Forensic Psychology

Running head: FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY 1

Raquel Dunkman

Forensic Psychology

Indiana Wesleyan University

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Within the many realms of Criminal Justice, psychology is

the one of the most relevant, as it discovers the thoughts and

behaviors of the parties involved, and answers why the crime was

committed in the first place. The basic description of forensic

psychology is to “look at the crime committed and the level of

insanity of the suspect” (Chadda, 2013, 394). In the courtroom

setting, psychologists might be asked to come testify about the

defendant and whether or not a mental illness played a part in

the act. According to Sener, forensic psychology is defined as “a

branch that contains vintage point and scientific objectivity of

several sciences such as forensic medicine, law criminology,

psychology and sociology that searches for answers to questions

regarding penal code and civil law during process of judgment”

(2014). While the history of forensic psychology is unclear, how

criminals were treated can be dated back to late B.C. Different

cultures have their ways of seeing the punishment that best fits

the situation, but American society has approached disciplines

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towards delinquents in a more moral approach. In the hospital

setting, offenders can be tested with the possibility of a mental

illness, and if no mental illness is present, offenders receive

the full punishment. The National Research Council (NRC) gives

comments of how to become a forensic psychologist and work within

the psychology field. Forensic psychologists work with all age

groups, which could be involved with a crime. It’s not uncommon

for professional psychologists to evaluate young children, whom

may be used as an expert witness in the courtroom. Forensic

psychology can be applied to many different aspects to a

criminal’s case. Forensic psychologist evaluations can be for or

against the offender in the courtroom, so they’re really on no

one’s side. Forensic psychologists can be employed through their

own private practice, through the city board, by the county,

within a hospital setting, or even from the government (Forensic

Sciences Foundation, 2014). Forensic psychology answers the

important questions why and how.

The how and when forensic psychology was first used in

courtrooms for criminal cases is very unclear. Mental illnesses

and crimes have been around for as long as humans have, for the

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very reason of being human. The first crime ever recorded in

history was when Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. Of

course, there wasn’t a traditional courtroom to bring Cain to

trial, as there would be today with lawyers, a judge and a jury.

God, whom is the most intimidating and most just Judge there is,

confronted Cain about his sin. Bible and science scholars alike

are aware of Cain’s intentions were from built up a jealous rage,

which lead to a vicious outward attack on his innocent sibling.

Throughout history, there have been different reasoning for the

homicides and crimes that took place, but only in the past few

centuries has psychoanalysis been used to help the offenders

overcome their illnesses. During the year 880 B.C., those who

were of an unsound mind and minors were given grace if they

committed a crime (Gutheil, 2005, 260). Those who were mentally

unhealthy or simply didn’t know any better had more leeway to get

away with breaking the law. Of course, there weren’t any

hospitals or psychiatric doctors to test or treat patients with

mental illnesses, so whether or not they committed the crimes

intentionally or not is highly debatable. During the rule of

Marcus Aurelius in year 180 A.D., the mentally ill were not

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allowed to leave their relative’s supervision. If they managed to

escape and caused harm to someone else, his or her relatives

would all be killed (Gutheil, 2005, 259). Procedures today are

more fair, as every adult is only responsible for himself or

herself, and in some rare cases their misbehaved children. In the

medieval times, people with mental illnesses were looked down

upon from society, and thought to have sold their souls to Satan

(Gutheil, 2005, 260). The physicians’ plans to treat the patients

were to drill a hole in their heads, allowing the evil demons to

escape the patient’s body. To their surprise, this bloody

procedure never was successful and the patients often died. The

way people were treated between the centuries is quite shocking

and is continuing to change as time progresses.

History of forensic psychology started with giving grace to

those who don’t know what they’re doing, to believing the

mentally ill were demon-possessed, to being treated with an

illness. Not until the late 18th century did Immanuel Kant, a

German philosopher, observed the four main domains to forensic

psychiatry: amentia, dementia, insania, and vesania. Kant noticed

that every mentally ill criminal goes through those four

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psychoses before and during their horrific act of violence.

