In the modern world, psychology has turned out to be an essential aspect in solving criminal cases. Psychology aids in understanding the behavior of a person and the reason why the behavior in a particular manner. Psychology tries to explain array of factors in human behavior and give a rational judgment. Forensic psychology is an important filed that employs the aspect of physiology in solving cases. The discipline evaluates the motives and the mindset of criminals and establishes why they committed the crime. The filed is also fundamental in determining the threat that the offender has on the society. A psychologist provides information used in the sentencing process. They help in resolving cases relating to violence and custody battles. The psychologist also helps victims to recover from trauma. In order to work as a forensic psychologist, one needs to have skills in deductive, logic and intuitive reasoning. Besides, the person needs to have self-control and be a critical thinker. Communication skills and observing high ethical standard is fundamental in the profession.
Keywords: Forensic Psychology, Criminal Profiling, Investigation, Psychologists, Criminal Case
Importance of Forensic Psychology in Resolving Criminal Cases
Advancement in forensic psychology denotes to be a milestone in solving criminal cases, and the process has vitally shaped the justice realm. The concept blends psychology and criminal justice system. The process of solving crimes has fundamentally evolved since the emergence of forensic psychology. The discipline of forensic psychology is grounded on fields of criminal justice, psychology, and law. It is used to address the judicial, administrative and legislative factors. The discipline intercepts with forensics and clinical psychology, and it is applied to various criminal factors including issues of domestic violence and custody rights. Forensic psychology is aimed at protecting human rights, enhances the judicial system and applies legal concepts that ensure justice prevails. The assessments forensic psychologist provide are used in tribunals, probation hearings and in court cases. Psychologists carry out face to face evaluations, spend time with the offenders and run rehabilitation programs. The psychologists face stressful workplace as they have to endure the noisy and disrupted environment in prisons. The forensic psychologists also work in communities, in hospitals, and in probation programs where they talk to the victims of crime or the professional in the criminal justice. The process is used in "police departments, law firms, rehabilitation centers, government agencies, prisons and even in private practices" (Altintas & Bilici, 2018). As such, forensic psychology has vitally shaped the judicial justice system through playing a fundamental role in criminal investigation and law enforcement processes.
Background Information on Forensic Psychology
According to Bartol and Bartol (1999), many historical events exist which benchmarks in Forensic Psychology. The first reference to criminal insanity dates back to the Roman law. The law elucidated that people who were insane were mentally unstable and this was in itself a punishment. The Roman law postulated that insane people should be given lenient punishments against their crimes. In 1893, McKeen Cattell carried out the first psychological experiments that chronicled psychology testimonies (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). Since then, there have been multitudes of historical events that paint to be forensic examinations. The most recent incident of forensic psychology occurred in 2001 where the process was recognized to be a specialty by The American Psychological Association. The status was also confirmed in 2008. The field of forensic psychology has gained recognition in the recent past. In 1981, it was termed to be a separate division of the "American Psychological Association" (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). Notably, the field has become broader and today it incorporates both forensic workers and clinicians who seek to interact and understand law and psychology. Reports indicate that the field of forensic psychology is likely to grow significantly in the coming years (Altintas & Bilici, 2018). This represents a solid growth and paints a picture of how the process is quickly being integrated into the criminal justice system. Hence, there is a long history of forensic psychology and the recent advancements prove to be essential in solving court cases.
Importance of Forensic Psychology in Solving Criminal Cases
Investigating Mental Health
In the judicial system, the field of forensic psychology plays a critical role in shedding light on the mental functioning of the defendants. The psychologists evaluate the defendant in order to assess the mental well-being and later provide a report of the findings in court. In the assessment process, the psychologist purposes at finding out if the person suffers from any psychological disorder and in turn determine if the defendant has circumstances of diminished mental capacity (Altintas & Bilici, 2018). The forensic psychological concept is applied to examining the crime victims both in the therapeutic and investigative role. Notably, the process has been deemed essential in carrying out investigations that related to domestic violence and child abuse (Wright, 2006). Furthermore, it aims at offering treatment measures to the victims of such crimes particularly through providing therapeutic services. Evaluation of mental health proves to be a necessary factor in establishing the form of punishment that a person should be subjected to. Insane people should be given lenient sentencing as oppose to normal people.
Criminal Profiling
Criminal profiling is one of the significant areas that employ the discipline of forensic psychology. Psychologists in this filed are recognized to be efficient criminal profilers. They establish a psychological profile of a criminal and hence impact on law enforcement. Developing the profile of a criminal includes examining the offense committed in order to have clear information on the physical characteristic of the offender (Youngs & Yüce Zeyrek, 2014). The psychologist determines critical data including the weight, age, race of the person among others. Besides, in criminal profiling, the psychologist aims at determining the motivations that were behind committing the crime. The criminal profiling process is significant in helping in law enforcement as it is crucial in enabling the investigator to make the appropriate recommendations for punishing the offender (Wright, 2006). The psychologist also states the practical strategies that could be used to interrogate the suspect in order to find out important information.
