About

In 2010, I received from the Scientific Committee of the Fourth International Conference on Investigative Interviewing a “Special Prize” for my “extensive contributions to investigative interviewing”.

In 2009, I received from the 'International Investigative Interviewing Research Group the “Senior Academic Award” for my “significant lifetime contribution to the field of investigative interviewing”.

In 2008, I received from the European Association of Psychology and Law an “Award for Lifetime Contribution to Psychology and Law”.

In 2008, I received from the British Psychological Society the “Award for Distinguished Contributions to Academic Knowledge in Forensic Psychology”.

In 2005, I received a Commendation from the London Metropolitan Police for “Innovation and professionalism whilst assisting a complex rape investigation”.

Research interests

• Investigative Interviewing

Recent publications

• Luknar, I., BULL, R., & Stanojevic, P. (2023). Improving the preparation of the investigative interviewing of suspects: A multi-disciplinary perspective.  Sociological Review, 17, 1235–1256
• Korkman, J, Otgaar, H, Geven, L., BULL, R. et al. (2024) White paper on forensic child interviewing: Research-based recommendations by the European Association of Psychology and Law. Psychology, Crime and Law, v, pp. doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2024.2324098
• BULL, R. (In press). Is the interrogating/interviewing of crime perpetrators no longer suspect? A personal commentary on 25 years of progress. International Journal of Police Science and Management
• Chung, K., Wong, Y., Kamaluddin, M., & BULL, R. (2023). Investigative interviewing with suspects: Exploring current practices among Malaysian police. International Journal of Police Science & Management.  https://doi.org/10.1177/14613557231205785
• Waterhouse, G., Ridley, A., BULL, R., Satchell, l., & Wilcock, R. (2023). Rapport-building in multiple interviews of children. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37, 1210-1222. doi.org/10.1002/acp.4116
• Gajadhar, S., & BULL, R. (In press). The ‘Non-Stranger Rapist-Oriented Interview for Complainants’: Eliciting high-quality accounts. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X231184980
• Baker-Eck, B., & BULL, R. (2023). How do German police officers of varying empathy levels react to different styles of interviewing a suspected sex offender? International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 74. 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2023.100610
• Tasić, M., Žarković, M., & BULL, R. (2023). Identification of persons in pre-investigation proceedings and investigation: Current controversies and the case law of the Supreme Court of Cassation. NBP-Journal of Criminalistics and Law, 27(3)
• van Beek, M., & BULL, R. (2023). Strategic interviewing in practice: introducing a Dutch framework for interviews with suspects. Investigative Interviewing: Research and Practice, 13, 95-110
• Walsh, D. & BULL, R. (2023). From interrogation to investigative interviewing of suspects in custody. In Y. Daly (Ed.) Police custody in Ireland. Routledge
• Wang, X., Hongwei, Z., & BULL, R. (2023). Understanding perceived legitimacy of correctional officers among male juvenile offenders in China from a system perspective. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2023.100596
• BULL, R. (2023). Improving the interviewing of suspects using the PEACE model: A comprehensive overview.  Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 65, 80-91. doi:10.3138/cjccj.2023-0003
• Baker-Eck, B., & BULL, R. (2022). Effects of empathy and question types on suspects’ provision of information in investigative interviews. International Journal of Police Science and Management
• Tudor-Owen, J., van Golde, C., Bull, R., & Gee, D. (Eds.). (2022). Interviewing vulnerable suspects: Safeguarding the process. Routledge
• Launay, C., Brunel, M., & BULL, R. (In press). What do police interview eyewitnesses for? A review. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice
• Van Beek, M., BULL, R., & Chen, M.  (2021). When the evidence is incorrect: An exploration of what happens when interviewers unwittingly present inaccurate information in interviews with suspects.  Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36, 769-782. 10.1007/s11896-021-09494-3
• Spenser, K., BULL, R., Betts, L., & Winder, B. (In press). Gender differences in theory of mind, empathic understanding, and moral reasoning. Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
• Leahy-Harland, S., & BULL, R. (2021). The impact of context on real-life serious crime interviews with suspects. Police Practice and Research, 22, 1009-1026
• Spenser, K., BULL, R., Betts, L., & Winder, B. (In press). Underpinning pro-sociality: Age-related performance in theory of mind, empathic understanding, and moral reasoning. Cognitive Development
• Huang, C-Y., & BULL, R. (2021). Applying hierarchy of expert performance (HEP) to investigative interview evaluation: Strengths, challenges, and future directions. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law
• Sandham, A., Dando, C., BULL, R., & Ormerod. T. (2021). Improving professional observers’ veracity judgements by tactical interviewing. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology
• Baker-Eck, B., BULL, R., & Walsh, D. (2021). Investigative empathy: Five types of cognitive empathy in a field study of investigative interviews with suspects of sexual offences. Investigative Interviewing: Research and Practice
• Zeng, F., Huang, C-Y., & BULL, R. (2021). Police interviews of suspects in China: Developments and analyses. International Journal of Police Science and Management
• Milne, R., Shawyer, A., Dalton, G., May, B., Nunan, J., and BULL, R. (2021). Research-based practice: Communication at the front-line. In L. R. Shapiro, and M-H. Maras (Eds.), Encyclopedia of security and emergency management. New York: Springer
• BULL, R., & Baker, B. (2020). Obtaining from suspects valid discourse ‘PEACE’-fully: What role for rapport and empathy? In M. Mason and F. Rock (Eds.) The discourse of police interviews. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• Baker-Eck, B., BULL, R., & Walsh, D. (In press). Investigative empathy: A strength scale of empathy based on European police perspectives. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law
• Waterhouse, G., Ridley, A., BULL, R., & Wilcock, R. (2020). A study space analysis for multiple interviews of child witnesses. Child Abuse Review, 29, 544-558
• Waterhouse, G., Ridley, A., BULL, R., & Wilcock, R. (2020). Mock-juror reactions to multiple interview presentations and rapport-building. Psychology, Crime and Law, 26, 186-205
• Denault, V., Plusquellec, P., Jupe, L., …BULL, R., …et al.. (2020). The analysis of nonverbal communication: The dangers of pseudoscience in security and justice contexts. Anuario de Psicología Jurídica, 30, 1-12
• BULL, R. (2019). Roar or PEACE: Is it a tall story? In R. Bull and I. Blandon-Gitlin (Eds.) Routledge International handbook of legal and investigative psychology. London: Routledge
• BULL, R. (2019). Credible accounts: What they are and how to obtain them. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 12, 166-176
• BULL, R., & Griffiths, A. (2019). Advocating the ‘PEACE’ method: Will it make people cross? In P. Cooper and L. Hunting (Eds.) Access to justice for vulnerable people. London: Wildy
• BULL, R., Paulo, R., & Albuquerque, P. (2019). The impact of the cognitive interview in the UK and recent research in Portugal. In J. Dickinson, N. Compo, R. Carol, M. McCauley, & B. Schwartz (Eds.) Evidence-based investigative interviewing: Applying Cognitive Principles. Abingdon: Routledge
• BULL, R., & Rachlew, A. (2019). Investigative interviewing: From England to Norway and beyond. In S. Barela, M. Fallon, G. Gaggioli, and J. Ohlin (Eds.) Interrogation and torture: Research on efficacy, and its integration with morality and legality. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• BULL, R., van der Burgh, M., & Dando, C. (2019). Verbal cues fostering perceptions of credibility and truth/lie detection. In T. Docan-Morgan (Ed.) The Palgrave handbook of deceptive communication. New York: Palgrave
• Cleary, H., & BULL, R. (2019). Jail inmates’ perspectives on police interrogation. Psychology, Crime and Law, 25, 157-170

