Introduction to Forensic Psychology

What is forensic psychology

• meaning of or before the forum

• at the intersection of psychology, legal systems and criminal justice

• Any application of psychological knowledge or methods to the legal system.

• Deals with evidence, witnesses, and the courts (legal psychology), and understanding/reducing criminal behaviour (criminological psychology)

Devlin enquiry

In 1976 which called for psychological research into identification of suspects.

19th-20th century

Application of psychological theory to criminal behaviour:

•Biological aspects, e.g., physiognomy, heritability, personality.

•Environmental factors, e.g. attachment, social learning theory, operant conditioning.

•Internal processes, e.g. cognitions and emotions, moral development.

20th century 

From “nothing works” (Martinson, 1974) to “what works” (Andrews & Bonta, 1994; McGuire, 1995).

21st century

Positive and strength-based treatment approaches (e.g. Good Lives Model; Ward & Gannon, 2006).

Code of ethics and conduct (BPS)

Framework for guiding decision-making.

Four principles:

-Respect

-Competence

-Responsibility

-Integrity

Each is described with a statement of values. 

applications of forensic psychology 

1. police interviewing: suspect interrogations, false confessions, interviewing, detecting deception (polygraphs)

2. offender profiling: using information at the crime scene to build a profile of the possible perpetrator (area, time of day and of week) which narrows down the suspect list

3. geographical profiling: using locations of a connected series of crime sites to determine the most probable areas of an offenders residence 

4. evidence-based policing: understanding what works” to reduce crime and disorder to make the most efficient use of police resources e.g., hot spot policing, longer/frequent patrols, body worn cameras 

5. critical incident decision making: responses to major incidents such as major police investigations, CT operations, and disaster response.

6. eyewitness testimony: Accounts given by people of a crime, including identification of suspects or victims, details of the crime scene and so on (important as 75% overturned convictions) 

7. jury decision making: 

8. forensic assessment: e.g., risk assessment which involves estimating the likelihood of reoffending using specialised risk assessment tools.

9. offender treatment: Developing and implementing treatment frameworks to reduce reoffending and improve wellbeing.

polygraphs

• lie detector 

• measures physiological responses (hear rate sweating, blood pressure) 

• detects bodily signs 

• since 2014 can be used for sex offenders on parole 

• HOWEVER, issues with reliability and validity 

  • Do not know for sure what they measure

  • Quality of evidence

  • Some better than others (using crime related info only the suspect would know)

effectiveness of body worn cameras

• used by 70% of the police force

• Increases public confidence/trust in police

• Reduces force used by and against police

• Can be used as evidence in trials

• RCTs & Systematic reviews have found mixed result

• Citizen complaints- consistent in that compliant decrease

• Issue of discretion- cameras need to be on all the time

• Problems with bias and methodology- due to time so is not generalisable

Fairness of jury trails

• not very prevalent (only used in 1% of UK criminal cases

• Not all juries are representative

• Juries attitudes and defendant characteristics matter

• Pre-trial publicity 

• Jurors find it difficult to understand legal directions

BUT

• Jurors and judges tend to agree in most cases  (89%)

= proposals to improve jury system

 

“nothing works/what works” view of rehabilitating offenders

• general pessimism around offender rehabilitation

• Martinson (1974) review concluded there is no significant effect

  • On average mean reduction of reoffending is 5-10% after treatment

  • Cognitive and behavioural more effective than others

  • Strength-based approaches have higher chance of working

  • Should target specific risk factors

Describe the pathway to forensic chartership and registered practitioner status

• graduate in Psychology accredited by BPS

• MSc in forensic psychology

• qualification in forensic psychology: involves 2-4 years of supervised practice which requires working in a suitable role

  • must demonstrated competencies in: Conducting interventions, assessments and evaluations with clients, applied forensic research, supporting and advising other professionals, consultancy and policy

• chartered and full DFP membership, HCPC status