Cybercrime and Forensic Psychology Talks at IMU by Speaker from Ireland

16 April 2014 – Dr Grainne Kirwan from the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Ireland gave talks on Cybercrime and Forensic Psychology at the International Medical University (IMU)’s campus in Bukit Jalil. The talks drew an audience of about 60 people consisting mainly of students, some academic staff and a few outsiders who are interested in the topics.

  Commenting on the topics that were covered in the talks, Dr Grainne Kirwan said, “Forensic psychology is a fascinating subject for many – it helps us to understand why crime exists, how offenders can be dissuaded from committing further offences, and how to help police forces during investigations, while also providing psychological insights into other aspects of the legal and criminological systems (such as jury decision making and victimology). The portrayal of offender profiling in the popular media through various television shows and films is not always accurate, and only considers a small subset of the range of activities and research conducted by forensic psychologists. However it has increased the general awareness of and interest in the topic in many people, thus enhancing the contributions that professionals in the area can make to legal systems and encouraging new researchers and practitioners in the field. While forensic psychology considers a wide variety of types of crime, my own particular area of interest is cybercrime, which has become an increasingly important research area due to the widespread use of online services by modern society.”

“The audience at both of my talks really engaged with the information, and I was delighted to be able to share an overview of both forensic psychology generally, and the psychology of cybercrime, with such an engaged group. I was very impressed by their interactions and questions, which showed a real interest in the topics, and I very much hope that anyone who wishes to pursue a career or research in these areas will continue to read and learn more about these fascinating areas,” added Dr Grainne Kirwan.

Dr Gráinne Kirwan is a lecturer in psychology in IADT, teaching on both a BSc (Hons) in Applied Psychology and an MSc in Cyberpsychology. She lectures on several topics including forensic psychology, cyberpsychology, computer-mediated communication and the psychology of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence. She holds a PhD in Criminology as well as an MSc in Applied Forensic Psychology, a Postgraduate Certificate in Third Level Learning and Teaching, and a MLitt in Psychology. She has co-authored two books on forensic cyberpsychology with Dr. Andrew Power: ‘Cybercrime’ (Cambridge University Press, 2013) and ‘The Psychology of Cybercrime’ (IGI Global, 2012) as well as co-editing the recently released ‘Cyberpsychology and New Media’ (Psychology Press, 2014).