FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Introduction and History

Introduction to Forensic psychology
 Forensic Psychology Study of the behaviour and
mental processes of those who engage in
criminal behaviour.
 Forensic Psychology is an original approach to
understanding how psychologists impact the
research, practice, and policy of crime, law, and
justice
 It can be divided into four sections of criminal
forensics, civil forensics, law enforcement, and
corrections and prison practices
 Definition of forensic psychology

 The word forensic comes from the Latin forensic,

which literally means pertain to the forum,
specifically the imperial court of Rome

 The most common definition is that, "Forensic

Psychology refers broadly to the production
of psychological knowledge and its
application to the civil and criminal justice"
 CONT’D

 Forensic refers to anything pertaining or potentially pertaining to

law, both civil and criminal.
 Forensic psychology
“ refers to apply psychological knowledge to the criminal
justice system.
 Some authors use a very broad definition for forensic psychology,
stating that it encompasses anything that has to do with
psychology and the legal system
Forensic Psychology Includes:-

 It includes activities as varied  research and theory building

as these: in the area of criminal
behavior
 courtroom testimony
 and the design and
 child custody evaluations
implementation of
 law enforcement candidate intervention and prevention
screening programs for youthful
offenders
 treatment of offenders in
correctional facilities
 assessment of plaintiffs with
disability claims,
Cont……

 APA’s definition of forensic psychology places the emphasis on the

development of solid clinical skills

 Although it is necessary to have specialized training in areas of law and

forensic psychology, these competencies have traditionally come after
the development of clinical expertise. Therefore, anyone wishing to
pursue a career in forensic psychology should first develop strong
clinical skills in assessment, understanding psychopathology,
report writing, diagnostic interviewing, and case presentation
Historical background

 1893-J.Mc Keen Cattell, first psychogical experiment on the psychology

of testimony and decided to explore in greater depth and with more
sophistication both memory and the field of eyewitness
identification.
 1903-Louis William Stern, periodical dealing with the psychology of
testimony.
 1908-Hugo Munsterberg(father of forensic psychology), on the witness
stand, book written by him.
 1911-J.Varendonck, earlier psychologist to testify in a criminal trial in
Belgium.
 1913-psychological services are offered within a U.S correctional
facilities
Cont..

 1917-Wiliiam Marston, develop first modern polygraph

 Lewis Terman first American psychologist to use psychological tests in
the screening of law enforcement personnel. He had brought
intelligence and aptitude testing to the military and some civilian
law enforcement agencies
 1921-first time American psychologist testifies in a courtroom as an
expert witness.
 1922-Karl Marbe, first psychologist to testify at a civil trial.
 William Marston become the first to receive a faculty appointment as
professor of legal psychology. He also conducted the first empirical
research on the jury system.
Cont..

 1931-Howard Bortt,first textbook in forensic area written

 1961-Hans Toch first text on the psychology of crime legal and criminal
psychology
 1964-Hans J. Eysenck, first comprehensive and testable theory on
criminal behavior(crime and personality)book.
 1968-Martin Reisy, first full time police psychologist
 1972-Stanley Brodsky, correctional psychology becomes recognized as a
professional career
 1974-first successful interdisciplinary psychology and law program is
developed
Cont..

 1978-American board of forensic psychology begins professional

certification of diplomats in forensic psychology
 American psychological association approved the clinical internship
 1991-American academy of forensic psychology and American
psychology law society published guidelines for forensic psychologists
 2001-APA recognizes forensic psychology as a speciality
 2006-committee on the revision of the speciality guidelines for forensic
psychology recommends a broader definition that encompasses
research as well as clinical practice.
 History of forensic psychology
 Forensic Psychology dates back to at least the turn
of the twentieth century. William Stern studied
memory in 1901 by asking students to examine a
picture for forty-five seconds and then try to recall
what was happening in it.
 He would see how much the person could recall at
various intervals after seeing the picture. These
experiments came before more contemporary
research about the reliability of eyewitnesses
testimony in court
Cont……
Stern concluded from his research that recall
memories are generally inaccurate; the more time
between seeing the picture and being asked to
recall it, the more errors were made.
People especially recalled false information when
the experimenter gave them a lead-in question
such as, "Did you see the man with the knife?" The
person would answer, "yes," even if there was no
knife present. Leading questions are often used in
police interrogations and in questioning witnesses
 Cont……
 Hugo Munsterberg is often called the
first forensic psychologist. He wrote a
book called On the Witness Stand. It
was published in 1908, after the work of
William Stern.
 Other psychologists before this, such as
Alfred Binet and Sigmund Freud, had
also constructed tests that could be
used in judicial proceeding.
 Cont……
 In 1916, Lewis Terman, a Stanford psychologist,
began to apply psychology to law enforcement. He
revised Alfred Binet's intelligence tests and formed
the Stanford-Binet intelligence test.

