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Paul Britton (born May 1946, Leamington Spa) is a retired(?) clinical consultant and forensic psychologist, dubbed "the real-life Cracker"[1] Degrees in psychology Warwick University and Sheffield University. Britton worked as adviser to the Association of Chief Police Officer's Crime Committee on offender profiling. "He has been involved numerous high-profile criminal investigations including that of serial-killers Fred and Rose West, and the murder of Rachel Nickell. He is the author of two books. The Jigsaw Man which details his involvement with many high-profile cases, and his clinical casebook Picking Up The Pieces (2000). The Jigsaw Man won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for Non-Fiction.

Britton came to psychology late. took a series of jobs before studying psychology in his late 20s. While working at a psychiatric hospital in Leicestershire, Police requested his assistance in a murder inquiry. His reputation grew and he became head of the regional forensic psychology service."[2]

Jigsaw Man was a bestseller.[3]

His books have helped popularize the field.[4]

Police cadet at Leamington, left after a year.[5] [2]

"Called in on over one hundred cases" Colin Ireland, James Bulger, Wests cases.[6]

Many years at Broadmoor[7]


Helped treat patients suffering from lycanthropy (i.e. The belief that one is a werewolf).[8]


Britton studied Sigmund Freud, B. F. Skinner and Erik Erickson. Theory of behaiviour.[9]

UK "Bottom up" approach[10]

Unaware of FBI involvement in the field stretched back to.[11]


Canter / Britton squabbling re approach[12]:Diffs between approaches, psychologist specializing in sexual dysfunction.[13]

Canter's first (unsuccessful) use of pscyhological profiling in UK, Britton's later use.[14]

Pioneering use of psychological profiling. First successful conviction in UK 1984. Britton's work led to the arrest of Paul Bostock for the murders of Angela Weedon and Caroline Osborne.[15]

Black magic described as "belief dysfunction".[16]

1993 murder of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine, as well as a series of rapes and sex crimes known as the "Green Chain Walk attacks", that dated back to the 1980s.[17]

Colin Ireland.[18]


Colin Pitchfork "flasher" suggestion.[19]


Stephanie Slater kidnapped.[20]


  • Gritton "is a real-life version of Fitz, the criminal psychologist played by Robbie Coltrane in Cracker." [2]
  • Inspired Cracker but not similar personality.[6]
  • Robin Cook (author) argues that in fact the insiprations for "Fitz" were academic psychologist Dr. Julian Boon, and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Richard Badcock.[21]


Pedigree / Heinz[edit]

25 Cromwell Street[edit]

Requested by Detective Superintendent John Bennett Gloucestershire police.[20] after discovering the decapitated and dismembered remains of three bodies (provisionally identified as young females) at 25 Cromwell Street.[22] Fred West Rosemary West.

"Predatory and sadistic sexual psychopathy"[23]


Britton's metaphors of "playing" and "art collector".[24]

James Bulger[edit]

John Venables CCTV Britton assisted in profiling and explanation as to the motives of the young killers.[25] Britton recommended that the police make further inquiries nearer to the scene of the murder, a suggestion which led to an interview of a local woman who believed that she recognized one of the children that had been caught on the CCTV footage at the shopping-centre.[26] Both ten years old; John Venables and Robert Thompson were arrested for the murder of James Bulger; Britton's profile closely matched the two killers.[27] Though not present at the intterrogation; Britton prepared a series of pointers to help those detectives who conducted the interview.[28]

Rachel Nickell[edit]

In July 1992, Rachel Nickell, a 23-year-old model, was sexually assaulted and battered to death while walking her dog with her two-year-old son on Wimbledon Common. The case horrified the nation and police came under immense pressure to find the killer. Their prime suspect was man named Colin Stagg but they had little evidence. They turned to Britton, whose reputation was at its height, to draw up a profile of the killer. Then they went further, asking him to help design a covert operation - based on what he knew of the killer from the profile - aimed at testing whether the suspect would eliminate or implicate himself. An undercover policewoman known as Lizzie James - not her real name - began exchanging letters with Stagg. She won his confidence and drew out his violent fantasies. He did not confess to the murder but detectives believed he had revealed details which could lead to his conviction. Stagg was arrested and charged. During the committal Britton was called on to explain the operation. He claimed it was designed to present the subject with a series of "ladders" he would have to climb rather than a "slippery slope" down which a vulnerable person would slide if pushed. The defence argued that Britton's evidence was speculative and supported only by his intuition.

