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The Link between Individual Personality Traits and Criminality: A Systematic Review

N. k. tharshini.

1 Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan 94300, Sarawak, Malaysia

Fauziah Ibrahim

2 Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia; ym.ude.mku@haizuafi (F.I.); ym.ude.mku@kmihar (M.R.K.)

Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin

Balan rathakrishnan.

3 Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia; ym.ude.smu@nalahbr

Norruzeyati Che Mohd Nasir

4 School of Applied Psychology, Social Work and Policy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok 06010, Kedah, Malaysia; ym.ude.muu@itayez

In addition to social and environmental factors, individual personality traits have intricately linked with maladaptive behaviour. Thus, the purpose of this article was to review the link between individual personality traits and criminality. A systematic review was conducted to obtain information regarding the link between individual personality traits with criminal behaviour in the Sage, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed databases. The results indicate that individual personality traits that contribute towards criminality are (i) psychopathy; (ii) low self-control; and (iii) difficult temperament. As an overall impact, the review is expected to provide in-depth understanding of the link between individual personality traits and criminality; hence, greater consideration will be given to the dimension of personality as a notable risk factor of criminal behaviour.

1. Introduction

Criminology has become an interdisciplinary field where the focal point of each study has diversely evolved from individual-level to environmental-level risk factors associated with criminal behaviour. As such, individual personality traits constitute one dimension of the bigger picture which has received significant empirical attention in recent decades, especially research linking personality traits to various measures of crime. According to Beaver (2017) [ 1 ], personality refers to the stability of individuals in regard to patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. In general, personality traits can be categorised into four general combinations, namely (i) high control–high affiliation; (ii) low control–low affiliation; (iii) high control–low affiliation; and (iv) low control–high affiliation [ 1 ]. Some empirical research has suggested that high interpersonal control and low interpersonal affiliation are strongly interrelated with antisocial behaviour [ 1 ].

The Big Five Model of Personality suggested that five domains largely account for individual differences in personality including (i) extraversion; (ii) openness; (iii) neuroticism; (iv) agreeableness; and (v) conscientiousness [ 2 ]. Sleep (2021) [ 2 ] stated that low conscientiousness, low agreeableness, and high neuroticism increase aggression, mental distress, and antisocial behaviour among individuals. Similarly, the personality theory constructed by Eysenck (1966) (trait-psychologist) proposes a significant relationship between criminal behaviour and personality variables [ 3 ]. Based on the Eysenck personality theory, there are three fundamental factors of personality including psychoticism (P), extraversion (E), and neuroticism (N) [ 3 ]. Empirical investigations discover that delinquents score high on the P scale compared to the E and N scales [ 3 ]. More specifically, the P scale predicts those involved in violence and sexual crimes, whereas the N scale predicts serious crime and recidivism [ 3 ]. Furthermore, a great deal of research has also found that psychoticism is always connected to crime, whereas extraversion is related to younger samples (young offenders/delinquent), and neuroticism is related to older samples (adult offenders) [ 3 ].

A meta-analysis related to personality and antisocial behaviour has concluded that individuals who commit crime tend to be self-centred, hostile, adhere to unconventional values/beliefs, and have difficulty controlling their impulses [ 4 ]. In addition, compared to non-offenders, individuals who commit crimes are less sociable, more aggressive, sensation seekers, and tend to score higher for the neuroticism and psychoticism dimensions [ 5 ]. Additionally, Jones et al., (2016) [ 5 ], and Cunha et al., (2018) [ 6 ], found that individual personality traits represent a predictor of criminal behaviour regardless of gender, race, age, or geographical location. Acknowledging the role of individual personality traits in relation to criminal behaviour, the current study seeks to develop an improved understanding of personality traits to impart significant information to the existing literature in the field of crime studies.

2. Materials and Methods

This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Keywords such as “personality”; “personality traits”; “individual personality”, “maladaptive behaviour”; “crime”, and “antisocial behaviour” were typed into the Sage, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed databases to find the relevant information.

2.1. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Studies that were included in this review are (i) full-text articles; (ii) articles published in Sage, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed; (iii) research with at least 20 respondents (to reduce the bias associated with a small sample size; (iv) studies that examine the link between personality traits and criminal behaviour; and (v) articles that were published from January 2016 to June 2021. Conversely, the exclusion criteria in this review were (i) duplicate publication; (ii) articles published before January 2016, (iii) studies with less than 20 respondents (due to small sample size); (iv) non-full-text articles; and (v) articles that do not reflect the link between personality traits and criminality.

2.2. Screening and Selection Process

For this review, a total of 22,608 sources were found in five well-established databases. A total number of 8007 articles were identified after duplicates were removed. After including other exclusion criteria such as non-full-text articles, year of publication and sample of studies, 127 articles were assessed for eligibility. Furthering this, 94 articles were removed at the eligibility stage since the content of the article did not clearly reflect the link between personality traits and criminality. In the end, 33 full-text articles were reviewed in this study. Figure 1 depicts the flowchart of the systematic review process, whereas Table 1 delineates the summary of articles that were reviewed in this study.

Flowchart of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).

Summary of articles.

3. Results and Discussion

Based on the systematic review, the finding of the study stipulates that there are three major personality traits which contribute towards criminal behaviour, namely (i) psychopathy; (ii) low self-control; and (iii) difficult temperament.

3.1. Psychopathy

The term “psychopathy” is commonly used in the global literature on both empirical and theoretical grounds. Psychopathy is a clinical construct associated with emotional and behavioural disturbance, which are considered important risk factors for criminal and antisocial behaviour, criminal recidivism, sexual recidivism, and instrumental violence [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Most of the research concerning the measurement of psychopathy has employed Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist (now the Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist—Revised) as the main psychological assessment tool to identify the presence of psychopathic traits in an individual [ 8 ]. An individual who scores high for the psychopathy measure (usually > 30 on the PCL-R) is more likely to be short-tempered, irresponsible, egocentric, callous, display superficial charm, frequently violates social norms/values, and be unable to empathise [ 4 , 6 , 7 , 11 ]. Similarly, Boccio and Beaver (2016) [ 11 ] identified that an individual with psychopathic personality traits have a lower level of self-regulation, are manipulative, impulsive, and unable to feel remorse/guilt.

Based on the Big Five Model of Personality, scholars have stated that the psychopathy dimension is a mixture of high extraversion, low conscientiousness and agreeableness, and a combination of low and high neuroticism (depression, low anxiety, self-consciousness, vulnerability to stress, high impulsiveness, and hostility). For example, psychopathic criminals tend to commit a wider variety of crimes and are likely to recidivate faster compared to non-psychopathic criminals. In addition, the dominant conceptualization suggests that psychopathy is an inborn condition with a strong genetic component that is further escalated by environmental factors such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), traumatic childhood experiences, child maltreatment or parental inadequacy [ 12 , 13 ]. According to Cunha et al., (2018) [ 6 ], psychopathy is conventionally conceptualised as a syndrome that remains throughout life and influences different aspects of individual functioning, including their interpersonal, emotional, and behavioural traits. In addition, studies have revealed that psychopathy is more often diagnosed among men (31%) compared to women [ 4 ]. Similarly, an incarcerated individual with higher PCL-R scores is more prone to commit violent criminal offenses upon being released from prison [ 3 ]. Cunha et al. (2018) [ 6 ] also stated that individuals with psychopathic personality traits are unable to form strong emotional bonds with others and struggle to control their temper.

A burgeoning line of research has consistently revealed that the prevalence of psychopathic traits is higher among prisoners compared to general populations [ 6 , 7 ]. Theorist and researchers have more recently contended that approximately 1% of the general population exhibit psychopathic tendency, whereas approximately 15–25% of the prison population display these characteristics [ 14 ]. As such, individuals with psychopathic traits begin their criminal activities at a young age and continue to engage in antisocial behaviour throughout their lives [ 15 ]. In addition, myriad research outputs from the psychiatry, criminology, neuroscience, and psychology fields of study have shown that psychopathic personality traits are associated with serious juvenile offenders and adult criminals since these individuals are unable to process cues of punishment and rewards [ 5 , 6 , 8 , 16 , 17 ]. Moreover, recent neurocognitive findings unveiled that abnormalities in the amygdala (connected regions of the orbitofrontal cortex) may result in impaired decision making and social functioning, resulting in higher possibilities of engagement in antisocial behaviour [ 16 ].

