Forensic Psychology For Dummies by David Canter Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: David Canter
can pose special problems to the courts. Forensic psychologists may be brought in to help with these matters.
Other professionals: Fellow professionals can turn to the forensic psychologist to assist in throwing light on the circumstances of a case or for help in understanding the actions of an individual. Assessing future risk is a particularly important service in this regard, as I describe in Chapter 10.
The following sections list some of the settings and groups of people where the forensic psychology makes an important contribution.
In the courts
Forensic psychologists carry out the following tasks, for example, in relation to criminal cases:
Giving help in selecting jury members or giving lawyers guidance on how to present a case, especially in the US.
Evaluating the competence of a defendant to stand trial.
Providing risk and other assessments that can influence the sentencing of a convicted person.
Assessing whether a convicted person is mentally sound enough to face the death penalty (in the US).
They can act for the prosecution or the defence. I’ve done both, although not in the same trial of course.
In civil cases and in quasi-legal settings, including industrial and employment tribunals or internal reviews of employees, forensic psychologists carry out the following tasks, for instance:
Evaluating child custody cases.
Assessing whether child abuse occurred.
Appraising competency of key individuals.
Gauging psychological effects of trauma, personal injury, product liability, harassment and professional negligence.
Reviewing judgements made about behavioural material, such as offensive communications.
Depending on the jurisdiction, forensic psychologists can also offer the same sort of help and expertise in criminal cases.
With victims
Forensic psychologists provide help to victims by:
Educating and assisting those who are responsible for notifying relatives of a victim’s death.
Treating victims or witnesses of crime.
Training people who supply services to victims.
In prisons, ‘special hospitals’ and correctional institutions
The sorts of tasks that forensic psychologists carry out in institutions include:
Helping to select personnel for employment in the prisons.
Providing support, especially in stress management, for those working in institutions.
Evaluating programmes in use or proposed programmes for helping offenders from re-offending, such as the anger management and sexual awareness programmes I describe in Part V.
Contributing to decisions about how prisoners are classified and suitable placements in appropriate institutions or on the different sorts of programmes I discuss in Chapters 13 to 16.
With the police
Forensic psychologists sometimes do the following in criminal investigations:
Give guidance on the search for an unknown offender.
Train and assist in interviews of victims, witnesses and suspects.
Advise on dealing with mentally ill people.
Offer guidance on handling domestic violence.
Forensic psychologists may also:
Supply counselling services for police officers involved in shooting or other traumatic incidents.
Give support in hostage negotiations.
Chapter 2
Exploring the World of the Criminal
In This Chapter
Understanding who criminals are
Knowing the explanations for what makes a criminal
Examining the relationship between mental illness and crime
Considering what prevents people committing crimes
When I first went into a prison – with a colleague to interview some inmates, I hasten to add – I was struck by the fact that she kept all her keys for unlocking the various doors in a special leather pouch. The idea was to foil some clever prisoner noting a key dangling on a belt, memorising it and secretly setting about making a copy to aid his escape. A highly unlikely scenario, but even so a picture flashed through my mind of the
Other professionals: Fellow professionals can turn to the forensic psychologist to assist in throwing light on the circumstances of a case or for help in understanding the actions of an individual. Assessing future risk is a particularly important service in this regard, as I describe in Chapter 10.
The following sections list some of the settings and groups of people where the forensic psychology makes an important contribution.
In the courts
Forensic psychologists carry out the following tasks, for example, in relation to criminal cases:
Giving help in selecting jury members or giving lawyers guidance on how to present a case, especially in the US.
Evaluating the competence of a defendant to stand trial.
Providing risk and other assessments that can influence the sentencing of a convicted person.
Assessing whether a convicted person is mentally sound enough to face the death penalty (in the US).
They can act for the prosecution or the defence. I’ve done both, although not in the same trial of course.
In civil cases and in quasi-legal settings, including industrial and employment tribunals or internal reviews of employees, forensic psychologists carry out the following tasks, for instance:
Evaluating child custody cases.
Assessing whether child abuse occurred.
Appraising competency of key individuals.
Gauging psychological effects of trauma, personal injury, product liability, harassment and professional negligence.
Reviewing judgements made about behavioural material, such as offensive communications.
Depending on the jurisdiction, forensic psychologists can also offer the same sort of help and expertise in criminal cases.
With victims
Forensic psychologists provide help to victims by:
Educating and assisting those who are responsible for notifying relatives of a victim’s death.
Treating victims or witnesses of crime.
Training people who supply services to victims.
In prisons, ‘special hospitals’ and correctional institutions
The sorts of tasks that forensic psychologists carry out in institutions include:
Helping to select personnel for employment in the prisons.
Providing support, especially in stress management, for those working in institutions.
Evaluating programmes in use or proposed programmes for helping offenders from re-offending, such as the anger management and sexual awareness programmes I describe in Part V.
Contributing to decisions about how prisoners are classified and suitable placements in appropriate institutions or on the different sorts of programmes I discuss in Chapters 13 to 16.
With the police
Forensic psychologists sometimes do the following in criminal investigations:
Give guidance on the search for an unknown offender.
Train and assist in interviews of victims, witnesses and suspects.
Advise on dealing with mentally ill people.
Offer guidance on handling domestic violence.
Forensic psychologists may also:
Supply counselling services for police officers involved in shooting or other traumatic incidents.
Give support in hostage negotiations.
Chapter 2
Exploring the World of the Criminal
In This Chapter
Understanding who criminals are
Knowing the explanations for what makes a criminal
Examining the relationship between mental illness and crime
Considering what prevents people committing crimes
When I first went into a prison – with a colleague to interview some inmates, I hasten to add – I was struck by the fact that she kept all her keys for unlocking the various doors in a special leather pouch. The idea was to foil some clever prisoner noting a key dangling on a belt, memorising it and secretly setting about making a copy to aid his escape. A highly unlikely scenario, but even so a picture flashed through my mind of the
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