UNIT 2 ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF Role and Functions

of Forensic
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST1 Psychologist

Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Forensic Psychologist’s Roles and Functions
2.3 Qualifications and Training
2.4 Let Us Sum Up
2.5 References
2.6 Answers to Check Your Progress
2.7 Unit End Questions

2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to,

• discuss the roles and functions of a forensic psychologist; and

• discuss the qualification and training of forensic psychologist.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The work of a forensic psychologist is varied and wide reaching. He/ she
assists the police in investigation, provides advice on interviewing of
suspects or witnesses, works as expert witness in court cases, works in the
rehabilitation of offenders, conducts forensic psychology research or work in
academia. This unit aims to present a balanced view of profession of the
forensic psychologist and to introduce you to the variety of roles within
which the forensic psychologist can, and does work. You will also be
introduced to the specific functions that a forensic psychologist performs
within these roles.

2.2 ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF A FORENSIC

PSYCHOLOGIST
Let us look at the roles of a forensic psychologists and then we will discuss
about the functions.
In 1981 Professor Lionel Haward, one of the UK’s founding fathers of
criminal psychology, described the four roles that psychologists may perform
when they become professionally involved in criminal proceedings.

1
Prof. Dipesh Chandra Nath, Head, Department of Applied Psychology, Calcutta University,
Kolkatta (adapted from Uni t4, Block 1 of BPCE021).
31
Forensic Psychology: The four roles are:
An Introduction
Clinical: In this role the forensic psychologist will usually be involved in the
assessment of an individual in order to provide a clinical judgement. The
psychologist could use interviews, assessment tools or psychometric tests
(i.e. special questionnaires) to aid in his or her assessment. These
assessments can inform the police, the courts, or the prison and probation
services about the psychological functioning of an individual and can
therefore influence how the different sections of the criminal justice system
process the individual in question. For example, a forensic psychologist may
be asked to assess individuals in order to determine whether they are fit to
stand trial or whether they have a mental illness which means that they would
not understand the proceedings.
Experimental: This may involve the forensic psychologist performing
research regarding the case. This can involve carrying out experimental tests
in order to illustrate a point or provide further information to the courts (for
example, how likely it is that someone can correctly identify an object in the
hand of an individual from a distance of 100 metres at twilight). Alternatively
it can involve psychologists providing the court with a summary of current
research findings which may be relevant to the case in question.
Actuarial: In this context the word ‘actuarial’ relates to the use of statistics
in order to inform a case. One example of how a forensic psychologist may
act in an actuarial role is if they are required to present actuarial information
relating to the probability of an event occurring to the court. For example, a
court may wish to know how likely an offender is to reoffend before the
sentence is decided. In such a case, a forensic psychologist could be called
upon in order to inform the pre-sentence report to the court.
Advisory: In this role the forensic psychologist may provide advice to the
police about how to proceed with an investigation. For example, an
offender’s profile could inform the investigation, or advice could be provided
about how best to interview a particular suspect. Alternatively a prosecution
or defence lawyer may ask for advice on how best to cross examine a
vulnerable witness or another expert witness. This role involves the use of the
psychologist’s expertise in order to advice the police, courts or prison and
probation services.
As you can see, psychology thus can be used in a variety of different
scenarios within the criminal justice system and for a number of different
reasons. The next few sub-sections will examine in more detail how
psychologists can and do contribute their expertise to aid the work of the
criminal justice system. This list of role, however, does not claim to be
exhaustive, as there are many more ways in which psychologists play their
part. We have therefore chosen the most well known roles in order to give an
indication of what kinds of roles and functions forensic psychology involves.
Let us now discuss the functions of a forensic psychologist.
Criminal investigations: The role of a forensic psychologist in criminal
investigations can take a variety of forms. Professor Laurence Alison of the
32
University of Liverpool has suggested a number of ways in which the Role and Functions
of Forensic
expertise of a psychologist could aid the police and support the work that Psychologist
they do. According to him, “It is important to appreciate that the ways in
