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Overview of Criminal Psychology — What Is a Criminal Psychologist?
Criminal psychology is a niche specialty in the psychology spectrum in which the psychologist serves in a variety of capacities, including working with law enforcement to determine the likely profile of the type of person who might commit a specific crime, giving opinions on court cases describing the mental states of people who have broken the law, and working directly with a captured criminal.
What Does a Criminal Psychologist Do?
One of the best-known roles of a criminal psychologist is offender or criminal profiling. The psychologist assesses an offender’s mental state and provides a psychological analysis.
Profilers, for instance, attempt to identify the age, gender, sex, background, physical characteristics, educational and socioeconomic levels, geographic background, and other traits of criminals who have not yet been apprehended. Through an examination of the evidence left at a crime scene, criminal psychologists can determine the probable mental characteristics of the perpetrator of a specific crime. In the last few decades, profiling has progressed from a hunch-based guessing game, which was, nevertheless, often fairly accurate, to a more rigorous field, in which the principles of forensic science and psychology are applied to help provide more accurate profiles.
Criminal psychologists do not always work as profilers. Some work with criminals who have already been apprehended, determining the motivations for their crimes and the likelihood that they will offend again if released back into society. Others work with attorneys for the prosecution or defense, describing the criminal’s actions to help incarcerate or exonerate the individual. Some criminal psychologists work as witnesses, providing expert testimony in a variety of criminal cases. In high-profile cases, criminal psychologists may be called upon to determine how a violent criminal’s actions are affecting the society at large in the region in which the crimes are occurring.
To perform these duties, criminal psychologists require a highly specialized set of skills and a diverse base of knowledge, including:
Not all criminal psychologists work with violent crime or even with criminals. Some may use their insights to offer opinions about custody cases, for instance. For the most part, however, their focus is on crime, as the title suggests.
The Role of Psychology in the Legal System
Criminal psychologists’ role in the legal system is important. While they provide a diverse array of services, the psychologist’s duties usually fall into one of four categories:
Clinical
If an individual has already been apprehended, the criminal psychologist may offer a clinical assessment of the criminal’s mental state, his or her ability to stand trial, whether the person has a mental illness, if he or she is capable of understanding the proceedings, and so on. The psychologist uses a variety of tests, tools, and interviewing techniques to construct these assessments.
Experimental
The clinical psychologist may perform simple experiments to determine whether a suspect is capable of committing the crime of which he or she is accused. For example, the psychologist may perform tests to determine if a witness could see or hear a crime taking place as alleged in his or her statement.
Actuarial
Advisory
When law officers and legal teams are uncertain as to how to proceed with a case, they may request that a criminal psychologist serve in an advisory capacity as a consultant. The psychologist can help determine whom to interview, how and when to interview the individuals, or how to encourage an individual who is reluctant to talk, such as a victim. They can also predict how the suspect will act during the case and advise as to the best treatment of the person.
In any position, criminal psychologists are likely to spend at least some of their time profiling criminals. This ever-growing field of investigative analysis is beneficial to successfully resolving cases and apprehending criminals. The psychologist must have a thorough understanding of human psyches, behaviors, and mental processes. The psychologist is charged with answering specific questions, including:
The criminal psychologist uses a battery of tests to help answer these questions, speaks to people in the criminals’ lives as well as to the criminal themselves, draws on statistics regarding similar crimes, and weaves together all the evidence to create informed characterizations of the offenders.
Criminal Psychologist Salary & Employment Outlook
Many of these highly specialized psychologists work for the federal and state governmental agencies, where they earn an average salary of $104,870 and $77,750, respectively.
Criminal Psychologisy Jobs & Job Description
A criminal psychologist spends his or her day examining crime scenes, looking at crime scene photos, working with law enforcement officers, advising lawyers, and testifying in court. More specifically, daily duties may include:
Criminal Psychology Degrees & Education
Therefore, many people who want to go into criminal psychology opt to earn a doctorate, either a Ph.D. or Psy.D. During your time as a doctoral student, you may choose to focus on theory or research, or you may take a very hands-on, forensic-oriented approach. Doctoral degrees typically take about five years to complete after the years of study required to earn master’s and bachelor’s degrees. However, at that time, you will most likely have acquired enough expertise to begin working while still in school.
To begin practice, you must take the licensing examination in your state or jurisdiction, then keep it current. Certifications are not required, but you may opt for additional certifications to increase your expertise and credibility.
Ready to start your journey in criminal psychology?Find a psychology degree programnear you.
2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics job market trends and salary figures forpsychologists (all other)are based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed July 2023.
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