Abstract
The emphasis of our current debate is on the extent to which we can increase the veracity of
what offenders tell us. I would argue that offenders are human beings, subject to the same
limitations of memory as any individual, but equally influenced by the methods we have
learnt to enhance memory. The grounded approach to research on residential burglary that
has prevailed in the last 30 years has encouraged a triangulation of various methodologies
and has certainly aided us in incorporating existing memory-enhancing techniques and
discovering new ones. This will be the focus of this chapter. I will begin with a brief
overview of grounded approaches to offender-based work and review the research on
residential burglary within that paradigm. I will look at the debate surrounding the relative
value of data gleaned from convicted offenders in comparison to active offenders and I will
point to the remarkable consistency in the findings gleaned from a whole variety of samples
and methodologies in the residential burglary field. I will then turn to an examination of the
parameters of autobiographical memory and how techniques which have emerged in our
offender-based research can complement these strictures well. I will describe some memoryenhancing
techniques developed over the last two decades and how all of these can help us in
our quest for more accurate data, including life-events calendars and lessons learnt from the
cognitive interview (Fisher and Geiselman, 1992). I will end with a description of some
planned new work which will bring together expertise in context-reinstatement using laptop
simulations and may resolve the longstanding discussion over the use of active versus
incarcerated offenders in research.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Offenders on Offending: learning about crime from criminals |
Editors | W. Bernasco |
Place of Publication | Devon |
Publisher | Willan Publishing |
Number of pages | 328 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781843927761 |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |