Peter Collins (psychiatrist)
Encyclopedia
Peter Ian Collins is a Canadian
forensic psychiatrist. He is an expert on violent crime
and has worked with criminal justice agencies in Canada and throughout the world, including INTERPOL
, the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Australian Federal Police
and Europol
. He frequently testifies as an expert witness
on sexual homicide, pedophilia
, child pornography
, stalking
, sexual assault
, paraphilia
s, the insanity defense, suicide by cop, police crisis negotiations and post-traumatic stress disorder
.
from The University of Western Ontario in 1975 and his Masters degree in applied criminology from the University of Ottawa
in 1978. He earned his Medical degree
from McMaster University
in 1983. Collins completed his postgraduate medical training in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto
in 1989.
Collins took a position at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry
, now part of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH) in 1989. His clinical appointment is with the CAMH Law and Mental Health Program. In 2004 he was promoted to Associate Professor at University of Toronto with the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor with the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and has a Special Appointment to the College of Technology, the Graduate School, at Purdue University.
When the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
established their Violent Crimes Analysis Section (later named the Behavioural Analysis Branch), in June 1990, Collins became a consultant, in December 1990, and continued with this position until 2008. As a member of the Behavioural Analysis Branch he was involved in the project that developed the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) with Inspectors Ron MacKay (retired), Keith Davidson (retired) and Greg Johnson.
Collins became an in-house consultant to the Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP), in 1995, and is currently the Coordinator of Forensic Psychiatry for the Behavioural Sciences and Analysis Section of the OPP. He is also a consultant psychiatrist to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist to the Profiling Unit of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
and to the Behavioural Sciences Team of the Calgary Police Service. Collins has been a member of the Toronto Police Service Emergency Task Force (ETF) Crisis Negotiation Team since 1992.
In 1997, Collins was elected a member of the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship. In 2000, Collins was appointed a member of the INTERPOL
Specialist Group on Crimes against Children. Collins is currently a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve and has served, on two deployments, in Southern Afghanistan
.
In his capacity as a forensic psychiatrist with the OPP Collins has been consulted, internationally, on numerous homicide investigations, including serial murder cases, sexual homicides and child abductions. He has written on suicide by cop
and also coined the term gynandromorphophilia with Ray Blanchard
to describe the sexual preference for transvestites, transsexuals, and she-males. Following the 1993 raid on works by artist Eli Langer
depicting children in sexualized themes, Collins stated that pedophiles would "love to have their hands on this." Collins was critical of police profiling done in the Digna Ochoa
murder.
At the request of the Department of Justice, Collins testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness – Bill C-2: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Protection of Children and Other Vulnerable Persons) and the Canada Evidence Act - Ottawa, Ontario, 2 May 2005. He has also been involved in two joint presentations, on the topic of Child Pornography, to Members of Parliament - House of Commons, Ottawa, in June 1999 and April 2002. In April 2006 he presented to the Counter Terrorism Training Working Group – Institute of Intergovernmental Research & U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. on the topic of Source Development and Recruitment.
In the private sector Collins is a consultant with Hennes Paynter Communications, in Cleveland, Ohio and Martin & Associates Investigations, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Book Chapters
Articles
Manuals
Reports
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
forensic psychiatrist. He is an expert on violent crime
Violent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
and has worked with criminal justice agencies in Canada and throughout the world, including INTERPOL
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
, the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
and Europol
Europol
Europol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
. He frequently testifies as an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
on sexual homicide, pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
, child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, stalking
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
, sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
s, the insanity defense, suicide by cop, police crisis negotiations and post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
.
Life and career
Collins obtained his Bachelor’s degree in psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from The University of Western Ontario in 1975 and his Masters degree in applied criminology from the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
in 1978. He earned his Medical degree
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in 1983. Collins completed his postgraduate medical training in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in 1989.
Collins took a position at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry
Clarke Institute of Psychiatry
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is a psychiatric hospital in Toronto, Ontario. Much of their work focuses on forensic psychology, sex addiction, drug addiction, and research designed to shape public policy....
, now part of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is a consortium of mental health clinics at several sites in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its name in French is Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale...
(CAMH) in 1989. His clinical appointment is with the CAMH Law and Mental Health Program. In 2004 he was promoted to Associate Professor at University of Toronto with the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor with the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and has a Special Appointment to the College of Technology, the Graduate School, at Purdue University.
When the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
established their Violent Crimes Analysis Section (later named the Behavioural Analysis Branch), in June 1990, Collins became a consultant, in December 1990, and continued with this position until 2008. As a member of the Behavioural Analysis Branch he was involved in the project that developed the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) with Inspectors Ron MacKay (retired), Keith Davidson (retired) and Greg Johnson.
Collins became an in-house consultant to the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
(OPP), in 1995, and is currently the Coordinator of Forensic Psychiatry for the Behavioural Sciences and Analysis Section of the OPP. He is also a consultant psychiatrist to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist to the Profiling Unit of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a Florida government agency. FDLE is composed of five programs: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism, and the Florida Capitol Police...
and to the Behavioural Sciences Team of the Calgary Police Service. Collins has been a member of the Toronto Police Service Emergency Task Force (ETF) Crisis Negotiation Team since 1992.
In 1997, Collins was elected a member of the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship. In 2000, Collins was appointed a member of the INTERPOL
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
Specialist Group on Crimes against Children. Collins is currently a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve and has served, on two deployments, in Southern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
In his capacity as a forensic psychiatrist with the OPP Collins has been consulted, internationally, on numerous homicide investigations, including serial murder cases, sexual homicides and child abductions. He has written on suicide by cop
Suicide by cop
Suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer or other armed individual, such as being shot to death....
and also coined the term gynandromorphophilia with Ray Blanchard
Ray Blanchard
Ray Milton Blanchard is an American-Canadian sexologist, best known for his research studies on pedophilia, gender dysphoria, and sexual orientation. He has also published research studies on phallometry and several paraphilias, including transvestism and autoerotic asphyxia.-Education and...
to describe the sexual preference for transvestites, transsexuals, and she-males. Following the 1993 raid on works by artist Eli Langer
Eli Langer
Eli Langer is a Canadian visual artist. Langer rose to prominence in 1993, while 26 years old, in the Toronto art world with a solo exhibition at the Mercer Union Gallery in Toronto. The exhibition consisted of 8 paintings and 50 drawings addressing various issues of childhood sexuality...
depicting children in sexualized themes, Collins stated that pedophiles would "love to have their hands on this." Collins was critical of police profiling done in the Digna Ochoa
Digna Ochoa
Digna Ochoa was a human rights lawyer in Mexico. She was born in Misantla, in the state of Veracruz.- Biography :...
murder.
At the request of the Department of Justice, Collins testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness – Bill C-2: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Protection of Children and Other Vulnerable Persons) and the Canada Evidence Act - Ottawa, Ontario, 2 May 2005. He has also been involved in two joint presentations, on the topic of Child Pornography, to Members of Parliament - House of Commons, Ottawa, in June 1999 and April 2002. In April 2006 he presented to the Counter Terrorism Training Working Group – Institute of Intergovernmental Research & U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. on the topic of Source Development and Recruitment.
In the private sector Collins is a consultant with Hennes Paynter Communications, in Cleveland, Ohio and Martin & Associates Investigations, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Selected publications
Books- St-Yves, M. & Collins, P. (2011) Psycholgie de l'intervention policere en situation de crise. Editions Yvon Blais: Cowansville, Quebec. ISBN 9782896354641
- Cornish J.L., Murray K.A., Collins P.I. (1999) The criminal lawyers' guide to the law of criminal harassment and stalking. Canada Law Book: Aurora, Ontario. ISBN 9780888043207
Book Chapters
- Collins, P. (2011) Psychologie de l’extrémise – Prises d’otages et situations de bearricade à motivation idéologique ou politique. In Psycholgie de l'intervention policère en situation de crise. Eds. Michel St-Yve et Peter Collins. Les éditions Yvon Blais: Cowansville, Quebec.
- Collins, P. & St-Yves, M. (2011) L’intervention policère auprès des personne suicidaires. In Psycholgie de l'intervention policère en situation de crise. Eds. Michel St-Yves et Peter Collins. Les éditions Yvon Blais: Cowansville, Quebec.
- Collins, P. & St-Yves, M. (2011) L’intervention policère auprès des personne mentalement pertrbées. In Psycholgie de l'intervention policère en situation de crise. Eds. Michel St-Yves et Peter Collins. Les éditions Yvon Blais: Cowansville, Quebec.
- Collins, P., Smerick, P. & St-Yves, M. (2009) The Psychology of Criminal Harassment. In The Psychology of Criminal Investigations: the search for the truth. Eds. Michel St-Yves & Michel Tanguay. Carswel: Toronto, Ontario.
- Collins, P., Smerick, P. & St-Yves, M. (2007) Psychologie du harcèlement criminel. In Psychologie de l’enquête criminelle: la recherché de la vérité. Eds. Michel St-Yves & Michel Tanguay. Les éditions Yvon Blais: Cowansveille, Quebec.
- Collins, Peter I. (2005) Child Sexual Abuse and the Paraphilias. In Medical & Legal Aspects of Child Sexual Exploitation: A Comprehensive Review of Child Pornography, Child Prostitution and Internet Crimes. Eds. - Sharon W. Cooper, Richard Angelo P. Giardino, Victor V. Veith and Nancy D. Kellogg. GW Medical Publishing: St. Louis, MO.
- Kuch, K. and Collins, P. (2000). Psychological Injury After Motor Vehicle Accidents. In Personal Injury Litigation: Guidance From Health Care Professionals edited by The Honourable Mr. Justice Ted Matlow, Canada Law Book: Aurora, Ontario.
- Collins, Peter I. (1998) Preface. Workplace Violence in Healthcare Toolkit: A Guide to Establishing a Prevention and Training Program by Judy L. Jacobs & Wayne D. Porter, McGraw-Hill: Burr Ridge, Illinois.
Articles
- Leenaars, A.A., Park, B.C.B., Collins, P.I., Wenckstern, S. & Leenaars, L. (2010) Martyrs’ Last Letters: Are They the Same as Suicide Notes? – Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 55, No.3, pp 660–668.
- Mohandie, K, Meloy, J.R. & Collins, P.I. (2009) Suicide by Cop Among Officer-Involved Shooting Cases – Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp 456–462.
- Collins, Peter, Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault – The Challenge of “Date Rape Drugs” Part III. (2003). The Ontario Provincial Police Review, Vol. 38, No.3, pp 13.
- Collins, Peter, Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault – The Challenge of “Date Rape Drugs” Part II. (2003)The Ontario Provincial Police Review, Vol. 38, No.2, pp 21.
- Collins, Peter, Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault – The Challenge of “Date Rape Drugs” Part I. (2003) The Ontario Provincial Police Review, Vol. 38, No.1, pp 13.
- Collins, Peter I., Johnson, Gregory F., Choy, Alberto, Davidson, Keith T., MacKay, Ronald E. (1998). Advances in Violent Crime Analysis and Law Enforcement: The Canadian Violent Crime *Linkage Analysis System - ViCLAS - Journal of Government Information - Vol.25, No.3. pp. 277–284.
- Collins, Peter (1998). Legal Application of Collateral Material, Canadian Association of Violent Crime Analysts Newsletter - Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 16–19.
- Van Allen, James & Collins, Peter. (1998) Stalking, The Ontario Provincial Police Review, Vol. 32, No.2, pp. 16–17
- Kuch, Klaus & Collins, Peter. (1997). Psychological Injury after Motor Vehicle Accidents, Advocates Quarterly - A Canadian Journal for Practitioners of Civil Litigation, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 176–187.
- Blanchard, Ray & Collins, Peter I. (1993). Men with Sexual Interest in Transvestites, Transsexual and She-Males. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 181, No. 9, pp. 570–575.
- Collins, P.I., Scharf, N., Persad, E. (1989) "What's New in Psychopharmacology" Modern Medicine of Canada Vol. 44, No. 11, pp. 1066–1074.
Manuals
- Contributor to A Handbook for Police and Crown Prosecutors on Criminal Harassment - Department of Justice Canada, 2nd Edition, March 2004.
- Contributor to Manual for Investigators of Child Sexual Abuse – The Interpol Specialist Group on Crimes Against Children, 2nd Edition, 2003.
- Contributor to A Handbook for Police and Crown Prosecutors on Criminal Harassment -Department of Justice Canada, September 1999.
- Contributor to Sexual Exploitation of Children – Guidelines for Law Enforcement - Criminal Intelligence Service Canada / Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 1999.
- Contributor to The Investigators Guide to Child Pornography Crime - Procedure and Investigative Techniques - Ontario Provincial Police, 1999.
Reports
- Collins, Peter, Threat Assessment in Sexual Victimisation of Children – Final Report of the National Working Group in Pursuit of Child-Centred Intervention Strategies, Royal Canadian Mounted Police / Solicitor General Canada / Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, 1999.
External links
- Peter Collins profile via Hennes Paynter Communications