Defining Psychic Criminology

Parapsychology – Psychic Criminology

In this course, Professor Ciarán O’Keeffe (Buckinghamshire New University) explores the role of psychic involvement in criminal investigations. In the first lecture, we think about how to define psychic criminology and the involvement of psychics in police investigations. In the second lecture, we think about a history of psychic detection in police investigations. Next, we think about the Williston case as a key example of psychic involvement in a police investigation. In the fourth and final lecture, we think about the sceptical perspective on psychic detection and ways in which psychic predictions can be made to seem more impressive than they are.

Defining Psychic Criminology

In this lecture, we think about how to define psychic criminology, focusing in particular on: i) defining parapsychology and recognising its overlap with investigative psychology in psychic criminology; (ii) the role of psychics in providing external advice to criminal investigations; (iii) defining psychic criminology as the involvement of individuals who claim to be able to use a psychic ability to assist with criminal investigations; (iv) the use of psychics in jury selection in certain areas of North America, as well as the involvement of a psychic in a specific murder case, in an attempt to communicate with the deceased victim; (v) the specific abilities that might be used by psychics to assist in investigations.