5/13/23, 6:00 PM Criminal Psychology: What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

STUDENT RESOURCES CAREERS

What Criminal Psychologists Do

Job Description, Education, and Expected Salary
By Kendra Cherry Updated on March 20, 2023

Fact checked by Emily Swaim

Verywell / Bailey Mariner

Table of Contents

Job Description

Work Environment

Education and Training

Salary

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5/13/23, 6:00 PM Criminal Psychology: What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

Criminal psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the

behaviors and thoughts of criminals.

The field of criminal psychology is related to forensic psychology, but

there are important differences. Criminal psychologists typically focus
more directly on criminal behaviors. Forensic psychologists, on the other
hand, deal more with the intersection of psychology and civil and criminal
law.

Interest in criminal psychology has grown dramatically in recent years,

thanks to popular television programs that depict fictionalized criminal
psychologists, such as Criminal Minds and CSI. The field is highly related
to forensic psychology and, in some cases, the two terms are used
interchangeably.

This article discusses what criminal psychology is and what criminal

psychologists do. It includes information about educational requirements,
typical salaries, and work environments for those who work in criminal
psychology.

Criminal Psychology Job Description

A large part of what a criminal psychologist does is studying why people
commit crimes. They may also assess criminals in order to evaluate the
risk of recidivism (how likely the person is to re-offend in the future) or
make educated guesses about the actions that a criminal may have taken
after committing a crime.

In addition to helping law enforcement solve crimes or analyze the

behavior of criminal offenders, criminal psychologists also often
provide expert testimony in court.

Criminal Profiling

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5/13/23, 6:00 PM Criminal Psychology: What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

Perhaps one of the best-known duties of a criminal psychologist is known

as offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling. Although the
practice had been used informally for many decades, criminal profiling
made its professional debut in the 1940s, when the U.S. Office of Strategic
Services asked a psychiatrist to create a profile for Adolf Hitler. [1]

Today, organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) use

offender profiling to help apprehend violent criminals. The goal of
criminal profiling is to provide law enforcement with a psychological
assessment of the suspect and to provide strategies and suggestions that
can be used in the interviewing process.

Criminal Psychology In Real Life vs. the Movies

Psychologists don't typically accompany officers to interrogate

apprehended suspects. Moreover, many cases take weeks, months, or even
years to solve, and are rarely pieced together as quickly and irrefutably as
they are on TV shows.

While the job may not be exactly like you see it portrayed on TV, the
realities of the job are far from boring. In addition to profiling, criminal
psychologists may counsel people who have committed crimes and need
psychological assessment. Many psychologists work in computer-related
fields, like studying internet predators or helping investigate online fraud.

Click Play to Learn More About What Criminal Psychologists Do

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5/13/23, 6:00 PM Criminal Psychology: What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

This video has been medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD.

Criminal Psychology Work Environment

People in the field of criminal psychology usually work in office and court
settings. A criminal psychologist might spend a considerable amount of
time interviewing people, researching an offender’s life history, or
providing expert testimony in the courtroom.

Some specific areas where a person might work with a degree in criminal
psychology include:

Criminal profiler: Work with law enforcement to look for patterns in

crimes and create profiles of offenders
Criminal analyst: Look for patterns in communities to assess criminal
activity and help develop crime prevention programs
Criminal psychologist: Work in correctional, government, or mental
health settings to assess and treat criminal offenders
Victim advocate: Assist people who have experienced crime or trauma to
help them understand their rights, process their experiences, and access
support resources in the community
Behavioral therapist: Work with people who have come into contact with
the criminal justice system to overcome problematic behavior in order to
minimize the risk of re-offending
Expert witness: Provide testimony in criminal court cases to answer
questions about behavioral and psychological questions
Case manager: Work with clients who need support managing their
behaviors and legal situations, including helping them access and
coordinate treatment services
Forensic psychologist: Perform assessments and evaluations in civil and
criminal court cases

In some cases, criminal psychologists may work closely with police

and federal agents to help solve crimes, often by developing profiles
of murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals.

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5/13/23, 6:00 PM Criminal Psychology: What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

Criminal psychologists are employed in a number of different institutions.

Some work for local, state, or federal government, while others are self-
employed as independent consultants. Still others opt to teach criminal
psychology at the university level or at specialized criminology training
facilities.

Education and Training in Criminal Psychology

In many cases, criminal psychologists start out by earning a bachelor's
degree in psychology. After completing an undergraduate degree, some
students opt to then enter a master's in psychology program.

Entering a doctorate program after earning your bachelor's is another

option. Job openings in this specialty area are more plentiful for those
with a PhD or PsyD degree in psychology.

The PhD (or Doctor of Philosophy) degree is typically more focused

on theory and research, while the PsyD (or Doctor of Psychology)
tends to be more practice-oriented.

To become a criminal psychologist, you should seriously consider earning

a PhD or PsyD degree in clinical or counseling psychology. In some cases,
students opt to focus on a particular specialty area such as forensic or
criminal psychology.

No matter what type of doctorate degree you choose to earn, it will likely
take about five to seven years to complete [2] and will include classroom
work, practical training, research, and a dissertation. In order to become a
licensed psychologist, you will also need to complete an internship and
pass state examinations.

Typical Salaries in Criminal Psychology

While there are jobs in forensic psychology at the master's level, the
competition for these positions is fierce. While there were roughly 181,700
psychologists in the United States in 2018, around 18,300 of them were

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specialist psychologists, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. [3]

(The database doesn't have data for forensic psychologists specifically.)

In terms of income, salaries for specialist psychologists tend to be

higher than in other fields of practice, with a mean annual wage of
$95,610. In 2018, annual incomes ranged from $41,220 to as high as
$127,510.

Specialist psychologists working for state and local governments or

private practice tend to have higher average salaries, while those
employed by the federal government or hospitals tend to have lower
annual salaries. [4]

A Word From Verywell

Before you decide if this is the right specialty area for you, spend some
time considering your own capabilities and goals. Due to the nature of this
profession, you may find yourself dealing with some truly disturbing
situations. You may need to look at crime scene photos or interview people
suspected of horrifying crimes. You need to be prepared to deal with the
emotional distress that this type of work may cause.

One of the best ways to determine if this career is right for you is to talk to
a practicing criminal psychologist about what the job is like. Contact your
local law enforcement department to see if they can connect you with a
criminal psychologist in your area.

Related: 20 Types of Psychologists and What They Do

4 Sources

By Kendra Cherry
Kendra Cherry, MS, is the author of the "Everything Psychology Book
(2nd Edition)" and has written thousands of articles on diverse
psychology topics. Kendra holds a Master of Science degree in
education from Boise State University with a primary research
interest in educational psychology and a Bachelor of Science in

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5/13/23, 6:00 PM Criminal Psychology: What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

psychology from Idaho State University with additional coursework in

substance use and case management.

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