Forensic Psychology
Forensic Psychologists can play a number of key roles in a criminal investigation. Immediately following a crime a forensic psychologist may be asked to act as a criminal profiler. It has over the years become the love child of numerous television programs, movies, and crime novels. Criminal profiling involves the psychologist using his understanding of human behavior, motivation, and pathology so that he/she can create a psychological profile of the offender. The profiles can be surprisingly accurate. From observations of the crime scene one can infer the behavioral characteristics of the individual who created it. To a profiler everyone is a slave to his or her psychological makeup. In turn, profilers use their knowledge of which the typical offender is that bears these characteristics and then predicts not only how the investigators can expect the offender to behave in the future, but also what their physical appearance will likely be. While profiling may seem very exciting, few psychologists are ever involved in this field. Psychological knowledge has been applied to many more areas of investigative police work, from the police interrogation to the police line-up. Both of these areas have prospered greatly from
However, educational programs in psychology haven't yet geared up for training students in their forensic duties. From these evaluations the court can decide whether compensatory damages should be provided. Both "sanity" and "insanity" are legal terms, and forensic psychologists and psychiatrists must relate their scientific language to them. , schizophrenia) or a mental disability (i. This work is typically unpaid work, as opposed to all-purpose psychologists who usually get paid. Psychological experts must be able to explain complex psychological issues to non-psychologists, whether it be to a judge or to a jury, as the finder of fact. Becoming a forensic psychologist will first require you to get a doctorate in psychology, often (but not necessarily) in clinical or counseling psychology. The conclusions and recommendations of the expert should assist the fact finder in reaching a decision, and should not add confusion to that process. They are allowed to explain the mechanisms of perception, processing, memory, and recollection, and to describe the empirical research that has been conducted on these subjects. Outside of the "front-end" operations of police work there is numerous opportunities for the application of forensic psychology. A person who is found not guilty by reason of insanity for a crime that would typically hold a ten-year sentence could potentially spend their entire life in prison or a psychiatric hospital if these evaluations raise concerns. Secondly, Psychologists may also be asked to make an evaluation regarding the defendant's mental state at the time of the offense.
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