[1] He is a chartered forensic psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
His publications also include books on statistics, computing and methodology.
Howitt completed a first class honours degree in psychology at Brunel University in 1967 and earned his PhD at the University of Sussex.
His research career began with the study of mass communications, especially with reference to crime, violence and pornography, but he has since broadened his research to the application of psychology to social issues.
He has also written on racism in the field of psychology, as well as forensic psychology, specifically paedophiles, sex offenders, and child abuse.