Criminal psychology also referred to as Criminological psychology[1] is the study of the wills, thoughts,
intentions and reactions of criminals, all that partakes in
the criminal behavior.[2][3]
It is related to the field of criminal anthropology.
The study goes deeply into what makes someone commit a crime, but also
the reactions after the crime, on the run or in court. Criminal psychologists
are often called up as witnesses in court cases to help the jury understand the
mind of the criminal. Some types of Psychiatry also deal with aspects of criminal
behavior.
Contents
- 1 Psychology's role in the legal system
- 2 The four roles of criminal psychologist
- 3 Profiling
- 4 Applied Criminal Psychology
- 5 References
- 6 See also
Psychology's
role in the legal system
Main article: Forensic psychology
Psychiatrists and psychologists are
licensed professionals that can assess both mental and physical states.
Profilers look for patterns in behavior to typify the individual(s) behind a
crime. A group effort attempts to answer the most common psychological
questions: If there is a risk of a sexual predator re-offending if put back in
society; If an offender is competent to stand trial; whether or not an offender
was sane/insane at the time of the offense.
The question of competency to stand
trial is a question of an offender’s current state of mind. This assesses the
offender’s ability to understand the charges against them, the possible
outcomes of being convicted/acquitted of these charges and their ability to
assist their attorney with their defense. The question of sanity/insanity or
criminal responsibility is an assessment of the offenders state of mind at the
time of the crime. This refers to their ability to understand right from wrong
and what is against the law. The insanity defense is rarely used, as it is very
difficult to prove. If declared insane, an offender is committed to a secure
hospital facility for much longer than they would have served in prison.
Theoretically, that is.[4]
The
four roles of criminal psychologist
In 1981, one of the fathers of UK’s
criminal psychology – Professor Lionel Haward described four ways, that
psychologist may perform upon being professionally involved in criminal
proceedings. These are the following:
Clinical: In this situation the psychologist is involved in assessment
of individual in order to provide a clinical judgment. The psychologist can use
assessment tools, interview or psychometric tool in order to aid in his/her
assessment. These assessments can help police or other competitive organs
determine how to process the individual in question. For example help finding
out whether he/she is capable to stand trial or whether the individual has
mental illness which means, that he/she is unable to understand the
proceedings.
Experimental: In this case the task of psychologist is to perform a
research in order to inform a case. This can involve executing experimental
tests for the purposes of illustrating a point or providing further information
to courts. This may involve false memory, eyewitness credibility experiments
and such. For example, this way questions similar to “how likely would a
witness see an object in 100 meters?” will be answered.
Actuarial: This role involves usage of statistics in order to inform a
case. For example, a psychologist may be asked to provide probability of an
event occurring. Therefore, the courts may ask how likely a person will
reoffend if a sentence is declined.
Advisory: Here a psychologist may advice police about how to proceed
with the investigation. For example, which is the best way to interview the
individual, how best cross-examine a vulnerable or another expert witness, how
an offender will act after committing the offence.[5]
Profiling
Main article: criminal profiling
A major part of Criminal
psychology, known as criminal profiling, began in the 1940s when the
United States Office of
Strategic Services asked William L. Langer's brother Walter C. Langer, a well renowned psychiatrist, to draw up a profile of Adolf Hitler. After the Second World War British psychologist Lionel
Haward, while working for the Royal Air Force police, drew up a list of
characteristics which high-ranking war criminals might display, to be able to
spot them amongst ordinary captured soldiers and airmen.
