Forensic Psychology: An Introduction

Theme of Forensics 

“a criminal will always carry away with him some trace from the scene of his crime and leave some trace of his presence behind” (Lane, 1992).

 

Meaning of Forensic Psychology

          The word ‘forensic’ has been derived from Latin word ‘forensis’ which means ‘forum’ which represents the central area of ancient Rome where the city’s law courts were held. In English ‘forum’ means ‘of market place’ or ‘public’ which has also been derived from the same context.

 

Meaning – Dealing with application of scientific knowledge to legal proceedings.

 

From the perspective of Psychology - The application of psychological principles, research, methods, theory, and practice to a task faced by the legal system.

 

Definition of Forensic Psychology

          The branch of psychology that deals with the study of criminality, criminals, their behavior and related brain function and providing expert guidance to the legal system, jurisprudence, and prison management.

 

“The provision of psychological information for the purpose of facilitating a legal decision” (Blackburn 1996, p. 7).

 

“Applying psychological theory to criminal investigation, understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour and the treatment of those who have committed offences” (BPS).

 

Subfields of Forensic Psychology

(i)        Adult forensic

(ii)       Juvenile forensic

(iii)      Habitual offender forensic

(iv)      Women forensic

(v)       Forensic developmental psychology

(vi)      Forensic cognitive psychology

 

Scope

          The forensic psychology limits itself to crime and justice. If we look little deeper it’s all about psychological and physical violence. It deals with the offenders, criminals, attorneys and answers difficult and dilemma provoking tricky questions put forward by legal proceedings. It addresses the impact of crime on the victims, prevention of reoccurrence of crime, plays advisory role and have significant role in deciding the sentence and promoting harmony. The assessment of reliability of witness testimony has critical legal implications.

          The FP examines the circumstances (psychological and situational) under which crime has been committed and focuses upon the detection of evidence tempering. The examination of confessions of criminals made during the interrogation under the law enforcement agencies custody is also undertaken by FP. It helps in understanding the implications of the crime in wider perspective for example on the psych of society, victim, victim’s family and others. Apart from advising judicial and legal systems, forensic psychology also covers correctional homes.

Subject matter of Forensic Psychology

          FP is the study of criminals from the perspective of psychology.

It all includes the following area: -

(i)        Exploring what led humans to engage in criminal behaviour.

(ii)       Advises judiciary and legal system.

(iii)      Objective inputs to crime investigation agencies. 

(iv)      Psychological (Forensic) assessment of criminals.

(v)       Expert witness in the court of law.

(vi)      Crime scene analysis.

(vii)     Prediction of risk of violence by an offender.

(viii)    Ethical issues arising due to psychological services such as prevention of misuse of psychological results, tools or instruments, informed consent.

(ix)      Prison and prisoners.

 

(i)       Exploring what led Humans to Engage in Criminal Behaviour – Researching and exploring the factors, such as suggestions, instigation, unstable mental state and others that led to the crime. This is an academic contribution from the FP to the world for highlighting the role of psychological factors in criminal behaviour.

(ii)      Advises judiciary and Legal System – Assessment of various court cases and plays instrumental role in application of court orders in prisons. Assessment means ascertaining whether the criminals are psychologically competent and fit to stand trial. FP helps in ascertaining the truthfulness of confessions.

(iii)     Objective Inputs to Crime Investigation Agencies – FP advises investigators in extracting authentic information, interviewing techniques, problem solving, behavioural management, decision making, arriving at inferences, intricacies about the state of mind of the offender and suggesting means to effectively deal with criminals.

(iv)     Psychological (Forensic) Assessment of Criminals – The assessment includes the examination of factors that are beyond the control of criminal for example, the processes involved in crime, the background of criminal, family environment factor, immediate locality factors and brain related factors. These help in prediction of behaviour of offender.  

(v)      Expert Witness in the Court of Law – The FP provides relevant testimony based on psychological principles and techniques within the ambit of legal system. There are several issues where FP testifies in the court of justice for example, custody of child, competency to stand trial, criminal profiling, selection of jury and report writing.

(vi)     Crime Scene Analysis – Crime scene is the crucial location that offers significant clues in handling the case. The FP advises on interpretation of behavioural footprints left by the criminal. Evaluation of physical evidences from the perspective of psychology such as attack style, nature of attack, sequence of criminal act etc.

(vii)    Prediction of Risk of Violence by an Offender – The central ides of risk assessment are to find out the problem areas which includes the evaluation of criminals for committing violence post their release. The FP carry out risk assessment to predict the chances of potential misconduct & engaging in dangerous activities and violation of norms. Risk assessment is critical in making decisions regarding granting bail and deciding upon the sentence.

(viii)   Ethical issues – The forensic psychologists must work within the legal limits without transgressing the rights of criminals. The ethical issues arising due to psychological services such as prevention of misuse of psychological results, tools or instruments, informed consent etc. are to be mandatorily considered by FP.

(ix) Prison and Prisoners – The association between prisoners, the observational learning among prisoners, is seclusion or isolation an effective strategy to reform the criminals, the daily routine of prisoners, prisoner’s behaviour within the prison and other fellow prisoners and topics that may come up time to time are addressed. The prisoners are assessed for various psychological traits such as personality (antisocial), sociability, insanity, vulnerability etc. prior to entering the prison and prior to release into community. The FP also provides psychotherapy and counselling services to the inmates.

 

 

Complicated issues Handled by FP

Insanity – Pleading not guilty due to mental condition.

Faking (aka malingering) – Idea to avoid responsibility of one’s wrong doings.

Exaggeration and Lying – Intentionally exaggeration of symptoms of mental illness in order to get extra attention, special privileges, momentary compensation, or sympathy.

Complications to Psychotherapy – Rendering psychotherapy to the victim even when the case is sub-judice.

Lie detection – Use of polygraph machine to assess whether the accused is telling the truth or not.

 

References:

Canter, D. (2010). Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction- Oxford University     Press.

Lane, B. (1992). The Encyclopedia of Forensic Science. Headline Book Publishing.

Sandie Taylor, S. (2015). Forensic Psychology: The Basics. Routledge.

Solomon M. F., & Wrightsman, L. S. (2008). Forensic Psychology (3rd Ed). Wadsworth   Publishing.

 

 

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