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Criminal Psychology

Criminal Psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the behaviour of criminals and the psychological, emotional and social factors that lead to crime. Topics investigated include the causes and conditions that drive a person to commit a criminal act, as well as the way criminal behaviour may be predicted, understood, and, possibly, prevented.

Purpose

The main purpose of criminal psychology is to comprehend the factors influencing the behaviour of individuals and how they might lead to criminal acts. Other purposes include profiling, motivation, past experiences and environmental influences. Criminal psychologists aim:

To explain criminal behaviour and causes driving to it.
To assess what the risk of an individual committing a new criminal act is.
To contribute to the dispensation of justice by providing psychological evaluation to help courts and police authorities reach decisions.
To help the rehabilitation of criminals by contributing towards designing programmes to promote social reintegration.

Practical application

Criminal psychology is applied at various levels of the justice and social care systems. Some of the basic practical applications include:

Risk Assessment and Analysis: Criminal Psychology specialists assess how dangerous an individual is, so that they may estimate the probability that their criminal behaviour may be repeated. This helps design rehabilitation programmes and select appropriate conditions of incarceration or release from prison.
Psychological support and counselling: They also work with persons who have committed crimes so as to help them understand their own behaviour and develop strategies to minimise the probability of repeating criminal acts.
Participation in court procedures: Criminal Psychology specialists may provide documented reports and testimonies in court, to assist the analysis of the mental state of the defendant or the victim and help understand the motives behind a criminal act.
Training authorities personnel: They also cooperate with police and judicial authorities to help them recognise and understand the behaviour patterns correlated with criminal activity. They also train staff members in techniques of negotiating and interviewing.
Profiling: Criminal Psychology specialists compile profiles of suspects to help authorities identify and arrest criminals. This procedure comprises examination of the crime scene, behaviour of perpetrators and their possible psychological traits.

Criminal psychology is a sound tool used by the judicial system and society, providing knowledge that can lead to preventing criminality and creating a more secure and safe environment.