This research paper delves into criminal psychology, beginning with the classification of crimes and defining criminal behavior. It explores the history and evolution of criminal psychology both globally and within the Indian context. The study highlights the diverse roles of criminal psychologists, including crime analysis, offender profiling, and the techniques for interviewing victims and suspects. Additionally, it examines the function of expert witnesses, the processes involved in the assessment and rehabilitation of offenders. By integrating these subtopics, the paper underscores the multifaceted approaches essential for understanding and addressing criminal behavior effectively.

Introduction
Popular TV shows and crime thrillers, like the Netflix series Mind-hunter, which is based on the same-titled true-crime novel by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, may be the source of many people's conceptions of what it means to be a criminal psychologist. It follows Holden Ford and Bill Tench, two FBI agents, as they speak with numerous life-sentenced serial killers to learn more about the reasons behind their horrific acts.

Although these media representations accurately depict certain facets of the job that criminal psychologists do, they also fall short in showcasing the wide range of other responsibilities that criminal psychologists can play. In addition to interviewing witnesses or suspects in criminal cases, a criminal psychologist's job description also includes planning and assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders, providing expert testimony in court, and researching new areas of criminal psychology. This chapter will provide an overview of the field of criminal psychology and the work that criminal psychologists do.

What codify as a crime?

Understanding the scope of criminal psychology requires first defining the concept of crime, which can be defined as an act or omission that is punishable by law (Mclaughlin & Munice, 2001). However, the definition of crime is dynamic, with what constitutes a crime depending on the location and time of the act as well as the prevalent social norms of that location (Newburn, 2013). For instance, using drugs like marijuana, homosexuality, prostitution, and marital rape is legal in some countries but illegal in others.

The challenge of offering psychological reasons for criminal action arises from this variation in crime category. Nothing essential can be said about the illegal nature of an act if someone is considered a criminal now but not tomorrow, as Wortley thinks. Robert Agnew's definition of crime attempted to resolve this lack of clarity. According to his proposal, "acts that cause blameworthy harm, receive criticism by the public, and/or are not sanctioned by the state" should be considered crimes. This definition moved the focus from the acts that are now illegal to a broader range of harmful human behaviors (Durrant, 2018).

Numerous factors, including the media, social media, the government, and the general public's personal experiences, influence our perceptions of the criminal world. Even while all of these sources appear to have an impact on one another, the media, with its vast reach, is especially powerful in shaping how people view crime. Instead of providing genuine coverage of crime phenomena like theft or property crime, which are frequently neglected in newspapers, media coverage mostly concentrates on exaggerating incidents. However, violent crimes like rape and murder are openly publicized in the media (Howitt, 2006). It is crucial for working criminal psychologists to understand current crime patterns, both domestically and internationally (Howitt, 2006).

Numerous methods, including surveys of the general public and criminals, surveys of crime victims, police records or reports of crimes, prison data of members incarcerated, and court statistics of convicted crimes, can be used to estimate this. Correct information interpretation necessitates knowledge and experience because each information source must be taken into account while keeping specific traits and affecting elements in mind.

Criminal psychology:

While criminal psychology combines criminology and psychology to explain the reasons behind criminal activity, criminology studies crime, criminal behavior, and responses to crime (Newburn, 2013). "Criminal psychology" has been defined in a variety of ways. "That branch of applied psychology which is concerned with the collection, examination, and presentation of evidence for judicial purposes" is one definition given by Gudjonsson and Haward (1998).

According to this explanation, criminal psychology focuses on the legal and investigative systems. Nonetheless, criminal psychologists have long been involved in the evaluation and rehabilitation of criminal offenders after they have been sentenced.

An American psychologist named Wrightsman (2001) provided a more thorough description, characterizing criminal psychology as any application of psychological concepts or techniques to a task that the legal system faces. Since criminal psychologists can work in any part of the criminal justice system, including post-sentence, a comprehensive definition is required to cover all of the functions that they can carry out. The definition of criminal psychology is still up for debate.

Forensic psychology and legal psychology are two more phrases that are commonly used interchangeably with criminal psychology. These fields, however, are completely distinct from criminal psychology. The psychological facets of judicial proceedings are addressed by forensic psychology, which also includes understanding psychological issues linked to criminal activity, treating offenders, and applying theory to criminal investigations (Bull et al., 2009). When dealing with legal and administrative issues, the psychologist in question applies his or her subject-matter expertise to the law (Vaya, 2015).

