Forensic Psychology

What is Forensic Psychology?

The word ‘forensic’ is derived from the Latin word ‘forum’ which was the place of public gathering in the Roman cities where the process of justice was carried out through debates. Thus, when the legal system is combined with the practice of psychology, we have a study of forensic psychology.

‘Forensic Psychology’ is therefore defined as ‘an intersection between Psychology and the Criminal Justice system’.

Thus, forensic psychology consists of understanding criminal law, make legal evaluations and interact with judges, attorneys and such other legal professionals. It also includes the capability to take psychological findings and translate them into the language of the law, so that the information is understood by the legal practitioners. Towards that end, it is essential that a forensic psychologist understand the philosophy of the law and legal processes.

The questions that are normally asked to a forensic psychologist are not regarding psychology, but legal questions where the forensic psychologist must be able to convert psychological data into legal language for the court.

A forensic psychologist therefore must have had relevant training in psychology, including clinical or counseling psychology and then gain relevant experience in forensic psychology by working with other practitioners and gaining experience and expertise in one’s field.

Therefore, a forensic psychologist is very different from a typical clinical psychologist. A forensic psychologist does not see the situation from the client’s perspective; neither does he empathize with the client. During the process of a forensic psychological evaluation process, therefore, it is important for the forensic psychologist to examine the consistency of factual data across several sources.

Forensic psychologists thus find employment in different places such as community mental health centers, juvenile detection facilities, jails, prisons, state hospitals, federal and local law enforcement agencies, colleges and universities. Forensic psychologists can also have their own private practice.

Functions of a Forensic Psychologist

There are several functions of a forensic psychologist. The primary function is to provide testimony in court. This has grown to become quite a daunting task because attorneys have now become quite competent at undermining the testimony of these psychologists in the court of law.

Apart from this primary function, forensic psychologists also perform various other functions. They are:

Competency Evaluations:

The forensic psychologist is usually appointed by the court of law to assess the competency of the individual to stand trial. If the assessment states that the individual is incompetent to stand trial, it will also state recommendations for the procedures to be followed in order to render the individual competent to stand trial. The forensic psychologist may also prescribe medication for the treatment of the individual. If these medications and treatments do not take the required effect, the forensic psychologist may then advise the court to commit the individual to a psychiatric facility till he can be declared competent to stand trial.

Evaluation of Sanity:

The forensic psychologist is appointed by the court to assess the individual’s state of mind at the time of the offense. This also happens when the lawyer pleads ‘not guilty’ stating the reason of insanity.

Malingering:

Often the individual may also fake symptoms of mental illness during competency evaluations. This will often be revealed by the forensic psychologist by observing the individual in other settings, because it is difficult to consistently maintain false symptoms over a period of time. Such offences can also add more time to the sentence of the individual, when found guilty.

Mitigation of Sentence:

An evaluation by a forensic psychologist is very important when considering the mitigation of the sentence for the individual. Even when the individual’s mental disorder does not meet the criteria for a ‘not guilty’ by reason of insanity plea, other considerations such as the individual’s state of mind at the time of the crime, relevant past history of mental disorder and psychological abuse, medical history, family and social history including physical abuse, mental abuse, domestic violence, and exposure to traumatic events and criminal violence are taken into account. The forensic psychologist considers all these factors before making a recommendation to the court about mitigating the sentence of the individual.

Other Evaluations:

A forensic psychologist is also referred while making other evaluations in the legal processes. One such evaluation is to about assessing whether the individual will commit the same crime again, or whether he is still to be considered to be a danger to society. They are also consulted during probation hearings, parole hearings, and also provide their assessment of the individual’s capacity to be rehabilitated after their release from jail. They also provide information about the credibility of witnesses, help select the jury during the process of a trial and also provide profiles of criminals to law enforcement authorities.

Thus a forensic psychologist performs a very important function in today’s world, especially at the junction of law and psychology.