Accumulating evidence stipulates that there are significant differences between types of crime which are commonly committed by a psychopathic female and male [ 18 ]. Generally, psychopathic females tend to be less aggressive and rarely repeat their criminal acts compared to males [ 18 ]. In addition, in some cases, psychopathic females have a significant level of impulsivity, a trait often associated with borderline personality disorder [ 18 , 19 ]. Furthermore, research related to psychopathic and sexual coercion shows that compared to non-psychopathic individuals, psychopaths are more likely to become sexual offenders (subgroup of rapists) [ 14 ]. Similarly, DeLisi et al. (2018) [ 16 ] notes that a psychopathic individual also displays severe alcohol and drug use (includes trying a greater variety of drugs and starting to use drugs at earlier age) compared to non-psychopathic populations.

3.2. Low Self-Control

Research examining the underpinnings of crime suggests that low self-control has been consistently linked with involvement in criminal activities [ 20 ]. Empirical evidence indicates that low self-control is associated with involvement in delinquency, violence, and antisocial behaviour [ 21 ]. According to Boccio et al. (2016) [ 11 ] individuals with low self-control are more impulsive, self-centred, prone to risky behaviour, irresponsible, and display volatile temperament. In addition, Brown (2016) [ 2 ] stated that individuals with low self-control exhibit six common characteristics. Firstly, those with low self-control tend to be less meticulous, prefer simple tasks that would require little commitment, are short-sighted, and exhibit a lack of self-determination. Secondly, these individuals are easily drawn to the more daring and exciting behaviour/activities. Thirdly, those with lower self-control are impulsive and tend to seek instant gratification, inclined to seize opportunities without considering the dangers/consequences of such behaviours. Fourthly, individuals with low self-control prefer simple activities over concentration-oriented activities such as a long conversation. Fifthly, those with low self-control tend to be less concerned about other individuals’ feelings and have a low tolerance for frustration and conflicts.

Findings from a broad array of studies have revealed that low self-control is a quintessential predictor of various maladaptive behaviours such as involvement in substance abuse, theft, property offending, and robbery among diverse samples of participants including parolees, jail inmates, and institutionalised delinquents [ 2 , 21 ]. According to Forrest et al., (2019) [ 21 ], low self-control increases the probability of an individual engaging in criminal activities when presented with suitable opportunities (mainly because they are unable to ignore or anticipate the potential long-term consequences of their actions). Furthermore, a plethora of studies has agreed that individuals with poor self-control are more likely to engage in a wider range of criminal behaviour such as computer-related crimes, associating with gangs, and participating in antisocial behaviour [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].

Based on the social control theory, Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that females exhibit lower offending frequencies since they are more subjected to stricter enforcement and parental supervision compared to males [ 21 ]. The “parented more” variation that exists as a product of parental influence causes females to have a greater ability to self-regulate their behaviour whereas the less effective parenting of male children results in lower levels of self-control, consequently leading to involvement in criminal activities among males [ 21 ]. Similarly, Forrest et al. (2019) [ 21 ] and Mata et al. (2018) [ 22 ] found that gender and type of household (more patriarchal vs. less patriarchal) also influence an individual’s level of self-control. For instance, Mata et al. (2018) [ 22 ] note that females growing up in a patriarchal household along with a high level of parental control are less likely to have criminal aspirations.