Although the scope of forensic and criminal psychology is fairly comparable, criminal psychology places more importance on the offender. Criminality, however, is not merely a personal trait; it also depends on the criminal justice system and the social context of crime, which includes the broader elements of the criminal's experience, such as in court or while imprisoned. In this sense, it might be claimed that forensic and criminal psychologists have similar roles. The primary distinction between the two is that forensic psychology is used in both civil and criminal law.

History and evolution of criminal psychology:

A fascinating journey through psychology, criminology, and law, the history and development of criminal psychology aims to better understand criminal behavior and enhance the justice system. An outline of its development is provided below:

Early Establishments: 19th Century:

The study of "criminal anthropology" first appeared in the 19th century, which is when criminal psychology first began to take shape. Although this idea was eventually disproved, Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) suggested that physical characteristics may be used to identify criminal tendencies. At this period, psychologists started studying personality disorders and mental illness, providing the basis for future research into abnormal behavior. Later perspectives on criminal motivations were influenced by the introduction of ideas like the unconscious mind by influential figures like Sigmund Freud.

Forensic psychology's origins in the early 1900s:
Psychologists and criminologists began introducing psychological concepts into the criminal justice system from the beginning of the 20th century. The German-American psychologist Hugo Münsterberg's contributions were crucial in establishing psychology's legitimacy in court. Münsterberg made significant contributions to the field of forensic psychology with his studies on the validity of memory and witness evidence.

New techniques for assessing criminal behavior emerged during this time due to developments in psychological testing, particularly personality evaluations. Applications for determining the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of criminals were influenced by Alfred Binet's work on intelligence testing, which offered a more complex perspective of the "criminal mind."

The Modern Era: From the Mid-1900s to the Present:
By the middle of the 20th century, criminal psychology had developed into a recognized area of study within psychology, combining with sociology and criminology. Profiling became an important practice at this time, especially after the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) was established in the 1970s. The BSU concentrated on applying the concepts of criminal psychology to the study and profile of violent criminals, particularly serial killers. The Federal bureau of investigation psychologist's John Douglas and Robert Ressler played a key role in developing offender profiling methods, which improved the judicial system's ability to anticipate behavior and capture suspects.

Behavioral, cognitive, and social aspects were added to psychological theories in the late half of the century to provide a more thorough analysis of criminal behavior.

History and Evolution of Criminal Psychology in India:
The area of criminal psychology began in the early 1800s and is still developing today. The first department in Experimental Psychology was established at Calcutta University in 1916, laying the basis for criminal psychology in India. In 1972, the Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences was established in Delhi. Using a range of projective tests, including Henry Murray's Thematic Apperception Test, Draw a Person, Bender Gestalt Tests, Carl Jung's Word Association Test, Sentence Completion Test, and Rorschach Inkblot Test, forensic psychological evaluation has been used since 1985 to examine crime suspects (real case studies) as needed. This made it easier to absorb psychological insights that supported questioning suspects between 1985 and 1988.

Clinical psychologists were given administrative authority and expanded their services to criminal and civil cases to evaluate victim rehabilitation, family court reconciliation, and competency to stand trial with the rise of criminal psychology. Psychological evaluation, hypnosis, statement analysis, modified polygraph, and narcotics are examples of investigation techniques that have evolved from methods that were created to satisfy the inquiry's requirements to more scientific methods. Although criminal psychology is still relatively new in India, it is rapidly developing as a separate field. (S.L.Vaya)

Roles of a Criminal Psychologist:

The roles of a criminal psychologist within the justice system are diverse and impactful, as first outlined by Professor Lionel Haward, a pioneer of criminal psychology in the UK. Criminal psychologists take on clinical, experimental, actuarial, and advisory roles, each serving a unique purpose.

• In the clinical role, they conduct evaluations through psychological tests and interviews to assess a defendant's mental state, fitness to stand trial, and ability to understand court proceedings. This clinical assessment aids the court in delivering fair judgments.
• In their experimental role, criminal psychologists contribute by applying research methods to provide evidence, such as the reliability of eyewitness identification under specific conditions. They may also explain relevant psychological findings that can support case deliberations.
• The actuarial role involves using statistical analysis to determine the likelihood of behaviors, such as reoffending, which can guide sentencing decisions.
• When serving in an advisory capacity, criminal psychologists support law enforcement by offering offender profiles, advising on investigative techniques, or guiding cross-examinations to improve the accuracy of the information collected during an investigation.

From profiling to improving interview techniques, psychologists play a vital role in improving the way the police operate, according to Professor Laurence Alison of the University of Liverpool. In the end, criminal psychologists are essential in making sure that psychological understanding and empirical data inform the processes of inquiry, judgment, and rehabilitation.

1. Crime Analysis:

   Crime analysis is a crucial aspect of intelligence work in which psychological techniques are applied to examine and interpret crime data. Policing agencies often employ criminal psychologists to analyze criminal patterns and connect cases with similar characteristics. For instance, consider the case of a woman murdered while returning home alone from work late at night. In such scenarios, crime analysts assess details from the crime scene and victim reports to link the crime to similar incidents, analyzing factors like the offender's methods, time of the attack, and specific behaviors or patterns that could help identify the perpetrator. By examining these patterns, criminal psychologists provide invaluable insights that enable police to anticipate the offender's next move, narrow down suspects, and potentially prevent further crimes. This type of psychological profiling, rooted in behavior analysis, is instrumental in developing offender profiles and supporting law enforcement in strategic decision-making for efficient and targeted policing.
    

2. Offender Profiling:

   Criminal profiling typically means examining data collected from crime scenes along with testimonies from victims and witnesses in order to make perceptive judgments about the perpetrator. Investigators can use profiling to answer questions about the offender's age, gender, and whether the crime was planned or unexpected. These specifics help police reduce the number of possible suspects on their list. Criminal profiling has received a lot of media attention lately, both in fictional representations and in reports on actual cases—particularly well-known ones. Although this popularity has raised awareness of the role criminal psychologists play in profiling, it has also resulted in a somewhat exaggerated and presented approach that may affect the public's perception of the scientific principles that support the discipline.
    

3. Interviewing Victims and Suspects:

   Any investigation must include questioning suspects and victims in order to gather solid evidence that will shed light on what happened at the crime scene. Strong interrogation skills that allow investigators to get correct details without introducing prejudice or pressure are necessary to obtain reliable information from witnesses and victims. However, compared to asking eyewitnesses, interviewing suspects calls for a different set of abilities. According to studies, eyewitness recollections are particularly susceptible to the interviewer's influence, whether intended. As a result, depending on the person being interviewed, the strategy and technique employed in interviews must be carefully modified. In order to ensure that officers conduct interviews in an efficient and morally sound manner, psychologists are essential in teaching law enforcement certain interviewing tactics.
    

4. Expert Witness:

   A criminal psychologist's expertise may be needed in some court cases involving complicated issues related to mental capacity and mental health. Expert witnesses are called upon in these cases to provide their professional judgment, however, the procedure for doing so differs from nation to nation. For example, in the United States and the United Kingdom, experts are usually recruited by the prosecution or defense to support their claims, while in many European countries, the court itself may ask for an expert to offer insight. In the past, psychologists' evidence was typically limited to subjects related to intellectual disabilities or mental functioning. The effects of interviewing procedures, the validity of eyewitness testimony, psychological or medical assessments of suspects or witnesses, and the profiling tactics used during investigations are only a few of the topics in which their knowledge has been needed in recent years.
    

5. Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Offenders:

   Criminal psychologists are crucial to the evaluation, rehabilitation, and management of offenders in nations like Australia, Canada, and the UK, both during and after their incarceration. In addition to treating psychological needs, such as counseling for depression associated with the isolation of prison life or coping with pressures like bullying and trauma, their work helps lower the risk that offenders would commit crimes in the future. The danger of reoffending, possible injury to oneself or others, and any mental health needs are all assessed both before and after punishment. The planning of criminals' release and reintegration benefits greatly from these evaluations. Psychologists provide operational counsel to monitor the behavior of persons who are considered high-risk to society and offer recommendations for risk-reduction activities.

Conclusion:
The study of criminal psychology is essential to understanding and dealing with criminal behavior. This paper demonstrates the profound integration of psychological insights into the justice system by analyzing the categorization of crime, defining criminal behavior, and investigating the history of criminal psychology, particularly in India. The contributions of criminal psychologists are diverse and include everything from expert testimony and offender rehabilitation assistance to offender profiling and questioning methods.

These experts support judicial proceedings, aid in the rehabilitation of offenders, and assist law enforcement in making well-informed judgments through positions that combine research, assessment, advisory, and intervention abilities. The development of criminal psychology, which has been impacted by social and cultural standards, highlights the change from basic ideas to complex behavioral analysis, emphasizing the necessity of a well-rounded approach when analyzing criminal behavior and patterns.

Essentially, criminal psychology helps solve crimes and enhances public safety, highlighting the need of psychology's inclusion in the legal system in promoting an equitable, knowledgeable, and compassionate response to crime and rehabilitation. This continued collaboration between psychology and law is a significant step towards a more comprehensive and successful understanding and management of criminal behavior.

References:

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