About the Centre for Forensic Neuroscience

The Centre for Forensic Neuroscience was founded to meet the ever increasing demand from both defence lawyers and prosecutors for neuroscientific evidence. With the advent of ever more powerful brain scanning technology the use imaging, and other neuropsychological, evidence in Court has become a distinct reality. Thus jurors may now be asked to consider abnormal brain functioning with respect to criminal responsibility. Therefore brain anomalies are becoming a vital and primary area of evidence for legal mitigation.

CFN's founder is Dr Keith Ashcroft and is a Consultant Investigative Psychologist. He routinely provides psychological reports in both civil and criminal cases and gives evidence in Court. He has been instructed over the past 11 years by the Crown and Appeal Courts, Sheriff Courts and the High Court of Justiciary throughout Scotland; and by the Crown Prosecution Service, including the Complex Casework Unit, The Royal Court of Jersey, and criminal defence lawyers.

Dr Ashcroft has experience in working with the Police and Prison service, and accepts instructions in criminal cases for both adolescents and adults, with specialist knowledge of sexual crimes, and crimes of violence. He has been consulted on matters relating to threat assessment, violence risk assessment, violence prevention, and corporate security issues for the past decade. He takes instructions for civil cases (either as a single or joint expert). He can be consulted on a variety of interview technologies to determine malingering and deception, which include: forensic psychophysiology, and Deviant Sexual Interest examinations (PPG), in criminal, clinical and employment cases.

Dr Ashcroft is listed in the 'Directory of Expert Witness' which is maintained by the British Psychological Society, the representative body for psychologists in the UK, and has Chartered Psychologist status. He was awarded full Chartered Scientist status by the Science Council. He is also a full member of the British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience; the Neuroethics Society; The International Academy for Investigative Psychology; the National Association for the Treatment of Abusers; the Society for Psychophysiological Research; the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis, and the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation.