Criminal psychology, also referred to as criminological psychology, is the study of the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects. [1] [2] It is a subfield of criminology and applied psychology.
Criminal psychologists have many roles within legal courts, including being called upon as expert witnesses and performing psychological assessments on victims and those who have engaged in criminal behavior. Several definitions are used for criminal behavior, including behavior punishable by public law, behavior considered immoral, behavior violating social norms or traditions, or acts causing severe psychological harm. Criminal behavior is often considered antisocial in nature. [3] Psychologists also help with crime prevention and study the different types of programs that are effective to prevent recidivism, [4] and understanding which mental disorders criminals are likely to have. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Criminal psychology started the late 18th century. The first seeds of forensic psychology were planted in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt, often referred to as the father of psychology, founded his first lab in Germany. Before criminal psychology, there was a conflict in criminal law between medical experts and court judges on determining how to proceed with a majority of cases which specialized the development of a specialized field for individual investigations and assessments of suspects. It is generally accepted that criminal psychology was a predecessor to the broader field of criminology, which includes other fields such as criminal anthropology which studies more systemic aspects of crime as opposed to individual suspects and court cases. [11]
Criminal profiling, also known as offender profiling, is a form of criminal investigation, linking an offender's actions at the crime scene to possible characteristics. This is a practice that lies between the professions of criminology, forensic science and behavioral science. [12] Most commonly used for homicide and sexual cases, criminal profiling helps law enforcement investigators narrow down and prioritize a pool of suspects. [13] Part of a sub-field of forensic psychology called investigative psychology, criminal profiling has advanced substantially in methodology and grown in popularity since its conception in the late 1800s. [14] However, there is a substantial lack of empirical research and effectiveness evaluations validating the practice of criminal profiling. [13] [15] [16] Due to the lack of empirical research, it is important that criminal profiling is used as a tool in investigative cases. [17] Cases should not depend on solely the profile but as well as traditional techniques as well.
Criminal profiling is a process now known in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as criminal investigative analysis. (see also: FBI method of profiling ) Profilers, or criminal investigative analysts, are trained and experienced law enforcement officers who study every behavioral aspect and detail of an unsolved violent crime scene, in which a certain amount of psychopathology has been left at the scene. The characteristics of a good profiler are discussed. Five behavioral characteristics that can be gleaned from the crime scene are described:
The process of interpreting the behavior observed at a crime scene is briefly discussed. [18]
In a 2017 article by Pew Research Center, it was found that federal and state prisons in the United States held 475,900 inmates who were African American and 436,500 who were white. [19] Similar historical data supports the substantially higher incarceration of African American people. [20] This is in contrast with census data which has placed the percentage of African American people at about 12% of the US population. [21] Negative ethnic stereotypes contribute to this disproportionate incarceration; it has served as a justification for the unofficial policies and practices of racial profiling by criminal justice practitioners. [22]
The cultural, environmental and traditional concepts of communities play a major role in individual psychology, providing profilers with a potential basis for behavioral patterns learned by offenders during their upbringing. [23] They also evaluate the safety of prisons for those incarcerated, as some individuals may be predisposed to recidivism if the prisoners' mental health is not adequately addressed. There are several individual factors contributing to developing a criminal profile that both meets legal requirements and treats individuals humanely.
The effect of psychosocial factors on brain functioning and behavior is a central part of analysis for both forensic and criminal psychologists, under the category of applied psychology. For forensic psychiatry, major areas of criminal evaluations include assessing the ability of an individual to stand trial, providing an opinion on what the mental state of the individual was at the time of offense risk management for future offenses (recidivism), providing treatment to criminals including medication and psychotherapy, and being an expert witness. This process often involves psychological testing. [24] Forensic psychologists have similar roles to forensic psychiatrists, although are unable to prescribe medication. Criminal psychologists focus on research, profiling, and educating/assisting law enforcement with the detainment of suspects. [25]
Criminal and forensic psychologists may also consider the following factors:
Criminal psychology is also related to legal psychology, forensic psychology and crime investigations.
The question of competency to stand trial is to question of an offender's current state of mind. This assesses the offender's ability to understand the charges against them, the possible outcomes of being convicted/acquitted of these charges and their ability to assist their attorney with their defense. The question of sanity/insanity or criminal responsibility is an assessment of the offender's state of mind at the time of the crime. This refers to their ability to understand right from wrong and what is illegal. The insanity defense is rarely used, as it is very difficult to prove. If declared insane, an offender may be committed to a secure hospital facility, potentially for much longer than they would have served in prison. [24]
There are several programs that attempt to help teens and young adults that are having disciplinary problems and involvement with the law. These programs include Scared Straight , Boot Camps, and rehabilitation. [26] Research shows that these programs are ineffective or that they may even increase the likelihood of participants reoffending. [26] In order for these interventions to be effective the person needs to voluntarily accept treatment. [26] Research has shown that the most effective methods for preventing recidivism are Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) or rehabilitation programs that teach skills necessary to continue living after the duration of the programs. [26] There are several therapies that are used to help criminals:
The goal of these therapies is to help violent offenders cope and avoid committing crimes after being released. [27] Research on in-patient therapy methods showed to not help criminals. [27] There are risk management tools that are used to assess criminals or people who are becoming involved with the law. [27] There is evidence that these tools help with violence and crime, but health professionals have mixed reviews on if they are effective. [27] Research supports that Multisystemic Therapy did not have an effect on preventing crime or reoffending in juveniles. [28]
The criminal justice system has a wide variety of people that are incarcerated, some of these people have mental illness or disabilities. [10] Some people that are in the system come from lower socioeconomic status and have childhood trauma that later results in mental illness, and this increases the likelihood of them being involved with the law at a young age. [10] [9]
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is caused by a pregnant mother consuming alcohol. [8] This can cause the individual to have issues with decision-making, substance abuse, and the ability to function. [8] They are more likely to commit crimes around the age of 12, which can include drug offenses, shoplifting, and sex crimes. [8]
Some people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are incarcerated, but not more than a neurotypical person. [7] There is a difference though between gender and age. [7] Male teenagers are more likely to have altercations with the law. [7] When the altercations do occur they most often include crime related to stalking, drugs, theft/property damage. [7]
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is another mental illness that inmates may have, and this can be co-morbid with other disorders, such as depression, anxiety, substance use and personality disorders. [6] The most common co-morbid disorders among criminals is depression and substance use disorder. [6] The inmates with PTSD are most likely to be violent with other inmates and commit more violent crimes. [6]
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is another disorder that criminals are likely to have. [5] This disorder can also be co-morbid with disorders like conduct disorder and later on can develop into antisocial personality disorder. [5] People with ADHD often commit crimes such as assault, sex crimes, homicide, and drug charges. [5] After being released from jail/prison people with ADHD are more likely to reoffend quicker than inmates that do not have ADHD. [5]
A bachelor's degree in psychology or criminal justice as well as a master's degree in a related field are needed in order to pursue a career in criminal psychology. A doctorate, either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D, typically yields higher pay and more lucrative job opportunities. In addition to degrees, a licensing exam is required by state or jurisdiction. [29]
Criminal profilers require a master's degree or a doctorate, several years of experience and in some cases passing state examinations to become a licensed psychologist. [30]
Criminal profilers can work in various settings including offices and courtrooms and can be employed at a number of institutions. Some include local, state, or federal government, and others can be self-employed as independent consultants. As of 2021 [update] , the average amount of a criminal psychologist is $58,246 and can increase to $95,000. Several factors contribute to how much a person makes within the field, including how much time a person has worked within the field, and the city with which a person works in. Criminal psychologists who work within larger cities tend to make more than psychologists who work in lower populated cities. Those who work for hospitals or federal government tend to have a lower salary. [31] Some of the top paying states for forensic psychologists are New Hampshire, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, and California. [32]
Forensic psychology careers include: [32]
A number of key studies of psychology especially relevant to understanding criminal psychology have been undertaken. These include: [34] [35]
Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes research on various psychology-law topics, such as: jury selection, reducing systemic racism in criminal law, eyewitness testimony, evaluating competency to stand trial, or assessing military veterans for service-connected disability compensation. The American Psychological Association's Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists reference several psychology sub-disciplines, such as: social, clinical, experimental, counseling, and neuropsychology.