Amentia is the criminal’s initial thought to bring harm upon

someone else in some way. Dementia can also be referred as

delusions, because the offender is unable to separate the real

world from their fantasy. The insania psychosis impairs the

suspect’s judgment capabilities, as they are more aroused by

their emotions, and not able to think about potential

consequences. The last psychosis is vesania, which is the

criminal’s mental disorder that impairs their ability to reason,

such as schizophrenia or hypochondria. (Gutheil, 2005, 260). Kant

wanted forensic psychologists to recognize the thoughts of the

criminal and their thinking process for carrying out a criminal

act is like. Forensic psychology today is developing into a more

genuine approach to helping patients overcome their mental

illness, so that they can hopefully live out a normal life.

The progress of forensic psychology hasn’t developed

steadily. Patients are being treated more in hospitals, but when

that first started occurring is unknown. Forensic psychology has

had different treatment options as time has passed, and varies

from culture to culture. Patients in general are not easy to take

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care of, especially those with mental disabilities. Instead of

giving criminals an automatic sentencing for their delinquent

behavior, the mental illness test results must be presented

before the court, which may lessen the punishment or eliminate it

completely. In 1990, over 50% of the male prisoners in England

and Wales were treated with some sort of mental disorder (Gunn,

2000, 333). Even though the justice system for the most part

treats every trial fairly, sometimes criminals are being punished

for crimes that they are not even aware of doing. The biggest

error within the judicial system is trying to punish the person

for the crime, not help the person. Usually, imprisonment gives

offenders a chance to reflect about their behavior, how that’s

brought them to their current living situation, and if they can

learn to live a better life once their sentencing is over. On the

flip side, the mentally ill prisoners won’t have the cognitive

ability to learn from their current mistakes, and are more likely

to repeat the same action if not given the proper help needed

upon release. Unfortunately, keeping the unsound minded locked

away is less expensive for taxpayers, and mentally ill offenders

will not likely be given the proper treatment (Gunn, 2000, 335).

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In modern day, forensic psychologists can exam-ine criminals

before their trial, to discover the underlying cause of the

unlawful act committed. Gunn argues that if more consideration is

brought to the mental patients, there would be a dramatic

decrease to the homicide and crime rates (2000, 332). People with

mental disorders are often seen as monsters in the public eye,

out of uncertainty of what they can do. While this may be seen as

acting out of self-defense and looking out for their own

protection, disregarding the mentally ill will make their

negative emotions worse, and most likely will act violently.

Since law and psychology have become more popular and interesting

fields to people, there are many different career options

forensic psychologists can make.

Dealing with criminals’ minds is tricky and risky business.

Every patient has to be treated differently, even if they have

similar symptoms as previous patients had. According to the

Foren-sic Science Foundation, “forensic psychologists may be

employed in private practice, by city, county, state government,

by hospitals, or by the federal government” (2014). They have the

freedom to work in a medical union, or do their own remote

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research with other organizations that may encounter an issue

with psychiatrics and the law. Based on the number of sectors

hiring psychologists to work within psychology and law, there is

an abundant need to treat citizens so they can live a better

lifestyle, all while keeping them from inflicting any harm upon

others. In the state setting, psychologists will give treatments

within the prisons or other nearby facilities. Forensic

psychologists can also be hired by attorneys to help win their

case. It’s important to note, the psychologist “is not working

directly for the patient, and at times may work against the

mentally ill person,” (Pouncey, 2010, 100). Every expert witness

declares an oath to tell only the truth of what they’ve seen or

know about the criminal, forensic psychology experts being no

exception. The hired psychologist doesn’t necessarily determine

the outcome for the defendant, but does play a role in providing

the jury with more evidence about the psychologist’s findings,

which may alter the jury’s voting. Attorneys must pay careful

attention to whether or not hiring the psychologists will help

win the case. Once a psychologist gives their feedback, their job

is officially done. In fact, “psychologists more often will not

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know the outcome of a case unless they make an effort to find

out” (Chadda, 2013, 398). The main objective of the forensic

psychologist is to “inform the court of his or her opinion based

on their clinical experience and judgment, and the extant

literature that supports their opinion” (Berkowitz, 2012, 16).

