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Differences between forensic and criminal psychology

Even though both their disciplines entail working closely with the law, and as professionals, they’d need a doctorate in psychology, forensic and criminal psychologists focus on different things. This blog will look at their specializations. Dr. John Denboer.

Firstly, a forensic psychologist will work will all kinds of court cases, even those involving civil matters that do not involve dealing with criminals. A criminal psychologist is tasked to exclusively evaluate criminal cases. It’s important to note here that the majority of the work being done by a criminal psychologist is theoretical in nature, meaning they are evaluations that occur before a perpetrator has been identified. Conversely, forensic psychologists will more than likely work with persons who’ve already been identified by the authorities. Dr. John Denboer.

Because of the need to profile criminals and identify patterns by looking at cases of known offenders, criminal psychologists often conduct extensive research and reviews. These include studying closed case files and being meticulous about details like the arrangement of the victim’s body, the way the crime scene looks, and the location of the crime. In the same way, they sketch profiles of distinct offenders based on personality, habits, age, and background. It’s a veritable data-mining job. Dr. John Denboer.

Forensic psychologists are more focused on psychological evaluations, conducting pre-trial or pre-release psychological evaluations of defendants. These involve compiling and comparing victim and witness statements, administering a battery of psych exams and comparing them to normative data, and making recommendations about information related to the overall mental health of a litigant or defendant, including possible substance abuse issues. Dr. John Denboer.

In some cases, forensic psychologists are asked to evaluate a litigant’s deposition for any verbal and non-verbal deception cues. Sometimes, whether a civil court proceeding will continue or not would depend on a forensic psychologist’s assessment of a litigant’s competency to go through the legal process. Dr. John Denboer

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