Behavioural Sciences Services
A behavioural and / or geographic consultation, in the early stages of an investigation, can provide a perspective or an interpretation of the facts that may not surface during the course of the traditional investigative process. This process is less than a full profile or personality assessment, and changes as more information is known. This service can be useful in generating early leads, providing an alternative investigative direction, identifying the significance of existing information, or interpreting the crime scene.
Behavioural and geographic analysis and consultations can provide investigators with a means of examining a case or series of cases from a much different perspective. During the early stages of an investigation, advice can be provided about the behavioural and geographic components of the offender(s), crime(s) and crime site(s). Suggestions regarding investigative tactics and approaches, threat assessments and the utility of covert operations can flow from this process.
Sensitive investigations, stalled investigations, investigations outside the realm or interest of law enforcement, and investigations where another perspective is required, are all suitable cases for the members of Lions Gate Investigations Group. Our collective training and experience places us in the unique position of being able to offer a perspective that few police officers or private sector investigators can.
Each member of the LGIG team has successfully completed a rigorous training program that was developed and is managed by the ICIAF (International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship). The training and certification
program takes between 24-36 months to complete. It involves various courses of academic study, 3 one month practicums, an examination case and an oral examination board. Our members are qualified experts who are relied upon by the Courts to provide opinion evidence on a variety of these specialty areas.
Indirect Personality Assessments
Indirect Personality Assessments discreetly evaluate information about a problematic person in a work setting. These assessments determine a basic personality type and key motivational factors. They provide valuable insight to select and plan best strategies to manage the person and the situation.
Interviewing Strategies
Appropriate techniques or approaches maximize the success of an interview and overall corporate investigations. We have developed successful interview strategies for reluctant witnesses, problematic victims, persons of interest, suspects and offenders. We've successfully developed strategies for people with a variety of mental difficulties. Interview support in
monitoring important interviews and critical advice about deception, and personality based interview techniques is available.
Statement Analysis
Statement Analysis detects deception and additional information by examining a person's word use, in written or recorded interviews. Our staff have analyzed countless witness, victim, and offender statements; and identified people responsible for a variety of complaints. This assists investigators to quickly focus and allocate resources cost effectively. Questionnaires can be distributed and analyzed in an effort to prioritize the most likely suspect among a group of people.
Forensic Linguistic Analysis
Forensic linguistics involves analysis of language evidence from emails, letters, text messages, and other documents in which authorship is anonymous or questionable. Sociolinguistic analysis makes it possible to identify demographic information about an author. Forensic authorship comparison is performed to identify an author on the basis of his or her known writing attributes, including preferred grammatical structures, collocations, lexical choices, and other distinguishing features.
Analysis of Anonymous or Threatening Documents
Analysis of anonymous or threatening documents provides insight into threatening, unusual or inappropriate anonymous communications. Recognizing core traits can assist to identifying the author of a document. This provides an understanding of the reason for sending the message and their intentions. We have considerable experience in anonymous threats regarding extortion, stalking, and harassment. We have also successfully identified falsely alleged crimes and complaints.
Determining Falsely Alleged Incidents
Determining falsely alleged incidents avoids wasting valuable investigative resources. Hoax complaints can be the basis of false accusations in a variety of settings, such as stalking, sexual assault, workplace problems, or can underlay fraudulent insurance or benefit claims.
Investigative Consulting
Investigative Consulting incorporates behavioural analysis, investigative experience, and consideration of physical and forensic evidence. It assists to develop investigative approaches to efficiently conclude investigations. Consideration of motivation, techniques and sophistication can assist to determine identities in extortion and product tampering cases. Psychological profiles, undercover strategies and suspect evaluation are also available.
Our goal is to provide a more organized and comprehensive understanding of the behavioural, personality and motivational characteristics of the people involved in corporate investigations.
Psychological Profiles
Psychological Profiles offer a description of a person's traits in an unknown case. They assist to identify suspects responsible for a variety of incidents. Our staff has experience in developing profiles that have aided investigations of arson, extortion, product tampering, criminal harassment, and threatening.
Threat Assessment
Threat Assessment is the evaluation of risk factors, inappropriate behaviour, communications or verbal or electronic threats; to determine the level of risk posed by an individual or group. Specially designed case management strategies enhance organizational safety. Victim safety plans and contact strategies for threateners reduce the risk of a violent outcome. Threat assessments are regularly used include: stalking, relationship conflicts, workplace conflicts harassment and threats, threats to medical professionals, politicians, celebrities or other public figures and investigators. Threat assessments offer a prediction of what an offender might do, and assists clients to regain control of potentially dangerous situations.
Equivocal Death Analysis
This product provides a written opinion as to the most likely manner of death (accident, suicide or homicide), based on a thorough analysis of all the information known about the victim and the circumstances of the death. This process involves a thorough examination and review of the subject of interest and the details of the event surrounding the death.
Geographic Analysis
The geographic analyst provides a service related to the geography of a crime or crime series. The objective of the geographic analysis process is to determine the most probable location of the offender’s / subject’s anchor point, which is most frequently his/her residence, based on the location of the crime sites. The analysis involves the interpretation of the offender’s hunting methodology and victim selection process. There are a variety of analytical methodologies that can be applied depending on the case requirements and data available.
Time/Speed/Distance Calculation
This product is designed to provide the client with an approximate idea of how far a subject can travel in a given period of time. Calculations can be done on a person who is walking, jogging, riding a bicycle or driving a vehicle.
Mapping Assistance
Clients have requested assistance mapping out locations related to a crime, series of crimes or an incident that is subject to a judicial investigation or hearing. Mapping can be useful when reconstructing historical cases, data or for presentation purposes for briefings and court.
Training
Training is available on a variety of topics including: Corporate Interviewing and Risk Assessment for Corporate Threat Management Teams and *Workplace Violence.
Our Behavioural Analysis Team
Keith Davidson
Lorna Fadden
Lorna Fadden, Ph.D. is a forensic linguist who consults in cases where language is evidence. She performs forensic linguistic analysis on documents of questionable authorship, including threats and other anonymous communications for purposes of attribution or sociolinguistic profiling. She also examines spoken or written discourse to clarify intention and meaning, assess competence, and resolve ambiguities.
In 2008, she completed her doctorate in the Department of Linguistics at Simon Fraser University. Her dissertation research on the language of police interviewing focused on discourse and speech properties. She conducts ongoing research on the discourse of police interviews, particularly addressing issues of suspects' competence as well as suspects' and investigators' discourse strategies. Fadden's research also focuses on the linguistic differences between Native and non-Native citizens in their interactions with police.
A current member of the International Association of Forensic Linguistics, and the International Language and Law Association, Dr. Fadden publishes and presents her work nationally and internationally.
Since 2001, she has taught linguistics at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia in the areas of sociolinguistics, syntax, and forensics.
Prior to her work in forensic linguistics, Fadden spent several years in the high tech industry where she provided linguistic expertise in artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
Scot Filer
Mr. Filer graduated from the Law and Security Administration Program at Niagara College in Welland, Ontario in 1977. He moved on to a thirty year career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Mr. Filer spent twenty-six of his thirty years in the area of Major Crime Investigations in British Columbia, the last eleven in the highly specialized area of Behavioural Sciences. Scot concluded his policing career at the rank of Staff Sergeant in charge of operations and investigations for the Behavioural Sciences Group.
Mr. Filer is a very experienced major crime investigator and has led several major investigations and multi-jurisdictional projects. Mr. Filer has received law enforcement certifications in the areas of geographic profiling, threat evaluation and management, tactical human tracking, surveillance and executive protection. He has provided law enforcement services to agencies across Canada, as well in the United States, England, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Belize and South Africa.
He possesses an extensive track record of expertise with more than 1700 criminal cases, including complex, multi-jurisdictional cases involving agencies at the local, provincial, national and international level.Multi-certified in best practice pre-emptive and investigative techniques, Scot is one of the foremost experts globally in the use of geographic profiling methodologies to analyze crime patterns and offender hunting behaviours. Scot has experience building collaborative partnerships and working relationships between the law enforcement community, private sector companies and the academic community. He is an insightful analyst and strategist whose advice has been sought by law enforcement agencies and private sector clients around the world.
Scot's policing experience is diverse and includes, residential and commercial burglaries, arsons, auto thefts, criminal intelligence, gang related crimes, sex crimes, robberies, homicides, executive protection, interviewing and interrogation, statement analysis, crime linkage analysis, threat evaluation and management and tactical human tracking.
Robert Hare
Robert Hare is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia, where he has taught and conducted research for some 35 years, and President of Darkstone Research Group Ltd., a forensic research and consulting firm. Dr. Hare has devoted most of his academic career to the investigation of psychopathy - its nature, assessment, and implications for mental health and criminal justice.
He is the author of several books, including Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us, and more than one hundred scientific articles on psychopathy. He is the developer of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and a co-author of its derivatives, the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version, the Antisocial Process Screening Device, and the P-Scan (for use in law enforcement). He consults with law enforcement, including the FBI and the RCMP, sits on the Research Advisory Board of the new FBI Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center (CASMIRC), and is a member of the FBI Serial Murder Working Group. He was also a member of the Advisory Panel established by Her Majesty’s Prison Service to develop new programs for the treatment of psychopathic offenders. His current research on psychopathy includes assessment issues, developmental factors, neurobiological correlates, risk for recidivism and violence, and the development (with S. Wong) of new treatment and management strategies for psychopathic offenders (Guidelines for a Psychopathy Treatment Program).