which psychologists can contribute extends well beyond the process of
profiling offenders. Indeed the apprehension of the offender would be
assisted by enhancing police decision-making and leadership-skills,
improving methods of interviewing witnesses and victims, developing
accurate methods of recording, collating and analysing data on pre-
convictions of offenders, developing suspect prioritisation system based on
empirical research and enhancing intelligence-led policing and the use of
informations.” (Alison 2005)
From the list of functions within the quote above, it may be seen that the role
of the psychologist in assisting the police can be wide-ranging.
Crime analysis: Crime analysis (sometimes also called intelligence analysis)
is one field of work which draws upon forensic psychological methods.
Crime analysts are generally employed by the police (or policing agencies,
for example in the UK, the National Crime and Operations Faculty and the
National Crime Squad) in order to analyse crime data to aid the police
carryout their roles. One of the most common roles of crime analysts is that
of case linkage. This process involves the linkage of crime based on the
similarities in the behaviours of the offenders as reported by the victim or as
inferred from the crime scene. For example, let us examine a rape case
committed by a stranger on a woman walking home alone after a night out
with her friends. Crime analysts could use the details of this case – the fact
that she had just left her office, that the rapist took some of her clothing away
from the scene with him, the contents of the threats used towards the woman
– in order to check against an already established database of similar crimes
to see whether there are any similarities to past crimes. If matches are found
– the same threats were used, similar items of clothing taken by a rapist, and
it was in a close geographical location to another rape – then this information
can be used by the police to investigate the potential that the same individual
offender has committed both crimes. This allows the focusing of the
resources of the investigation in order to avoid duplication of work.
Offenders profiling or criminal investigative analysis: Offender profiling
has received a great deal of attention from the media in recent years. Media
reporting of the utilisation of forensic psychologists in high profile cases has
introduced the general public to the notion of offender profiling. While this
has raised the profile of the field, it could be argued that the (largely)
sensationalist portrayal of profiling resulted in a general confusion of what
profiling actually is, how often it is done and who does it. This uncertainty
amongst the general public is not altogether surprising however, as there is an
absence of an agreed definition of the term ‘profiling’, even in academic
circles.
What we can be clear about is that profiling uses information gleaned from
the crime scene relating to the offender’s behaviour during the crime. This
can be pooled with other information, such as victim statements (if
available), in order to draw conclusions about the nature of the person who
33
Forensic Psychology: committed the crime. Was the crime planned meticulously or was it
An Introduction
impulsive? Does the offender live locally to the crime scene? What age range
is the offender likely to fall into? What gender is the offender? This
information can then be used to aid the police in investigations and in
targeting resources.
But how exactly is a profiler able to look at the scene and use this to specify
the characteristics of the offender? The answer to this question is not entirely
clear mainly because different people involved in offender profiling can, and
do, use a variety of techniques in order to reach their conclusions. Even those
individuals who claim to be working from the same theoretical standpoint
can still vary in how the theory is applied to any given case.
Interviewing, detecting deception and eye witness research: One of the
most important tasks during investigation is collecting reliable evidence in
order to put together a case of what happened during the event in question.
One of the main sources of this evidence is the people who were
eyewitnesses to the event. In order to gain this information, an interview
needs to be conducted by the investigating police officers with the aim of
gaining as much accurate information from the witness as possible. In
addition, once the suspect has been identified, he/ she too is interviewed in
order to gain his or her view of events and to possibly extract a confession to
the crime. Hence the interview (whether with a witness or suspect) and the
manner in which it is conducted can be crucial to a case.
It is not surprising, therefore, when you think of the processes (those relating
to memory and the retrieval of memory) that are involved in the interview
situation, the psychologists have been interested in this area for years. Given
research findings such as those that state that the recall of events by witness
can be manipulated by the interviewer (either intentionally or unintentionally
– for example, by the type of questions asked), it is clear that those carrying
