Goldfish Wisdom

Beyond the Darklands

                            

I thought it might be of interest to people to know some more about the process that goes into making Beyond the Darklands, and in particular the information that underlies the opinions I give about each offender.

 

The first step is always to get the consent of the victims and/or their families. It was my position from the very beginning that if victims and/or their families didn’t believe we should be making the episode then we shouldn’t do it. This is a view that is shared by the entire production team and we work very hard to make sure as best we can that victims and their families are treated with every consideration and respect. There have been  occasions when we have been covering offenders where it was simply not possible to contact all their victims. In these cases we have continued with the episode because we considered that, on balance, there were compelling reasons to make the episode. These are always tough decisions and are never taken lightly or without concern for those who might be affected.

 

Conversely, if families or victims said they did not want us to make a programme, we don’t.

 

At the beginning of each season we sit down and nominate a list of offenders to investigate. Rather than looking for ‘extreme’ crimes we try and find cases which illustrate particular issues, or which can bring something important to the public arena. Over the last three seasons we’ve investigated a number of issues including the following:

 

 

Obviously this is a one hour television programme and not a psychological textbook so we do not enter into an extensive and technical exploration of these issues, but over the course of the last 18 episodes we have, I believe, been able to provide people with a fuller understanding of these issues in the context of criminal offending.

 

The next step is that we spend 6-8 months tracking down all kinds of information about the nominated offender. I would have to say that the dedication and diligence of the production team on this account is outstanding. They live and breathe each episode for months and months. We all take it very personally, and there is a huge commitment to doing justice to these stories. As a result by the time we have accumulated all the information there is a comprehensive body of information on which I am able to base my opinions. Every case is different but these are the various data sources often available to me:

 

 

 

There is an extensive body of scientific research in the field of forensic psychology which is an invaluable tool in helping to understand why people offend, and the impact of various developmental/life events. Science has a great deal to tell us about these issues and, as much as possible within the time confines of each episode, I talk about this research in reference to each offender.

 

Obviously the backbone of each episode, at least as far as the construction of the show itself is concerned, are the interviews with a broad range of informants from throughout multiple domains of the offender’s life. This might include the offender’s parent(s), other family members, childhood friends, neighbors, teachers, social workers, youth workers, previous employers, lawyers, former prison officers, the Police, and often the offender’s victims and/or their victims’ families.

 

The offenders themselves are not interviewed. There are two reasons for this. The first is that, for the offenders who are currently in prison, the Department of Corrections does not allow prisoners to take part in interviews. Amongst other reasons they, quite rightly, are concerned about offenders using this as an opportunity to grandstand. The second reason is that, when we have approached offenders who are living in the community, they have all declined to participate.

 

There is an obvious point that can be made here that if the offender is not interviewed then this limits what you can say about him. After all, if you haven’t met the guy, how can you know what he’s like? While it is true that there are obvious limitations which flow from not interviewing the offender in person, this does not mean the analysis is therefore inevitably flawed. In reality psychologists frequently make judgments about offenders whom they have not met. For example if a psychologist is asked to complete an assessment for the Court of a prisoner, it is relatively common for the prisoner to decline to be interviewed. In that case the psychologist utilizes a range of other information to complete the report, such as formal psychological risk assessment tools, previous reports, prison records, and information from other informants such as prison officers. Indeed, what we know is that self-report (what the offender says) is the least accurate information to draw conclusions from. Quite simply, offenders not only have very good reasons to lie and/or distort the truth, but many of them are actually very good at it.

 

The irony here is that the extensive range of background information I have on each offender we profile is far more than I have ever had when completing a formal court ordered psychological assessment. I have never had, for instance, hours of taped interviews with people who went to school with an offender, grew up with him, taught him, and worked with him.

 

It’s important to be clear though that Beyond the Darklands is not a formal psychological assessment, far from it. It’s a television show. In each episode I simply offer my opinion/conjecture about why I think these men ended up the way they are. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

It’s important to remember too, that you shouldn’t use this show as some kind of diagnostic tool. I get a number of emails from people worried about someone they know, often a child, after watching the show. I cannot say strongly enough that you should not use Beyond the Darklands as some kind of guide for assessing risk. This is a television show. If you are concerned about someone’s behavior, be it your partners, or ex-partners, or your child, or anyone else, then please get some professional assistance. Do NOT diagnose problems using Beyond the Darklands as some kind of template. If you are worried about yours or someone else's safety you should contact the Police, or Child Youth and Family Services, or Womens' Refuge, or any one of a number of such services.

 

Bottom line is remember that this is a television show and not a text book so if you are worried about yourself or someone else then get some actual professional help.

 

What is hugely gratifying for the entire team who work on Beyond the Darklands is that so many families and individuals have found the show helpful in understanding and coming to terms with what happened to them. For some victims it has given them a voice to finally say the things they were not able to say at the time. For some families it has allowed them to have a greater understanding of the reasons behind the unimaginable tragedies they have experienced.

 

This is both humbling, and very gratifying, and it’s why I am very proud to be associated with the team of highly dedicated people who work as hard as they do to produce this series.