Criminal psychology, also called criminological psychology, studies the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects. As a subfield of both criminology and applied psychology, it aims to understand why individuals commit crimes and how psychological principles can help prevent criminal behavior and assist the justice system. Criminal psychologists perform several roles within the legal system, serving as expert witnesses, carrying out psychological assessments of victims and offenders, and assisting law enforcement with behavioral insight into suspects, and the field also studies which programs are effective at preventing recidivism and how likely offenders are to have an underlying mental disorder.
Facts
Disputed
Key DebateThe scientific standing of criminal profiling is disputed: it is widely used by investigators, but there is a substantial lack of empirical research validating its effectiveness, so it is recommended as a supplement to traditional investigative techniques rather than a substitute for them. 1 Central QuestionCriminal psychology studies the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects, aiming to understand why individuals commit crimes and how psychological principles can be used to prevent criminal behavior and assist the justice system. 1 Criminal Psychology
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Her eyewitness-memory research is central to criminal psychology's work on testimony reliability.
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1. Wikipedia: Criminal psychology
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The field aims to understand why individuals commit crimes and how psychological principles can be used to prevent criminal behavior and assist the justice system.
Profiling section
However, there is a substantial lack of empirical research and effectiveness evaluations validating the practice of criminal profiling.
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