out the interviews need to receive training in how to conduct the interviews
appropriately.
Psychologists have been instrumental in developing guidance and advice on
how best to interview witnesses and suspects and have also provided training
to various police forces on these techniques. The police can also use
psychologists in order to gain advice on how to interview particular types of
witnesses or suspects. For example, psychologists have conducted research
into interviews with vulnerable witnesses such as the young, the elderly and
learning disabled witnesses. This research can be used to inform the police on
how best to retrieve the information that they require from such witnesses
without causing them too much stress while at the same time ensuring that
the information received is as accurate as possible.
Research performed by forensic psychologists investigating the detection of
deception also has useful applications for the police when interviewing
witnesses and in particular suspects.
Function of forensic psychologist as a police psychologist: The information
here, thus far, been concerned with the application of psychological
knowledge to assist in police investigation. However, there is another field
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within which the work of forensic psychologists, and the application of their Role and Functions
of Forensic
knowledge, is useful to the police, that is police psychology. Like many Psychologist
organisations, the police force itself presents its own challenges – what type
of person makes a good police officer? What is the best way to train police
officers? How might the attendance at unpleasant scenes of crime, or
repeated exposure to negative events, impact on an individual and how are
those affected in this way best treated?
This area of work is not a new one – psychologists, both occupational and
forensic, have been advising the police on such matters for the last twenty-
five years or so. Psychologists have contributed their knowledge to the
process of police officer recruitment through the introduction of
psychometric tests which measure psychological characteristics that may be
important in relation to such work. These could assess, for example, whether
a person is an assertive individual, open to persuasion, and conscious of
detail. Psychologists have also provided advice on the composition of
interviews and assessment centres which will eliminate those who do not
have the necessary qualities for the role as well as providing an indication of
those who will prosper in such a role.
Another important area of police interest where psychologists have an
ongoing input is the moderation of police stress. The stress faced by police
officers is somewhat different from that in other types of employment.
Whereas stress can be elevated in most jobs through organisational change,
such as decreased workload or a pay rise, the police can be faced with
unexpected, perhaps threatening, situations at any time during their daily
work. These events, due to their unpredictable nature, cannot necessarily be
mediated by organisational change. So the police also need stress
management measures that can assist at an individual level, as and when they
are needed. Psychologists have been instrumental in advising the police on
what mechanisms would be beneficial (such as peer counselling and self-help
programmes), but will also provide professional services to police officers
who require more intensive stress management.
Expert witness: Court cases can involve complex issues including the
presentation of information that is judged to be beyond the knowledge of the
average layperson who may sit on a jury. In such situations, the court permits
the calling of an expert witness who, by definition, has an expertise relating
to the issue in question. Under the circumstances expert witnesses are
permitted to provide their opinion (rather than the facts) on the issue being
discussed.
The way the expert witnesses are called to the court could vary from one
jurisdiction to another. For example, in some countries within Europe, an
expert witness is called by the court itself in order to provide information as
and when it is needed. However, in the UK and USA, the expert is instructed
by either the defence or prosecution in order to provide extra strength to their
version of events.
The use of the psychologist as an expert witness has, in the past, been
constricted by the notion of the expert having to provide information that is
beyond the knowledge of the average person. Historically then, the 35
Forensic Psychology: admissibility of a psychologist’s opinion was often limited to provide
An Introduction
evidence relating to mental impairment or the psychological functioning of
an individual. However, in recent years, the psychologists’ expertise has been
increasingly recognised and they are now being called upon as evidence in
relation to a wide variety of issues. Some examples of these are the impact
that the interviewing techniques have on a suspect or witness, the reliability
of eyewitness testimony, the clinical assessment of suspect or witness, or the
use of profiling techniques during an investigation.

Forensic psychologists and assessment and treatment of offenders:

Forensic psychologists, especially within Australia, Canada and the UK, are
heavily involved in work concerning the assessment, rehabilitation and
management of offenders, either in the community or when held in
incarceration. This role can involve working with the offenders to reduce
their likelihood for reoffending in the future or a more clinical role
addressing the psychological needs of offenders. These psychological needs
may (or may not) result from the effects of crime they committed (for
example the development of post traumatic stress disorder or realisation of
the impact of their offence on their victim) or the environment within which
they are held (for example developing depression due to being away from the
family or anxiety brought on by respective bullying from other prisoners).
This work can be both varied and challenging in nature.
One of the first and ongoing concerns of a forensic psychologist working
with offenders post-sentence is the assessment of the offenders. This
encompasses an in-depth analysis of their risk of reoffending, their risk of
harm (to others as well as themselves) and their needs (such as
accommodation, finances and mental health, for example).
These assessments can be used in the management of the offenders’
highlighted risks and needs, informing the planning of the activities that the
offenders will undertake during their sentence. This could include the
provision of basic skills courses, treatment programmes, one to one work on
the particular issues, and so on.
In addition, if an offender is on a community sentence and has been assessed
to be high risk to the public, then it may be the case that the offender
becomes subject to the monitoring arrangements in order to reduce the risk
that he/ she poses. The forensic psychologist can provide an input to each of
these arrangements on an operational level but can also provide managerial
and advisory support to those delivering such interventions.
In the recent years there has been a growth in the use of treatment
programmes with the offenders. Forensic psychologists have been active in
this development contributing to the design, delivery and management of
programmes which attempt to address the offenders’ thoughts, attitudes and
behaviours that contribute to their offending behaviour, and prevent further
offending.
Psychologists are also involved in the management of these programmes,
ensuring that the right offenders are placed on such programmes and that the
programmes are delivered in the manner in which the designer intended.
36
Research has shown that badly delivered programmes can be ineffective but Role and Functions
of Forensic
at worst be damaging. Psychologist

However, the role of the prison or probation psychologist is not limited to

rehabilitation related work. Forensic psychologists within these settings can
also be involved in undertaking research, overseeing training of prison or
probation
Forensic psychologists and academia / research: With the growth of
interest in forensic psychology in the recent years, there has been an
increased demand for courses which teach the theory and practice of forensic
psychology. With the inevitable growth in forensic psychology courses, there
has been a corresponding increase in the number of forensic psychologists
working within academia.
So what do those people actually do? Well, the obvious answer is that they
teach students about forensic psychology: about the psychology of criminal
behaviour, of the courtroom, psychology and investigation, the assessment
and treatment of offenders and also about how to carry out criminal
psychological research. This teaching can be at undergraduate or
postgraduate level and can be delivered in a variety of different ways.
However, the role of academic forensic psychologist is not only limited to
teaching. The other main role of academics is to carry out research within
their field of interest. Most academics have their own research interests that
develop over time and they are usually encouraged by their employers to
expand their knowledge of these specialisms by researching them further.
The ability to do this can often be dependent on a variety of outside forces,
however, such as the availability of funding and access to privileged data or
to imprisoned individuals. From a personal point of view, while at times this
work can be frustrating, tedious and time consuming, it is also very
interesting and hugely rewarding. Most forensic psychologists who work in
universities also are required to be involved in professional practice such as
giving advice in some of the many ways outlined in this Unit.