A renowned Italian Psychologist Cesare Lumbroso (1835-1909) was thought to be one of the first criminologist to attempt to formally classify criminals based on age, sex, gender, physical characteristics, education, and geographic region. When comparing these similar characteristics he better understood the origin of motivation of criminal behavior. Published his book called The Criminal Man. Lumbroso studied 383 Italian inmates. Based on his studies, he suggested that there were three types of criminals. Born Criminals which meant these people are degenerates and the insane criminals are ones that suffer a mental illness. Also he studied and found specific physical characteristics. A few examples include asymmetry of the face, eye defects and peculiarities, and ears of unusual size and etc.[6]
In the 1950s, US psychiatrist James A. Brussel
drew up what turned to be an uncannily accurate profile of a bomber who had
been terrorizing New York.[citation needed]
It was first introduced to the FBI
in the 1960s when several classes were taught to the American Society of crime
lab directors. Most of the public at that time knew little if not anything
about how profilers would profile people until TV came into play. Later films
based on the fictional works of Author Thomas Harris that caught the public eye as a
profession in particular Manhunter (1986)
and Silence of the
Lambs (1991). The fastest development occurred when the FBI
opened its training academy, the Behavioral Analysis
Unit (BAU), in Quantico, Virginia.
It led to the establishment of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
and the violent criminal apprehension program. The idea was to have a system which
could pick up links between unsolved major crimes.[citation needed]
In the United Kingdom, Professor
David Canter was a pioneer helping to guide police detectives from the
mid-1980s to an offender who had carried out a series of serious attacks, but
Canter saw the limitations of "offender profiling" - in particular,
the subjective, personal opinion of a psychologist. He and a colleague coined
the term investigative psychology and began trying to approach the
subject from what they saw as a more scientific point of view.[citation needed]
Criminal profiling, also known as
offender profiling, is the process of linking an offender's actions at the
crime scene to their most likely characteristics to help police investigators
narrow down and prioritize a pool of most likely suspects. Profiling is a
relatively new area of forensic psychology that during the past 20 years has
developed from what used to be described as an art to a rigorous science. Part
of a sub-field of forensic psychology called investigative psychology, criminal
profiling is based on increasingly rigorous methodological advances and
empirical research.[citation needed]
Criminal profiling is a process now
known in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as criminal investigative
analysis. Profilers, or criminal investigative analysts, are trained and
experienced law enforcement officers who study every behavioral aspect and
detail of an unsolved violent crime scene in which a certain amount of
psychopathology has been left at the scene. The characteristics of a good
profiler are discussed. Five behavioral characteristics that can be gleaned
from the crime scene are described: 1) amount of planning that went into the
crime, 2) degree of control used by the offender, 3) escalation of emotion at
the scene, 4) risk level of both the offender and victim, and 5) appearance of
the crime scene (disorganized versus organized). The process of interpreting
the behavior observed at a crime scene is briefly discussed.[7]
Applied
Criminal Psychology
The effect of psychological and
social factors on the functioning of our brain is the central question forensic
or criminal psychologist deal with because it is the seed of all our actions.
For Forensic Psychiatry
the main question is which patient becomes an offender or which offender
becomes a patient and what came first the crime or the mental disorder.
Questions that these psychiatrist consider are: 1. Is a mental disorder present
now and was it present during the time of the crime? 2. What is the level of
Responsibility of the offender for the crime? 3. What is the risk of
reoffending and which risk factors are involved? 4. Is treatment possible to
reduce the risk of reoffending? Accordingly individual psychiatric evaluations
are resorted to measuring personality traits by psychological testing
that have good validity for the purpose of the court.[8]ntd-cp
References
2.
Richard N. Kocsis, Applied criminal psychology: a guide to forensic behavioral
sciences, Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2009, pp.7
3.
JamesBontahttp://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5MsRl66hAdAC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=Criminal+Psychology&ots=uQE3hofL1V&sig=bMLdS-b2VMLCyzh3JjcYX5LZATc#v=onepage&q=Criminal%20Psychology&f=false
4.
Turvey, Brent E. (2002). Criminal
Profiling, 4th Edition An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis.
California: Elseiver Science Ltd. ISBN 0127050418.
6.
Richard N. Kocsis, Applied criminal
psychology: a guide to forensic behavioral sciences, Charles C Thomas
Publisher, 2009, pp.7
7.
O'Toole, Mary Ellen (2004). Pro-filers:
Leading investigators take you inside the criminal mind. New York: Amherst,
NY US: Prometheus Books. pp. 223–228. ISBN 1-59102-266-5.
8.
Turvey, Brent E. (2002). Criminal
Profiling, 4th Edition An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis. California:
Elseiver Science Ltd
