Professor David Canter

PhD, AcSS, FAPA, FBPsS, FRSM, FRSA, CPsychol
Director International Centre for Investigative Psychology President Int. Academy for Investigative Psychology

Professor David Canter, the internationally renowned applied social researcher and world-leading crime psychologist, is perhaps most widely known as one of the pioneers of "Offender Profiling" being the first to introduce its use to the UK. Professor Canterâ's conviction that any contributions made by psychologists and other social scientists to the police investigation or the legal process must have an empirical, scientific basis has led him to create the discipline of Investigative Psychology.

Over the last 20 years Professor Canter has been prolific in mapping out Investigative Psychology (selected works), opening up thinking on the psychology of criminal actions and the ways in which this can inform police investigations and the courts.

Professor Canter is frequently asked to contribute to strategic policing issues at national and international levels. He has provided expert evidence in diverse legal cases of international significance. (Applications of IP; Expert Evidence to the Courts)

David's award winning (US Anthony Award; Crime Writer's Association Golden Dagger Award) account of the development of the science behind "offender profiling" and key cases using "geographical offender profiling" can be found in his popular books Criminal Shadows as well as Mapping Murder.

David Canter's commitment to the systematic, scientific analysis of human behaviour (which recently earned him one of only 26 prestigious BPS Honorary Fellowships ever awarded from across the discipline) emerged out of his work on how people act in disasters and emergency situations from the Kings Cross fire to the Bradford City football ground disaster to the evacuation of the World Trade Centre on 9/11.

Earlier in his career, Professor Canter played a crucial role in establishing another sub-discipline: Environmental Psychology . He continues to lecture around the world on developments in this field.