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A criminal psychologist applies psychological science and principles to the public safety and criminal justice systems. They work with the judicial system, law enforcement, and other agencies to provide their expert analysis in a number of areas.
For example, some criminal psychologists might work directly within the criminal justice system to help solve crimes, while others might focus their expertise on more legal matters.
Criminal psychology might work in prisons, rehabilitation centers, police departments, courthouses, law firms, schools, government agencies, or private practices.
In general, though, the role of a criminal psychologist is to study the behaviors and thoughts of criminals, determine the ability of the accused to stand trial, and provide expert testimony during a trial regarding the mental state of criminal defendants.
They also might work directly with the victims of the crimes or with offenders after they have been convicted, to help them overcome the traumas associated with their experiences and help rehabilitate them for re-entry into daily life.
Another important component of criminal psychology is research. A large part of what a criminal psychologist does is study why people commit crimes.
They might assess criminals to evaluate the risk of recidivism (the likelihood that a criminal reoffends in the future) or assist law enforcement with offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling.
When offender profiling, a criminal psychologist aims to provide law enforcement with a psychological assessment of the suspect and to provide strategies and suggestions that can be used in the interviewing process.
Using the research and information gathered, a criminal psychologist can then provide expert testimony in court. They might be asked to provide testimony in a custody hearing on which parent they perceive to be more appropriate for custody of minor children or to help develop a clearer picture of what happened at the crime scene.
What is the importance of a criminal psychologist?
Criminal psychologists play an important role in determining to what degree an individual is psychologically fit to be held accountable for criminal charges by evaluating suspected criminals for mental illnesses.
Another vital area of work is helping ascertain a criminal’s competency to stand trial or determine whether or not a witness can be considered reliable.
Additionally, criminal psychologists can influence a criminal’s sentencing by taking a stand in court. They can explain possible motives behind a crime or whether they feel a defendant is guilty based on what they know about his or her behavioral history.
Criminal psychologists can also be used to help solve crimes. They study crime scenes and evaluate any evidence to either develop a profile of a particular criminal or narrow a list of suspects. They can also analyze the behavior of criminals to help investigators identify perpetrators.
Lastly, criminal psychologists are crucial for legal activities that involve minors. They might help children in abuse cases to process and communicate their experiences truthfully and accurately and then prepare them to testify in court or child custody disputes.
They can also assist judges or attorneys who make important decisions about minors involved in the juvenile justice system by providing information about the youth’s emotional, behavioral, and cognitive functioning.
What does it take to be a criminal psychologist?
Education and Training
In order to become a criminal psychologist, one must follow an educational path that prioritizes psychology, criminology, and forensics. Criminal psychologists require a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s or doctorate degree, several years of experience, and, in most cases, board certification from the American Board of Professional Psychology to become licensed psychologists.
Expertise
Criminal psychologists must have expertise in both psychology and law. They must be highly trained in legal issues, understand the criminal justice system and its procedures, and have a thorough comprehension of psychological principles.
They also must have extensive knowledge of mental health law, including state statutes, case law, and courtroom procedures.
Communication Skills
Strong communication skills are integral for anyone in this field. Criminal psychologists interact with people daily. They must be qualified to work with law officers and attorneys and well-versed in communicating with criminals and inmates.
Having strong and effective listening and speaking skills is essential for anyone in this field. Additionally, because criminal psychologists often testify in court, they must possess excellent public speaking skills and the ability to remain level-headed in high-pressure situations.
Organizational and critical thinking skills
Like careers in all fields of psychology, criminal psychology requires organization and attention to detail. Criminal psychologists are entrusted to maintain records, conduct clinical assessments, gather data-based research, make perceptive observations, analyze body language, recognize patterns of behavior, and make timely, informed decisions.
They must also have an astute ability to assess empirical evidence and draw relevant conclusions about a criminal’s mental and emotional state.
Compassion
A successful criminal psychologist cares for the people they work with and for and is able to work with criminals in a calm and nonjudgmental manner. Being a criminal psychologist requires care for the human condition.