Check Your Progress I

1) List the roles played by a forensic psychologist.
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Forensic Psychology: Box 2.1 Specific examples of the functions that forensic psychologists
An Introduction
may be asked to perform (Bartol and Bartol, 2008).
Functions of a forensic psychologists with reference to police psychology,
psychology of crime and delinquency, victimology and victim services, legal
psychology, and correctional psychology are described as follows:
Let us elaborate these:
1) Police Psychology: Police psychology includes functions as follows:
• Assist police department in determining optimal shift schedules for their
employers.
• Assist police in developing psychological profiles of serial offenders.
• Establish reliable and valid screening procedures for law enforcement
officer positions at various police and sheriff departments.
• Train police officers on how to deal with mentally ill persons.
• Provide counselling services to officers after a shooting incident.
2) Psychology of Crime and Delinquency: This includes the following
functions:
• Evaluate the effectiveness of preschool intervention strategies designed
to prevent violent behaviour during adolescence.
• Conduct research on the development of psychopathy.
• Consult with legislators and governmental agencies as a research policy
adviser on prevention of stalking.
• Consult with school personnel on identifying troubled youth who are
potentially dangerous.
• Develop a psychological test for assessing risk among the mentally ill.
3) Victimology and Victim Services: Victimology and victim services
include the following functions:
• Evaluate and treat persons who are the victims of crime or witness of
crime.
• Conduct psychological assessments for personal injury matters having to
do with such things as auto accidents, product liability, sexual
harassment and discrimination, and medical negligence or workers’
compensation.
• Educate and train victim service providers on psychological reactions to
criminal victimisation, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Assess, support, and counsel those who provide death notification
services.
• Educate service providers on the impact of multiculturalism when
victims seek mental health and support services.
4) Legal Psychology: Under legal psychology the functions mentioned
below are included:
• Conduct child custody evaluations, visitation risk assessments, and child
abuse evaluations.
38
• Assist attorneys in jury selection through community surveys and other Role and Functions
of Forensic
research methods. Psychologist
• Perform evaluations of a defendant’s competency to stand trial.
• Consult with attorneys and the courts concerning custody decisions,
conflict resolution, and the validity of assessment procedures used in the
evaluation of various psychological conditions.
• Conduct competency evaluations for the civil court.
5) Correctional Psychology: Functions under correctional psychology
include
• Establish reliable and valid screening procedures for correctional officer
positions at correctional facilities.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of existing programmes (a process
called programme evaluation) for juvenile and adult offenders, such as
victim-offender reconciliation programmes, sex offender treatment, or
health education programmes.
• Develop a stress management programme for correctional personnel.
• Assess the development of a system for classifying prison inmates for
placement within a correctional facility.

2.3 QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

The typical day of forensic psychologist can vary. In general, it is oriented
towards research activities. However, a forensic psychologist may do other
things as well, such as helping with jury selection. In this case, a forensic
psychologist could gather information on studies done on juries especially
relevant to a pending case. They would then go to a courthouse or to an
attorney’s office to shift through papers or conduct interviews of possible
jurors. The forensic psychologist might also help attorneys narrow down the
juror pool by eliminating people whose views may affect the outcome of the
trial in an undesirable way. This process can sometimes last several weeks or
even longer.
There are both potentially rewarding and frustrating aspects to working in
forensic psychology that need to be carefully considered before pursuing a
career in this field. Listed below are some potential pros and cons. There are
certain very special attractions in being in the field of forensic psychology
and working as forensic psychologist. For instance, if a person enjoys
working with others, then this will be good profession to take up. Forensic
psychologists usually work with a team of other professionals in addition to
working directly with clients or criminal offenders. A person who loves
challenging assignments would find forensic psychologist’s job quite
attractive. A person who is interested in psychology and the law subjects
would find forensic psychology a very interesting subject. Forensic
psychology can be very rewarding when you make a difference to someone’s
life and thus the forensic psychologists can derive satisfaction for helping
others. There are many different specialties within the field of forensic
psychology that create a number of opportunities. When working in prisons 39
Forensic Psychology: and with juvenile delinquents every day can be challenging and very different
An Introduction
providing opportunities for applying varying skills and techniques. While
there are great attractions in the field of forensic psychology, there are
equally a few unattractive or disadvantageous aspects in the field of forensic
psychology. It is a field that requires expertise and thus, continuous training
and regular updation of knowledge is required. Attending seminars and
conferences throughout one’s professional life is important for keeping with
the current trends and discoveries in the field. The people that forensic
psychologists work with in prison settings are sometimes very violent and the
chances of getting hurt or injured is quite high when working with such
violent persons. Personal safety thus need sto be taken care of. Forensic
psychology can be very stressful job. Often, people and situations cannot be
changed easily. Thus, forensic psychologists could be prone to stress, anxiety
and even burnout.
The settings that a forensic psychologists is likely to work is in are mainly
police stations and courts. Though many forensic psychologists also work in
laboratory setups and some may be in to teaching and training. They could
also work as consultants.
The educational qualification required of a forensic psychologists includes at
least a Masters degree, followed by Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) or Doctor
of Psychology (PsyD). One of the Institutions offering programmes in
Forensic Psychology (Msc. in Forensic Psychology is National Forensic
Science University, Sector 9, Gandhinagar-382007, Gujarat. You can refer to
its website for more information https://www.nfsu.ac.in/m-sc-forensic-
psychology.
Those with a desire to work in forensic psychology must be patient,
adaptable, comfortable working with others, and enjoy doing research. Often,
one must be a good speaker because many people who do work in this field
work as expert witnesses at some point during their career. An expertise is
abnormal, motivational, clinical, and social psychology is also key to being
successful in this field.
Thus, besides educational qualification in psychology and forensic
psychology, one needs to also update oneself with legal system in the
Country. Further, a forensic psychologists will have to regular update his/ her
knowledge and skills by attending training programmes and participating in
conferences and seminars. A forensic psychology not only needs to have an
expertise in his / her subject area but also needs to have skills pertaining to
team work, communication skills, decision making and even report writing.