Legal psychology is a field focused on the application of psychological principles within the legal system and its interactions with individuals. Professionals in this area are involved in understanding, assessing, evaluating potential jurors, investigating crimes and crime scenes, conducting forensic investigations The term "legal psychology" distinguishes this practical branch of psychology from the more theory-oriented field of clinical psychology.
Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied in legal contexts involving civil, criminal, correctional, regulatory, or legislative matters, and in specialized clinical consultations in areas such as risk assessment or employment." A forensic psychiatrist provides services – such as determination of competency to stand trial – to a court of law to facilitate the adjudicative process and provide treatment, such as medications and psychotherapy, to criminals.
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to extinguish it. Recidivism is also used to refer to the percentage of former prisoners who are rearrested for a similar offense.
Articles related to criminology and law enforcement.
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects and has been used by investigators to link cases that may have been committed by the same perpetrator. The originator of modern profiling was FBI agent Robert Ressler. He defined profiling as the process of identifying all psychological characteristics of an individual and forming a general description of their personality based on an analysis of crimes they have committed.
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a sexual nature; however, some sex offenders have simply violated a law contained in a sexual category. Some of the serious crimes which result in a mandatory sex-offender classification are sexual assault, statutory rape, bestiality, child sexual abuse, incest, and rape.
Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or theory that the threat of punishment will deter people from committing crime and reduce the probability and/or level of offending in society. It is one of five objectives that punishment is thought to achieve; the other four objectives are denunciation, incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation.
Serial crimes are crimes of a repetitive nature. Serial murder, serial rape and serial arson are crimes regarded as serial crimes.
Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, in combination with traits of boldness, disinhibition, and egocentrism. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to stress, which create an outward appearance of apparent normalcy.
The Psychopathy Checklist or Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, now the Psychopathy Checklist—revised (PCL-R), is a psychological assessment tool that is commonly used to assess the presence and extent of psychopathy in individuals—most often those institutionalized in the criminal justice system—and to differentiate those high in this trait from those with antisocial personality disorder, a related diagnosable disorder. It is a 20-item inventory of perceived personality traits and recorded behaviors, intended to be completed on the basis of a semi-structured interview along with a review of "collateral information" such as official records. The psychopath tends to display a constellation or combination of high narcissistic, borderline, and antisocial personality disorder traits, which includes superficial charm, charisma/attractiveness, sexual seductiveness and promiscuity, affective instability, suicidality, lack of empathy, feelings of emptiness, self-harm, and splitting. In addition, sadistic and paranoid traits are usually also present.
Forensic psychotherapy is the application of psychological knowledge to the treatment of offender-patients who commit violent acts against themselves or others. This form of treatment allows for a therapist to potentially understand the offender and their mental state. It gives the individual providing treatment the opportunity to examine further whether the offender’s criminal behavior was a conscious act or not, what exactly their association with violent behavior is, and what possible motives could have driven them. The discipline of forensic psychotherapy is one that requires the involvement of individuals other than simply the therapist and patient. A therapist may collaborate with other professionals, such as physicians, social workers, nurses and other psychologists in order to best serve the offenders’ needs. Whether the treatment is successful or not relies on a multitude of things, but typically ensuring that a systemic approach is taken and that all involved in the treatment process are well informed and supportive has proven to be the most effective. In addition to group work forensic psychotherapy may also involve therapeutic communities, individual interaction with victims as well as offenders, and family work. In order for this specialized therapy to be as effective as possible, it demands the compliance of not only the patient and therapist, but of the rest of society as well. The main focus of forensic psychotherapy is not to condone the acts of the offender, but to obtain a psychodynamic understanding of the offender in order to attempt to provide them with an effective form of treatment to help them take responsibility for any crimes committed and to prevent the perpetration of crimes by the offender in the future. Guidelines have been set to ensure proficiency in the field of Forensic Psychology.
Pre-crime is the idea that the occurrence of a crime can be anticipated before it happens. The term was coined by science fiction author Philip K. Dick, and is increasingly used in academic literature to describe and criticise the tendency in criminal justice systems to focus on crimes not yet committed. Precrime intervenes to punish, disrupt, incapacitate or restrict those deemed to embody future crime threats. The term precrime embodies a temporal paradox, suggesting both that a crime has not yet occurred and that it is a foregone conclusion.
Positive criminology is based on the perspective that integration and positive life influences that help individuals develop personally and socially will lead to a reduced risk of criminal behavior and better recovery of offenders. Integration works in three levels: inter-personal, intra-personal and spiritual. Positive influences include participation in recovery programs, such as those for substance use disorders. Factors that can make growth difficult include a long-standing pattern of criminal activity, serious adverse life events, and chronic mental health illness.
Gender-responsive prisons are prisons constructed to provide gender-specific care to incarcerated women. Contemporary sex-based prison programs were presented as a solution to the rapidly increasing number of women in the prison industrial complex and the overcrowding of California's prisons. These programs vary in intent and implementation and are based on the idea that female offenders differ from their male counterparts in their personal histories and pathways to crime. Multi-dimensional programs oriented toward female behaviors are considered by many to be effective in curbing recidivism.
Women in American prisons encounter numerous difficulties that often involve mental health problems, drug and alcohol issues, and trauma. These challenges not only make navigating the criminal justice system more difficult for women but also highlights broader societal issues such as, gender-based violence, economic inequalities, and lack of mental health support. People in prison are more likely than the general United States population to have received a mental disorder diagnosis, and women in prison have higher rates of mental illness and mental health treatment than do men in prison. Furthermore, women in prisons are three times more likely than the general population to report poor physical and mental health. Women are the fastest growing demographic of the United States prison population. As of 2019, there are about 222,500 women incarcerated in state and federal prisons in the United States. Women comprise roughly 8% of all inmates in the United States. This surge is largely attributed to the rising use of imprisonment for drug-related offenses rather than violent crimes. A considerable portion of incarcerated women are serving time for drug-related offenses, with the proportion increasing significantly between 1986 and 1991. Even among those in maximum security facilities, a majority are not imprisoned for violent felonies. The data also reveal that in states like New York, a substantial proportion of incarcerated women are serving time for drug-related offenses, with a smaller percentage incarcerated for violent crimes or property offenses.
The risk-needs-responsivity model is used in criminology to develop recommendations for how prisoners should be assessed based on the risk they present, what programs or services they require, and what kinds of environments they should be placed in to reduce recidivism. It was first proposed in 1990 based on the research conducted on classifications of offender treatments by Lee Sechrest and Ted Palmer, among other researchers, in the 1960s and 70s. It was primarily developed by Canadian researchers James Bonta, Donald A. Andrews, and Paul Gendreau. It has been considered the best model that exists for determining offender treatment, and some of the best risk-assessment tools used on offenders are based on it.
Prisoner reentry is the process by which prisoners who have been released return to the community. Many types of programs have been implemented with the goal of reducing recidivism and have been found to be effective for this purpose. Consideration for the conditions of the communities formerly incarcerated individuals are re-entering, which are often disadvantaged, is a fundamental part of successful re-entry.
Donald Arthur Andrews was a Canadian correctional psychologist and criminologist who taught at Carleton University, where he was a founding member of the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is recognized for having criticized Robert Martinson's influential paper concluding that "nothing works" in correctional treatment. He also helped to advance the technique of risk assessment to better predict the chance of recidivism among offenders. He is credited with coining the terms "criminogenic needs" and "risk-need-responsivity", both of which have since been used and studied extensively in the criminological literature.
Roderic Broadhurst is a criminal justice practitioner, academic, and author. He is an Emeritus Professor at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) and Fellow of the Research School of Asian and the Pacific at the Australian National University (ANU).
36. https://www.verywellmind.com/history-of-forensic-psychology-2795254 Kendra Cherry MsEd Retrieved 25 July 2023
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