Impact on Expert Witness
Fact witnesses used in court are limited to testifying only the information they observed and know. However, forensic psychology is used in expert witnesses. The psychologist is the expert witness, and they possess specialized knowledge on the given topic. They are thus able to provide viable information that is significant in the process of court proceedings (Youngs & Yüce Zeyrek, 2014). An expert witness is fundamental in informing on issues relating to mental health together with many other areas of expertise like experimental, social, developmental and cognitive. Forensic psychology has the role of expert witnesses, and it primarily serves in enable the judge to determine the ways of resolving the issue at hand.
Mental Evaluation
The process evaluates the mental health of the person and assists in solving both civil and criminal cases. The sanity of the individual is assessed and the risk of future violent acts determined (Martell, 2008). In civil cases, the assessment process is important in issues relating to custody cases. The evaluator them informs the relevant parties. The psychologist works closely with the expert witness and could be called in court to testify on given cases. Forensic psychologists are experts of the human mind, and the filed helps police officers to close cases through explaining what type of person an individual is and the reasons that led one to commit the crime (Parsi, 2016). The officers are then able to narrow down the list of suspects and majorly focus on people that could have committed the crime (Kocsis et al., 2008). This makes the investigation process to be easier.
Correctional Setting
Moreover, the field of forensic psychology is used in correctional settings. The primary duty of the psychology here is to conduct screenings and assessments of the inmates. Correctional process pertains to programs, policies, and practices that are directed at correcting the inmates and make them change their behavior. As such, the correctional psychologists work with the inmates and offenders. Here, the forensic psychologists serve both the role of being an evaluator and treatment providers. Moreover, the process is fundamental in administering court-ordered psychological evaluations on the inmates and offenders (Parsi, 2016). The psychologist consults with the advocates, attorneys, the judicial personnel as well as the prison staff in order to come up with the necessary information required (Youngs & Yüce Zeyrek, 2014).. The assessment and interrogation are geared at finding out the mental well-being of the inmates and if they are willing to change their ways. Therefore, the process provides the mental health report of the inmates basing on the therapies conducted. The aspects that are involved in correctional setting are issues of anger management, refraining from substance abuse, and individual treatments.
Investigation and Law enforcement
The discipline helps the court system to be able to assess and diagnose suspects and thus allowing the court system to determine if the person is responsible for the criminal actions or not. Moreover, the process helps in determining the likelihood of the person repeating the same offense if suppose he or she is released from prison. This is important for security measures as the psychologist is able to find out the dangers that a person poses to the society. The information is presented to the court system and guides the sentencing decisions (Kocsis et al., 2008). The psychologists testify in court, and this is fundamental in deciding which sentence should be given to a criminal. The psychologist is mainly called upon to "administer treatment that would minimize the likelihood of future violent acts for persons who are at high risk of committing a violent offense" (Martell, 2008). Therefore, forensic psychologists are important in law enforcement. They work in collaboration with the law enforcement agencies and, and they are responsible for helping the enforcement personnel.
Provision of Therapeutic Treatment to Victims
The forensic process provides psychological interventions to victims of crime. They also have to help the people with custody and divorce cases. They also offer counseling programs to people who have suffered trauma and injuries. In the field of investigation, forensic psychology helps a child to testify in court and thus make it easier for the court to understand the assault made on the victim. Besides, it helps the victims recover from the trauma of abuse. The services provided by the psychologist are vital in the rehabilitation of criminals and thus impact on crime prevention (Parsi, 2016). The process thus assists in crisis intervention such as suicide and post-trauma. The guide personal and stress management among the victims through counseling treatment.
Conclusion
Forensic psychology is an important discipline in solving criminal cases. The process examines the defendant from different point of view to determine the motives behind committing the crime. Forensic psychology provides a rich source of information as analysis is done on the offender's behaviors and used in the criminal justice system. Sanity evaluation is carried out to determine the mental health of the individual and provide relevant recommendations that are necessary for sentencing, granting of probation and ability to rehabilitate. Forensic psychology is fundamental in criminal profiling, law enforcement, expert witnessing and in the correctional setting. The filed is also important in healing process through provision of therapy and counseling sessions.
References
Altintas, M., " Bilici, M. (2018). Evaluation of childhood trauma with respect to criminal behavior, dissociative experiences, adverse family experiences and psychiatric backgrounds among prison inmates. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 82, 100-107. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.12.006
Bartol, C., " Bartol, A. (1999). The History of Forensic Psychology. In A. Hess " I. Weiner, The Handbook of Forensic Psychology (1st ed., pp. 3-34). New York: John Wiley.
Kocsis, R. N., Middledorp, J., " Karpin, A. (2008). Taking Stock of Accuracy in Criminal Profiling: The Theoretical Quandary for Investigative Psychology. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 8(3), 244-261. doi:10.1080/15228930802282006
Martell, D. (2008). Review of: Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology for Criminal and Civil Cases. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 53(6), 1487-1487. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00888.x
Parsi H. (2016). Forensic Psychology and Law. International Journal of Psychology, 51, 597-608. doi: 10.1002/ijop.12319
Wright, D. B. (2006). Causal and associative hypotheses in psychology: Examples from eyewitness testimony research. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 12(2), 190-213. doi:10.1037/1076-8971.12.2.190
Youngs, D., " Yüce Zeyrek Rios, E. (2014, December). The Role of Psychology in Investigations. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305206812
