Criminal Forensic Science

For readers of His Name Is George Floyd and Under the Skin A landmark investigation into forensic medicine that exposes the systematic concealment of state-sanctioned violence through death investigations Each year, police officers kill over 1,000 people they've sworn to protect and serve. While...

Written by the world's leading expert on false confessions, this landmark book reveals the psychology behind why innocent men, women, and children, intensely stressed and befuddled by the promises, threats, trickery, and deception of a police interrogation, are duped into confession, no matter how horrific the crime.

Forensic Science Errors and Wrongful Convictions: Case Studies and Root Causes provides a rigorous and detailed examination of two key issues: the continuing problem of wrongful convictions and the role of forensic science in these miscarriages of justice.

When the ashes had settled after World War II and the Allies convened an international war crimes trial in Nuremberg, a psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley, and a psychologist, Gustave Gilbert, tried to fathom the psychology of the Nazi leaders using extensive psychiatric interviews, IQ tests, and Rorschach inkblot tests. Never before or since has there been such a detailed study of governmental leaders who orchestrated mass killings.

Award-winning investigative journalist and clean-food activist Mike Adams, the “Health Ranger”, is founder and editor of Natural News, one of the top health news websites in the world, reaching millions of readers each month. Now in Food Forensics, Adams meticulously tests groceries, fast foods, dietary supplements, spices, and protein powders for heavy metals and toxic elements that could be jeopardizing your health.

'From cold cases and serial killers to the death of a spy, Peter's true life story is as gripping as the finest thriller' – Peter James, bestselling author of One of Us Is Dead Discover the truth beyond the police tape in What Lies Beneath, the arresting memoir of murder, investigation and...

"Creepy crawling" was the Manson Family's practice of secretly entering someone's home and, without harming anyone, leaving only a trace of evidence that they had been there, some reminder that the sanctity of the private home had been breached. Now, author Jeffrey Melnick reveals just how much the Family creepy crawled their way through Los Angeles in the sixties and then on through American social, political, and cultural life for close to fifty years, firmly lodging themselves in our minds.

An especially useful book for women living alone, parents who are concerned about their children's safety, and employers worried about employees who might go postal, Dangerous Instincts gives us the tools used by professionals to navigate potentially hazardous waters. Like The Gift of Fear and The Sociopath Next Door, it will appeal to anyone looking to make the right call in an ever threatening world.

Eric Brach's new book Double Lives: True Tales of the Criminals Next Door offers terrifying true stories about the criminals hidden among us and the banality of evil and crime, elevated by its frank discussion of the nation-wide criminal scourge of the moment: opioid addiction. Double Lives chronicles the very monsters who walk unnoticed among us - even serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy. They are neighbors and students, professionals and friends living out criminal double lives.

From the Roaring '20s to the 1970s, detectives reigned supreme in police departments across the country. In this tightly woven slice of true crime reportage, Thomas A. Reppetto offers a behind-the-scenes look into some of the most notable investigations to occur during the golden age of the detective in American criminal justice.

Was a monstrous killer brought to justice or an innocent mother condemned? On an April night in 1989, Jo Ann Parks survived a house fire that claimed the lives of her three small children. Though the fire at first seemed a tragic accident, investigators soon reported finding evidence proving...

This book explores the science, psychology, and controversy behind polygraph testing. Far from being a flawless instrument of justice, the polygraph is better understood as a “stress detector” than a “lie detector.” It measures physiological changes—heart rate, breathing patterns, and skin conductance—that may be linked to deception but are not exclusive to it. Nervousness, fear, anger, or even the pressure of being under suspicion can all produce the same readings as a lie. This ambiguity is at the core of the ongoing debate about whether polygraphs are reliable science or clever theater.

