PREFACE

About the Text

In 2010, we co-authored Forensic Psychology and Law, a text published by Wiley and written for the American market. We used this textbook for our undergraduate forensic psychology course at Simon Fraser University, and given that both Canadian and American researchers conducted much of the research we describe in the book, it was well-received by our students. One major shortcoming was that the text summarized the U.S. laws relevant to forensic topics, such as fitness to stand trial, civil commitment, and juveniles in the legal system. We supplemented this in our lectures with overviews of Canadian law, but we were not satisfied that this was an ideal way to introduce students in Canadian universities to forensic psychology. So we approached Wiley Canada to suggest that a Canadian edition of our text would be of interest. To our delight, they were enthusiastic about this adaption, and the result is this textbook.

Our goal in writing this text was to provide a comprehensive overview of the diverse and broad field of forensic psychology, including applications in both the criminal and civil legal systems, with a focus on the Canadian experience. The core topics include forensic assessment in the criminal and civil domains, treat- ment, children and juveniles in the legal system, eyewitness testimony, police and police investigations, jury decision making, and correctional psychology.

Chapter 2 describes the Canadian legal system, providing a foundation for an understanding of the application of forensic psychology to the law. In addition, each of the other chapters contains a review of Canadian law relevant to the topic covered, and we have updated the research to include studies conducted since the U.S. edition. We frequently make reference to individual cases or research studies to illustrate key points. This is a distinctive feature of this textbook as students will learn the basic legal systems and processes that stimulate psycho- logical research and often benefit from it.

The perspective that permeates this textbook is that forensic psychology should be based on an applied and community-oriented perspective. We define forensic psychology as the application of psychological theory and research to legal questions and problems. We have a deep respect for the idea of law, believe forensic psychologists must understand the law as it relates to their areas of expertise, and judge the usefulness of research and practice according to the extent they help answer legal questions or solve legal problems. One of our fundamental assumptions is that forensic psychology must strive not only to understand the impact of the legal system on individuals within society, but also to improve or enhance the well-being of individuals and the society in which they live.

We wrote this book for undergraduate students who are interested in learning about forensic psychology; however, it can be used by any person who is interested in learning what forensic psychologists do in the relevant legal context. We assume that students will have little background knowledge of this field, and we wrote each chapter so that the reader will gain an understanding of the law and how psychological research and practice can impact our system of justice.b We hope that you enjoy this text and find it a useful resource in your studies of forensic psychology.

Pedagogical Features

We created a structure for each chapter that we hope facilitates learning, aids students’ understanding of the material covered, and makes this text user friendly.

• Chapter Learning Objectives outline the key learning points for each chapter.

• Case Study boxes illustrate how theories and concepts discussed are applied in real-world cases; these are accompanied by Critical Thinking Questions to encourage analysis and facilitate understanding of the material.

• Insight boxes provide further information about and insight into material covered in the chapter.

• Key Terms are highlighted throughout each chapter, with accompanying definitions in the margins, and are listed in the glossary at the end of the text.

• Discussion Questions offer students the opportunity to review and assess their understanding of the material covered in each chapter. Answers to the discussion questions are provided in the instructor’s manual.

• References are provided at the end of each chapter for quick and easy access.

• Suggested Readings and Websites are provided for further study.

Resources for Instructors and Students

Instructor and student resources are available on the textbook’s companion web- site, www.wiley.com/go/roeschcanada.

Instructor Resources

• Test Bank: The test bank includes multiple-choice and essay questions with answers. Questions are coded by type and difficulty, with references to the

relevant sections in the text. The test bank is available as Word files and as a computerized test bank, in an easy-to-use test-generating program.

• Instructor’s Manual: The instructor’s manual includes a chapter summary outline, answers to end-of-chapter discussion questions, and suggested classroom activities.

• PowerPoint© Presentations: A full series of PowerPoint© slides has been prepared for each chapter and includes an outline of key points from each chapter.

Student Resources

• Web Links: Links to relevant websites, such as those for professional organizations, journal and news articles, and other resources are provided.