A handful of studies have clarified that individuals with low self-control are less concerned with the long-term consequences of their behaviour and are more likely to engage in activities that provide them with immediate gratification, such as shoplifting and fraud-related behaviours [ 17 , 20 , 24 , 25 ]. In addition to the negative implications, many studies have indicated that low self-control and a high level of impulsivity is strongly related to socially undesirable behaviour such as smoking and risky drinking [ 25 ]. Furthermore, DeLisi et al. (2018) [ 16 ] found that low self-control and low moral values escalate intentions to steal and/or fight among individuals who regularly smoke marijuana, occasionally crack cocaine, and drink nearly every day.

3.3. Difficult Temperament

Human development is a complex phenomenon involving the joint influence of socioecological conditions and individual dispositional characteristics. As such, one’s temperament is defined as an individual characteristic which comprises a habitual mode of emotional response to stimulus [ 17 , 26 ]. Foulds et al. (2017) [ 26 ] stated that the temperament has been traditionally viewed as an emotional and behavioural characteristic of feelings and presumed to be more biologically rooted by maturation and heredity. Prior research has found that children who throw tantrums will usually react negatively towards people around them, have a low level of bonding with their parents (poor parent–children interaction), and develop various forms of psychopathological problems including antisocial behaviour [ 29 ]. According to DeLisi et al., (2018) [ 16 ], one’s temperament reflects the baseline differences in the central nervous systems that particularly involve components such as (i) emotionality and mood; (ii) variance in activity level; (iii) withdrawal behaviours; and (iv) self-regulation. In addition, empirical evidence shows that individuals with difficult temperaments experience mood disorders, anxiety disorders, major depression disorders, disruptive behaviour disorders, and drug abuse [ 17 ]. Furthermore, Foulds et al. (2017) [ 26 ] stated that temperamental deficits also contribute to crime/violence occurrence among adolescents.

Based on the theoretical framework, temperament was divided into nine major dimensions, namely adaptability to the environment; physical activity; approach/withdrawal in response to novelty; regularity of the child’s behaviour (rhythmicity); task persistence; quality of mood in terms of positive/negative feelings; threshold of responsiveness to stimulation; distractibility; and intensity of the reaction [ 30 ]. According to Dos Santos et al. (2020) [ 29 ], individuals with a low regularity of behaviour (rhythmicity) are more aggressive and delinquent compared to individuals with highly regular behaviour. Furthermore, the result of a study conducted by Nigg (2017) [ 28 ] disclosed that girls who scored higher for “adaptability to the environment”; “quality of mood in terms of positive/negative feelings (negative emotional reactivity and low positive affectivity)”; and “approach/withdrawal in response to novelty” (based on the temperament framework) are highly at-risk of engaging in antisocial behaviour.

Substantial evidence has emerged of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (including various forms of neglect and abuse) and temperament factors being significantly associated with conduct problems (relating to poor emotional self-regulation) [ 17 , 27 , 29 , 32 ]. The neurobiological model suggests that an early childhood adverse environment and stress regulating systems (autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis) increase susceptibility to severe antisocial behaviour, such as being associated with gang membership, gang delinquency, and gang activities [ 27 , 29 , 31 ]. Moreover, existing evidence has disclosed that difficult temperament, peer rejection, disciplinary problems, and antisocial peer selection upon school entry also contribute to gang membership among youths [ 32 ].

Researchers have argued that the home environment, socioeconomic status, and parenting style have a profound impact on child temperament [ 17 , 28 , 29 , 32 ]. For instance, Nigg (2017) [ 28 ] found that negative parenting practices (inconsistent discipline practice, harsh behaviour, and permissive parenting practice) contribute to behavioural disorders among children. Moreover, some researchers have also begun to acknowledge that parenting roles significantly influence children’s temperament [ 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Dos Santos et al. (2020) [ 31 ] stated that inconsistent discipline practice by parents and harsh behaviour may accelerate nonaggressive antisocial behaviour (e.g., stealing or frequent truancy) among school-aged adolescents [ 31 ]. Furthermore, Dos Santos et al. (2020) [ 29 ] also found that a child who constantly receives negative parental feedback for bold behaviour may experience low self-esteem and start to display uncooperative behaviour and incohesive functioning while growing up. In the same line of thought, a great deal of research has revealed that youth with difficult temperaments who grow up in socioeconomically disadvantaged households (marked by poverty, unemployment) and have been exposed to a toxic neighbourhood environment (easy access to criminal gangs, easy access to drugs or firearms) are greatly at-risk of engaging in delinquent behaviour and future criminality across urban and rural contexts [ 17 , 33 , 35 ].