A criminal psychologist must be able to build trust with both criminals and law enforcement and have compassion without forming an emotional attachment or personal reactions to any clients.
It is also vital that a criminal psychologist can balance this compassion with a sense of objectivity as their psychological assessments will be used for legal purposes and have very real ramifications on people’s lives.
Strengths of being a criminal psychologist
Diverse Career Options
Criminal psychologists can have a number of different roles and can work in varied capacities in criminal proceedings. While some criminal psychologists might enjoy working with law enforcement to interview victims or investigate a crime scene, others might prefer working in the criminal justice system to assist attorneys and the court.
Because there are so many career options to consider, there is also a lot of variety in settings. A criminal psychologist might work in a correctional facility, law enforcement agency, university, or private practice.
Some criminal psychologists might even choose a more specific niche and work primarily in terrorism, human behavior, or cybercrime.
High Earning Potential
The top ten percent of criminal psychologists earn over $114,000 annually, according to the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). The field is only continuing to grow as the demand for criminal psychologists in mental health centers and law enforcement agencies are multiplying.
According to the BLS, the field of criminal psychology is expected to grow faster than the average of other occupations through 2024.
Solving Crimes
A critical job of a criminal psychologist is to analyze the behaviors and thoughts of criminals to help investigators identify perpetrators.
They might develop profiles of offenders, administer personality tests, or interview a victim directly to help determine who the perpetrator of the crime might be. Thus, criminal psychologists play a direct role in solving crimes, seeking justice for crime victims, and getting violent individuals off the streets.
Exciting Work
Working in the criminal psychology field can be an exciting, challenging career. It definitely is not your typical 9-5 desk job, and no two days are alike as a criminal psychologist.
As a criminal psychologist, you can find yourself working on exciting cases, conducting stimulating research, teaching others, and providing consulting services to a wide variety of clients. You also have the unique opportunity to work in law enforcement, the legal system, the medical field, and the psychological sciences.
Limitations of being a criminal psychologist
Lengthy Education and Training
The typical education required to become a criminal psychologist includes an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree, and a doctorate degree. Then, you must accumulate a required number of supervised clinical experience hours and take the exams mandated by your state to become licensed.
This means five to seven years of post-graduate education before the certification process begins. The entire process can take between 8-10 years and tends to include a significant expense to get your degree.
Emotional Toll
Criminal psychologists tend to work closely with criminal offenders– evaluating their mental state, learning details of crimes, and conducting interviews.
Learning about the trauma that criminals have inflicted on their victims and the details of very unfortunate instances of human suffering can be emotionally taxing.
Violent Behavior
Criminal psychologists often come into close contact with unstable, potentially violent individuals who have committed serious crimes and may be angry towards the institutions they blame for being caught.
Criminal psychologists need to be alert and diligent about their personal safety as they risk becoming targets for dangerous individuals who have histories of violence.
Long Work Days
As mentioned earlier, this is definitely not your typical 9-5 desk job. However, this can often mean working nights, weekends, and holidays.
Some work days can last 12 or more hours, and when not at work, you tend to be on-call in case of emergencies. In some cases, you might even be asked to travel at the last minute, which can be stressful for those with a family at home.
High Potential for Stress
The challenges and workload that this job requires can be stress-inducing for many. For example, preparing for a case with an attorney can be full of menial tasks, and taking the stand during trial requires significant composure and poise.
In addition, despite the excitement of an exhilarating case or a fascinating client, there is still a lot of routine paperwork, reading, and research required, which can be overwhelming for some.
How to become a criminal psychologist
Most criminal psychologists will begin by earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, criminal justice, criminology, or a related field major. After receiving an undergraduate degree, you must pursue a graduate degree of some kind.
Some will enter a masters in psychology program while others will continue to get their doctoral degrees in either clinical or counseling psychology. You may wish to also opt to specialize in a particular area, such as forensic or criminal psychology, when pursuing your doctoral degree.
