In general terms, psychology is the general study of the mind. Criminal psychology is an extension of general psychology that specifically focuses on the study of the minds of criminals. As such, criminal psychology is essentially a combination of criminal justice studies and psychology. Criminal psychology may also be considered a branch of criminology.
The overall goal and purpose of criminal psychology is to study the minds of criminals, with the intention of predicting, explaining, or preventing similar crimes in the future. As such, one of the most important things that a criminal psychologist will learn in their criminology college is how to build a criminal profile and utilize that profile to predict, explain, or prevent similar crimes.
What Is Criminal Profiling and What Do Psychologists Consider When Creating A Criminal Profile?
As mentioned above, criminal profiling is a process that is used by criminal psychologists, in order to help police investigators identify an unknown criminal suspect. Criminal psychologists may utilize a wide range of criminal evidence from related or similar criminal cases in order to create a criminal profile of a possible suspect. Criminal psychologists largely create a criminal profile by identifying the possible characteristics and mindset of an individual who may have committed the crime.
Criminal profiling is most commonly utilized in cases that involve repeat offenses of the same type. After a criminal profile is built, investigators will look for a person who may have committed the crime in a similarly recognizable manner or pattern. As such, criminal profiles provide police investigators with the clues they need for identifying a suspect.
Criminal psychologists and investigators typically work hand in hand. They can gather information necessary to build a criminal profile from a wide variety of sources, such as:
- Evidence found at the scene of the crime;
- Forensic evidence; and
- Historical and statistical data regarding common characteristics of criminals who have committed the same type of crime.
Criminal Psychologists may attempt to “recreate” a suspect by using physical evidence, such as:
- Footprints located at the scene;
- Fingerprints located at the scene; and/or
- Other bodily indicators that may be present at the scene.
Additionally, criminal psychologists may also consider the unique facts surrounding the specific crime in order to reconstruct the events which lead up to the crime being committed. Once again, the goal of criminal profiling is to determine specific facts about an unknown suspect. As such, when creating the criminal profile, criminal psychologists may try to determine a suspect’s:
- Age;
- Gender;
- Weight;
- Race;
- Mental and/or psychological traits;
- Cultural and/or religious beliefs; and
- Intelligence quotient (“I.Q.”)
Police authorities will then use the criminal profile built by the criminal psychologists in order to try and to find a “match” amongst various suspects. Typically, this process will assist the police in narrowing the field of suspects down to a more concrete suspect.
How Do Criminal Psychologists Gather Information For Criminal Profiling?
Once again, criminal psychologists are normally a part of a police force. As such, criminal psychologists will work with police investigators when gathering information regarding a potential suspect. There are typically four stages of criminal conduct that can provide investigators and criminal psychologists with valuable information that can then lead them to identifying the suspect through criminal profiling.
These four stages of criminal conduct are:
- Pre-Offense Behavior: This stage includes any plans or motives that a suspect may have had, prior to them committing the crime;
- Method: This stage refers to the manner in which the crime was actually committed;
- Concealment Of Evidence: This stage involves an analysis of whether or not the suspect in question may have concealed and/or disposed of evidence. This information may provide clues regarding the suspect’s identity; and
- Post-Offense Conduct: This stage involves an analysis of conduct that occurred after the crime was committed. Many criminal psychology studies show that a suspect will generally act differently after they have committed a crime.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Criminal Profiling?
The rules that govern criminal profiling differ from state to state. This means that some localities may favor the use of criminal profiling because of the advantages that the process can offer to police forces, but others may not favor criminal profiling. For example, one locality may believe that the use of criminal profiling techniques saves time and resources, as it can narrow down the range of suspects that are being searched for.
Alternatively, other localities may believe that the use of a criminal profile is considered socially unacceptable. It is important to note that a majority of jurisdictions infrequently employ criminal profiling. Many jurisdictions believe that criminal profiling is limited, and can still ultimately lead to misidentification of a suspect.
Additionally, many jurisdictions believe that criminal profiling has largely been based on stereotypes, especially regarding a suspect’s:
- Race;
- Cultural background; and
- Religious beliefs.
Because criminal profiling is based on some of the above characteristics, many criminal identifications have been challenged in court on the suspicion that the criminal profile was based on harmful stereotypes, as opposed to indisputable facts, testimony, and physical evidence.
Is Criminal Profiling and Related Evidence Admissible In Court?
In order for any evidence to be admissible in court, the evidence must be:
- Logically relevant;
- Material; and
- Competent.
In order for evidence to be considered relevant, the evidence must have a reasonable tendency to help prove or disprove a fact. The evidence does not need to make a fact certain. Instead, the evidence must make a fact that is of consequence more or less probable than it would be without this evidence.
Additionally, the evidence must also be legally relevant. This means that the probative value of the evidence must not be substantially outweighed by the dangers of:
- Unfair prejudice;
- Confusion of jury;
- Waste of time; and
- Misleading the jury.
Most evidence is permitted for use at trial. However, rules such as the hearsay evidence rule, prevent certain types of evidence from being admissible at trial. The following list contains other common types of evidence that are not generally permitted against criminal defendants:
- Out of Court Testimony: The Sixth Amendment gives criminal defendants the right to confront their accusers, as such out of court testimony is not admissible;
- Character Evidence: Prosecutors may not use evidence of a defendant’s personality when proving that the defendant committed the crime, unless the defendant first raises the issue
- As noted above criminal profiling is largely based on a defendant’s past actions and history, which makes introducing related evidence difficult;
- Plea Bargaining: Any statements that were made during plea bargains cannot be used against the defendant at trial; and
- Self-Incrimination: Defendants have the right to refuse to take the stand during trial, in order to not incriminate themselves.
What Careers Are Available for Criminal Psychologists?
As can be seen, there are opportunities and careers available for criminal psychologists. This is especially true for criminal profilers or criminal psychologists that have graduated from a well-regarded criminology college.
Common employers for criminal psychologists include:
- The U.S. government at the federal, state, and local level; and
- Private employers, such as personal investigators for victims of crimes or security teams.
Besides working for federal and state law enforcement agencies as consultants, criminal psychologists also work at the teaching facilities of these agencies. Criminal psychologists often become instructors for the police force, conduct training for criminal investigators, or even become professors at the same criminology college in which they attended.
Do I Need an Attorney for Help With Criminal Psychology?
As can be seen, introducing evidence related to criminal psychology in a court of law is often a difficult and complicated matter. If you believe that you are involved in a case of incorrect criminal profiling, you will need to consult with an experienced criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible.
An experienced criminal defense attorney can protect your legal rights according to your state’s specific criminal laws. Finally, an attorney will also be able to represent you in court, as needed.
