Review of expertise and its general implications for correctional psychology and criminology

Understanding expertise in burglars: From pre-conscious scanning to action and beyond

“…Criticisms aside, they produced important evidence that the majority of experienced burglars undertook routine scanning of the environment for suitable targets in advance of the actual crime that is not opportunistic or wholly impulsive. In relation to Nee & Ward's (2015-this issue) model of expertise, their work suggests that the strength of the potential reward of burglary, linked to positive emotions in memory, will make some cues in the everyday environment more powerful and salient than others, affecting motivation and allowing the goal (of burglary) to be activated unconsciously (Chartrand & Bargh, 2002). This underpins the superiorsituational awareness that burglars (and other offenders) appear to possess, represented in Stages 1 and 2 of our model above.…”

“…The planned versus spontaneous dichotomy may seem analogous to the 'deliberative' versus 'automatic' dichotomy in decision-making. However, research on the journey between unconscious and conscious thought suggests a more intricate, multi-level and graded process in which automatic and deliberative thought may be in conflict (see Nee & Ward, 2015-this issue for more detail). In later studies with convicted burglars in the UK (Nee & Meenaghan, 2006), Australia (Goodwin, 2007), and active, unconvicted offenders in the United States (Cromwell et al, 1991;, 1994), this pattern regarding continuums of planning and expertise has been replicated.…”

“It takes skills to take a car”: Perceptual and procedural expertise in carjacking

“…Over time they have acquired sophisticated scripts (see Fiske & Taylor, 2013, 1991) that can be accessed at a moment's notice, thereby allowing them to offend without having to pause to "think the offense through." (see Nee & Ward, 2015, this issue for a more in-depth discussion of automaticity). This is especially important for a crime like carjacking, which requires would-be offenders to make almost instantaneous decisions.…”

“…This combination of both the target and the surroundings is critical to our notion of perceptual skills. It assumes that the dynamic interplay of the victim and the surroundings provides offenders with information that makes them more or less prone to carry out the offense (see also Nee & Ward, 2015, discussion of situational awareness and selective preconscious attention in this issue). In this sense, the notion of perceptual skills would seem to be an underlying component in the interaction between suitable target, capable guardian, and motivated offender that is the cornerstone of routine activities theory (see Cohen & Felson, 1979).…”

Expertise and child sex offenders

“…At the extreme ends of the continuum they noted that expert sexual offenders demonstrate a markedly greater level of skill, knowledge and techniques compared to novices. They suggested that offenders move along the continuum as they improve, evolve and gain momentum and gradually transition along the dimension from novice to expert-though as Nee and Ward (2015-in this issue) note, not all offenders will reach the level of expert.…”