Introduction
Learners study criminal justice courses for many reasons. The psychological study of the law enables students to diversify their career objectives. An understanding of psychology can enable a person to find a job opportunity in the criminal justice system (Greene, Heibrun, & Fortune, 2011). Psychology affects both authorities and offenders. The purpose of this article is to outline the function of a psychologist in the criminal justice system. The structure may be made up of applied scientists, basic scientists, policy evaluators, and advocates. Through this, comprehensive illustrations of each of these roles are illustrated within law enforcement, correction, and a court system.
Law enforcement setting
The law enforcement section consists of both the applied and basic scientist. Applied scientists comprise of workers with an associate degree specializing in law enforcement, corrections, or courts. Basic scientists are employees who have undergone basic training after high school completion. In this section, psychologists act as organizational development advisors, performance results evaluation counselors, and behavioral psychologists. For example, psychologists provide consultation, psychological services, and pieces of advice to applied scientists (Althouse, 2010). They also offer stress management services and the provision of a psychological perspective of investigations to basic scientists. Other psychologists are employed in law enforcement organizations to provide psychosomatic guidelines and services.
Correction set up
The psychologist can engage in many varied responsibilities in correction systems. Examining and caring for the convicts with mental disorders and formulating evaluations for diverse departments of the judicial system are some of the roles. Penitentiary psychologists are called upon to arbitrate when calamity arises (Greene et al., 2011). They are also involved in the appraisals of staff and offering psychotherapy for the convicts.
In the year 2010, it is estimated that correctional specialists oversaw more than 6 million Americans (Althouse, 2010). The above implies that penitentiaries can become dysfunctional setup, which can affect the psychological conditions of prisoners during their rehabilitation. Punitive circumstances may drive persons to act and reason in a different way than they would outside the penitentiary. As such, prison life can affect inmates in the short-term and long-term. Concerning this, correctional psychologists detect and nurse prisoners’ mental challenges. Through this, they aid them to adapt to their lack of freedom.
It is the moral responsibility of prison’s psychologist to fight the burdens of what community, corrections management workers, or the absence of adequate emotional health resources can lay on them. The stresses might affect the services offered by psychologists and the quality of care provided to prisoners.
Court system
Psychologists can also play huge roles in court settings. The section comprises of advocates and policy evaluators. For example, the expert can act in a consultative or counselor capacity in the court of law (Althouse, 2010). In this role, he or she will play a function of an expert witness for the defense of the prosecution section. In an advisory role, the expert is expected to counsel a legal customer and advocate of the intuition that psychology may affect the case. As a consultant, a psychologist may offer advice to policy evaluator on the details of psychological investigations, suppositions of inspections, or the thoughts of other psychological professionals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that psychologists have varied responsibilities within the criminal justice system. Their roles are concentrated on law enforcement, corrections, and advocate environments. For example, behavioral psychologists work with law enforcement organizations, and penitentiary psychologists work with prison authorities and inmates. On the other hand, the experts can act in a consultative or counselor capacity in the court of law. There are many mutual ethical concerns, which traverse into all three areas.
References
Althouse, R. (2010). Standards for Psychology Services in Jails, Prisons, Correctional Facilities, and Agencies. Criminal Justice And Behavior, 27(4), 433-494.
Greene, E., Heibrun, K., & Fortune, W. (2011). Psychology and the Legal System (8th Ed.). Florence, Kentucky. Cengage Learning.