Criminal Profiling: the online encyclopedia

Salary:

FP-Doctorate degree: $60, 000-$70, 000

FP-Psychological assistant/psychological associate:  $35, 000-$40, 000

FP-Private practice/Forensic Consultation: $85, 000-$95, 000

CP-Doctorate/masters:$103,000-downwards

CP-Assistant/associate: $33, 900-upwards

Definiton:

Some define forensic psychology as the “research and application of psychological knowledge to the legal system”. Bartol and Bartol describe it as this:

1. the research endeavor that examines aspects of human behavior directly relating to the legal process.

2. the professional practice of psychology within, or in consultation with, a legal system that embraces both criminal and civil law.

Job Description:

Forensic psychologists work in a variety of areas, but mostly in corrections. They create a report (called a psychological evaluation). The courts and the parole board use this evaluation to determine whether the person is a risk to the community; if so, they will be denied parole or given some other punishment.

Forensic psychologists also provide victimological services such as: evaluating and treating persons who are the victims of crime; conducting psychological assessments for personal injury matters having to do with accidents; sexual harassment or discrimination; counseling those who provide death notification service; and educating service providers on the impact of multiculturalism.

Sometimes they are long-term employees of (or hired once) a police agency to create a profile of the offender. If this is the case they use evidence from the crime and attempts to build a profile from the clues left behind. (This form of profiling is called “deductive profiling”). Sometimes they will use similar crimes as a sort of blueprint to help create a profile. (This is called “inductive profiling”). When they create profiles and consult for the police they often have to go to courtrooms, or research and provide theories for the study of criminology.

Criminal psychology and Forensic psychology are extremely similar, yet slightly different. Criminal psychologists deal exclusively with criminals, while forensic psychologists can consult and counsel in non-criminal matters. A criminal psychologists studies the behaviors and thoughts of criminals. They also examine and evaluate the prevention, intervention, and treatment of criminals and try to reduce criminal behavior.

They assess criminals in order to evaluate the risk of them repeating the offense, or hypothesize about the actions the criminal may have taken after committing the crime. Just like forensic psychologists, criminal psychologists help law enforcement solve crimes by analyzing the behavior of criminals to produce psychological profiles. They too provide testimony in court.