4. Limitations and Direction for Future Research

This systematic review has several limitations. Firstly, information gathered regarding the link between individual personality traits and criminal behaviour was only obtained from the Sage, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed databases, and published from January 2016 to June 2021. Thus, there is a possibility that some research published by well-known leading scholars might have been excluded from this review process. Secondly, studies included in this review were limited to articles published in peer-reviewed journals alone without including other resources such as newspapers, letters to editors, or prison reports, thereby limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Despite the outlined limitations, future research should concentrate on other singular features of individual personality traits such as narcissism, impulsivity, attitude favouring aggression, and Machiavellianism which contribute to criminal behaviour in order to develop diversified treatment protocols based on personality traits. Additionally, future studies should also include mediator factors to allow the in-depth understanding of the process underlying the link between individual personality traits and criminal behaviour.

5. Conclusions

In sum, this review adds to the growing literature in the field of crime-related studies and improves our understanding regarding how personality traits escalate the risk of engaging in criminal activities. Substantial empirical research performed by Gatner et al., (2016) [ 7 ] and Nigel et al. (2018) [ 8 ] suggested that psychopathy is a robust predictor of criminal behaviour, mainly focusing on instrumental violence. Furthermore, many scholars agree that instrumental violence among psychopathic offenders is significantly determined by the affective traits of psychopathy. Additionally, the inputs obtained through systematic review show that the domain of low self-control predicts a varied range of criminal behaviour. Based on Gottfredson and Hirschi’s social control theory, low self-control contributes to the adoption of deviant values and leads to an individual engaging in various types of antisocial behaviour. Furthermore, a difficult temperament has also been suggested to be one of the key predictors of criminal behaviour, mainly due to the influence of socioecological conditions and individual dispositional characteristics such as sensation seeking, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sociosexual orientation.

Although the aim of this study was rather academic, the conclusion reached from this finding clearly identifies some significant risk factors for engaging in criminal behaviour. Admittedly, not all individuals with at-risk personality traits are at high risk of becoming delinquents/adult offenders. Therefore, it is essential that the stakeholders and practitioners who work within the criminal justice system to diversify their methods of assessment to identify individuals who fall under the “early onset group”. Furthermore, a proper treatment regimen that matches the result of the rigorous assessment is equally important to promote preventative measures to reduce crime rates in the future.

Through this review, it is transparent that major personality traits such as psychopathy, low self-control, and a difficult temperament can be measured using various scales/inventory or secondary data. Thus, it is suggested that the interventions that aim to reduce the risk of criminality should begin during the early childhood stage since some of the existing evidence agrees that youths usually start engaging in criminal activities after reaching the age of 15 years old [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Moreover, the identification of personality traits regardless of gender is also crucial to initiate appropriate preventative strategies for vulnerable groups such as children, at-risk youths, and adolescents.

Author Contributions

Introduction, N.K.T. and F.I.; material and methods, M.R.K. and B.R.; psychopathic, N.K.T., F.I. and N.C.M.N.; low self-esteem, N.K.T., F.I.; difficult temperament, M.R.K. and B.R.; limitation, N.C.M.N.; conclusion, N.C.M.N.; writing—original draft preparation, N.K.T.; review and editing, F.I. and B.R., N.C.M.N.; funding acquisition, F.I. and M.R.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

The publication fee of this article was funded by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia.

