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New psychological service
no television drama
He arrives at the crime scene and scans for evidence, studying the corpse and wounds, and examining the weapon. Also taking in the location and surroundings of the murder, the crack psychological sleuth deciphers the personality of the culprit and his mental state, then advises detectives on where he can be found and who his next victim will be.
Of course in the world of top-rating television, criminal psychologists always get their culprit by simply analysing his mind through the evidence at a crime scene.
"I'd hate to disappoint you, but the work of a criminal psychologist is not quite what you see in glamorised TV dramas - that a guy who turns up at a crime scene can figure out immediately who the culprit is," said Police Clinical Psychologist Ephraem Tsui of the Child Protection Policy Unit.
 Matters of the mind: Police Clinical Psychologist Ephraem Tsui at his desk examining vital clues to another mysterious case |
"We can only give educated guesses based on our experience and knowledge, and use deductive analysis to try to narrow down the type of offender the person may be using the available information of the case," Mr Tsui said.
"From that, we try to suggest areas in which investigators should look into. We are also planning to set up a criminal profile computer system to help us analyse crime patterns."
Mr Tsui has been assigned to assist crime units with their investigations by offering his expertise in psychological profiling under a six-month trial which started last month.
Scenarios in which Mr Tsui assists case commanders include serial or bizarre sexual offences or homicide, unexplained arson, threatening or bizarre messages, unexplained deaths requiring psychological autopsy, profiling of missing persons, and other unusual crimes and incidents.
Case commanders can contact Mr Tsui to discuss whether he can assist in their investigations, and so far he has received about two enquiries a week for help.
"I do a general analysis of the crime. They give me the basic case facts, photos and maps of the scene, victim and witness statements, and video evidence to help me try to understand the personality and psychological state of the offenders.
"I also help crime formations understand arrested people, assessing whether they have a psychological condition or are mentally disturbed. I also help them find out whether claims of such problems by the arrested persons are fabricated. Many offenders try to minimise their guilt through claims of psychological problems," Mr Tsui said.
Although serving under the Crime Wing and assisting with such criminal cases, his main job will remain at the CPPU, assisting the unit and Child Abuse Investigation Units throughout the Force.
Police Clinical Psychologists from the Psychological Services Group have assisted investigators with criminal profiling services previously on an informal basis.
"Most crime officers already know something about criminal profiling from their training and experience, but whenever they encounter a case where they do not know the mental state or psychological condition of the subject, they seek help from a psychologist," Mr Tsui said.
And it's not only culprits who can be analysed, the characteristics of the deceased can also be examined through a 'psychological autopsy' which helps give a picture of the lifestyle or mental state of the people before their suspicious death.
Mr Tsui joined the Force in February after 12 years in the Correctional Services Department where he assessed homicide, sex and psychologically maladjusted offenders in several maximum security prisons.
He welcomes units to call him with any enquiries on 2804-1436.