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Criminal behaviour biological and psychological
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Psychology refers to the scientific study of how we think, feel and behave, whereas forensic psychology, a subfield of psychology, is the study of psychology and the law (Roesch, Ronald & Zaph, Patricia A., 2016). Forensic psychologists provide an assessment of the mental capacity of an offender at the time he committed a crime and make recommendations regarding competency to stand trial. Forensic psychologists can also assess an offender’s ability for rehabilitation.
For over three decades, competency to stand trial is one of the leading issues studied in forensic psychology. There are an estimated 25,000 people evaluated for competency in the United States each year (Cruise, Keith R., & Rogers, Richard, 1998). In a clinical sense, the
When a person is accused of a crime, it is the responsibility of a judge to deem them competent to stand trial, mentally unstable to at the time of their trial, or not guilty by reason of insanity. This was something that was highly disputed during and after the case of John Salvi. John Salvi was an anti-abortionist of strong Catholic faith who shot and killed two people in attacks at Planned Parenthood clinics.
Kassin, Saul, and Lawrence Wrightsman (Eds.). The Psychology of Evidence and Trial Procedure. Chapter 3. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1985. Print.
There are certain standards that the courts use to determine competency. In order to find the accused competent, a court should find out by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant has remarkable ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational indulgence. The def...
The criminal justice system takes on a pivotal role in pursuing and preventing crimes in society. When a suspect is caught and then faced with charges for a violent crime, they legally have the right to a fair trial. In order for a criminal proceeding to successfully take place, the defendant must be fully aware of their surroundings, have a basic understanding of court procedures, as well as being capable of defending their one case. Competency to stand trial (CST) is essential for maintaining fairness in the courtroom and producing a just verdict. However, if a defendant is unable to understand legal proceedings due to mental illness or impairment, they must be thoroughly assessed and evaluated before declared incompetent to stand trial. Carrying out a case with a defendant who lacks mental capacity causes numerous issues because the individual is incapable of supplying their lawyers with information regarding their crime or any of the witness testimonies at trial. Lack of comprehensible communication between a defendant and attorney forces an ineffective defense in the case. Mental disturbances in the defendant that may cause disorderly conduct in the court room are considered disruptive and weaken the authority of the legal system. Supreme Court cases that have dealt with competency to stand trial issues over the years have made significant rulings, which have stressed the importance of identifying whether or not a defendant is in fact incompetent.
Cognitive psychology is deeply rooted in our legal system and forms the element or standard of almost all crimes and civil misconduct. An understanding of psychology, in particular cognitive psychology, aids jurors, attorneys, defendants, prosecutors, and judges in the process of the legal system specially where adjudicating guilt or liability. In addition, cognitive psychology comes into play where the legal system relies on witness testimony when adjudicating a case.
Forensic Psychology is a specialized practice by psychologists in areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and neuropsychology. You will be engaged regularly as an expert and primarily proposed to offer professional psychological expertise to the judicial system.
Defining and Assessing Competency to Stand Trial. (2004, February 23). Criminal Forensics Competency. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from http://forensicpsychiatry.stanford.edu/Files/Criminal%20Forensics/Competency.2.pdf
McGrath, Michael G. "Criminal Profiling: Is There a Role for the Forensic Psychiatrist?." Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 28. (2000): 315-324. Web. 13 Apr 2011.
Competency is defined as whether an individual has sufficient present ability to perform necessary personal or legal functions. In 1960, Dusky v. United States was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court affirmed a defendant's right to have a competency evaluation before proceeding to trial. Since the Dusky case, it has been questioned if there should some flexibility in competency tests to stand trial. Meaning, if a defendant is facing very serious charges in case with complex facts, do they need to be more competent than someone with less serious charges?
Competency to stand Trial: Refers to the ability or inability of a person to stand trial, and the inability could be due to an issue preventing them from being able to participate in their defense. If a person is considered incompetent, it could be for many reasons, for instance a mental or physical disorder as well as an intellectual disability.
In the criminal justice system psychologist play several roles, but in the jury selection process they serve as a consultant. This essay will provide three instances of psychological concepts and illustrate how they are applied to the determination of juries. The essay will also address a common ethical obligation confronting psychologist in the areas of corrections, law enforcement, court systems, and academia.
The delicacy of this type of competency assessment as well as the implications of the diagnosis and other clinical findings, means there are several legal and ethical points to consider. From an American Psychological Association standpoint, there are several issues, including consent, bias, and others. These considerations shift slightly as roles change from practitioner testifying based on their own evaluation of the defendant to the one testifying based on a review of the report.
The professional role of a forensic psychologist I am interested in is working as a prison psychologist. The reason it interests me is because prison psychologists are a big part in the function of today’s society. The prison psychologist play an important role in the rehabilitation with those who we would call the common criminal as well as working with criminals who are clinically insane. There are many roles that the prison psychologists do in the prison system such as treating all different criminals from murderers, sex offenders, violent offender and even those who have committed white collar crimes. The prison psychologist tend to work in many different types of facilities from maximum prisons, minimum security prisons, and mental health facilities that hold
Forensic Psychology, which is occasionally referred to as Legal Psychology, originally made its debut in the late 1800’s. A Harvard Professor, Professor Munsterberg, introduced the idea of psychology and law with his book, On the Witness Stand in 1908. Since the inception of the idea of psychology and law there have been proponents, as well as though that have spoken against the theories proposed by Munsterberg’s, along with other scientists, theorists, and psychologists that believed that Forensic Psychology had no standing to be linked to topics of law. This literature review will attempt to identify scholarly articles that trace the origins and the movement that led to Forensics Psychology becoming a specialty within the field of psychology. I will also attempt to explain What is Forensic Psychology as well as the part it plays within the legal system.
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior and translates as science of the soul. It is the study of human behavior and deals with how we think, feel, and act. Some areas of psychology are clinical, industrial, physiological, experimental, personality, social, and developmental. Psychologists can work in hospitals, schools, rehabilitation facilities, in public and private clinics or in the research field. They usually treat persons with mental and emotional disorders, so one may ask; why bother with psychology if you do not want to actually work as a psychologist? Even though it happens that i do want to study psychology, this year that i was introduced to it,i discovered that even if i wanted to study something entirely different, psychology would still be useful to me. So when studying psychology, you learn about human nature. This means that psychology actually has impact on every aspect in life. It helps see through the motives other people too have more importantly, it will help you to understand your own motives better. As a result