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Research in Criminal Psychology

2019, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Criminal Psychology

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Improving Efficiency and Understanding of Criminal Investigations: Toward an Evidence-Based Approach

• Published: 23 November 2021
• Volume 36 , pages 635–638, ( 2021 )

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• Nadine Deslauriers-Varin 1 , 3 &
• Francis Fortin 2 , 3  

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Various investigative techniques and methods available to investigators following the commission of a crime can have a great impact on the ability of police forces to adequately respond to such a crime. This impact can take many forms, ranging from the identification, arrest, and charge of the perpetrators to their conviction. Every case where the alleged perpetrator is not tried for lack of evidence poses a risk to community safety. Similarly, when an individual is wrongly convicted of a crime, it undermines the community’s confidence in the police forces responsible for protecting it, as well as its faith in the criminal justice system.

Nowadays, the realities of investigative work have profoundly changed: investigators are confronted with emerging phenomena and increasingly sophisticated crimes that present multiple (and new) challenges (e.g., economic crime, cybercrime, dark web, terrorism, online sexual exploitation). The type and nature of evidence required to take these cases through the criminal justice chain, and the way in which this evidence can be gathered, have also become more complex. Various legal, ethical, and practical issues have also contributed to the technicalization and greater systematization of crime scene analysis, intelligence, and everything related to evidence and information gathering. As a result, investigative work is becoming increasingly specialized (e.g., Maguire  2003 ; Police Executive Research Forum  2018 ).

As such, it is important to conduct research aimed at improving the effectiveness of evidence collection, identification, and prioritization of potential suspects, investigative interviews, and, ultimately, the charging and conviction of perpetrators. It has been noted, decades ago, that the criminal investigation is however one of the least examined areas of police studies (Skogan and Frydl  2003 ). Unfortunately, this has not necessarily changed much since then. In fact, knowledge about police investigation generally comes from “how to” books (sometimes of a more scholarly nature) or books which present the state of knowledge on specific aspects of investigations or techniques rather than presenting empirical and innovative results. Moreover, most books or collective work place a particular emphasis on its forensic aspect, as well as on the analysis and contribution of physical evidence. However, in case of limited physical evidence, other methods must also be used by police forces but there are few researchers working to scientifically measure and improve the efficiency of these techniques and methods. A careful review of the scientific literature shows that research having a genuine and valuable impact on police practices are in fact relatively infrequent. Applied research that moves police practices beyond common sense, tradition, experience, and flair to evidence-based practices remains a challenge (Mitchell and Huey  2019 ).

In recent years, we are, however, witnessing a growth of empirical studies that aim at providing support to police forces and specialized investigation units, and improving the efficiency of their practices using a proactive and evidence-based approach. This particularly true for sexual crimes and homicides (e.g., Beauregard and Martineau  2013 ; Chopin et al.  2020 ; Fortin et al.  2018 ; Woodhams et al. 2021 ). In the last decade, partnerships between academia and police agencies have emerged and detailed information on offender behaviors has been analyzed to facilitate police investigations as well as suspect prioritization and identification efforts. Despite this, evidence-based research in the field of criminal investigation is still lacking. Good and emerging research is being conducted and published on this topic, but there are only but a few collective works showcasing such research at the international level.

Several examples support the relevance of a vision that would for example use investigative and forensic science not only to study a single situation in depth, as usually done with cases presented in court, but to apply it to the entire criminal phenomenon or modus operandi. These new ways of approaching criminal phenomena offer an innovative way of appropriating criminological knowledge. As an example, in a study on “forensic drug intelligence” by Esseiva et al. ( 2007 ), the authors applied the chemical profiling technique to drug seizures made by the police. For each of these seizures, experts performed a chemical analysis to determine the nature of the substance, its level of purity, and its chemical properties. By collating this information and keeping an “organized memory” of all seizures, a certain amount of information can be uncovered: this technique can provide clues as to the path taken by the drug, from production to distribution on the street. In addition, this study demonstrated, among other things, the potential of this intersection between forensics and intelligence (Esseiva et al.  2007 ).

This special issue was proposed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology with a main objective in mind: to bring together, in a single issue, innovative research on a relatively unknown and underdeveloped field of research usually looked at in a fragmented way. In other words, to create the synergy that is needed to comprehensively move forward investigative practices and techniques towards a more “scientific,” evidence-based police. The current issue includes 11 articles that represent the diversity of research on the topic and that fit well with the objectives and focus of this special issue. These 11 articles can be regrouped under three main topics related to police investigations: (1) the understanding of the processes involved in an investigation, the challenges related to it, and ways to improve investigative decision-making; (2) investigative techniques and the pivotal role of the spatiotemporal patterns of offenses for suspect prioritization and identification; and (3) investigative interviewing and new techniques and approaches to improve information and evidence gathering.

Understanding and Prioritizing Investigations

This first three articles of this special issue pertain to the understanding and prioritizing investigations (Rossmo; Jurek et al.; Henning et al.). Recalling the lack of scholarly literature on investigation noted earlier, Rossmo first proposes to outline the anatomy of a criminal investigation: the underlying structure of an investigation, its main purposes and objectives, and, by the same token, why it can fail (e.g., failure to solve the crime; miscarriage of justice). Using the example of the Canadian investigation into the murder of Gail Miller that led to the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard, Rossmo highlights the systemic problems in the investigation that lead to these failures, and emphasizes the unconditional importance of the relevance, reliability, and robustness of the evidence. In doing so, Rossmo’s article highlights areas for improvement in order to maximize the likelihood of success of an investigation, while minimizing its risks of failure.

In the second article, Jurek et al. aim at measuring and describing key activities police investigators take when working sexual assault cases and identifying factors influencing investigative actions. To date, relatively little is known about the specific actions that police investigators take after a sexual assault report is made that could potentially explain the high attrition rate for sexual offenses. Using a sample of sexual assault case files from a larger project on unsubmitted sexual assault kits, their study highlights factors that shape the way the investigation unfolds and provides insights into factors related to case attrition and progression in the criminal justice system.

The last article of this section addresses the prioritization of intimate partner violence investigations. In their study, Henning et al. seek to assess whether domestic violence recidivism can be reliably predicted using data that most law enforcement agencies already have access to in their standard police report. Their findings support the use of currently available records for the automation of risk triage tools that could be done at the earliest stage of the criminal justice process (i.e., police response). The 10-item scale put forth in their study pave the way for further improvements in the identification and predictive accuracy of high-risk intimate partner violence, investigative decision-making efficiency, and allocation of police resources.

Investigative Techniques and the Spatiotemporal Patterns of Offenses

So far, empirical studies in the field of police investigation have been primarily conducted to improve understanding and knowledge of criminal behaviors and to support techniques and methods that facilitate case resolution – particularly by supporting investigators in identifying and prioritizing suspects. In the absence of confessions, eyewitnesses, or forensic evidence to quickly identify the perpetrator, other methods must be used to assist investigators in identifying and prioritizing potential suspects. The following five articles of this special issue (Salfati and Sorochinski; Bennell et al.; Woodhams et al.; Chopin et al.; Hewitt) aim at improving suspect prioritization and identification techniques and showcase the pivotal role of the spatiotemporal patterns of (sexual) offenses. In the first study, Salfati and Sorochinski aim at having an applied utility for the investigative process of offender profiling. Based on a sample of sexual homicide crime series (i.e., all sex worker victims, mixed victims, all non-sex worker victims), key differences in the types of offenders who commit different types of homicide series were identified. Their findings provide a classification model for future research on offender profiling, as well as an example of how research on offender profiling may help support investigative practice by narrowing the pool of potential suspects based on crime scene actions.

In the second study, Bennell et al. set out to improve investigative crime linkage of serial crimes. Using a sample of serial offenders having committed stranger sexual assaults, their study uses domains of crime scene behaviors to distinguish between crime pairs committed by the same or by different offenders, and tests four different statistical approaches to predict linkage status. Their findings add to the scant literature aimed at determining the most suitable statistical method to link crimes and provide methodological improvements on how practitioners link serial crimes using the statistical approaches. Their study therefore represents a first step towards an empirically informed decision-making approach to link crimes.