Alternatively, aspiring criminal psychologists may also look to pursue a degree in criminal justice with a psychology-related focus or concentration.
Graduate programs in psychology with a focus on criminal psychology teach students about clinical methods, forensic psychology, criminal profiling, behavior, and criminal justice.
Criminal psychologists with a Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree in psychology tend to be more qualified and more likely to have a successful career as an APA-accredited doctorate, and licensure is usually required in order to access the most highly coveted jobs in criminal psychology.
Doctorate degrees tend to take anywhere from five to seven years. In addition to a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, candidates for licensure must also accumulate a certain number of supervised clinical experience hours and take the exams required by their state, including the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).
With a doctoral degree in criminal psychology or in clinical psychology with a concentration in forensic psychology or criminology, graduates can pursue a number of different careers.
These might include correctional counselors, victim or law enforcement advocates, forensic social workers, expert witnesses, criminal profilers, behavior analysts, or case managers – to name a few.
Frequently asked questions
What is the work environment for a criminal psychologist?
Criminal psychologists may be employed in a number of settings, such as private practices, academic institutions, forensic hospitals, correctional facilities, law enforcement agencies, or mental health centers.
In some cases, they will work closely with police officers and federal agents to help them solve crimes by developing profiles of murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals.
They can also work with private lawyers, state attorneys, and the public defender’s office or be employed as independent consultants. Others opt to teach criminal psychology at universities or at specialized criminology training facilities.
What is the expected salary of a criminal psychologist?
How much a criminal psychologist will earn depends on the organization, the location he/she will carry out the practice, and the education and skills of the individual.
Most forensic and public service psychologists make between $40,000 and $125,000 total pay per year, with a mean annual wage of about $96,000. Those who stay in the field for a while can earn between $200,000 and $400,000. In the UK, the income typically is between £25,000 – £63,000.
What is the most important task for a criminal psychologist?
Criminal psychologists have a number of significant tasks; however, one of the best-known duties of a criminal psychologist is likely offender profiling.
As discussed earlier, criminal profiling is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects and to link cases that may have been committed by the same perpetrators.
It involves linking an offender’s actions at the crime scene to their most likely characteristics to help law enforcement investigators narrow down and prioritize a pool of suspects.
Are criminal psychologists and forensic psychologists the same?
While both criminal and forensic psychologists work in the field of law enforcement and psychology and help solve crimes, criminal psychologists focus on the profiling of offenders and the factors that influence their behavior.
Forensic psychologists, on the other hand, extend beyond the focus of criminals and study the psychological impact on victims, witnesses, members of law enforcement, and others affected by crime. Thus, forensic psychology is a bit broader in scope than criminal psychology.
Do criminal psychologists work with serial killers?
In some cases, criminal psychologists may work closely with murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals, but this is only a very small part of the job. As a criminal psychologist, you will be working with a wide variety of different types of cases.
For example, you might be working within the courts and determining if people are competent enough to stand trial or as an expert witness providing testimony for the prosecution or defense during the trial.
Sources
American Psychological Association (2014, March). Pursuing a Career in Forensic and Public Service Psychology. Retrieved 2023, March 14, from: https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/forensic/education-training
Cherry, K. (2021, March 24). What Criminal Psychologists Do. VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/criminal-psychologist-a-career-profile-2795649
Criminal Psychology. (n.d.). What is criminal psychology? Retrieved 2023, March 14, from: https://www.e-criminalpsychology.com
Psychology School Guide. (n.d.). How to Become a Criminal Psychologist – Schooling and Degree Guide [2023]. Retrieved 2023, March 14, from: https://www.psychologyschoolguide.net/psychology-careers/criminal-psychologists/
Jackson, S. (2021, July). The Pros and Cons of a Career in Forensic Psychology. Online Psychology Degree Guide. https://www.onlinepsychologydegree.info/faq/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-career-in-forensic-psychology/
