Introduction to Forensic Psychology
Lecture 1: Introduction
What is forensic psychology?
What are we going to study? The causes and mechanisms of delinquent behavior, personality disorders, and crime-related
risk factors from a theoretical and clinical perspective.
In this course, we focus on… • Deviant (antisocial) behavior • Personality • Cognitions • Prevention and intervention
• Diagnostics • On the intersection of different psychology disciplines (clinical, biological, developmental, social), law
“What is antisocial behavior?”
Antisocial Behavior: “Actions that violate societal norms and the personal or property rights of others” (Burt, et al., 2009)
Forensic psychology
• Criminal carreer starts at an early age • Downward spiral of problems
• Persistent problems: Difficulties in getting a job • How can we solve this?
Learning goals major Forensic Psychology
Become expert on mental health care of youth and adult offenders
• When does normal development go wrong? (intro to forensic psychology)
• What are risk and protective factors? (criminality, cognitions and personality)
• How can I assess those factors? (risk assessment)
• What are effective treatments? • How do I administer such treatments?
Scientist Practitioner→Critically think about clinical practice; tackling and analyzing issues from practice = perfect
combination!
Course - Four themes 1. History, legislation and organization 2. Explanatory models
3. Offender behaviors 4. Risk assessment
A history of forensic psychology
Origin of ‘forensic psychology’
Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) → Diminished or no responsibility for the mentally ill
Roman times • Mentally ill placed under legal guardianship • Reduced punishments for the mentally ill
Middle Ages (ca. 500-1400)
• Legal guardianship lies with family • Right of containment (‘lock-up’)
1
,15 th century: madhouses (treatments)
• ‘Possessed by the devil’: witch-hunts (in 16th and 17th century).
Demonological view on mental illness. Treatments – pilgrimages to churches, where the ’possessed’ was constraint to be
touched by god and freed from the devil.
• The chains and rings can be seen also in the oldest psychiatric hospital in the Netherlands, Den Bosch, founded by
Reiner Van Arkel.
• Johannes Wier (1515-1588) – acknowledgement of natural causes of criminal behaviour (biological underpinning, brain)
A turning point: Age of Enlightenment
18th century: French Revolution – Enlightenment
- Code of law – less responsibilities of the judge
- Genetic, developmental, psychological, sociological factors were not taken into account (children punished as adults)
• 1810: Code Pénal (France) – elimination of the incorrigibles – scaring and intimidating
• 1811: Code Pénal (The Netherlands)
• Cesare Beccaria: On Crimes and Punishments Several principles:
- Punishments should be not retributive, but utilitarian: Retributive: punishments = crime (eye for an eye, vengeance)
- Utilitarian: punishments should have a preventive function. They should be a deterrent, to make most people abide to the
law. Increase the total amount of happiness in the world so that society will benefit as a whole. It is justified only if useful to
society. →Punishment proportional to crime committed. Most contemporary systems are based on these principles.
• 1886: introduction Code of Law (Netherlands)
More attention to psychological disorders – A person is not responsible for a crime committed if he or she suffers from
'defective development or a medical disorder’
• Scientific approach – the judge determines accountability with the help of a psychiatrist.
• Great Britain: ‘Moral treatment’
19th century – Views on mental illness
• Philippe Pinel: ‘manie sans délire’ = state of mind without delusions
• More cases in which offenders are not punished on account of mental conditions
• 1841: first ‘Krankzinnigenwet’: more supervision and improvement Judge (not the doctor) can determine the admission
and dismissal.
Two biological explanations of mental disorders and crime: Hereditary and Neurological
o Immoral behavior deduced from physical traits
o Theory of evolution - Heredity of criminal behavior
o Darwin – heredity of morality
o Immorality: degeneration, reversion of evolution
Heredity
o Lombroso – Phrenology: “born criminal” o Immoral behavior deduced from physical traits
The anatomy of a criminal:
- Sloping forehead (a forehead that is angled backwards, creating a high and prominent appearance)
- Prognathism (condition where the upper or lower jaw protrudes forward, causing a mismatch between the upper and
lower teeth) - Asymmetry of the face
Neurological explanations – Phineas Gage.
For both biological explanations→diminished responsibility – diminished possibility to change
Juvenile criminal law 19th / 20th century
• Before: no distinction between children and adults
• During Code Pénal: ‘without distinguishing judgment’
• 1905: introduction ‘Kinderwetten’ • From punishment and avenging to betterment
→Shift to modern law streams: importance offender, not the offense:
• Aimed at betterment • Appropriate punishment
Milder punishments, but can this guarantee security of civilians?
20th Century
• 1906: Van Hamel proposition –
Mild offenses: regulations or conviction → aim: deterrence Serious offenses: long-term treatment
• 1928: “Psychopathenwetten” – In 1886 Code of Law, people could either be accountable or not. No grey areas.
