Forensic Psychology : Criminal Investigation And The Law

How must it be to live in a criminal mind? How must it be to completely loose the sense of normality? I heartily believe that Forensic Psychology holds the key which opens an entire world of psychopathologies, mental deformities, twisted thoughts and repressed needs of bestiality. Besides letting you sink into the most dangerous minds, it gives you the armament to combat everything hiding in there- knowledge.

To begin with, what type of jobs come to mind when you hear Criminal Justice? Most may say police officer, correctional officer or even judge but there are more intricate careers when dealing with the law. Psychology plays a major part in the Criminal Justice field. Psychology deals with the mind and behavior but it gets more complex when you involve law. There are four discrete roles of Psychology when discussing the law which are applied scientist, basic scientist, policy evaluator, and advocate. They all have important roles in order to complete the mission of case.

Forensic science and law are often seen as two opposing disciplines; forensic science is often presumed to be factual and law can be interpreted in multiple ways. Science and law reach conclusions in different ways which is an issue. Due to these differences, miscommunication is often the cause for miscarriages of justice. In order to address this problem, people working in the criminal justice system should have more knowledge of forensic science. There are many factors that contribute to the lack of understanding between forensic science and the people involved in the court process. Firstly, the adversarial model will be discussed in relation to how these procedures prevent effective communication between forensic evidence and lawyers. Secondly, the role that expert witnesses play in the presentation of scientific evidence and how jurors play a role in interpreting their evidence, will be considered. Thirdly it will be argued that lawyers and judges lack adequate knowledge of forensic science that is needed to conduct accurate trials. Lastly, possible solutions to improve the communication between forensic science and the actors involved in the criminal justice system. Juries, lawyers and judges should be more educated in understanding forensic science.

In addition to education, is the importance of training in this field. It takes specialized qualifications to have the ability to do this job. In the column “Criminal Psychologist Career: Job Duties, Skills, and Education,” the author writes about some of the qualifications needed to do this job. “Criminal psychologists must be adept at communicating effectively with others, including listening actively, and empathically. As a result, they must be experts in psychology, law, and oftentimes forensics as well,” (“Criminal Psychologist Career: Job Duties, Skills, and Education” 3). The people who decide to work this job must have the ability to listen and communicate with the criminals set before them. When the need arises the

The Insanity defense is mentioned as confusing to the psychiatric and legal concept. Furthermore, it is explained that the word “insane” is more of a legal word, then a medical term, and therefor to prove a person or a criminal insane, one must find the mental condition, of a criminal, severely impaired to the point of losing one’s free will. A psychiatrist may be or may not able to determine such illness, and a jury’s decision solely based on a psychiatrists’ opinion may be grounded on unreliable evidence. Retrieved from; West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008).

They may be brought in to evaluate a defendant’s psychological state at the time they committed the offence. In addition, psychologists may be needed to judge the validity of a confession. Forensics can also work in the area of consulting, in which they may help a lawyer select jury for a trial or assist death investigators clarify unclear death determinations.

When thinking about a career path after conducting my research in the various fields available in the area of psychology, I have taken an interest in becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. This is partly due to my exposure to working alongside with clinicians in community based settings, particularly family’s that have been affected one way or another by county systems such as the Department of Children and Family Services and Department of Probation. After attaining direct experience working with families, I am interested in working in upper management supervising other clinicians, offering support and guidance with regards to their families. I have some interest in forensic psychology but have not obtained enough information on the field in order to determine if it is area that I would like to pursue.

1). Forensic Psychology is the application of the theories of psychology to law and the legal system. Issues of violence and its impact on individuals and/or groups delineate the main and central concerns in Forensics within the adult, juvenile, civil, and family domains. Forensic psychologists provide advice to legislators, judges, correctional officers, lawyers, and the police. They are called upon, for example, to serve as an expert witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and probationed offenders, and screen and evaluate personnel in the law enforcement and judicial systems. Forensics encompasses a wide range of academic orientation. Synonyms for Forensic psychologists include criminal psychologist,

Psychology has always had a direct impact on my life for many years for example, I myself have had counselling sessions for anxiety. Experiencing this has given me a desire to work with people in understanding their behaviour and how their minds work to be able to empower individuals to lead better lives. My own personal experience with anxiety has also intrigued me into thinking why I think the way I do and what can be put into action to improve my circumstances.

In order to understand how this may be done, allow me to define Forensic Psychology. You see forensic psychology is the practice of psychology related to the legal system. This involves relationships with federal, local, and state law enforcement agencies; attorneys and the court; corrections and treatment facilities; and working with people whose behavior or situation leads them into involvement with the courts.

As field, psychology was born of ancient philosophy and philosophers, and began to take root and grow in the 19th century (Candalis &Neal, 2014, p. 20). Psychologists started working with, and within, the courts in the early 1900’s (DeMatteo, Krauss, Marczyk & Burl, 2009, p. 185), however, the first big strides for forensic psychology were not made until 1954,

The psychologist contributes to investigations criminal behavior by profiling and similar techniques. The criminal psychologist can also assist with pretrial methods. This subsection is highly important because it includes the evaluation and treatment of suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime. The primary task of the forensic psychologist profiling. Psychological profiling involves “investigating an offender's behavior, motives and background in an attempt to further guide an investigation…,” (APA). There are several different areas of profiling that the professionals do in the field. In criminal profiling the psychologist analyzes the emotional, mental disposition of a suspect. While remaining as a slightly controversial technique, profiling has become an increasingly prominent part of criminal investigation. When used properly it has the capacity of being one of law enforcement’s most powerful tools.

My interest in forensic psychology goes back into my early elementary years. As a child, my main dream was to become a profiler or a crime scene detective. I loved reading crime books and watching shows about it. I wanted to be like the people I read in those books and the people I saw on television. However, when I got to college, my mindset changed, but not for long. During my freshman year, I was a biology major wanting to be a Veterinarian. My passion at that time in my life was to help animals.

From time immemorial, man has been fascinated with behavioral deviations from the normative particularly in the context of crime, or more generally, morality. In fact, classical playwrights and novelists such as Shakespeare and Dostoevsky owe their literary success to their incredible ability to glare into socially and morally deviant minds and weave stories around them. We see a similar trend today. Much of primetime television is filled with shows that have experienced psychoanalysts chasing sophisticated and grossly deviant criminals or some variation of this general theme. The general public tends to relate to the job of a forensic psychologists to that of a cat chasing a mouse. Forensic psychology, however, is a far less

Forensic psychology deals with both the offenders of the law, and the victims (AGCAS). Although many people think of a forensic psychologist as what they see on television shows, profiling and finding the actual offenders is a tiny part of what the title actually works as (AGCAS). The majority of forensic psychologists work in prisons, probation services, hospitals, and the National Health Service (AGCAS). Those who work in the Prison Service offer one on one sessions with offenders. They also assess whether they are at risk to themselves, others within the prison, or the public, if they have the possibility of being released, by instituting rehabilitation programs, probation programs, and any other mental and emotional therapy they require (AGCAS).