Criminal development

To cope effectively with crime requires understanding the roots of it. Criminologists offer us a lot of theories, according to biological, psychological, and sociological approaches. Practical aspects will be taken from each approach to explain the creation and the growth of crime in general and organized crime in particular. Examples of modern methods to combat organized crime will be presented.

Deterrence and law enforcement - the Penology aspects

One of the major issues in Criminology is "what works"? How can crime prevention be achieved? Is there any effective deterrence from the law enforcement? The Penology distinguishes between two categories of offenders: the expressive and the instrumental (lucrative) motivated. The facts that will be presented in the seminar will indicate that while the law enforcement agencies' activities can reduce the crime rate for instrumental purposes, their influence upon the expressive offences is insignificant.

Deterrence doctrines will be exanimate in the class through the eyes of the current modern policing.

Victims and victimizing - the Victimology approach and Psychological issues:

There is no crime prevention and it is impossible to combat with crime without creating constructive interactions with victims. Victimology offers us tools to improve our abilities in that aspect. In some cases victims are reluctant to complain, or testify against their victimizers. In some other cases they even lie to the authorities on the real circumstances of their victimizations. How should we handle with those situations? What is the interaction between the victim and the victimizer? In that scenario, how does the offender neutralizes his own conscience? How can we adapt this neutralization to obtain a confession from the suspect and what benefits can the victim gain from his confession?

Criminal Profiling:

The profiler doesn't come instead of the investigator or to replace him. On the contrary, he should be with a lot of experience from the field and not only a scholar from the academic word. In this lecture the audience will find out the functions of the profiler, mainly to reduce the number of suspects in serial crimes situation, and to assist to the interrogator how to obtain a confession from the suspect. As a demonstration to the essence of the Criminal Profiling, a contingency profile on religious terror will be presented. Contingency profiling in serial crimes helps to identify the offender from the crime scene.

Introduction to Questioning and Interrogations: The concepts and process:

The major aspects about Questioning and Interrogations will be studied. Among others, it would include: objectives of the process; the persons who are involved in it, and their characters and motives (Victim, Witness, Complainant, and Suspect). Special focus will be on the confessor characteristics and the type who doesn't confess, and the techniques to encourage them to confess.

The PEACE Model:

The PEACE model is the "road map" of the interrogation process, including: Preparation & Planning, Engagement & Explanation, Account, Closure, and Evaluation. In the class, the audience will be familiarized with the main topics of the process, and would gain understanding about the role of each actor, their MO and the interaction between them.

Doctrines: the Reid 9 Steps of Interrogation:

The Reid Technique is a method of Interrogation adopted in many law enforcements agencies all over the word since 1947. Using the method, the interrogator increases the chances to get a full confession from the suspect. In the class the audience will learn the 9 steps with a lot of examples from the lecturer's personal experience. The 9 steps are: 1: Direct Positive Confrontation. 2: Theme Development. 3: Stopping Denials. 4: Overcoming Objections. 5: Getting the Suspect's Attention. 6: Handling Suspect's passive mood. 7: Presenting an alternative question. 8: The "break". 9: The confession. During the lesson, simulations will be used in order to increase the assimilation of the process.

Strategies to fail the interrogation, from the offender's point of view:

The police investigator is not the only one who has to improve his skills and profession. Even the offenders, mainly the recidivists and those belonging to criminal groups, educate themselves to improve their preferment and their abilities to resist and to fail the interrogation. We shall study their strategies and tactics to develop our own. The audience will be invited to advice on realistic or hypothetic situations that they may have to meet with and be challenge with strategies to fail the interrogation.