About Toyo University Professor’s Scoop:Masayuki Kiriu(Professor, Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Sociology)
The academic world is continuing to undergo an extensive, in-depth evolution.
What view does a Toyo University faculty member devoted to education and research have on the contemporary world?
Recently there has been a rise in scams that aim to deceive elderly people out of their money, such as telephone scams and refund scams.
We interviewed Professor Masayuki Kiriu from the Faculty of Sociology, who specializes in criminal psychology, about the latest research into the prevention of such crime and awareness of crime prevention
Professor, Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Sociology
Masayuki Kiriu
<Profile>
Dean, Faculty of Sociology Professor, Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Sociology. Ph.D. Kiriu took up his current position after a spell as a senior research fellow at the Forensic Science Laboratory of Yamagata Prefectural Police Headquarters. He also serves as the director of the Japanese Association of Criminal Psychology, a council or of the Japanese Association of Forensic Science and Technology, and the director of the Japan Association of Applied Psychology. He has given commentary in domestic and international media, including “Close-up Gendai (Today's Close-Up),” “The Asahi Shimbun,” and “The Japan Times.”
１.Deciphering Psychology and Applying It to Society.
Before I became a member of the Toyo University faculty, I worked at the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Yamagata Prefectural Police Headquarters. There, I developed a way of analyzing information that used criminal profiling. Criminal profiling is an important analysis method that estimates the characteristics and personalities of criminals in unsolved cases. It also takes into account the characteristics of criminals involved in past cases and the situation surrounding the crime. I gained a wealth of knowledge at the Forensic Science Laboratory, which is considered the frontline of criminal psychology. When I left the frontline and began my journey as a university instructor, I noticed that the analysis methods of criminal investigation laboratories could be used broadly in general society. Hearing the term “criminal psychology,” you may think this is a specialist field for deciphering the psychology of criminals. However, researchers in this field are now analyzing and solving issues faced by typical companies, such as customer harassment, as well as criminal activity such as purse snatching and fraud.
Around ten years ago, I was asked to devise a way of reducing purse snatching in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, where purse snatching was widespread, with 300 cases annually. First, I analyzed the actions and psychological characteristics of criminals. Then, by proactively conducting preventive measures at times and places where crimes were committed, I reduced annual incidents to 14. This proved to be a case that gave me confidence that criminal psychology methods can be applied as a framework to change society if used correctly.
２.AI & Psychology Detecting the Moments When Victims Encounter Fraud.
Since 2021, Fujitsu Limited, Amagasaki City, and Toyo University have started joint research to eradicate scams. This research attempts to prevent scams by combining criminal psychology with sensing technology that measures human emotions using AI developed by Fujitsu. Scams are increasing yearly in Japan, with nearly 28 billion yen stolen by scams last year. Most of these scams target elderly people over 65, with criminals calling victims out of the blue at home and developing stories to gain their victim’s trust. Then, criminals attempt to deceive their victims by putting them into a state of panic. They pressure their victims with deadlines telling them they can “receive money” if they act “within the day.”
In our research, under the supervision of the Hyogo Prefectural Police, we conducted experiments by creating realistic scenarios for scams with cooperation from elderly residents from Amagasaki City. Then, from the perspective of criminal psychology, we will observe how people's emotions, breathing, heart rate, and biological reactions change when they encounter scams. We are currently analyzing the relationship between scenario progression and the psychological and physical condition of the elderly participants. Eventually, we aim to create a fraud-prediction AI model that can detect the state of someone encountering a scam in real-time.
３.Preventing Crime Before It Happens. Together.
Criminals will not target people who are not deceived by scams. However, crime groups are very skilled and are constantly searching for people who are easy to deceive from massive lists. People who are very trusting and do not doubt others and people who believe that they cannot be deceived are more likely to be targeted. Police have warned the public with announcements that use examples from actual fraud, warning people to watch out for people who say such things over the phone. However, criminals quickly change what they say and the scenarios they use, so the police are limited to after-the-fact countermeasures.
If progress is made in the current research, we will be able to detect scam calls with a fairly high degree of accuracy, even if criminals use new scenarios and phrasing. Enabling the police to switch from playing a game of cat and mouse with criminals to implementing preemptive countermeasures. Also, as we are focusing on victims’ mental and physical changes which have been ignored until now, this will lead to the public having more empathy for victims' feelings. Many elderly people get caught up in crime due to criminals making them feel worried. Therefore, instead of only using warnings from the police, we aim to reduce potential victims' anxiety by implementing anti-crime countermeasures together with the public. In the future, we want to develop products that can assist the lives of elderly people by eliminating the anxiety of all crime, as well as scams, from their daily lives.
４.A Constant Awareness of Crime-Prevention in Daily Life.
As a whole, the number of crimes committed in Japan is on the decline, despite some discrepancies depending on the type of crime. Fortunately, the crime rate in Japan is very low compared to other countries. However, due to the low crime rate, Japanese people have less experience dealing with crime than people in other countries. With the further advance of globalism in the future, an awareness of the global standard of crime will likely be a form of self-risk management to protect yourself and your immediate environment from crime. However, this is not something to be done on the individual level. Instead, communities and societies must play an active role in continuously raising awareness in peoples’ daily lives.
For example, I think it would be effective to conduct training using criminal psychology on how to act when you get caught up in crime, similar to disaster prevention drills for when an earthquake or fire occurs. It is impossible to understand the mind of criminal with criminal psychology completely. However, research can tell us how to deal with crime. I am sometimes asked what can be done by studying criminal psychology. However, it can be broadly utilized in society as many problems within schools and corporations can be solved with criminal psychology. I will not just pursue theoretical study, but instead, I will continue to give my all so that the findings of criminal psychology can be returned to society using the power of data science.
The article “The Top Four Crime-Prevention Measures. We asked a criminal psychologist about crime-prevention measures you can incorporate in your daily life for crimes such as burglary, molestation, and purse snatching” is available at LINK@TOYO.（English unavailable）