Nickell case UK's "most publicized of that year".[29]

When the case reached the Old Bailey the judge agreed. He said that the police had shown "excessive zeal" and had tried to incriminate a suspect by "deceptive conduct of the grossest kind". Britton's evidence was thrown out and the prosecution withdrew its case against Stagg. Stagg was acquitted and Nickell's killer has not been brought to justice[2]

Paul Britton said Robert Napper, who last week admitted killing the former model on Wimbledon Common in 1992, would have been arrested "within half an hour" if officers had reacted to clues he provided them into earlier offences committed by the killer.[17]

Regional Head of Forensic Psychology, Leicester at time of Nickell[30], problems with approach

Stagg fallout[edit]

He has been blamed by some for the decision to wrongly pursue Colin Stagg, who lived near Wimbledon Common, over the killing, as he matched an offender profile provided by Mr Britton. However, the psychologist insisted that after the murder he had urged police to look for links with the Green Chain Walk attacks but that police had ordered him to concentrate on Mr Stagg.[17]

"before a British Psychological Society disciplinary hearing in 2001."[2] "It will be the first time a psychologist of Britton's standing has been called to a public hearing - until now the society has held hearings behind closed doors."[2]

In a newspaper interview last month, which coincided with the launch of his new book, based on his clinical casebook Picking Up The Pieces, Britton said that the hearing was a "matter of puzzlement and concern. I am absolutely certain there is no basis of complaint and that my role in the investigation - as in all others - was characterised by complete professional and personal integrity". He added: "I don't manage investigations ... I advise the police. What they do with the information is up to them."[2]

Scotland Yard's Detective Chief Inspector Tony Nash, who led the latest inquiry, said there was "no evidence" that Mr Britton had urged officers to broaden the scope of their 1992 investigation.[17]

Britton said police prevented him from keeping his own records of the case due to security concerns, and urged Scotland Yard to search its files properly for confirmation of his version of events.

His account contradicts a book he wrote 10 years ago, The Jigsaw Man, in which he said there was no link between Miss Nickell's murder and Green Chain Walk attacks, but he now insists he was guided away from his original views at the insistence of senior detectives.[17] "The hearing is important to the society. It is campaigning to be given statutory status - a psychologist cannot be compelled to attend a disciplinary hearing or to swear on oath - and for the title of psychologist to be protected. At present anyone can say they are a psychologist. One respected practitioner, who prefers not to be named, says: "I'm appalled it's taken so long but it's of enormous importance that the British Psychological Society looks at the details of this case and takes a clear view."[2]

Mr Britton denied any wrongdoing. Charge dropped after a two-day hearing, the British Psychological Society disciplinary committee concluded Mr Britton's work on the 1992 murder inquiry could not be properly investigated. The committee ruled he could not get a fair hearing. Britton commented that: "Here today is a good day for me, but every day is still a bad day for the Nickell family...I can move forward from this. I'm not sure the Nickell family can. Nothing can put right what happened to them." [1]

Stagg profile based on speculation and intuition.[31]

Problems with approach in Stagg case in court of law examined.[32]

Judge refused to hear Stagg case[33]:Stagg controversy[34]

Stagg hearing[35]

Sources[edit]

Jon Ronson meeting, for Ronson's 2001 book Adventures With Extraordinary People[36]

Gave evidence in the case of Jackie Fletcher, re intelligence.[37]

Sunday Times quote Jigsaw Man review: Britton has done hugely important work that saves lives. He is fascinating. His book is compelling.[38]

Britton quote, forensic psychology field subject to professional rivalry, jealousy[39]

David Canter's Mapping Murder: The Secrets of Geographical Profiling.[40]

References[edit]

