Forensics is the application of science in the field of law enforcement and criminology. It is used to gather information that can help an ongoing investigation. On the other hand, psychology is the study of the mind and behavior of people. When you put these two together, one is left with forensic psychology. Forensic psychology is often used to solve crimes when dealing with strong personalities and little evidence. It mostly helps understand the rationale and motivation behind crimes committed by the criminal. Dr. John Denboer .

When a forensic psychologist, also known as a criminal profiler, is brought into a case, one of their jobs is to create a criminal profile based on the common psychological traits and behavior of the criminal. For example, a man has taken several hostages in his attempt to rob a convenience store. A criminal profiler could investigate the hostage taker’s background to assess the threat they pose, as well as find bargaining chips that can help the hostage negotiator in deescalating the situation. Dr. John Denboer.

Forensic psychologists are invaluable when it comes to active cases. Their findings can help create a criminal profile that can narrow down search options for law enforcement. It can also give police and investigators insights as to who they are dealing with, how far they are willing to go, and what they are capable of. This can help catch the criminal faster, and possibly inform law enforcement what the criminal’s plan of action will be. Dr. John Denboer.

Outside the active pursuits of criminals, forensic psychologists contribute to the criminal justice department in other ways. Forensic psychologists also help conduct screening and assessment of prisoners, investigate common psychological illnesses among criminals, and help explain to a court the mental state the criminal was in at the time they were committing a crime. Dr. John Denboer .

Whether it’s via film, TV, or a book, popular culture often portrays forensic psychology inaccurately, perhaps because the so-called spice and drama adds to the appeal of the science.   Learn to distinguish which among these common depictions and presentations are true and know fact from myth. <a href=”https://twitter.com/denboer_dr”>Dr. John Denboer</a>.

Firstly, forensic science and forensic psychology are not exactly one and the same.  While they both use scientific methods to solve crimes, forensics per se is a hard science, meaning its conclusions are derived from the meticulous analyses of tangible evidence, often done via laboratory investigations.  These entail stuff like studying fingerprints and blood.  On the other hand, forensic psychology applies knowledge in psychology to the legal context.  In other words, forensic psychologists use both experience and their education to understand law-related issues.  Dr. John Denboer.

Another myth is that there’s a single forensics investigator in charge of collecting evidence from a crime scene.  In reality, a team of forensic experts does the work, with each investigator focused on their particular specialization like ballistics, fingerprints, and DNA analysis.  <a href=”https://www.crunchbase.com/person/dr-john-denboer”>Dr. John Denboer</a>.

Speaking of DNA analysis, it’s a misconception that today’s DNA analysis tech can quickly identify people and potential crime perpetrators. It still takes at least several hours to do a simple DNA test, and coming up with a thorough conclusion usually takes many days.  Dr. John Denboer

Finally, it’s also a myth that the only role forensic psychologists play is conducting criminal profiling.  This is but one of the many responsibilities of a forensic psychologist, which include advising police on criminal psychology theories and prevailing takes on mental illness, consulting with legal experts and court personnel, and coming up with crime prevention programs for both juveniles and adults.  <a href=”https://www.pinterest.ph/drjohndenboer/”>Dr. John Denboer</a>.

Dr. John Denboer notes that a lot of the misconceptions about forensic psychologists originated from mainstream media. He explains that professionals who specialize in forensic psychology do more than profile criminals. Below are some of the important things that forensic psychologists do.

Evaluation of inmates and patients: Forensic psychologists evaluate inmates in prison and patients in hospitals. Mostly, their goals to either determine if an inmate or prisoner is fit to stand trial, eligible for an insanity plea, or too dangerous to be released.

Consultation in abuse cases: Forensic psychologists also evaluate and consult on cases revolving around domestic abuse, whether spousal or child. They talk to victims and determine if the victims are telling the truth. Forensic psychologists also assess emotional damage sustained by victims.

Consultation in jury selection: Dr. John Denboer explains that forensic psychologists are hired by lawyers to advise on jury selection. They are also useful in determining how persuasive a case can be.

Aid in civil cases: Forensic psychologists have also been known to work outside criminal law. In fact, many of them can be found working with personal injury lawyers, and class-action lawsuits. The role of forensic psychologists in these cases revolve around the assessment of testimonies, Dr. John Denboer adds.

Forensic psychology, an applied field of psychology, has gained inroads into mainstream practice as you’ll see in the courses being offered by universities and community colleges and in its depiction in film and television. As a retired professional of this field, Dr. John Denboerhelps prospective forensic psychologists gain a better understanding of forensic psychology by sharing a brief overview of its history.

Forensic psychology’s beginnings can be traced to the point when William Wundt, the father of experimental psychology, opened his laboratory in 1879 and established psychology as a science in its own right like biology. James McKeen Cattell linked psychology and the justice system together by conducting experiments on the psychology of testimony. He performed a series of interviews on his students and he asked them to assign points to their confidence level regarding the veracity of their answers. His students expressed doubts about the truthfulness of their statements.

William Stern followed McKeen’s cue and he tested how clear witnesses recall information. He asked his students to sum up the events behind the argument of two their classmates and found errors. He concluded that emotions could impact truthfulness, explains Dr. John Denboer.By 1896 onwards, psychologists have begun finding themselves in court, with Albert von Schrenck-Notzing serving as one of the first.

He gave an account and a discussion of how suggestibility impacted witness testimony during a court hearing. German American psychologist Hugo Munsterberg published On the Witness Stand, a book that endorsed the use of psychology in law. Lewis Terman contributed to the field by reworking Binet’s intelligence test and using the test to assess the capabilities of prospective law enforcers.

In 1917, John Marston found a connection between falsifying statements and shifts in systolic blood pressure. This key bit of information is why we have polygraph machines today, adds Dr. John Denboer. Mr. Marston also appeared in court, just like Mr. Schrenck-Notzing. In 1923, he became an expert witness on Frye vs. the United States, establishing the court’s use of expert witnesses in trial.

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