Psychology for Dummies (63 page)
Read Psychology for Dummies Online
Authors: Adam Cash
Tags: #Psychology, #General, #Body; Mind & Spirit, #Spirituality
Psychologists appear to be a logical choice to provide answers to questions surrounding the complexity of crime and criminal behavior. They’re trained to understand and even change human behavior and mental processes. Crime may be viewed as a type of “societal illness.” Most often, the “cure” for this illness is our legal system, police, district attorneys, judges, defense lawyers, jails, and prisons. The penal code of each state is like the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,
4th Edition, for these societal disorders. No doubt, we spend a lot of money to prevent crime and to arrest and reform those who commit criminal acts. Each professional in the process plays an important role, and forensic psychologists come to the game with the tools of their trade, their knowledge.
Forensic psychologists typically possess a doctoral degree such as a Ph.D., EdD, or PsyD and have special training and/or experience in forensic psychology. The list of activities that forensic psychologists engage in can get pretty long. Some of the activities seem exciting, and some of them may put most people to sleep. Here are just a few:
Predicting dangerousness or narcotics addiction (suitability for court mandated substance abuse treatment). Some people represent a danger to society due to a mental illness. Psychologists are often asked to evaluate the level of risk an individual poses as a consequence of a mental disorder.
Competency to stand trial evaluations.
Insanity plea evaluations. (See “Pleading insanity” later in this chapter.)
Jury selection and witness preparation. Lawyers often consult with psychologists in selecting potentially helpful jurors. When witnesses play a key role in a case, lawyers sometimes ask psychologists to help the witnesses deal with the stress and complexity of testifying. Testifying in court can be especially stressful for children.
Criminal profiling and consultation with law enforcement. (See “Profiling” later in this chapter.)
Some of these duties involve the court calling a psychologist as an expert witness. At other times, a prosecutor or defense attorney hires the psychologist. To gain “expert” status, a forensic psychologist usually has to be recognized by the court (a judge, in fact) as an expert. Typically, forensic experts possess a license as a psychologist in the state that they work in, have had some formal education or training in forensics, and have learned to use specialized tools and techniques for work in this area. Ultimately though, it all comes down to whether a judge thinks a prospective psychologist is qualified, and it’s up to a jury to determine if it believes the psychologist’s expert testimony.
Perspectives concerning the cause of criminal behavior range from criminality as a product of an inherent corruptness of a person’s inner nature to criminality resulting from the powerful influences of a group or society.
Crime
is a legal concept that defines a legal wrong that can be addressed followed by criminal proceedings, which may result in punishment.
Criminal law
is the body of laws defining offenses and how offenders should be dealt with.
An interesting point to keep in mind is that not all societies, or individuals who make up a society, hold the same views on how criminals should be dealt with.
Penal philosophies
are viewpoints on why and how criminals should be punished.
Three basic philosophical positions are
Retribution:
Justice and personal responsibility for one’s actions are expected and enforced by the larger society and not by individual victims. Punishment is institutionalized in the form of police, courts, and jails. If my neighbor steals my car, I don’t have to confront him myself; I can just call the police.
Utilitarianism:
The focus here is on prevention. The moral principal of
utility
holds that the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people is ideal. Criminals disrupt this process and should be dealt with to get them back in line with this philosophy.
Reformation:
Rehabilitation and change is the desired end result of this position. The assumption is that crimes result from personal deficiencies and maladjustment.
Psychologists are just one group of professionals working on the problem of crime. Crime is a complex phenomenon, and it would be an oversimplification to state that all aspects of crime can be completely understood from a psychological viewpoint.