• PowerPoint© Presentations: A full series of PowerPoint© slides has been prepared for each chapter and includes an outline of key points from each chapter.

Acknowledgments

Professional Feedback

Throughout the process of writing and developing this text, we benefited from the feedback and constructive criticism provided by the instructors listed below. We offer our sincere appreciation to these individuals for their helpful review.

Angela Book, Brock University

Sonja Brubacher, Wilfrid Laurier University

Jack Hirschberg, Concordia University

Connie Korpan, Grande Prairie Regional College Lynn McCaw, Vancouver Island University Heather Price, University of Regina

Brent Snook, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Reid Webster, Thompson Rivers University

Abe Worenklein, Concordia University

Special Thanks

Our first textbook on forensic psychology was published by Wiley in the United States. We are grateful to Patricia Rossi, our editor at Wiley U.S. who first suggested that we write that text and later encouraged us to prepare the Canadian edition. The editorial team at Wiley Canada, Gail Brown and Rodney Burke, provided thoughtful and helpful feedback on each of the chapters and they have both been a pleasure with whom to work throughout the many months spent writing this text.

The U.S. text was co-authored by Roesch, Zapf, and Hart. We were delighted to have Deborah Connolly join us for the Canadian edition. Her background in both law and psychology was essential for producing the type of textbook we wanted, one that had a solid foundation in the Canadian laws to which psycho- logical research and practice can be applied.

Our sincerest thanks are offered to the contributors who worked on the text’s ancillaries: Angela Book, Brock University (Instructor’s Manual) and Connie Korpan, Grande Prairie Regional College (Test Bank).

In addition, a heartfelt thank you to Audrey McClellan and Julie van Tol for their copy editing and proofreading contributions, which were very much appreciated.

All the writing and production of this book would be wasted without the energetic and dedicated sales and marketing staff. We wish to sincerely thank the marketing team and sales representatives for their tireless efforts on behalf of this book.

On a personal note, each of us would like to thank our families for their love, support, and patience while we worked on this project. Also, Steve, Patty, and Deb would like to thank Ron for his mentorship over the years. If there does exist a strong and unique Simon Fraser University (SFU) perspective, it is thanks to Ron. Ron is the person who established and developed SFU’s Program in Law and Forensic Psychology—he had the vision, recruited faculty and students, and worked tirelessly to nurture the program. He also helped us to establish careers of our own, and for this he has our thanks, as well as our love and respect.

About the Authors

Ronald Roesch is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute at Simon Fraser University. He received his PhD in clinical psychology in 1977 at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on competency assessment of adults and youth, jail/prison mental health programs, and assessment and treatment of young offenders. He is a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association. He has served as president of the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS) and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the journals Law and Human Behavior and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Professor Roesch received the Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in the Field of Psychology and Law Award in 2009 from APLS, and in 2010 received APLS’s Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Psychology and Law Award. In 2011, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Contributions to Psychology and Law from the European Association of Psychology and Law.

Patricia A. Zapf received her PhD in forensic clinical psychology from Simon Fraser University in 1999. She is Professor in the Department of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the City University of New York. Dr. Zapf is the Editor of the American Psychology-Law Society Book Series and an Associate Editor for Law and Human Behavior. She was appointed Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a Distinguished Member of the American Psychology-Law Society in 2006 for outstanding contributions to the field of psychology and law. She is the President Elect of the American Psychology-Law Society and has published widely on the assessment of criminal competencies.

Stephen D. Hart obtained his PhD in clinical psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1993. He is Professor in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University and Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen. His research focuses on the assessment of violence risk and psychopathic personality disorder. He has served as President of the American Psychology-Law Society and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services, and as a Director of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. He is a recipient of the Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Research Excellence in Psychology and Law from the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, the Career Achievement Award from the Society of Clinical Psychology, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

Deborah A. Connolly is Associate Professor in Psychology at Simon Fraser University. She received her PhD from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, in 1997 and her LL.B. from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, in 2000. Her research interests focus on young children who are involved in the legal system, with a particular interest in memory for repeated experiences and perceived credibility. Professor Connolly serves on the editorial boards of Law and Human Behavior and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.