University News Last updated 14 September 2010
The British Science Festival has been officially launched – with the high profile unveiling of research findings from Birmingham City University.
At a packed press conference attracting journalists from the national media Professor Jackson, Head of Psychology at the University, presented a paper entitled: ‘Against the Medical-Psychological Tradition on Understanding Serial Killing by Studying the Killers’.
Essentially Professor Jackson and his co-authors argue that interviewing convicted serial killers and “delving” into their minds – as depicted in the cult film Silence of the Lambs - is a flawed method of predicting the behaviour of similar offenders.
The presentation also considered a number of policing initiatives that have been adopted in respect of apprehending serial killers, looking at the origins and development of offender profiling and its contribution to the arrest of this type of perpetrator.
Professor Jackson added: “This theory suggests that behavioural profiling is at best benign in murder-hunt cases and at worst misleading and unhelpful to murder detectives.”
Professor Jackson was interviewed by journalists from The Times, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and the Press Association. Questions from the floor were also asked by Pallab Ghosh, the BBC’s Science correspondent.
‘Against the Medical-Psychological Tradition on Understanding Serial was co-authored by Professor Jackson, Professor David Wilson and Dr Baljit Kaur Rana, from the Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences (ELSS).
Professor Jackson’s talk was one of only three academic presentations from the hundreds submitted to be selected by organisers to help officially kick-start the festival and raise its profile to the national media
Birmingham City University is one of the major partners supporting the British Science Festival, which will be hosted in the city every four years. The University is showcasing new research that will support better lives through science, as well as supporting a number of activities that will engage with the public to show how science and technology is part of our everyday lives.
Birmingham City University is making a significant contribution to the cultural aspect of the festival after a series of stunning student artworks were selected as posters to help promote the festival.
- To find out more and how you can participate in the experience visit the University’s microsite.