Insekten führen ihn zum Täter. Aus vielen Krimis und Serien ist das bekannt: Wenn jemand stirbt, feiert die Natur ein Festbankett. Aber können die natürlichen Gegebenheiten tatsächlich wichtige Fakten liefern, die zur Aufklärung beitragen? Wie bestimmt man den Todeszeitpunkt mithilfe von Insekten? Und wie lange lag die Leiche wirklich am See? ZDFInfo urteilt über den deutschlandweit bekannten Entomologen und Forensiker Marcus Schwarz: "Von ihm kam der entscheidende Hinweis."

Nahlah Saimeh weiß, dass aus scheinbar "normalen" Menschen Mörder werden können, dass die Anlage zur Gewalt in jedem steckt, und was das für eine immer brutaler werdende Gesellschaft bedeutet. Als forensische Psychiaterin kennt die Autorin die verschiedensten Arten von Gewalt. In faszinierenden Fallbeispielen spannt sie den Bogen von Gewalt im sozialen Umfeld bis zu Gewalt und Terror im öffentlichen Raum und regt jeden dazu an, sich zu fragen, wo er selbst steht.

What motivates those who commit violence in the name of political beliefs? Terrorism today is not solely the preserve of Islam, nor is it a new phenomenon. It emerges from social processes and conditions common to societies throughout modern history, and the story of its origins spans centuries, encompassing numerous radical and revolutionary movements. Marc Sageman is a forensic psychiatrist and government counter-terrorism consultant whose bestselling books provide a detailed, damning corrective to commonplace yet simplistic notions of Islamist terrorism.

Dank Hollywood gilt Hannibal Lecter als Inbegriff des infernalischen Serienmörders. Doch wer sind diese Täter in der Wirklichkeit? Der Kriminalexperte Stephan Harbort hat zahlreiche von ihnen in ihren Hochsicherheitszellen besucht und interviewt, um Motivation, Tathergang und Täterprofil zu erforschen. Er befasste sich mit allen 75 deutschen Serienmördern seit 1945 - eine aufschlussreiche und schockierende Dokumentation, aus der man viel über die Psyche solcher Täter erfährt.

Warum ist der Mensch böse? Die Kriminalpsychologin und Bestsellerautorin Julia Shaw leuchtet die Abgründe unserer Psyche aus. Von Psychopathen wie Charles Manson oder Serienmördern wie Jack the Ripper geht eine unheimliche Faszination aus. Doch woher kommt sie? Und warum verdrängen wir so gern das alltäglichere Böse - von den eigenen Gewaltphantasien bis zum Machtmissbrauch im Büro? Die Kriminalpsychologin und Bestsellerautorin Julia Shaw taucht das Phänomen des Bösen in neues Licht. Shaw sucht und findet das Böse nicht nur in den Gehirnen von Massenmördern, sondern in jedem von uns.

From Sandy Hook, Connecticut, to Aurora, Colorado, to Tucson, Arizona, this nation has been racked from coast to coast with mass shootings perpetrated by criminals with sick minds. Authors Dr. Liebert and Dr. Birnes believe the increase in violence is an epidemic and dig deep into the causes of mental illness to determine what exactly is going on with these individuals and society as a whole, and what action can be taken to slow this frightening trend toward mass violence.

Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story - they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe.

Lydia Benecke, Co-Autorin des Long- und Bestsellers "Aus der Dunkelkammer des Bösen" geht dem Ursprung des Bösen nach. Die Gefängnispsychologin, Fachfrau für besondere Vorlieben (Paraphilien) und erfahrene Ansprechpartnerin für Kriminalermittler nimmt uns mit auf einen Streifzug der Delikte, die uns alle in unserer Gegenwart so beschäftigen: U-Bahn-Schläger, rohe Gewalt, Amokläufer, Tierquälerei, Sadismus, Kannibalismus, Kindesmissbrauch und brutale Misshandlung. Was geht in so einem Täter nur vor? Und wie nah dran sind diese schrecklichen Taten an den ganz normalen Fantasien, die jeder von uns schon einmal hatte?