嘘発見器、犯罪者プロファイリング、精神疾患と法、連続殺人犯の心理…これらのニュースやフィクションなどで扱われるトピックの数々は皆、急速に発展している法心理学の領域の事象です。しばしば議論を呼ぶこの分野において、研究者と現場の人間、行動科学、法律の間にあるギャップをどのように埋めるのかを明らかにします。
   

• Examines the role of forensic psychology in the legal process, explaining it is, what it does, and where it came from
• Explores whether there is a criminal psychological profile and whether criminals can be considered 'different' from the rest of society
• Highlights the areas where forensic psychology has made a significant impact on the criminal justice system, such as assisting police interviewing techniques and reducing miscarriages of justice
• Discusses the challenges to forensic psychology, most notably the conflict between the two disciplines of psychology and law
• Defines the fundamental differences between forensic psychology and criminology
• Considers the role that forensic psychology plays in the rehabilitation and 'treatment' of convicted criminals

  
Lie detection, offender profiling, jury selection, insanity in the law, predicting the risk of re-offending , the minds of serial killers and many other topics that fill news and fiction are all aspects of the rapidly developing area of scientific psychology broadly known as Forensic Psychology. 
 
Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction discusses all the aspects of psychology that are relevant to the legal and criminal process as a whole. It includes explanations of criminal behaviour and criminality, including the role of mental disorder in crime, and discusses how forensic psychology contributes to helping investigate the crime and catching the perpetrators. 
 
It also explains how psychologists provide guidance to all those involved in civil and criminal court proceedings, including both the police and the accused, and what expert testimony can be provided by a psychologist about the offender at the trial. Finally, David Canter examines how forensic psychology is used, particularly in prisons, to help in the management, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders, once they have been convicted.