While testifying in court, psychologists don’t have anything to

worry about. As long as they are being respectful to the judge

and speaking when talked to, they should be ok. The best approach

for them is to use simple terminology and not make their speech

full of doublespeak that no one can understand. There will be

cases when a question cannot be given in a one-word answer, and

the psychologist needs to make that clear upon answering (Chadda,

2013, 399). When treating criminals with mental disorders,

forensic psychologists face the tough battle of a difficult

environment the treatments are given in. In a hospital setting,

mentally ill patients will receive better treatment and live in a

more healthy environment, whereas a prison setting will only

damage the patients’ cognitive abilities even more so than

before. At least in a hospital, patients will get more

accountability, family visits and proper nutrients. Although

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forensic psychologists only have to test and treat patients,

becoming an expert in the field is not an easy task. College

degrees aren’t as valuable as they used to be. With the

competitive job market as it is today, a Bachelor’s degree is the

lowest requirement for employers to consider an applicant for

employment. In order to be an official forensic psychologist, a

Ph.D. in psychology and internship experiences are required, as

well as additional training and certifications based on the state

the expert chooses to work in. (National Research Council, 2009,

220). The NRC only states the requirements for employment and

doesn’t account for the hours of exhaustion and work that go into

making a forensic psychology successful. Even though

psychologists typically work with adult offenders they can also

work with young children to help solve the case.

Age doesn’t matter in being an expert witness. Forensic

psychologists work with all age groups, including the youngest of

children. Child psychologists can analyze children that may hold

evidence to solving a crime. Tom is a 5-year old boy who told

officers that he killed his baby brother. Prosecutors weren’t

convinced that as young as Tom was, he wasn’t capable of doing

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such a vicious crime; therefore, his mother was charged with

first-degree murder (Berkowitz, 2012, 5). While under the care of

his grandmother, Tom repeated the same story over, and over to

anyone that asked him what he knew about the death of his

brother. No one believed that his grandmother was capable of

telling Tom to make up this story, and were con-fused why he

continued telling the same story that he was the bad guy

(Berkowitz, 2012, 7). When being questioned about the case, Tom

appeared by examiners to be “a very sad, angry, and confused

young boy” (Berkowitz, 2012, 6). Tom was reported to get

frustrated in regular play and sometimes reacted in aggressive

behavior. Whether or not Tom intentionally or accidentally had

something to do with death of his brother is uncertain, but it’s

not hard to confirm that there’s some truth to what he’s saying.

Forensic psychologists can also work in the hospital setting

as nurses, if desiring the clinical atmosphere. Some of the most

common strengths are honesty, confidence, good listening skills,

and being firm but polite (Bowen, 2012, 3560). They also need to

have a good sense of humor, be easily approachable, and willing

to work with others as a team (Bowen, 2012, 3560). However,

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forensic nurses go through a more difficult level of training, as

they must learn how to properly care for the mentally unstable

(Bowen, 2012, 3561). Forensic psychology has benefitted the

mentally ill criminals, as it “provides an opportunity for some

offenders to receive treatment rather than punishment, which is

consistent with the recovery movement’s call to minimize the

social mistreatment of person with mental illness” (Pouncey,

2010, 102). There is a caution that takes place, as some suspects

have learned to cheat the system, and fake symptoms of a mental

illness to get out of prison sentencing. Mr. C was told by his

lawyer to have violent outbursts in the hospital while being

tested for possible mental illness. Mr. C was denied multiple

times for bail, was later cleared of having no mental illness

present, and was sent back to jail (Chadda, 2013, 396).