2
,The Psychopatenwetten are intended for the ‘accountable psychopaths’ – The criminal receives a sentence for the part for
which he has been judged accountable for. For the innocent part, the criminal gets a TBR. This can be done for any crime.
• 1933 – “Stop laws”
People sentenced to a TBR grew fast – Not enough capacity. The Stop Act meant that the TBR could be imposed only for
very serious offences and if the risk of recidivism is high.
Development after WW II
• Better care for offenders and special care for offenders with a mental disorder
• 1988 - TBR was replaced by TBS -
Forensic context: TBS/Rehabilitation
TBR vs TBS
The main differences between TBR and TBS are:
• TBR could be imposed for any crime. TBS only for crimes with a minimum sentence of four years.
• TBR could last 2 years (but could be extended for an indefinite time).
TBS may last a maximum of four years, unless two conditions are met:
• This concerns a crime in which other people have been endangered.
• Extension is necessary for safety reasons (risk of recidivism).
• Every six years, the judge must call in the opinion of two independent behavioral experts at the TBS extension hearing.
The TBR was extended without this expert advice.
Punishment or treatment?
- Does this person make a mentally disordered impression?
- Two psychiatric evaluations
- First and foremost: necessity of treatment vs. Punishment?
- Punishment and treatment:
• Proportionality: regulation should be seen in light of the danger/ likelihood of re-offending.
• Subsidiarity: a severe regulation is only acceptable when a milder regulation is not sufficient.
• Effectivity: treatment of regulation should be effective in diminishing danger (of re-offending).
3
, Basis for regulation:
Offense with at least a four-year prison sentence (criterion: severity)
• Not (fully) responsible as a result of mental illness or disorder = (diminished) accountability
• When not treated, high risk of re-offending
Technically, when convicted the chance of re-offending is 100%. With treatment we decrease this chance over time.
Treatment should also be aimed to decrease re-offending risk to an acceptable range.
Core TBS-regulation
• TBS is a treatment regulation and not a punishment regulation
• According to law, both treatment and rehabilitation are necessary
• Keeping society secure is a direct goal
• Balance control – treatment: what to focus on?
– Short-term: containment – Long-term: reducing danger of reoffending by treating disorder
• Leave is a central part of TBS, because returning to society is the ultimate goal
Developments TBS
Criticism about this system
• Important improvements can be made: e.g., following TBS-patients longer after conditional release;
• Need for additional research into risks and effectivity of TBS-treatments
• More tailor-made treatments
However, keep in mind:
• Often much more emphasis on the security aspect compared to treatment
• Political climate – protecting civil rights or society from crimes.
Rehabilitation clinics in The Netherlands
• FPC De Kijvelanden (Poortugaal) • FPC De Oostvaarderskliniek (Almere) • FPC de Rooyse Wissel (Venraij)
• FPC Dr. S. van Mesdag (Groeningen) • FPC Pompestichting (Nijmegen) • FPC Van der Hoeven Kliniek (Utrecht)
• FPK De Woenselse Poort (Eindhoven) • FPK Trajectum (Westerveld) • FPK Inforsa (Amsterdam)
Not only TBS
Examples of clinical-forensic and the judicial system institutions are....
• Police and temporary incarceration
• Prisons and penitentiary psychiatric centers (PPCs)
• Pro-Justitia reporting (Assessment) (Dutch organization NIFP)
• Mental health care institutions:
• Forensic psychiatric outpatient clinics
• Forensic supervised housing (F-RIBW) – Level 1
• Forensic psychiatric departments (FPA) – Level 2
• Forensic psychiatric clinics (FPK) = for TBS orders– Level 3
• Forensic psychiatric centers (FPC) = TBS clinics – Level 4
International forensic context
How does it work in your country?
• Via legal or health care routes? • Culpability issue?
• Presence offender rehabilitation programs? • Who decides on release/ treatment/ sentencing?
“Placement and Treatment of Mentally Ill Offenders – Legislation and Practice in EU Member States”
Italy→only FPK (Forensic psychiatry Klinik) + hearing of all the experts
Forensic care
• The Netherlands: ‘terbeschikkingstelling’ (TBS)
• Germany: similar to the Netherlands; indefinite duration, with annual evaluation; patient autonomy in treatment
• UK: Secure hospitals and prison settings; not incorporated in criminal law, but in mental health regulations; annual
evaluation of mental state and risk; discharge rests with clinicians; patients passive receivers of treatment
• US: Comparable to UK, but many differences between states.
Summary
• Treatment of offenders with a mental illness is not self-evident
• Core of the TBS-regulation and forensic care in a broader sense
4
Lecture 1: Introduction
What is forensic psychology?