Along the same lines, in the third study, Woodhams et al. aim to fill a significant gap in the literature by investigating the temporal and geographical proximity of crimes committed by serial stranger sex offenders in the UK. Their findings provide an empirical update regarding the periods of time and space over which serial sex offenders commit their offenses. They also offer insights relevant to analysts, decision-making, and search strategies for interrogating databases (such as ViCLAS) that could enhance the detection and apprehension of sex offenders.

In the fourth study of this section, Chopin et al. innovatively examine the geographic mobility patterns involved in what they call “Motiveless” homicides — homicides with no apparent motive. Despite the obvious challenges this type of homicide poses to law enforcement, motiveless homicides have rarely been studied with the aim of facilitating their investigation. Using a sample of solved cases of motiveless homicide from France and based on the criminal mobility triangle approach, their findings suggest that these crimes present distinct patterns compared to “motivated” homicides. Their study also provides easily observable information that could help investigators to prioritize their search for a potential suspect or to recover useful evidence in cases where no clear motive is discernable.

Finally, Hewitt’s study reaffirms the fact that sex crimes reported to the police are spatially concentrated on a very small number of street segments. Unlike past studies on the topic that use aggregated or crime-specific data, this study allows to further knowledge on this topic by using a substantial sample of sex offenses that occurred in Austin, Texas, broken down by victim age and type of sexual acts perpetrated by street segment. By disaggregating offenses this way, differences in the degree of spatial concentration are revealed and specific (micro)locations for certain subtypes of sexual offenses are highlighted.

Investigative Interviewing

Police interviews can influence the criminal investigation process, including the ultimate outcome of a case. Effective interviewing of suspects, victims, and witnesses allows investigators to gather a greater volume of information related to the crime and the probable suspect and can increase the credibility of the evidence being collected. The last three articles of this special issue focus on this vital part of criminal investigations (Izotovas et al.; Otgaar et al.; Van Beek et al.). In the first study, Izotovas et al. step away from the much common laboratory-based research to examine a sample of real-life police interrogations with suspected sex offenders. Aiming to standardize the language used across investigative interviewing settings, their study examines these interrogations using Kelly et al.’s ( 2013 ) taxonomy of interrogation techniques to assess whether the six domains of techniques could be applied to interviews carried out by PEACE-trained investigators from the UK. Their study provides a better understanding of the dynamics of interviews with suspects and supports the need to examine interviews more holistically.

In the second study, Otgaar et al. experimentally assessed whether empirically based interviewing — the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) Protocol — would affect the reporting of misinformation in children. In many countries, children with an alleged experience of abuse are often interviewed by many different organizations and practitioners. Their findings suggest that when children are interviewed about possible traumatic experiences, the first interview should ideally and immediately be conducted using empirically based guidelines, such as the NICHD Protocol.

Along the same line, the study of Van Beek et al. which closes this special issue, further investigates the impact of misinformation and inaccurate information presented by investigators during interviews, this time conducted with suspects. Using an experimental design, they seek to examine the responses that police interviewers provide to suspects when such suspects claim that information or evidence presented to them is incorrect. Their findings highlight the need for police interviewers to be aware that some of the evidence/information they present to suspects may be incorrect due to a variety of reasons that are inherently part of the criminal investigation process. Their findings also put forward that expertise may perhaps be more important in this regard than experience and support the importance of evidence-gathering training before conducting this complex cognitive task of interviewing suspects.

This special issue brings together 11 original articles, all of which, in their own way, make an important contribution to the field of police investigation and investigative techniques. It regroups empirical studies conducted by researchers from various countries (Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, and the USA), mostly carried out in partnership with police organizations, covering a variety of themes related to criminal investigations, and highlighting the efforts and expertise of emerging and established researchers. In this regard, this is, to our knowledge, one of the first special issues of its kind. We hope that this issue will be of interest to researchers, students, and practitioners in this field, that it will pave the way for other special issues and collective works, and that it will stimulate research in this understudied area.

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Deslauriers-Varin, N., Fortin, F. Improving Efficiency and Understanding of Criminal Investigations: Toward an Evidence-Based Approach. J Police Crim Psych 36 , 635–638 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-021-09491-6

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Published : 23 November 2021

Issue Date : December 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-021-09491-6

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