2.4 LET US SUM UP

You have learned in this unit about the roles and functions of the forensic
psychologists. The clinical role focuses primarily upon a scientific
determination of the mental state of the offender. In their experimental role,
forensic psychologists apply established experimental data to the events of a
case to produce an authoritative interpretation of what transpired. The actuary
role involves the forensic psychologist providing information on the
40
probabilities of certain events occurring or in conjunction with one another. Role and Functions
of Forensic
The advisory role involves the use of the forensic psychologist’s expertise in Psychologist
order to advise the police, courts and prison and probation services.
As you have read in this Unit, the functions of the forensic psychologist with
the criminal justice system take many routes depending on the specialisation
of the particular forensic psychologist. From aiding the police in their
investigations advising in the selection of police officers, providing expert
evidence to the court, working with offenders, conducting assessments and
interventions, carrying out research or imparting their knowledge to future,
the functions of a forensic psychologists are varied and challenging.

2.5 REFERENCES
Ainsworth, P. B. (2000). Psychology and Crime: Myths and Reality. Harlow,
Essex : Longman.
Alder, J. R. (Ed.). (2004). Forensic Psychology: Concepts, Debates and
Practice. Cullompton: William.
Alison, L. (2005). The Forensic Psychologist’s Case Book : Psychological
Profiling and Criminal Investigation. Cullompton, UK : William.
Bartol, C. R. & Bartol, A. M. (2008). Introduction to Forensic Psychology:
Research and Application. New Delhi : Sage Publications.
Carson, D. and Bull, R. (2003). Handbook of Psychology in Legal Contexts,
2nd edn. Chichester : Wiley.
Gudjonsson, G. H. and Haward, L. R. C. (1998). Forensic Psychology: A
guide to practice. London : Routledge.
Harmening, W and Gamez, A. M. (2016). Forensic Psychology. Delhi:
Pearson
Veeraraghavan, Vimala (2009). Handbook of Forensic Psychology, Select
Scientific Publishers, New Delhi.
Weiner, I. B. & Hess, A. K. (Eds.) (1987). Handbook of Forensic
Psychology. New York : John Wiley & Sons.
Wrigthsman, L. S. (2001). Forensic Psychology Bekmont, CA : Wardsworth.

2.6 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress I
1) List the roles played by a forensic psychologist.
The roles played by forensic psychologist are clinical, experimental,
actuarial and advisory.

2.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) Explain the roles played by a forensic psychologist.
2) Describe the functions of a forensic psychologist.
3) Explain qualification and training of a forensic psychologist.
41