 These tests were used to assess the intelligence of

thirty applicants for the police and firefighting jobs
in San Jose. Few years later, L. L. Thurstone used
the same type of test in Detroit. Now, this type of
testing is used in most police departments
History of Forensic Psychology
• 1911 several psychologists testified in a Belgium
court of behalf of a man accused of raping and
murdering a little girl. This is the 1st case in which
experimental psychological data (in this case, the
validity of testimony of children) was allowed to be
presented in a court case.
• 1913 1st use of a psychologist in a U.S. correctional
setting recorded in New York at a women’s
reformatory. Main job of psychologists at this time
was to determine if a person was “feebleminded.”
 CONT’D

 Canada’s 1st Correctional Psychologist hired in

1955 at St. Vincent de Paul Penitentiary.
 Hans Toch, the 1st psychologist to edit a book on
psychological criminology called: Legal and
Criminal Psychology in 1960. This is considered
the 1st book about psychology and the law written
by a psychologist.
Five sub speciality in forensic
psychology

 Police psychology and public safety psychology(applied branch)

 Psychology of crime and delinquency(research focused)
 victimology and Victim services(research focused)
 Legal psychology(applied branch)
 Correctional psychology(applied branch)
Forensic Psychology Today

 Today, the practice of forensic psychology is evident in numerous

contexts.

 Here are just a few examples of things that forensic

psychologists (depending on their specialty) may be asked to do,
in addition to working in academic settings.
 Police and Public Safety Psychology

 Assist police departments in determining optimal shift schedules for their

employees.
 Establish reliable and valid screening procedures for public safety officer positions
at various law enforcement, fire, first responder, fish and wildlife, police, and
sheriff’s departments.
 Perform fitness-for-duty evaluations of officers after a critical incident, such as a
hostage-taking situation ending in multiple deaths.
 Train police officers on how to assist mentally ill persons.
 Provide counseling and debriefing services to officers after a shooting incident.
 Provide support services to the families of law enforcement officers.
 Inform police of the research evidence regarding the reliability of eyewitness
identification.
 Help detectives solve crimes, such as by examining a crime scene.
Psychology of Crime and Delinquency

 Evaluate the effectiveness of intervention strategies designed to prevent

violent behavior during adolescence.
 Conduct research on the development of psychopathy.
 Consult with legislators and governmental agencies as a research policy
advisor on responses to stalking.
 Consult with school personnel on identifying troubled youth who are a
potential threat to other students.
 Develop a psychological measure for assessing risk of harm to self or
others among the mentally ill.
 Inform the legal community about research on decision making in
adolescence.
Victimology and victim services

 Evaluate persons who are the victims of crime or witnesses to crime.

 Conduct psychological assessments for personal injury matters related
to auto accidents, product liability, sexual harassment and
discrimination, medical negligence, worker’s compensation, or disability.
 Educate and train victim service providers on psychological reactions to
criminal victimization, such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
 Conduct forensic assessments of victims of persecution and torture for
evidence at immigration hearings.
 Assess, support, and counsel those who provide death notification
services.
 Educate service providers on the impact of multiculturalism when
victims seek mental health and support services.
Legal psychology

 Conduct child custody evaluations, visitation risk assessments, and child abuse
evaluations.
 Assist attorneys in jury selection through community surveys and other research
methods.
 Perform evaluations of a defendant’s competency to stand trial.
 Testify at a trial in which the defendant has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
 Evaluate civil capacities, such as the capacity to make a will or consent to treatment.
 Testify before a legislative committee on relationships between aggression and violent
video games.
 Provide outpatient psychotherapy to individuals who have been ordered to receive
treatment by the court.
 Assess hardships suffered by individuals threatened with deportation during
immigration proceedings.
 Correctional psychology

 Assess inmates entering jail or prison for both mental health needs and
suitability for treatment and rehabilitation programs.
 Assess prisoners for risk in parole decision making.
 Assess violence risk in juveniles and adults.
 Evaluate the effectiveness of programs for juvenile and adult offenders,
such as victim–offender reconciliation programs, sex offender treatment,
violence prevention, or health education programs.
 Conduct sexually violent predator assessments.
 Establish reliable and valid screening procedures for correctional officer
positions at correctional facilities.
 Offer mental health treatment to adults and juveniles in correctional
settings.
Subfields of Forensic Psychology
 Clinical-Forensic Psychology
Very similar to clinical psychology. Clients here are
not only suffering from some type of mental
problem, but their issues are of importance to
legal decision making as well.
 Developmental Psychology
Deals w/ juveniles, the elderly, and the law. Focus
on policy making rather than treatment of those
with mental problems.
 Social Psychology
Concerned with how jurors interact and arrive at a
group decision.
 Cognitive Psychology
Closely associated w/social psychology subfield, but
looks more into how people make decisions in legal
cases.
 Criminal Investigative Psychology
Police psychology, criminal profiling and
psychological autopsies. Experts may choose to
conduct research and/or work closely in analyzing the
minds of criminal suspects
Work settings in which forensic
psychologist includes
 The work settings in which forensic psychologists are
found include, but are not limited to, the following:
 Private practice
 Family, drug, and mental health courts
 Child protection agencies
 Victim services
 Domestic violence courts and programs
 Cont’d

