Spotlight on Psychology Careers – Criminal Psychology

Are you fascinated by what goes on inside the minds of criminals? Do you want to be able to profile the criminal mind and help different law enforcement agencies to identify, understand and catch criminals? If your answer to these questions is yes, then a career in Criminal Psychology or Forensic Psychology is the right choice for you.

Criminal Psychology or Forensic Psychology is the application of psychology to the criminal justice system. In your career as a criminal psychologist you will study the different perspectives of psychology and apply them to the criminal justice system. It will also deal with the different legal aspects, such as deciding if a person was insane when the crime occurred. Therefore, you will need to be an expert in both psychology and the justice system involved in dealing with criminal law.

Typically, to work as a criminal psychologist, you will need to earn a doctorate in criminal, clinical, or counseling psychology. Ideally, your postdoctoral fellowship should focus on criminal psychology. This all takes 5-7 years to complete. As a criminal psychologist, you will also need to pass a state certification exam and complete a year of fieldwork. The doctoral training program must be completed at an institution that has been accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). Criminal psychologists typically earn a median salary of approximately $56,000.

Within the field of criminal psychology, you can also specialize in different fields. Clinical Forensic Psychology focuses on individuals suffering from mental health problems while there are legal decisions surrounding their lives. Developmental Psychology focuses on minors, the elderly and their situation in accordance with the law. Social Psychology deals with how jurors interact and arrive at their group decisions. Cognitive psychology focuses on how people make decisions in legal cases. Criminal Investigative Psychology is the specialty that deals with criminal profiling, police psychology and psychological autopsy.

In your career as a criminal psychologist, you will be involved in various aspects of the law where psychology is applied. These areas include: judging the defendants’ competence at the time of trial, deciding whether the defendant was insane at the time the crime occurred, serving as an expert witness for both prosecutors and defense attorneys, working in the area criminal profiling and also work with lawyers for jury selection.

So if you are looking for a career helping people and making a difference in their lives, where you can change the way institutions like prisons are run, how juvenile delinquents are treated, and also do research on the different aspects of forensic science. and social psychology, then a career as a criminal psychologist can be very rewarding for you.