University News Last updated 13 June 2016
Dr Matthew Tonkin and Dr Amy Burrell from the Department of Psychology have recently returned from a trip to New York City where they presented research findings at the prestigious International Academy of Investigative Psychology (IAIP) conference (13-14 May 2016).
Hosted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the conference drew together academics and criminal justice professionals from all over the world to discuss new research findings and emerging trends in crime. Dr Tonkin and Dr Burrell were presenting the research findings from the Crime Linkage International Network (C-LINK) with partners from the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada. Collaborators from Belgium, South Africa, and Finland also contributed to the content.
The C-LINK project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust over two years to set up an international network of academics and practitioners with a professional interest in crime linkage. Crime linkage focuses on identifying crimes committed by the same offender using similarity in crime scene behaviour as the basis for these decisions.
The aim of C-LINK was to establish a coherent, evidence-based approach to the detection of serial sexual offenders using crime linkage techniques. Two research projects have been completed so far – the findings of which were discussed at the IAIP conference – and there is ongoing work to develop the research and expand the network.
For more information about C-LINK please see the C-LINK website or email us on matthew.tonkin@bcu.ac.uk and amy.burrell@bcu.ac.uk