What are we going to study? The causes and mechanisms of delinquent behavior, personality disorders, and crime-related
risk factors from a theoretical and clinical perspective.
In this course, we focus on… • Deviant (antisocial) behavior • Personality • Cognitions • Prevention and intervention
• Diagnostics • On the intersection of different psychology disciplines (clinical, biological, developmental, social), law
“What is antisocial behavior?”
Antisocial Behavior: “Actions that violate societal norms and the personal or property rights of others” (Burt, et al., 2009)
Forensic psychology
• Criminal carreer starts at an early age • Downward spiral of problems
• Persistent problems: Difficulties in getting a job • How can we solve this?
Learning goals major Forensic Psychology
Become expert on mental health care of youth and adult offenders
• When does normal development go wrong? (intro to forensic psychology)
• What are risk and protective factors? (criminality, cognitions and personality)
• How can I assess those factors? (risk assessment)
• What are effective treatments? • How do I administer such treatments?
Scientist Practitioner→Critically think about clinical practice; tackling and analyzing issues from practice = perfect
combination!
Course - Four themes 1. History, legislation and organization 2. Explanatory models
3. Offender behaviors 4. Risk assessment
A history of forensic psychology
Origin of ‘forensic psychology’
Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) → Diminished or no responsibility for the mentally ill
Roman times • Mentally ill placed under legal guardianship • Reduced punishments for the mentally ill
Middle Ages (ca. 500-1400)
• Legal guardianship lies with family • Right of containment (‘lock-up’)
1
,15 th century: madhouses (treatments)
• ‘Possessed by the devil’: witch-hunts (in 16th and 17th century).
Demonological view on mental illness. Treatments – pilgrimages to churches, where the ’possessed’ was constraint to be
touched by god and freed from the devil.
• The chains and rings can be seen also in the oldest psychiatric hospital in the Netherlands, Den Bosch, founded by
Reiner Van Arkel.
• Johannes Wier (1515-1588) – acknowledgement of natural causes of criminal behaviour (biological underpinning, brain)
A turning point: Age of Enlightenment
18th century: French Revolution – Enlightenment
- Code of law – less responsibilities of the judge
- Genetic, developmental, psychological, sociological factors were not taken into account (children punished as adults)
• 1810: Code Pénal (France) – elimination of the incorrigibles – scaring and intimidating
• 1811: Code Pénal (The Netherlands)
• Cesare Beccaria: On Crimes and Punishments Several principles:
- Punishments should be not retributive, but utilitarian: Retributive: punishments = crime (eye for an eye, vengeance)
- Utilitarian: punishments should have a preventive function. They should be a deterrent, to make most people abide to the
law. Increase the total amount of happiness in the world so that society will benefit as a whole. It is justified only if useful to
society. →Punishment proportional to crime committed. Most contemporary systems are based on these principles.
• 1886: introduction Code of Law (Netherlands)
More attention to psychological disorders – A person is not responsible for a crime committed if he or she suffers from
'defective development or a medical disorder’
• Scientific approach – the judge determines accountability with the help of a psychiatrist.
• Great Britain: ‘Moral treatment’
19th century – Views on mental illness
• Philippe Pinel: ‘manie sans délire’ = state of mind without delusions
• More cases in which offenders are not punished on account of mental conditions
• 1841: first ‘Krankzinnigenwet’: more supervision and improvement Judge (not the doctor) can determine the admission
and dismissal.
Two biological explanations of mental disorders and crime: Hereditary and Neurological
o Immoral behavior deduced from physical traits
o Theory of evolution - Heredity of criminal behavior
o Darwin – heredity of morality
o Immorality: degeneration, reversion of evolution
Heredity
o Lombroso – Phrenology: “born criminal” o Immoral behavior deduced from physical traits
The anatomy of a criminal:
- Sloping forehead (a forehead that is angled backwards, creating a high and prominent appearance)
- Prognathism (condition where the upper or lower jaw protrudes forward, causing a mismatch between the upper and
lower teeth) - Asymmetry of the face
Neurological explanations – Phineas Gage.
For both biological explanations→diminished responsibility – diminished possibility to change
Juvenile criminal law 19th / 20th century
• Before: no distinction between children and adults
• During Code Pénal: ‘without distinguishing judgment’
• 1905: introduction ‘Kinderwetten’ • From punishment and avenging to betterment
→Shift to modern law streams: importance offender, not the offense:
• Aimed at betterment • Appropriate punishment
Milder punishments, but can this guarantee security of civilians?
20th Century
• 1906: Van Hamel proposition –
Mild offenses: regulations or conviction → aim: deterrence Serious offenses: long-term treatment
• 1928: “Psychopathenwetten” – In 1886 Code of Law, people could either be accountable or not. No grey areas.
