forensic psych midterm

What is forensic psych?

the application of clinical and scientific psychology to the legal and criminal justice systems (Its a professional practice, have to be licensed)

digital investigative analysis

identifying, collecting, and examining electronic data to uncover facts for criminal investigations (emails, texts, financial)

education

Minimal bachelors degree, Masters level psychologists, Internships provide valuable opportunities

martin reiser

1968, in house psychologist, LAPD, first cop doc, Official beginning of American Police Psychology

Police contacts with people of color

Strained relationship between police and public, People of color over policed, Death of george floyd (2020), Profession challenges for psychologists

Police contact with persons with serious mental illness

Significant increase in contact, The case of daniel prude, Individuals with SMI: criminal involvement, Crisis intervention teams, Shortage of treatment centers_, Sometimes taken to local hospitals

Police contact with persons who self identify as LGBTQ+

Percentages have doubled, Variety of mental conditions, Law enforcement: heavily masculinized culture, members likely disadvantaged, Anti-trans political climate

Excessive Force

Lethal is firearms, non-lethal is chemical sprays and tasers, Officers under public scrutiny, International Association of Chiefs of Police

The reasonable officer standard

Another officer decides if they would've done the same thing as another officer or decide if they went too far

Dispatch Information

Influences how cops show up to the scene, could be misleading

Fitness for duty evaluations

evaluating whether an officer can safely perform their job

police culture

Rules, attitudes, beliefs, and practices, expected among other officers

Screening out

identifys who does not meet standards for the job

screening in

identifys who is suitable for the job

Special Unit Evaluations

suitability for specialized roles, such as SWAT, hostage situation, or undercover work

Organizational Stress

caused by workplace (poor pay, excessive shifts, limited promotions, internal affairs investigations)

Task Related Stress

caused by work itself (exposure to violence or death, undercover duty, boredom)

external stress

Ongoing frustration with those agencies outside of law enforcement (court systems, media, public attitudes)

personal stressors

personal life (spousal issues, addiction, depression, health)

hostage taking incidents

Political activities/terrorists, committed a crime, mental disorders

5 subsections

police and public safety: law enforcement

legal: court

psychology of crime: causes of criminal behavior

victimology: how crime impacts victims emotionally

correctional: works inside jails and rehabilition plans

threat assesment

determine if a threat is likely to be carried out or not

risk assesment

determines if someone is a danger to self or others

psychological autopsy

to determine mental state prior to death

organized murder scene

planned, aggression before death, not easy to catch, targeted stranger, no evidence, body hidden

organized murderer

high IQ, watches crime news, has partner/kids, use of alcohol but not during crime

disorganized murder scene

evidence present, sexual acts before death, victim known by offender, not planned, easy to catch

disorganized murderer

low IQ, doesnt follow crime news, lives alone/near crime scene, unstable

geographic profiling

looks for home and work, time stamps, and routine to catch killer

mental map

an offender's subjective, internal cognitive representation of their physical environment, which directly guides their movement patterns, target selection, and crime-site choices

awareness space

all the physical locations and areas a person is familiar with through their daily routine and past activities

nodes

anchor points like home, work, relatives house, gym

paths

routes travelled daily

suspect based profiling

collection of behavior, personality, helpful but not used often

racial profiling

illegal, undocumented immigrants

eyewitness testimony

testimony by eyewitnesses to a crime about what they saw during commission of the crime

unconsious transference

person seen is confused with person committed the crime

lineups

have to be simliar looking, has to match description witness gave police

sequential lineup

a police lineup method where people or photographs are presented to a witness one at a time

Simulataneous lineups

people or photos are shown all at once

job analysis

a purposeful, systematic process for collecting information on the important work-related aspects of a job

shooter bias

the tendency to mistakenly see objects in the hands of black men as guns, but not with white men

case linkage analysis

a technique used by criminologists and police to determine if the same person committed a series of different crimes

cognitive interview

specialized questioning method used in two main fields: law enforcement to help eyewitnesses recall crime details

composition bias

happens when the people in a lineup or photo array don't look enough like the suspect, making the suspect stand out like a sore thumb.

facial composites

a graphical likeness of a suspect's face created by an artist or computer software based on an eyewitness's memory

crime scene profiling

behavioral patterns based on evidence left on crime scene