Criminal Psychology Grace Holland A criminal psychologist is

Criminal Psychology Grace Holland

A criminal psychologist is a professional that studies the behaviors and thoughts of criminals. A large part of what a criminal psychologist does is study why people commit crimes. However, they may also be asked to assess criminals in order to evaluate the risk of recidivism or make educated guesses about the actions that a criminal may have taken after committing a crime. In addition to helping law enforcement solve crimes or analyze the behavior of criminal offenders, criminal psychologists are also often asked to provide expert testimony in court.

Education and Salaries • • • In many cases, criminal psychologists start out by earning a bachelor's degree in psychology. After completing an undergraduate degree, some students opt to then enter a master's in psychology program. While there are some jobs in criminal and forensic psychology at the master's level, the U. S. Department of Labor reports that opportunities are limited and competition for these positions is often very fierce. In order to become a criminal psychologist, you should seriously consider earning a Ph. D. or Psy. D. degree in clinical or counseling psychology. In some cases, students opt to focus on a particular specialty area such as forensic or criminal psychology. The Ph. D (or Doctor of Philosophy) degree is typically more focused on theory and research, while the Psy. D. (or Doctor of Psychology) tends to be more practice-oriented. national salaries for criminal or forensic psychologists range from a low of $33, 900 to a high of $103, 000.

Interesting Cases • • Dahmer was a notorious serial killer and sex offender in 1991. His long list of offenses involved rape, cannibalism, necrophilia, and dismemberment. Since he was a child, he had shown symptoms of withdrawal and avoidance of any social interactions. He would collect dead animals, then dissect, dissolve, or mutilate them in various ways. In September 1987, he picked up Steven Tuomi at a gay bar and killed him out of impulse, claiming no memory of the event later in trial. In 1988, he was also arrested for giving drugs and sexually assaulting a 13 year old boy. As a registered sex offender, he would then proceed to commit 15 more murders, storing the corpses in small containers. Dahmer kept trophies of his victims such as human skulls in the closet. And other body parts such as the human heart in the freezer for later consumption. This happened up to the year 1991 when Tracy Edwarts, a would-be victim overpowered Dahmer, ran through the streets and waved for the police car. In the trial, Dahmer pled not guilty by reason of insanity. The plea was subsequently rejected and Dahmer was convicted of all 15 murder charges and sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences. The case was seen by many as the death of the insanity plea. They contended that if a deranged criminal like Dahmer is rejected on the insanity plea, then no other criminal would qualify for the defense.

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