2
,The Psychopatenwetten are intended for the ‘accountable psychopaths’ – The criminal receives a sentence for the part for
which he has been judged accountable for. For the innocent part, the criminal gets a TBR. This can be done for any crime.
• 1933 – “Stop laws”
People sentenced to a TBR grew fast – Not enough capacity. The Stop Act meant that the TBR could be imposed only for
very serious offences and if the risk of recidivism is high.
Development after WW II
• Better care for offenders and special care for offenders with a mental disorder
• 1988 - TBR was replaced by TBS -
Forensic context: TBS/Rehabilitation
TBR vs TBS
The main differences between TBR and TBS are:
• TBR could be imposed for any crime. TBS only for crimes with a minimum sentence of four years.
• TBR could last 2 years (but could be extended for an indefinite time).
TBS may last a maximum of four years, unless two conditions are met:
• This concerns a crime in which other people have been endangered.
• Extension is necessary for safety reasons (risk of recidivism).
• Every six years, the judge must call in the opinion of two independent behavioral experts at the TBS extension hearing.
The TBR was extended without this expert advice.
Punishment or treatment?
- Does this person make a mentally disordered impression?
- Two psychiatric evaluations
- First and foremost: necessity of treatment vs. Punishment?
- Punishment and treatment:
• Proportionality: regulation should be seen in light of the danger/ likelihood of re-offending.
• Subsidiarity: a severe regulation is only acceptable when a milder regulation is not sufficient.
• Effectivity: treatment of regulation should be effective in diminishing danger (of re-offending).
3
, Basis for regulation:
Offense with at least a four-year prison sentence (criterion: severity)
• Not (fully) responsible as a result of mental illness or disorder = (diminished) accountability
• When not treated, high risk of re-offending
Technically, when convicted the chance of re-offending is 100%. With treatment we decrease this chance over time.
Treatment should also be aimed to decrease re-offending risk to an acceptable range.
Core TBS-regulation
• TBS is a treatment regulation and not a punishment regulation
• According to law, both treatment and rehabilitation are necessary
• Keeping society secure is a direct goal
• Balance control – treatment: what to focus on?
– Short-term: containment – Long-term: reducing danger of reoffending by treating disorder
• Leave is a central part of TBS, because returning to society is the ultimate goal
Developments TBS
Criticism about this system
• Important improvements can be made: e.g., following TBS-patients longer after conditional release;
• Need for additional research into risks and effectivity of TBS-treatments
• More tailor-made treatments
However, keep in mind:
• Often much more emphasis on the security aspect compared to treatment
• Political climate – protecting civil rights or society from crimes.
Rehabilitation clinics in The Netherlands
• FPC De Kijvelanden (Poortugaal) • FPC De Oostvaarderskliniek (Almere) • FPC de Rooyse Wissel (Venraij)
• FPC Dr. S. van Mesdag (Groeningen) • FPC Pompestichting (Nijmegen) • FPC Van der Hoeven Kliniek (Utrecht)
• FPK De Woenselse Poort (Eindhoven) • FPK Trajectum (Westerveld) • FPK Inforsa (Amsterdam)
Not only TBS
Examples of clinical-forensic and the judicial system institutions are....
• Police and temporary incarceration
• Prisons and penitentiary psychiatric centers (PPCs)
• Pro-Justitia reporting (Assessment) (Dutch organization NIFP)
• Mental health care institutions:
• Forensic psychiatric outpatient clinics
• Forensic supervised housing (F-RIBW) – Level 1
• Forensic psychiatric departments (FPA) – Level 2
• Forensic psychiatric clinics (FPK) = for TBS orders– Level 3
• Forensic psychiatric centers (FPC) = TBS clinics – Level 4
International forensic context
How does it work in your country?
• Via legal or health care routes? • Culpability issue?
• Presence offender rehabilitation programs? • Who decides on release/ treatment/ sentencing?
“Placement and Treatment of Mentally Ill Offenders – Legislation and Practice in EU Member States”
Italy→only FPK (Forensic psychiatry Klinik) + hearing of all the experts
Forensic care
• The Netherlands: ‘terbeschikkingstelling’ (TBS)
• Germany: similar to the Netherlands; indefinite duration, with annual evaluation; patient autonomy in treatment
• UK: Secure hospitals and prison settings; not incorporated in criminal law, but in mental health regulations; annual
evaluation of mental state and risk; discharge rests with clinicians; patients passive receivers of treatment
• US: Comparable to UK, but many differences between states.
Summary
• Treatment of offenders with a mental illness is not self-evident
• Core of the TBS-regulation and forensic care in a broader sense
4
