What do you think?
Rate this book
The Popular Policeman and Other Cases: Psychological Perspectives on Legal Evidence
In this compelling title, two distinguished scholars share their experiences as expert witnesses in cases ranging from eyewitness testimony, person identification and recovered memories, to false confessions, collaborative storytelling and causal attribution, in the context of various interrogation techniques and their ability to deliver reliable results. Each chapter describes in lucid, entertaining prose a representative case in the context of scholarly literature to date, showing how psychological expertise has been (and can be) used in a legal setting.
The cases include petty and serious crime, from illegal gambling, infringed trademarks and risqué courtship behaviour, to honour killing and death on the climbing wall. The authors’ findings and recommendations apply to legal systems worldwide. There is no other English-language textbook covering a similarly wide range of offences, and this volume will fill a gap in the existing literature and demonstrate how psychological expertise can be used in a much larger area than is often realised.
‘This book is a most welcome addition to the literature on law and psychology. The work of two distinguished psychologists, it is authoritative, insightful,concrete, and eminently readable.’
William Twining, Professor of Jurisprudence, University College, London
‘The Popular Policeman and Other Cases is a rare a book that is both good science and a good read.’
John Monahan, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
‘Wagenaar and Crombag display eloquence as writers, and their flair for narrative combined with faithfulness to science makes this book a remarkable work on psychology and law.’
Elizabeth Loftus, Past President, American Psychological Society
The cases include petty and serious crime, from illegal gambling, infringed trademarks and risqué courtship behaviour, to honour killing and death on the climbing wall. The authors’ findings and recommendations apply to legal systems worldwide. There is no other English-language textbook covering a similarly wide range of offences, and this volume will fill a gap in the existing literature and demonstrate how psychological expertise can be used in a much larger area than is often realised.
‘This book is a most welcome addition to the literature on law and psychology. The work of two distinguished psychologists, it is authoritative, insightful,concrete, and eminently readable.’
William Twining, Professor of Jurisprudence, University College, London
‘The Popular Policeman and Other Cases is a rare a book that is both good science and a good read.’
John Monahan, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
‘Wagenaar and Crombag display eloquence as writers, and their flair for narrative combined with faithfulness to science makes this book a remarkable work on psychology and law.’
Elizabeth Loftus, Past President, American Psychological Society
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2005
10 people want to read
About the author
Willem A. Wagenaar
13 books8 followersWilliam Albert Wagenaar was a Dutch psychologist noted for his work on the reliability of memory.
He gained fame as an expert witness in some high-profile legal cases.
Wagenaar was called as an expert witness at a series of high-profile cases. These included the trial of John Demjanjuk who was accused of being the Nazi war criminal known as Ivan the Terrible. Wagenaar was also an expert in the a much publicised Dutch incest case (The Yolanda B case). In these cases his testimony focused on the reliability or otherwise of eye witness memory
He gained fame as an expert witness in some high-profile legal cases.
Wagenaar was called as an expert witness at a series of high-profile cases. These included the trial of John Demjanjuk who was accused of being the Nazi war criminal known as Ivan the Terrible. Wagenaar was also an expert in the a much publicised Dutch incest case (The Yolanda B case). In these cases his testimony focused on the reliability or otherwise of eye witness memory
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Want to read
December 25, 2015a book that is aimed at the psychology of criminal behaviour or criminal cases.
Chapter one - is about gambling and the criminal aspects of it. The core of the psychological and legal aspect for criminalizing gambling would be: the critical element in games is the illusion that unfavourable odds may be overcome by skill or luck or both. It is this illusion against which the general public must be protected by the legislator, and which leads to the prosecution of those who desire to exploit the gullibility of their fellow man.
Chapter two - about the causality in situations as observed by various witnesses in how the brain is wired and how it is difficult to really trust observations without any subjectivity. Interested and scary reading that shows how easily people are duped by their own perceptions and views. More scary how such witnesses can lead to prosecution.
Chapter three - to be read on consumer confusion and products, it is about brand recognition and how to confuse the customer and sell it in nice legalities so that the court does see a difference. But mostly it shows that most customers rarely take the time to compare but are considered smart enough to be able to and willing to.
Chapter four - is about the average individual and how they perceive the world they live in. It is about selling an argument not based upon insight and knowledge but upon perceived knowledge. A specialist witness is perceived to tell the truth but in actuality he is there to tell the needed truth from the perspective of the party he represents, not the whole truth or even the fact that matters up for discussion are black and white. The case used in this chapter shows how much our legal system gets manipulated simply because some matters are to difficult for a layperson to really judge, so any simplification can be used as solution or judgement and yet can be totally wrong. Judicial systems are just not set up to know everything so judging anything can be a very problematic once specialized knowledge is needed.
chapter five - repressed memories to be continued....
Chapter one - is about gambling and the criminal aspects of it. The core of the psychological and legal aspect for criminalizing gambling would be: the critical element in games is the illusion that unfavourable odds may be overcome by skill or luck or both. It is this illusion against which the general public must be protected by the legislator, and which leads to the prosecution of those who desire to exploit the gullibility of their fellow man.
Chapter two - about the causality in situations as observed by various witnesses in how the brain is wired and how it is difficult to really trust observations without any subjectivity. Interested and scary reading that shows how easily people are duped by their own perceptions and views. More scary how such witnesses can lead to prosecution.
Chapter three - to be read on consumer confusion and products, it is about brand recognition and how to confuse the customer and sell it in nice legalities so that the court does see a difference. But mostly it shows that most customers rarely take the time to compare but are considered smart enough to be able to and willing to.
Chapter four - is about the average individual and how they perceive the world they live in. It is about selling an argument not based upon insight and knowledge but upon perceived knowledge. A specialist witness is perceived to tell the truth but in actuality he is there to tell the needed truth from the perspective of the party he represents, not the whole truth or even the fact that matters up for discussion are black and white. The case used in this chapter shows how much our legal system gets manipulated simply because some matters are to difficult for a layperson to really judge, so any simplification can be used as solution or judgement and yet can be totally wrong. Judicial systems are just not set up to know everything so judging anything can be a very problematic once specialized knowledge is needed.
chapter five - repressed memories to be continued....
October 30, 2017
I had the pleasure of being a student of Willem Albert Wagenaar's and this book stays with me even 10 years later. I often bring up "Identifying Ivan" in dinner conversation. Wagenaar was a fascinating, incredibly insightful man, and this book is a perfect reflection of that.
March 4, 2015
Book full of examples of the use of psychology in law. Not only in criminal law but also about the use of it in consumer law & insurance law.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews