Journal profile · Multiple
Legal and Criminological Psychology
ISSN 1355-3259 · eISSN 2044-8333 · Wiley-Blackwell
Legal and Criminological Psychology: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,700; median 167 days to acceptance (72 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 34% (journal website); 66 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Legal and Criminological Psychology is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Deception detection and forensic psychology, Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending and Memory Processes and Influences, together about 47.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Legal and Criminological Psychology publishes original papers which advance professional and scientific knowledge in the conjunction of legal psychology and criminological psychology. This field, constructed as "forensic psychology", is defined broadly as the application of psychology to the understanding of offenders' behaviour, the investigative and judiciary processes that bring them to justice, their treatment and the outcomes of their criminal actions. The topics covered include the causes of different types of crimes, psychopathy, criminal investigation, investigative interview and questioning, information eliciting, applied memory, deception detection, criminal profiling and crime linkage, professional training, legal and investigative decision making, expert testimonies, offender management, treatment and assessment, crime victimization, legal and public responses to crime. The journal aims to stimulate conversations and debates, to serve as a platform for communication amongst various disciplines, academic researchers, professionals and practitioners, and to provide a compelling picture of current state-of-art research in the field. The journal welcomes the submission of empirical and review articles, meta-analyses and target papers. For specific submission requirements, please view the Author Guidelines. To be accepted for publication in Legal and Criminological Psychology, the paper has to make a substantive contribution to the field. The journal is interested in papers that provide theoretical advancement, extend existing theories, launch a new research line, or take a body of work in a new direction. Empirical studies are required to be methodologically sound and theoretically framed. Incremental contributions, or contributions devoid of a theoretical rationale, are less likely to get accepted. A strong emphasis should be placed on the applied dimensions of research. Some articles may need to include a specific section or paragraph on the implications of the reported findings for applied legal/criminological psychology settings. Legal and Criminological Psychology is committed to open science and offers a registered reports track. Please view detailed guidelines here.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Spain 1, Netherlands 1, New Zealand 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Deception detection and forensic psychologyPsychology19.1%
- Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual OffendingPsychology17.4%
- Memory Processes and InfluencesNeuroscience11.1%
- Crime Patterns and InterventionsSocial Sciences8.3%
- Criminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisSocial Sciences7.8%
- Child Abuse and TraumaPsychology4.7%
- Jury Decision Making ProcessesSocial Sciences3.3%
- Social and Intergroup PsychologySocial Sciences3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Criminology & Penology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Criminology & Penology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Criminology & Penology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceEmbasePsycINFOPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, OCLC
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.72LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.74LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 487OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.03OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 62.07%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 32LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 57Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 152,767Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 916 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 44 | 25 | 7 |
| 2025 | 66 | 42 | 66 |
| 2024 | 22 | 19 | 63 |
| 2023 | 22 | 15 | 55 |
| 2022 | 37 | 18 | 292 |
| 2021 | 18 | 9 | 238 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
167 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 130 days – 216 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (73 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 187 days
- Sample
- 72 articles with submission and acceptance dates (110 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 34%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 34%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 40 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 40 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 145 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 18 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,700 / EUR 3,120 / GBP 2,450 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted9, with length limits
- commentaryThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …main text ≤ 1,500 words
- letterThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- meta-analysisThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- perspectiveThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- regular articleThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- reviewThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- short reviewThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- systematic reviewThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
- viewpointThe word limit for papers submitted for consideration to Legal and Criminological Psychology depends on the type of article. The word limits do not include the …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Authorship is defined by the criteria set out in the APA Publication Manual: “Individuals should only take authorship credit for work they have actually performed or to which they have substantially contributed (APA Ethics Code Standard 8.12a, Publication Credit). Authorship e…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potent…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility Policy
Legal and Criminological Psychology recognizes the many benefits of archiving data for scientific progress. Archived data provides an indispensable resource for the scientific community, making possible future replications and secondary analyses, in addition to the importance of verifying the dependability of published research findings. The journal expects that where possible all data supporting …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Peer Review and Acceptance Except where otherwise stated, the journal operates a policy of anonymous (double-anonymous) peer review. Please ensure that any information which may reveal author identity is anonymized in your submission, such as institutional affiliations, geographical location or references to unpublished research. We also operate a triage process in which submissions that are out o…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access WALS + standard CTA/ELA and/or Open Access for hybrid titles
You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License. Standard re-use and licensing rights vary by journal. Note that certain funders mandate a particular type of CC license be used. This journal uses the CC-BY/CC-BY-NC/CC-BY-NC-ND Creative Commons License.Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies: Note …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Acceptance
Double-anonymous peer review Model summary
Except where otherwise stated, the journal operates a policy of anonymous (double-anonymous) peer review. Please ensure that any information which may reveal author identity is anonymized in your submission, such as institutional affiliations, geographical location or references to unpublished research. We also operate a triage process in which submissions that are out of scope or otherwise inappr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy:
This journal will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines
Triage process for out-of-scope submissions Model summary
We also operate a triage process in which submissions that are out of scope or otherwise inappropriate will be rejected by the editors without external peer review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1355-3259
- Electronic ISSN
- 2044-8333
- Society / sponsor
- British Psychological Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 31, Issue 2 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Legal and Criminological Psychology
What CAS zone is Legal and Criminological Psychology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Legal and Criminological Psychology is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Criminology & Penology / Law / Psychology, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Legal and Criminological Psychology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2; CiteScore 4.6, h-index 80.
How long does peer review take at Legal and Criminological Psychology?
Based on the dates recorded on 72 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 167 days (interquartile range 130–216 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 34% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Legal and Criminological Psychology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Legal and Criminological Psychology based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Spain (1), Netherlands (1) and New Zealand (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Legal and Criminological Psychology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Legal and Criminological Psychology is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, Embase and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Legal and Criminological Psychology open access, and what is the APC?
Legal and Criminological Psychology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,700.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .