Affiliation:
1. Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology , Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract
Abstract
Perpetrator knowledge (also known as “guilty knowledge,” “insider knowledge,” “crime knowledge,” or “first-hand knowledge”) is an important, but undertheorized type of criminal evidence. This article clarifies this concept in several ways. First, it offers a precise, probabilistic definition of what perpetrator knowledge is. Second, the article provides a taxonomy of arguments relating to perpetrator knowledge. This classification is based on an analysis of 438 Dutch criminal cases in which this concept was mentioned. Third, it models these arguments using Bayesian networks. Fourth, the article explains a potential reasoning error relating to perpetrator knowledge, namely the fallacy of appeal to probability.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
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