Forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is the application of psychological principles and techniques to situations involving the civil and criminal legal systems. Forensic sciences circumscribe vast number of fields of science, “including anthropology, biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, medicine, pathology, phonetics, psychiatry, and toxicology” (Batten 1). Forensic psychologist is valued tool for the legal system of the United States, by allowing an outside expert recommendation of legal competency in cases which may shock the moral system. J. McKeen Cattell was credited with helping establish psychology’s legitimacy as a science. (Cherry, verywell.com/james-mckeen-cattell-biography) Cattrell conducted some of the earliest research under this topic. Very much inspired by Cattell's work, Alfred Binet replicated Cattell’s research and studied the results of other psychology experiments. Alfred Binet (Cherry,
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Forensic psychology careers require prestige instructional and training approaches that are focused and guided by the professional needs of the field. “For example, online searching strategies are often overlooked in teaching. The current paper illustrates a novel approach for obtaining research on the court-related topics which has been largely ignored in the literature to date, i.e., cited author searching” (Perdue 1). To become a forensic psychologist, you will need to obtain either a bachelor's degree, a master’s degree, or a PHD/ PsyD. Forensic psychology is prevalent throughout the United States. Forensic psychology is the application of psychological principles and techniques to situations involving the civil and criminal legal systems. Shows like “Criminal Minds” have aroused numbers of persons throughout the last few years. Though, becoming a forensic psychologist takes many years to complete the training, the hard work will pay
Costanzo, M., & Krauss, D. (2012). Forensic and legal psychology: Psychological science applied to law. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Bruce K. Alexander’s essay “Reframing Canada’s ‘Drug Problem’” is about shifting the focus from intervention to prevention. Alexander explains that in Canada there have been three major waves of drug intervention: “Criminal prosecution and intensive anti-drug” (225), “medicinal and psychological treatment” (225), and the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent. The “’harm reduction’” (225) consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing for addicts. Although each of the methods is devoted and knowledgeable, they have done little to decrease the deaths or suppress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found
Costanzo, M., & Krauss, D. (2012). Forensic and Legal Psychology: Psychological Science Applied to Law. New York: Worth Publishers.
Forensic Psychology is a specialized practice by psychologists in areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and neuropsychology. You will be engaged regularly as an expert and primarily proposed to offer professional psychological expertise to the judicial system.
Roesch, R., Zapf, P. A., & Hart, S. D. (2010). Forensic psychology and law. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
Therefore, the criminal justice system relies on other nonscientific means that are not accepted or clear. Many of forensic methods have implemented in research when looking for evidence, but the methods that are not scientific and have little or anything to do with science. The result of false evidence by other means leads to false testimony by a forensic analyst. Another issue with forensic errors is that it is a challenge to find a defense expert (Giannelli, 2011). Defense experts are required to help the defense attorneys defend and breakdown all of the doubts in the prosecutors scientific findings in criminal cases. Scientific information is integral in a criminal prosecution, and a defense attorney needs to have an expert to assist he/she in discrediting the prosecution (Giannelli,
Forensic (criminal) psychology is a job field that deals with both psychology and law. The field has experienced dramatic growth in recent years due to the role of popular movies, television programs and books popularizing the field. Often these individuals are depicted as vivid components in solving vicious crimes or timing out a criminal’s next home. While these depictions of certainly entertaining, yet these portrayals are not necessarily precise. Forensic psychologists play an instrumental role in the criminal justice system while applying psychological principles to the legal system. The crossover of the two spheres is best decided in the Encyclopedia of Psychology,
McGrath, Michael G. "Criminal Profiling: Is There a Role for the Forensic Psychiatrist?." Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 28. (2000): 315-324. Web. 13 Apr 2011.