While giving a mental illness report of the offender,

forensic psychologists should inform the patient that whatever

information is said during the assessment may be used against

them in the court of law (Chadda, 2013, 394). Forensic

psychologists can also choose to use polygraphs during their

examinations; however, they “should not rely on the polygraph to

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provide a defin-itive answer” (Grubin, 2010, 449). Grubin notes

that the polygraph results aren’t nearly as important as what

kind of information the offender gives during the test (Grubin,

2010, 449). When giving the report, Chadda advises forensic

psychologists that, “the report should mainly address the

questions asked by the court. It should be brief, and use simple

and clear language without any scientific jargon. Sources of

information like old clinical records, if available or family

members or other informants, need to be mentioned. Dates and

nature of assessments like clinical examination, inpatient

observation and investigations including psychological assess-

ment should be mentioned. Psychiatric diagnosis, if any, should

also be mentioned” (2013, 398).

Forensic psychology has played an extraordinary role in the

law and order judicial system. With the many career

opportunities, forensic psychologists work with anyone and

everyone, who may have some involvement or knowledge of a crime

committed. Their basic job is to evaluate criminals to see if

there is any potential mental disorder, and if that played any

part in the crime. The history of when forensic psychology came

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about it unknown. Since the begin-ning of time, people have

always done cruel and murderous acts towards each other, but

haven’t faced the same consequences as in today’s society. People

with mental disabilities or young children were often let off the

hook for committing a crime, as they were seen as not knowing

what they were doing was wrong. To some extent they were

innocent, but there wasn’t the same technology advancements now

as there were back then to do the proper examinations. Over time,

forensic psychology has been able to go in depth within the

criminal’s mind, and discover the truth behind why the criminal

act was committed in the first place. Treatments for mentally ill

offenders have become more moral and beneficial once the

delinquent is released. Forensic psychologists are not limited to

organizations of work, as their employment can range from

private, to hospital, to federal government. Within the hospital

setting, psychologists must be more patient with their clients

and have the emotional stability to work with the mentally ill.

They can also be used in the actual court case as an witness for

the defendant, and give their opinion as to whether or not the

mental illness was part of the crime. While giving an evaluation,

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the psychologist must make a thorough examination of the

offender’s past medical and criminal acts, in order to gain

insight about the offender, and see if there is a common link. If

the forensic psychologist is dealing with a young witness or

suspect, they will use play therapy that monitors the child’s

behavior, which may rule out their involvement with the crime.

The more experience a forensic psychologist has, the higher the

likelihood of landing a job within the field. The best bet,

according to the NRC, is to not only get a high education, but

also have hands on experience. Psychology in law answers the

mysteries as to why the crime was committed, and the criminal’s

thoughts behind their actions.

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References

Berkowitz, S. (2012). Childhood trauma and adverse experience and

forensic child psychiatry: The penn center for youth and

family trauma response and recovery. Journal of Psychiatry and Law,

40(1), 5-20.

Bowen, M., Mason, T. (2012). Forensic and non-forensic

psychiatric nursing skills and competencies for psychopathic

and personality disordered patients. Journal of Clinical Nursing,

21(23), 3557-3561.

Chadda, R., K. (2013). Forensic evaluations in psychiatry. Indian

Journal of Psychiatry, 55(4), 393-399.

Grubin, D. (2010). Polygraph and forensic psychiatry. Journal of

American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 38(4) 449.

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Gunn, J. (2000). Future directions for treatment in forensic

psychiatry. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 176(4), 332-337.

Gutheil, T. G. (2005). History of forensic psychiatry. Journal of

the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 33(2), 259-262.

Pouncey, C. L., & Lukens, J. M. (2010). Madness versus badness:

the ethical tension between the recovery movement and

forensic psychiatry. Theoretical medicine and bioethics, 31(1), 93-

105.

Sener, M. T., Dursun, O. B., Aydin, E. F., Arslan, S., Gulec, M.

(2014). Area of specialty preferences of forensic

authorities in forensic psychiatric evaluation requests: A

university hospital experience. Düşünen Adam The Journal of

Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 27(2) 156-158

The Forensic Science Foundation, Inc. (2014). Career opportunities.

Web.

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Forensic Psychology

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