I stem from a long line of ancestors that have upheld the basic building blocks of freedom, justice, and the law. My great grandfather was a police officer, my grandfather was a detective, and my father was a police officer. I personally hope one day to become a Game Warden and follow in my ancestors pursuit of upholding the law and justice. I feel that there are certain psychological attributes that make a good officer or warden. A even tempered, hardworking, officer can solve crimes but the officer or warden who has a knowledge of psychology, can really find the truth. Yet I believe that there are two psychological phenomena’s that are most important in criminal justice and those are Characteristics of the Information and Characteristics of the Perceiver. I chose to talk about Characteristics of the Perceiver because it holds a lot of relevance in today’s criminal justice world.
As a hopeful Warden I understand the value of psychology and understanding how people work. I also know that in today’s day and age that joining the criminal justice field is a hard thing to do. I feel like understanding the psychological concepts of information and perceiver characteristics will ultimately help make me a better Warden. So what is it that makes these skills such a invaluable tool in a law mans belt? Well Characteristics of the perceiver has many parts to it. The most basic definition is the perceivers own characteristics influence what he or she gathers from a target. In other
The criminal psychologist occupies an important role in the current justice system not only in Australian society, but in contemporary society on a global scale. To understand what a criminal psychologist is, the principles of criminological psychology must be divided into individual definitions in order to frame the conventional interpretation of 'criminal psychology'. Criminals are often identified as senseless archetypes that commit crime usually through a disorderly offence. A criminal psychologist will usually look at the 'why' to determine the reason they are senseless. Although, most of the time it is due to the psychological aspects of a particular individual. This can vary from their upbringing to the use of harmful substances that affect their
Psychology plays a very important role in the field of criminal justice. It is needed to help assess individuals who commit crimes, as well as, help to be a predictor of criminal behavior. Utilizing theories such behaviorism and operant conditioning, individual behavior is able to be assessed by the response to learning what actions result in rewards and what actions result in punishment. As a result of how individuals respond to rewards and punishment, learned behaviors have the possibility to be deterred or corrected.
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.
Discretion, uncertainly, and inefficiently are rampant and essential in criminal justice. Nobody expects perfection. That would neither be good nor fair. Justice is a sporting event in which playing fair is more important than winning. Law enactment, enforcement, and administration all involve trading off the possibility of perfect outcomes for security against the worst outcomes. Policing is the most visible part of this: employees on the bottom have more discretion than employees on the top.
In order to comprehend the contribution of psychology to areas of criminal investigation it is important to evaluate research into two of the following areas of criminal investigation: eye witness testimony and offender profiling as well as assess the implications of the findings in the area of criminal investigation. In addition, this essay, with reference to relevant psychological research, discuss how the characteristics of the defendant may influence jury behaviour as well as analyse two psychological influences on the decision making process of juries. In order to improve the efficiency of detection and successful prosecution of crime it is important to underline that in a previous administration, detection of serious crime was poor and eyewitness testimony appeared very unreliable, partly due to standard interview techniques yielding confusing results. It is therefore this essays primary focus is to provide the chief constable with a report explaining how psychologists might be able to improve this situation with a full evaluation of process and evidence.
In order to effectively work in this area, Forensic psychologists must know the court’s expectations.They must be credible, competent, and concise being able to explain to the court how they arrived at their
I asked Officer Lewis; what are some qualities you believe are necessary to be in the criminal justice system? He asked for a minute to think and narrow down which out of the many were the most important. After a minute of thinking he finally had the answer he explained that there were many qualities that were needed to be in any part of the criminal justice program but there were a few that were essential. First he said, if you’re looking into this field it is important that you’re even tempered with people and be willing to let things slide without getting offended. Next he said its important to have a sense of humor because you will be put into stressful situations everyday and its important you have a good laugh every now and then. The final quality he said was the most important of them all; common sense. Officer Lewis said that there is a lot of training and situations that officers get put through but you cant teach common sense. It is important if you want to be in the field of work that you have common sense Officer Lewis
High standards and ethics are essential to many positions in the criminal justice system (CJS). Often coupled together, ethics and standards ensure that officers and other criminal justice (CJ) practitioners adhere to regulations and law, including moral codes of behavior and conduct (Fagin, 2017). This document will explore the impact of ethics and standards on the roles of a police officer, prison guard, and probation officer. The influence of a particular court case on a practitioner in court will also be discussed. Lastly, research will be reviewed to determine the most appropriate career path based on the student’s alignment concerning CJ ethics and standards.
Compas, Bruce, & Gotlib, Ian. (2002). Introduction to Clinical Psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kocsis, R. N. (2004). Profiling the criminal mind: Does it actually work? Lancet, 364(1), 14-15.
The unique challenge of working directly with criminal offenders is recognizing their acts of deception to manipulate who will engage in forms of misconduct and deviate from the rules for fulfillment of basic needs. Unfortunately, inmates do not apply ethics when deciding their course of actions to commit a crime. Although the lifestyle and actions of the inmates poses a constant threat to the safety of the institution, officers are always expected to control their emotions, remain impersonal and enforce rules in spite of the many trials and
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,
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,
A Forensic Psychologist focuses on “why people do bad things, why they commit crimes, lie to police officers, and treat their children abusively” (AllPsychologyCareers). There is this fascination with criminals and the psychopathy behind their actions and thoughts. According to All Psychology Careers, this field of study focuses on all types of research in psychology including clinical, developmental, social, clinical, behavioral and neuropsychological to blend together ideas and studies to apply to criminal action. The major focus of forensic psychologist is criminology and law because there needs to be a broad understanding of how the judicial system works and what statutes apply in what states. This type of work can be applied in many different settings such as prisons, correctional facilities, court systems, government agencies, parole boards and research.
Historically, crime and criminals have always caught the attention of law-abiding citizens. Whenever there is mention of serial killers or unsolved murders or abductions, psychological profiling, floats to the top of the list of concerns (Egger, 1999). Psychological profiling is an attempt to provide investigators with more information about an offender who has not yet been identified (Egger, 1999). Its purpose is to develop a behavioral composite that combines both sociological and psychological assessment of the would-be offender. The type of person who could have committed the crime can often be identified on the premise that accurate analysis and interpretation of the crime scene can point to a