Forensic Psychology Lecture 1

What is forensic psychology?

The causes and mechanisms of delinquent behavior, personality disorders, and crime-related risk factors from a theoretical and clinical perspective.

What is antisocial behavior?

Actions that violate societal norms and the personal or property rights of others.

Where did forensic psychology originate?

• Hippocrates (460-377 B.C)

• Roman times

  • Mentally ill placed under legal guardianship

  • Reduced punishments for the mentally ill

• Middle Ages (ca. 500-1400)

  • Legal guardianship lies with family

  • Right of containment (‘lock up’)

How did 15th century madhouse treatments look like?

• Origin of witchhunts in 16th and 17th century

• Initial thoughts of being possessed by the devil

• Demonological view on mental illness

• Treatments:

  • pilgrimages to churches

  • the “possessed” were constrained to be touched by god and freed from the devil.

Johannes Wier (1515-1588)

Acknowledgement of natural causes of criminal behavior (biological underpinning, brain)

A turning point: Age of Enlightenment 18th century

18th century: French Revolution – Enlightenment

- Code of law – less responsibilities of the judge

- Genetic, developmental, psychological, sociological factors were not

taken into account (children punished as adults)

• 1810: Code Pénal (France) – elimination of the incorrigibles – scaring

and intimidating

• 1811: Code Pénal (The Netherlands)

Introduction Code of Law (Netherlands)

1886: introduction Code of Law (Netherlands)

• More attention to psychological disorders –

A person is not responsible for a crime committed if he or she suffers

from 'defective development or a medical disorder’

• Scientific approach – the judge determines accountability with the

help of a psychiatrist

• Great Britain: “Moral Treatment”

19th Century - Views on mental illness

Philippe Pinel: ‘manie sans délire’ = state of mind without delusions

• More cases in which offenders are

not punished on account of mental

conditions

• 1841: first ‘Krankzinnigenwet’: more

supervision and improvement

Judge (not the doctor) can determine

the admission and dismissal.

Two biological explanations of mental disorder and crime

Hereditary and Neurological

diminished responsibility - diminished possibility to change

Hereditary explanation of mental disorders and crime

• Immoral behavior deduced from physical traits

• Theory of evolution - Heredity of criminal behavior

• Darwin - heredity of morality

• Immorality: degeneration, reversion of evolution

Neurological explanation of mental disorders and crime

• Heredity

  • Lombroso - Phrenology: “born criminal”

  • Immoral behavior deduced from physical traits

• The anatomy of a criminal

  • Sloping forehead

  • Prognathism

  • Assymmetry of the face

  • Excessive length arms

  • Ears of unusual size

Neurological explanations — Phineas Gage

Anatomy of a criminal

• Sloping forehead

• Prognathism

• Assymmetry of the face

• Excessive length arms

• Ears of unusual size

Before and After of Juvenile criminal law 19th/20th century

Before:

• No distinction between children and adults

• During Code Pénal: “without distinguishing judgment’

• 1905: introduction ‘Kinderwetten’

• From punishment and avenging to betterment

After:

Shift to modern law streams: importance of the offender, not the offense:

• aimed at betterment

• appropriate punishment

  • → milder punishments, but can this guarantee the security of civilians?

Van Hamel proposition (1906)

Mild offenses: regulations or conviction → aim: deterrence

Serious offenses: long-term treatment

More attention to the causes of offending behavior and risk of reoffending

Psychopathenwetten (1928)

In the 1866 Code of Law, people could either be held accountable or not; no grey areas

The psychopathenwetten are intended for accountable psychopaths.

The criminal receives a sentence for the part for which he has been judged accountable. For the innocent part, the criminal gets a TBR

Stop Laws (1933)

People sentenced to a TBR grew fast; not enough capacity

The stop act meant that the TBR could be imposed only for very serious offences and if the risk of recidivism is high

Development after WWII

• Better care for offenders

• Special care for offenders with a mental disorder

  • 1988 - TBR was replaced by TBS

TBR vs TBS

• TBR could be imposed for any crime

• TBS only for crimes with a minimum sentence of four years

• TBS may last a maximum of four years, unless two conditions are met:

  • This concerns a crime in which other people have been endangered, and extension is necessary for safety reasons (risk of recidivism)

• The judge must call in the opinion of two independent behavioral experts at the TBS extension hearing. The TBR was extended without this expert advice.

Recidivism

the tendency of a person to revert to criminal behavior or repeat an undesirable habit after serving a sentence, undergoing treatment, or experiencing negative consequences

Punishment or treatment?

Two psychiatric evaluations:

Punishment and treatment:

• Proportionality: regulation should be seen in light of the danger/likelihood of re-offending

• Subsidiarity: a severe regulation is only acceotable when a milder regulation is not sufficient

• Effectivity: treatment of regulation should be effective in diminishing danger (of re-offending)

Basis for regulation:

• Offense with at least a four-year prison sentence (criterion: severity)

• Not (fully) responsible as a result of mental illness or disorder = (diminished) accountability

• When not treated, high risk of re-offending

• Technically, when convicted the chance of re-offending is 100%

• With treatment we decrease this chance over time

• Treatment should also be aimed at decreasing re-offending risk to an acceptable range

Core TBS-regulation

• TBS is a treatment regulation and not a punishment regulation

• According to law, both treatment and rehabilitation are necessary

• Keeping society secure is a direct goal

• Balance control - treament: what to focus on?

  • short-term: containment

  • long-term: reducing danger of reoffending by treating disorder

• Leave is a central part of TBS, because returning to society is the ultimate goal

Criticisms of TBS

• Important improvements can be made, e.g following TBS patients longer after conditional release

• Need for additional research into risks and effectiveness of TBS-treatments

• More tailor-made treatments

However, keep in mind:

• Often much more emphasis on the security aspect compared to treatment

• Political climate - protecting civil rights or society from crimes.

Examples of clinical forensive and the juidical system institutions

• Police and temporary incarceration

  • Prisons and penitentiary psychiatric centers (PPCs)

  • Pro-Justitia reporting (Assessment) (Dutch organization NIFP)

  • Mental health care institutions:

  • Forensic psychiatric outpatient clinics

  • Forensic supervised housing (F-RIBW) – Level 1

  • Forensic psychiatric departments (FPA) – Level 2

  • Forensic psychiatric clinics (FPK) = for TBS orders– Level 3

  • Forensic psychiatric centers (FPC) = TBS clinics – Level 4

International forensic context

• The Netherlands: ‘terbeschikkingstelling’ (TBS)

• Germany: similar to the Netherlands; indefinite duration, with annual evaluation; patient autonomy in treatment

• UK: Secure hospitals and prison settings; not incorporated in criminal law, but in mental health regulations; annual evaluation of mental state and risk; discharge rests with clinicians; patients passive receivers of treatment

• US: Comparable to UK, but many differences between states.