He and Paul Babiak have extended the theory and research on psychopathy to the business and corporate world, with the development of the B-Scan-360, a 360º instrument used to screen for psychopathic traits and behaviors, and a book, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work. He lectures widely on psychopathy and on the use and misuse of the PCL-R in the mental health and criminal justice systems. Among his most recent awards are the Silver Medal of the Queen Sophia Center in Spain; the Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Applications of Psychology; the American Academy of Forensic Psychology Award for Distinguished Applications to the Field of Forensic Psychology; the Isaac Ray Award presented by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law for Outstanding Contributions to Forensic Psychiatry and Psychiatric Jurisprudence; the B. Jaye Anno Award for Excellence in Communication, presented by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy. He is an Affiliate Member of the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship.
Matt Logan
Dr. Matt Logan completed a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia with a focus on Crisis (Hostage) Negotiation and Major Criminal Conflict Management. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for 28 years serving in five communities within British Columbia and a tour of duty in Ottawa and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia. Matt was working as a Psychologist with Correctional Services Canada (CSC) from May, 1999 to November, 2001 where he did Psychological Risk Assessments for the National Parole Board and worked in therapy with predatory sex offenders. He is currently working as a consultant and has joined Dr. Robert Hare in forming HALO – Forensic Behavioral Specialists.
As the first Operational Psychologist in Major Crime, S/Sgt (ret.) Logan has been involved as a consultant to Serious Crime Sections, Undercover Unit, Interview Team, Child Exploitation, and Crisis Negotiation Teams. Psychological Risk and Threat Assessments are provided on suspects in serious crime investigations and Expert Evidence is given in Court on violent and deviant sexual behaviour. An FBI trained hostage negotiator, Dr. Logan is a conference speaker and facilitator specializing in Conflict and Crisis Management, Psychopathy, Risk for Violence, Sexual Predators, and Trauma.
Brad Moore
Brad Moore has been a police officer with the Ontario Provincial Police for the past 22 years. He spent 10 years in the OPP Behavioural Sciences Section as a geographic profiler and manager of the OPP Geographic Profiling Unit. He has prepared geographic profiles and conducted geographic analyses for police departments in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. He regularly lectures at police departments and educational institutions in North America and Europe.
During the course of his policing career, Brad has worked general duties at Sebringville Detachment in southwestern Ontario, as a ViCLAS analyst, as manager of the Systems Operations and Technical Support Unit, Information and Technology Services Section, and as team leader of Ontario’s Provincial ViCLAS Centre. Brad is currently one of only nine qualified geographic profilers in the world.
Jim van Allen
Jim Van Allen is President of Behavioural Science Solutions Group Inc., a private practice assisting investigators and others to find and pursue the truth. He responds to a broad range of requests for Behavioural Science support in a variety of investigations. He also provides threat assessments and risk management strategies for private sector clients.
Jim is a Certified Criminal Profiler with significant public sector experience in assisting high profile investigations. He has internationally renowned expertise in crime scene analysis, and verifying truthfulness in written, audio or video recorded statements. His reviews of serious investigations have helped to identify criminals, their motives, and the significance of critical pieces of evidence. His extensive investigative background assists him to bridge the gap between what Investigators need and successfully closing a case.
Jim has assisted to determine the manner of death in many confusing death investigations that were open to diverse interpretation. He has considerable expertise in analyzing anonymous threats and cyber-communications. He is very experienced in identifying falsely alleged crimes and hoax events.
Jim is a highly experienced interviewer and has successfully prepared personality based interview strategies that have assisted to obtain admissions and confessions in serious and problematic investigations.
Jim has lectured across Canada, at colleges and Universities, and in The Netherlands and Belgium about violent crimes, crime dynamics and threat assessment. He has testified as an expert witness at various levels of the Ontario Court of Justice, and Coroners Inquests.
Glenn Woods
Following a long and storied career in a broad range of senior law enforcement roles, more recently as RCMP Director, Behavioural Sciences for the Criminal Profiling, Geographic Profiling, Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) , National Sex Offender Registry and Truth Verification programs (Polygraph & Statement Analysis), Glenn is now lending his unique skills and talents to Lions Gate Investigations Group.
The majority of Glenn’s experience over the past 35 years has been in the area of investigating crimes of interpersonal violence. He has been involved either as an investigator or profiler in hundreds of major cases including homicides, sexual assaults, abductions (adults and children), armed robberies, arsons as well as other crimes of interpersonal violence.
In 1999 Glenn was one of two Canadian Profilers invited to an FBI symposium on school shootings where he had an opportunity to participate in the analysis of 18 school shooting incidents including Columbine. He is a co-author of a Threat Assessment Training Guide that is used in training school administrators, counsellors, psychologists and police officers, and is widely viewed as the best training available in this regard.
Glenn has been a regular lecturer at the Canadian Police College and has also guest lectured or presented at the Atlantic Police College, Toronto Police Service College, the Ontario Police College and numerous conferences in Canada, the United States and abroad.
View Workplace Violence Development, Training & Support Program