The general focus of the book is on the identification of issues that have emerged as psychologists have worked with law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies in the preparation of psychological assessments of offenders or of criminal cases. The importance of providing insights that are derived through scientific rigor and are based on sound theory is underscored throughout the chapters, as is the importance of adapting psychological evidence to the rules of law, especially if the goal is to present such evidence in criminal trials. The book is divided into 2 parts; part 1 contains chapters dealing with the unique context of a criminal investigation while part 2 contains chapters focusing on the contribution of psychologists to criminal investigations. Chapters in part 1 discuss the police handling of critical incidents and the practice of offender profiling, as well as focusing on how psychology students and academic researchers can more fully support law enforcement investigative practice. Part 1 also examines five approaches to crime analysis and evaluates classification schemes for sexual offenders. Part 2 outlines a systematic process for constructing, utilizing, and evaluating psychological offender profiles and assesses the reliability of interviews with witnesses who display learning difficulties. Other chapters focus on the difficulty of assessing the validity of amnesia claims, explore the challenges of conducting post-crime psychological assessments, and propose a comprehensive program for addressing the needs of stalking victims in the United Kingdom. Case examples are peppered throughout the book to illustrate important points and, in fact, a number of the chapters involve case studies that demonstrate how psychological assessments of cases are carried out. Tables, figures, notes, appendixes, references, index