 Forensic mental health units (governmental or private)

 Sex offender treatment programs
 Correctional institutions (including research programs)
 Law enforcement agencies (federal, state, or local)
 Research organizations (governmental or private)
 Colleges and universities (teaching or research)
 Juvenile delinquency treatment programs
 Legal advocacy centers (e.g., for immigrants, prisoners, the
mentally ill or intellectually disabled)
Forensic Psychology, Forensic
Psychiatry, and Forensic Social Work
 Some of the tasks listed above are performed by mental health professionals
who are not psychologists, most particularly psychiatrists or social workers.
Increasingly, these three groups of professionals work in collaboration, but it
is important to point out some of the differences among them.
 Psychiatrics are medical doctors specialize in prevention,diagnosis,and
treatment of mental and emotional disturbance, known as forensic
psychiatrists.
 Psychologist don’t hold medical degree, they cannot prescribe medication.
 They all work in forensic setting including, the court, correctional facilities
and law enforcement.
 Clinical social worker
 Councel victims of crimes or families of victims.
 Part of treatment under the supervision of psychologist.
Forensic Psychology

 Psychologists, particularly but not exclusively those with specialties in

clinical, counseling, or forensic psychology, are often confused with
psychiatrists by the public and the media.
 Today, the lines of separation between the two professions are becoming
increasingly blurred.
 Clinical, counseling, and forensic psychologists, along with psychiatrists,
are trained to provide direct assessment and treatment services to persons
with emotional, cognitive, or behavioral problems and also consult with
attorneys and testify in court proceedings.
 Psychologists do not hold a medical degree, although some may have
earned related degrees, such as a master of public health (MPH). Another
major distinction between the two has been the license to prescribe drugs,
including psychoactive drugs.
 Traditionally, psychologists have not been permitted by law to prescribe any
medication.
 Now, that is beginning to change. In 2002, New Mexico became the first state
to allow properly trained psychologists to prescribe psychoactive drugs, or
drugs intended to treat mental disorders or behavioral problems.
 In 2004, Louisiana became the second state to pass a law authorizing properly
trained psychologists to prescribe certain medications for the treatment
of mental health disorders.
 In that state, these practitioners are called “medical psychologists.”
 In 2014, Illinois enacted legislation granting prescriptive authority to
psychologists who have training in psychopharmacology, and Iowa and
Idaho enacted similar legislation in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
 Medical associations typically have resisted
extending prescription privileges, maintaining that
this will lead to abuses and decrease the quality of
patient care.
 Nevertheless, even among clinical psychologists there
is not universal support for prescription privileges
or authority, although most surveys find at least a
majority in favor (e.g., Baird, 2007; Sammons, Gorny,
Zinner, & Allen, 2000).
Forensic Psychiatry

 Psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) (or, in some cases, doctors of

osteopathy [DOs]), who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis,
and treatment of mental, addictive, and emotional disorders.
 Many psychiatrists, like psychologists, work in a variety of forensic
settings, including the court, correctional facilities, and law
enforcement, but especially the first.
 Psychiatrists who are closely associated with the law are often
referred to as forensic psychiatrists. In some areas, such as issues
relating to insanity determination by the courts, psychiatrists are
more visible—and sometimes more preferred—than psychologists.
 Psychologists and psychiatrists seem to be equally involved in
pretrial assessments of juveniles, while psychologists are more
likely to conduct custody evaluations, consult with law enforcement, and
work within the correctional system.
 Forensic neuropsychologists, who have expertise in brain research,
assessments, and the law, are frequently consulted in both criminal and
civil matters.
Forensic social workers

 Forensic social workers also can be found in the same arenas as their
psychological and psychiatric counterparts.
 They may counsel victims of crimes or families of victims and offenders
and provide substance abuse and sex offender treatment to offenders,
among other functions.
 In many correctional facilities, social workers are part of the treatment
team.
 Forensic social workers may be found participating in child custody
evaluations, termination of parental rights, spousal abuse
cases, and juvenile justice and adult corrections.
 Ethical issues

 With the increasing opportunities available to forensic

psychologists, numerous pragmatic and ethical issues also have
been raised.
 Prescription authority, mentioned briefly above, is one example.
 Other ethical issues pertain to the dual relationships between
the psychologist and the client
 conflicts of interest, bias, participation in research, issues
of confidentiality, and the tension between punishment and
rehabilitation
 A psychologist should NOT conduct both a forensic
examination and treat the same person.
Careers In psychology

 Personnel training and selection.

 Delivery of psychological services to victims of any man made and
natural disaster.
 Profiling of serial killer
 Members of AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.(APA)
 Education and training
Cont..

 Higher education and human service centers

 Working in business, government and private sectors.
 Applied specialty
 Clinical
 Counseling
 School
 Organizational
 Forensic psychology