The scripts and expertise of firesetters: A preliminary conceptualization

Butler, Helen; Gannon, Theresa A.

doi:10.1016/j.avb.2014.12.011

Cited by 28 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Consider the significant technical knowledge and skill associated with computer hacking (Holt, Bossler, & Seigfried-Spellar, 2015); the competent interpersonal skill displayed in certain forms of identity theft (Vieraitis, Copes, Powell, & Pike, 2015); or the planning, grooming, and deception required to elude detection in the predatory child molester (Fortune, Bourke, & Ward, 2015;Ward, 1999). Such "expertise" has also been reported in social cue processing in street criminals (Topalli, 2005); the procedural scripts of arsonists (Butler & Gannon, 2015); the practiced coercion and control used in the planning and execution of murder (Brookman, 2015), domestic abuse (Day & Bowen, 2015), and rape Ó Ciardha, 2015; and finally the perceptual and procedural scripts of carjackers (Topalli, Jacques, & Wright, 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Learning on the job: Studying expertise in residential burglars using virtual environments*

et al. 2019

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In this article, we describe a quasi‐experiment in which experienced incarcerated burglars (n = 56), other offenders (n = 50), and nonoffenders (n = 55) undertook a mock burglary within a virtual neighborhood. We draw from the cognitive psychology literature on expertise and apply it to offending behavior, demonstrating synergy with rational choice perspectives, yet extending them in several respects. Our principal goal was to carry out the first robust test of expertise in offenders by having these groups undertake a burglary in a fully fledged reenactment of a crime in a virtual environment. Our findings indicate that the virtual environment successfully reinstated the context of the crime showing clear differences in the decision making of burglars compared with other groups in ways commensurate with expertise in other behavioral domains. Specifically, burglars scoped the neighborhood more thoroughly, spent more time in the high‐value areas of the crime scene while traveling less distance there, and targeted different goods from the comparison groups. The level of detail in the data generated sheds new light on the cognitive processes and actions of burglars and how they “learn on the job.” Implications for criminal decision‐making perspectives and psychological theories of expertise are discussed.

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confidence: 99%

Learning on the job: Studying expertise in residential burglars using virtual environments*

et al. 2019

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“…1. Automatic, unintentional, pre-conscious appraisal of the environment that cannot be turned For offenders, most evidence comes from empirical work associated with decision-making in burglars (see Nee, 2015 for a review) but superior knowledge of cues, script-like knowledge and ease/automaticity of behaviour have been cited frequently in interview studies in the emerging literature, for example, implicit planning in child sex offenders and identity thieves (Ward & Hudson, 2000;Vieraitis, Copes, Powell & Pike, 2015) and use of automatic scripts in sex offenders (Bourke, Ward & Rose, 2012;Fortune, Bourke & Ward, 2015), firesetters (Butler & Gannon, 2015), and carjackers (Topalli, Jacques & Wright, 2015).…”

Section: Functional and Dysfunctional Expertisementioning

confidence: 99%

Expertise and its contribution to the notion of protective factors in offender rehabilitation and desistance

Nee¹,

Vernham²

2017

Aggression and Violent Behavior

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In the field of offender corrections, a preoccupation with risk prediction has come at the expense of explanation, and an overemphasis on risk factors has come at the expense of understanding protective factors. Some strides have been made in describing and categorising the types of factors that protect young people from a life of crime, or promote competencies and potentials that help them avoid it altogether. We argue, however, that like the field of dynamic risk factors, we know very little about the nature and function of these features, beyond describing them.The article describes theory and research associated with expertise and its qualities and value as both a risk and a protective factor in the prevention of crime. It draws from literature in forensic psychology, criminology, resilience and neuroscience.

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“…There is, however, a range of evidence to suggest that these assumptions might also apply to offending behaviour. For example, the existence of offending scripts that have the potential to generate behavioural consistency has been discussed in relation to a variety of offending behaviours, including burglary (e.g., Wright & Decker, ), firesetting (Butler & Gannon, ), sexual offending (Beauregard, Proulx, Rossmo, Leclerc, & Allaire, ; Ward & Hudson, , ), robbery (Cornish, ), and carjacking (Topalli, Jacques, & Wright, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The feasibility of using crime scene behaviour to detect versatile serial offenders: An empirical test of behavioural consistency, distinctiveness, and discrimination accuracy

Tonkin

Woodhams

2015

Legal Criminol Psychol

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Purpose. To test whether geographical, temporal, and modus operandi (MO) crime scene behaviours can be used to support behavioural case linkage (BCL) with crime series that contain several different types of offence.Methods. Crime scene data relating to 749 solved commercial burglaries and robberies were extracted from the databases of the Metropolitan Police Service, London, England. From these data, 2,231 linked crime pairs (containing two crimes committed by the same offender) and 273,422 unlinked crime pairs were created (two crimes committed by different offenders). Three measures of similarity were calculated for each crime pair: (1) the kilometre distance between crimes (intercrime distance [ICD]); (2) the number of days between crimes (temporal proximity [TP]); and (3) a statistical measure of similarity in MO behaviour (Jaccard's coefficient). Statistical tests of difference, binary leave-oneout logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used to determine whether the three measures of similarity could be used to distinguish between linked and unlinked crime pairs, some containing only burglaries (burglary pairs), some containing only robberies (robbery pairs), and some containing both burglaries and robberies (cross-crime pairs).Results. Linked and unlinked crime pairs could be distinguished with a high level of accuracy (AUCs > .90), with the highest accuracy when combining ICD, TP, and Jaccard's coefficient. These findings were replicated with the burglary pairs, robbery pairs, and cross-crime pairs.Conclusions. Offender behaviour is sufficiently consistent and distinctive to support the use of BCL with versatile crime series, as well as with burglary crime series and robbery crime series.

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The scripts and expertise of firesetters: A preliminary conceptualization

Cited by 28 publications

References 57 publications

Learning on the job: Studying expertise in residential burglars using virtual environments*

Learning on the job: Studying expertise in residential burglars using virtual environments*

Expertise and its contribution to the notion of protective factors in offender rehabilitation and desistance

The feasibility of using crime scene behaviour to detect versatile serial offenders: An empirical test of behavioural consistency, distinctiveness, and discrimination accuracy

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