Forensic evidence can provide just outcomes in criminal matters. However, it is not yet an exact science as it can be flawed. It can be misrepresented through the reliability of the evidence, through nonstandard guidelines, and through public perception. Forensic science can be dangerously faulty without focus on the ‘science’ aspect. It can at times be just matching patterns based on an individual’s interpretations. This can lead to a miscarriage of justice and forever alter a person’s life due to a perceived “grey area” (Merritt C, 2010) resulting in a loss of confidence in the reliability of forensic evidence.
Just as insight into the mind of the artist may be gained by examining and comparing the progression of his work, so knowledge of the mind of the serial killer can be ascertained by an examination of his canvas: The murder scene. Forensic profiling is the attempt to do just that. An investigator tries to discern information about the killer based on the information at the crime scene, deducing information about the cause from the effect. This is not an exact science, and has been often likened to an art. It is the goal of this work to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the function and application of forensic psychology, as well as an explication of some of its strengths and weaknesses.
The professional role of a forensic psychologist I am interested in is working as a prison psychologist. The reason it interests me is because prison psychologists are a big part in the function of today’s society. The prison psychologist play an important role in the rehabilitation with those who we would call the common criminal as well as working with criminals who are clinically insane. There are many roles that the prison psychologists do in the prison system such as treating all different criminals from murderers, sex offenders, violent offender and even those who have committed white collar crimes. The prison psychologist tend to work in many different types of facilities from maximum prisons, minimum security prisons, and mental health facilities that hold
Forensic Psychology, which is occasionally referred to as Legal Psychology, originally made its debut in the late 1800’s. A Harvard Professor, Professor Munsterberg, introduced the idea of psychology and law with his book, On the Witness Stand in 1908. Since the inception of the idea of psychology and law there have been proponents, as well as though that have spoken against the theories proposed by Munsterberg’s, along with other scientists, theorists, and psychologists that believed that Forensic Psychology had no standing to be linked to topics of law. This literature review will attempt to identify scholarly articles that trace the origins and the movement that led to Forensics Psychology becoming a specialty within the field of psychology. I will also attempt to explain What is Forensic Psychology as well as the part it plays within the legal system.
Criminal psychologists are well-trained in the principles of human behavior, criminal psychologists will work very diligently with courts, attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and multiple other stakeholders that include civil and criminal cases. It is a particularly new field of work. They have also been serving as workers who are advisors to the courts for decades. They may also be consultants for defendants or victims of crime. During the trial sequence as an expert witness, they may also rehabilitate offenders that are already convicted of a crime. The field of expertise of a criminal psychologist is in forensics, applying psychological principles to the criminal justice system. A great deal of their occupied time is for carrying out evaluations of accused and alleged victims. A criminal psychologist could examine a defendant to determine their ability to stand trial. A criminal psychologist could also interview victims of crime to determine a timeline of events. Supplanting expert testimony is yet another primary field of work for criminal psychologists, as they work in civil, family, criminal, and military
Police psychology is broadly defined as the application of psychological principles and methods to law enforcement. With the popularity of television shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU, the job of a police psychologist has become more well known and even popular. As seen on these shows, a police psychologist can be helpful in profiling a criminal, but they also provide many other services to the members of a police department. Although the development of this field has a long history, police psychology as a separate entity is still relatively recent and growing. This intimate relationship between psychology and law enforcement can be traced back to almost a century ago.[1] It first developed out of a need for a variety of psychological services in the law enforcement field, including screening applicants and counseling during grief and stress situations. In the time that it has been around, it has proved to be a valuable resource for the law enforcement profession.
The topic I find such fascinating is Forensic Science and how forensic science has significantly changed over the years. “The area of forensic science has grown considerably over the last 150 years and more so since the mid 1980’s.” (Lyman, 2016) Forensic science has gone from taking basic information, and fingerprints to DNA and blood splatter. During a crime scene investigation evidence is collected, analyzed in a crime laboratory and then if needed are presented to the court. However, today the crime laboratory is becoming mobile and can go to the scene to analyze the evidence. Each crime scene and investigation is unique and distinctive, with the help of forensics it can help solve a case.