Experts in True Crime Documentaries: interpretative phenomenological analysis of academics from psychology and criminology aligned pathways operating in visual media.

Across news, literature, podcasts, television, and film, true crime is one of the most popular genres for the general public to engage with and consume. Indeed, most true crime consumers defer to documentaries as their preferred method of engaging in morbidity, especially with readily available access through popular streaming platforms. As such, many experts in psychological and criminologically-aligned pathways (namely, forensic psychology) contribute to and participate in such media to enhance societal understanding of the causes, consequences, and rehabilitative potential of offending behaviour. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts (n = 9), recruited via purposive sampling based on their media contributions, published works, and qualifications. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to understand these experiences, focusing on themes of academic validation, expert power, and morbid curiosity to understand difficulties of disseminating complex theory and knowledge to the public, in understanding the sensationalisation of those who have committed criminal offences. Implications of the research are discussed, including the improvement of relationships between academia and the media to ensure the emergence of accurate and beneficial information regarding the Criminal Justice System, individuals who have committed or been victimised by criminal offences, rehabilitation, and forensic psychology more broadly.