Membership of professional bodies

• Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society
• Honorary Lifetime Member of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group
• Fellow of the Association of Psychological Sciences
• President of the European Association of Psychology and Law
• Distinguished Member of the American Psychology-Law Society

Professional interests

• Investigative interviewing; the detection of deception

Qualifications

Undergraduate qualifications

• BSc University of Exeter

Postgraduate qualifications

• MSc 1973 University of Exeter

Research qualifications

• DSc 1995 University of Portsmouth

Recent conferences

• Research-based international guidance on how best to conduct investigative interviews with children.  An invited presentation at the National Register of Albanian Psychologists, Tirana, December 2023
• The new ‘Mendez’ Principles of Effective Interviewing. An invited presentation at the National Dutch Police Academy, Apeldoorn, November 2023
• Improving the interviewing of suspects. An invited presentation at the 30^th Anniversary of Criminalistics Studies, Sarajevo University, October 2023
• The skills involved in the ‘PEACE’ method of investigative interviewing. An invited presentation at the Seventh Annual Congress of the International Association of Polygraph Professionals, Cancun, October 2023
• Trauma-informed investigative interview practice and evaluation–how to achieve and evaluate best evidence with traumatised witnesses. An invited presentation at the National Judges Academy, Taipei, August 2023
• International progress on vulnerable witness interviewing. An invited presentation at the National Judicial Yuan, Taipei, August 2023
• The ‘PEACE’ method of investigative interviewing.  An invited keynote presentation at the Annual Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, July 2023
• Experts in the child protection system in the UK.  An invited presentation at the University of Oslo, May 2023
• How best to interview child victims.  An invited presentation at the Benemerita Universidad de Oaxaca, Mexico, March 2023
• The evolution of the ‘Mendez Principles of Effective Interviewing’.  An invited presentation to the Indonesian Police, Semarang, March 2023
• Research on improving the interviewing of suspects. An invited presentation at the Malaysia National Police Academy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 2022
• Guidance on the interviewing of children. An invited presentation at the National Organization Against Violence, Taipei, Taiwan, December 2022
• Recent developments on the interviewing of suspects.  An invited presentation (online) to the Federal Investigative Police (the BKA) in Germany.  November 2022
• Improving the Interviewing of Suspects: The (new) Mendez ‘Principles on Effective Interviewing’.  An invited plenary presentation at the First International Symposium on Crime Studies, Antalya, Turkey, October 2022
• From the PEACE method to the ‘Mendez Principles of Effective Interviewing’. A presentation at the Annual Conference of the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology, Quebec City, Canada, September 2022
• Improvements in the interviewing of suspects and victims. Three invited presentations at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, Belgrade, April 2022
• How best to conduct investigative interviews. An invited presentation at Oaxaca University, Mexico, March 2022
• Guidance on the investigative interviewing of children. An invited presentation at the World Summit on Policing, Dubai, March 2022
• The interviewing of suspects in the context of digital society. An invited presentation (online) at the International Congress on Forensic Psychology, Brazil, March 2022
• The research underpinning the 2021 ‘Principles of Effective Interviewing’ (written at the instigation of the United Nations). An invited presentation at The Judicial Institute, Amman, Jordan. December 2021
• The PEACE method of investigative interviewing. An invited presentation (online) to the Israel Public Committee for Preventing and Amending Wrongful Convictions. December 2021
• The foundations of the new ‘Principles of Effective Interviewing’. An invited presentation (online) to ‘Internal investigators’ in Australia. November 2021
• How best to interview child sexual abuse victims. An invited plenary presentation (online) at the Indonesian Conference for Forensic Psychologists. November 2021
• The new ‘Principles of Effective Interviewing’. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Criminology, Chicago, November 2021
• The role of evidence in investigative interviews.  An invited presentation (online) to the Allies/Lies worldwide research group.  October 2021

Experience in industry

• University of Leicester: 2004-2012 Professor of Forensic Psychology
• University of Portsmouth: 1990-2004 Professor of Psychology

International experience

I have presented workshops, seminars, lectures, conference papers, or training in the following countries:

• Australia (for example at the WA and NSW Police Academies)
• Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil (for example to parts of the national government, police, prosecutors)
• Canada (for example at the HQ of the Quebec Province Police)
• China (for example at the Beijing Police Academy and at the Senior Officers’ University)
• Cyprus (for example at the National Police Academy)
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France (for example at an event organized by The Gendarmerie)
• Germany
• Indonesia (to over 500 psychologists)
• Ireland (for example at the National Police Training School)
• Israel (to the ‘Public Committee on Wrongful Convictions’)
• Italy
• Jamaica (to the Independent Commission of Investigations and to police)
• Japan (for example to a number of law organisations)
• Jordan (at the Judicial Institute)
• Kenya, Malaysia (at the National Police Academy)
• Mauritius (at the National Police Academy)
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand (for example at various detective training sites)
• Norway (for example at the National Police University)
• Pakistan (for example to terrorism investigators)
• Peru
• Poland (for example at the National Academy for Border Guards)
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia (at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies)
• Singapore
• South Africa (for example to the Police Behavioural Science Branch)
• South Korea (for example at the National Detective Academy)
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan (at the Judges’ Academy, the National Police University)
• Thailand (to the Royal Thai Police)
• USA (for example to the FBI, to the ‘HIG’ initiative; to New York State investigators)
• Zambia

Teaching responsibilities

• MSc in Criminal Investigation and PhD supervision