Britton, Paul (2001). Picking Up The Pieces. Corgi Books. ISBN 0552147184.
Britton, Paul (1998). The Jigsaw Man. Corgi Books. ISBN 0552144932.
  1. ^ a b "'Cracker' misconduct charge dropped". BBC NEWS. 30 October 2002.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Morris, Steve (30 November 2000). "Inside Story:The Jigsaw Man". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Dwyer (2001). Angles On Criminal Psychology. Nelson Thornes. p. 57. ISBN 0748759778.
  4. ^ Kapardis, Andreas (2010). Psychology and Law: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p. 394. ISBN 1139484893.
  5. ^ Britton 1998, p. 28, 29 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  6. ^ a b Russell, Julia; Jarvis, Matt (2003). Angles on Applied Psychology. Nelson Thornes. p. 122. ISBN 0748772596.
  7. ^ Britton 2001, p. 178
  8. ^ Britton 2001, p. 510
  9. ^ Rippo, Bonnie (2007). The Professional Serial Killer and the Career of Ted Bundy: An Investigation Into the Macabre ID-ENTITY of the Serial Killer. iUniverse. p. 39. ISBN 0595867200.
  10. ^ Hill, Grahame (2001). Advanced Level Psychology Through Diagrams. Oxford University Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780199134229.
  11. ^ Britton 2001, p. 130
  12. ^ Puttwain, David; Sammons, Aidan (2002). Psychology and Crime: An Introduction to Criminological Psychology. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 0415253004.
  13. ^ Pakes, Francis; Winstone, Jane (2007). Psychology Crime. Routledge. p. 23. ISBN 9781843922605.
  14. ^ Holmes, David Sheridan (1998). The Essence of Abnormal Psychology. Prentice Hall. p. 89. ISBN 9780137486335.
  15. ^ Britton 2001, p. 14
  16. ^ Brewer, Kevin (2000). Psychology and Crime. Heinemann. p. 39. ISBN 043580653X.
  17. ^ a b c d e Barrett, David (20 December 2008). "Criminal profiler says Rachel Nickell's killer could have been arrested within half an hour". The Telegraph.
  18. ^ Britton 2001, p. 330
  19. ^ Britton 2001, p. 247
  20. ^ a b Britton 1998, p. 195 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  21. ^ Kocsis, Richard N. (2007). Criminal Profiling: International Theory, Research and Practice. Springer. p. 310. ISBN 9781603271462.
  22. ^ Britton 1998, p. 425 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  23. ^ Britton 1998, p. 436 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  24. ^ Gregoriou, Christiana (2011). Language, Ideology and Identity in Serial Killer Narratives. Taylor & Francis. pp. 165–166. ISBN 9780203832653.
  25. ^ Britton 1998, p. 310-5 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  26. ^ Britton 1998, p. 316 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  27. ^ Britton 1998, p. 318 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBritton1998 (help)
  28. ^ Britton, Paul (1998). The Jigsaw Man. Corgi Books. p. 318. ISBN 0552144932.
  29. ^ Petherick, Wayne; McDermid, Val (2005). Criminal Profile: Into the Mind of a Killer. Modern Books. p. 135. ISBN 9780954630911.
  30. ^ Alison, Laurence; Rainbow, Lee (2011). Professionalizing Offender Profiling: Forensic and Investigative Psychology... Taylor & Francis. p. xvi. ISBN 9781136674181.
  31. ^ Ebisike, Norbert (2008). Offender Profiling in the Courtroom: The Use and Abuse of Expert Witnesses. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 16. ISBN 0313362106.
  32. ^ Bruinsma, Gerben; Elffers, Henk; De Keijser, Jan (2004). Punishment, Places and Perpetrators. Taylor & Francis US. p. 42. ISBN 9781843924760.
  33. ^ Marsh, Ian (2006). Theories of Crime. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 9780203030516.
  34. ^ Turvey, Brent E. (2002). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis. Academic Press. p. 582. ISBN 9780127050416.
  35. ^ Brain, Timothy (2010). A History of Policing in England and Wales from 1974: A Turbulent Journey. Oxford University Press. p. 211. ISBN 9780199218660.
  36. ^ Ronson, Jon (2001). Adventures With Extraordinary People. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 9781447214960. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |unused_data= ignored (help)
  37. ^ Gudjonsson, Gisli H. (2007). The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook. John Wiley & Sons. p. 469. ISBN 9780470857946.
  38. ^ Lerner, Jimmy (2003). You Got Nothing Coming: Notes from a Prison Fish. p. 414. ISBN 0552149659.
  39. ^ Godwin, Grover Maurice (2010). Criminal Psychology and Forensic Technology: A Collaborative Approach to Effective Profiling. p. 92. ISBN 9780849323584.
  40. ^ Canter, David (2007). Mapping Murder: The Secrets of Geographical Profiling. Random House. ISBN 9780753513262.
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