension of domestic violence, but this would only hold when the stalking is within the context of an ongoing or a failed relationship. Although stalking laws did develop from violence against celebrities, not all stalking is motivated by violence, though victims of this form of offence may ultimately feel violated in some manner.
It is not surprising that there are chapters on sexual offending, crimes against property, juvenile offenders, profiling, risk, treatment, and mental health issues. Where Howitt excels is, as is his aim, drawing out material that forces the reader to think. For example, he considers the possibility of rape being a sexual orientation and offers evidence that is supportive of this view. If this were the case, then we would need to think more specifically about ‘types’ of sexual offenders with regard to theories, profiling, and ultimately treatment. One potential issue with the evidence is that the rapists in these studies may have become sensitive to non-consensual behaviours through having raped, rather than these preferences being a driver to rape, and thus rapists may differ from other sexual offenders only by having performed the behaviour, leaving us with the possibility that rapists may start out as opportunistic and driven by other goals. This is not a criticism of Howitt. Without the presentation of the question and the research data one would not be in a position to identify other possible explanations and thus ways to test them. He achieves this same goal throughout the chapters, and by demanding critical thinking from the reader, the reader is well served.
Perhaps the stand-out chapters are those dealing with the legal processes post-offence, which cover issues of eyewitness testimony, witness credibility, judges and juries, and jury decision making. We are all aware of our own legal systems but perhaps less so of the complex psychology that is inherent in them. The decision making of judges, lawyers, and juries is quite compelling to read and consider; the section concerned with researching jury decision making is particularly fascinating and is a reminder that decision making on our own is demanding but when we must factor in other opinions, the impact of our decisions, how we deal with uncertainty, with compromise, this is compounded. The material is engaging, accessible, and central to our understanding of forensic psychology.
It is hard to do justice to a book with depth and breadth, that is informative and engaging, in a relatively short review. It is a thorough introduction and a good starting point for anyone interested in forensic psychology.