FORENISIC AND LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY
Table of Contents
FORENISIC AND LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY............................................................................................................. 1
Hoorcollege 1:.................................................................................................................................................1
hc 2: psychological explanations.....................................................................................................................6
week 1: pychological theories.......................................................................................................................11
hc 3: risk assesment & interventions.............................................................................................................15
literatuur 3 (2): risk assesment & interventions............................................................................................22
lecture 4: mental health & criminal behavior (forensic)..............................................................................27
literatuur 4 (3): forensic mental health.........................................................................................................33
lecture 5: gender based violence...................................................................................................................36
literatuur 5 (4): Gender-based violence........................................................................................................42
lecture 6: Investigative psychology (legal psychology).................................................................................44
literatuur 6 (5): investigative psychology......................................................................................................50
lecture 7: groups in the justice system..........................................................................................................53
literatuur 6: groups in the justice system......................................................................................................56
literatuur 7: legal decision-making & detecting deception...........................................................................56
lecture 8.........................................................................................................................................................59
Course learning objectives:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
• Understand, evaluate and recommend investigative best-practice
• Understand and explain the experience of various groups of people in the CJS
• Apply knowledge about risk, needs and responsivity to individual cases to
formulate intervention plans
• Critically evaluate the link between mental health and criminal behaviour
• Understand and the aetiology of violent and sex offending, with a particular focus
on intimate partner violence and stalking
HOORCOLLEGE 1:
Forensic psychology: clinical psychology applied to forensic context
Key questions:
- Who commit crimes and why?
- How do we asses the risk of criminal behavior and recidivism
- What can we do to minimise the risk?
Difference with legal psychology:
Legal psychology looks at investigative and legal aspects of psychology
Applying cognitive, social psychology to a legal context
How should we interview (vulnerable) suspects? How does racial bias affect legal decision-making?
Do jury instructions work?
Forensic psychologist @work
,Evaluations for court:
- Fitness to plead
- Fitness to stand trial
- Criminal responsibility (Can we actually held them legally responsible for the crime
(Toerekeningsvatbaarheid)
Treatment:
- Forensic mental health clinics
- Outpatient services (People who are convicted but not serious enough for prison but do need to
follow tbs, or people who are transitioning back into society)
- Probation (Released people who still need to show up to apointments)
- Addiction specialist/homeless services
- Youth services
Research & policy
- Acaemia
- Ministry of Justice/police/ charities
Court Evaluations- Fitness to plead/stand trial (competency)
Generally, a defendant must be able to understand court proceedings and to aid in their own
defence
Enter a plea with understanding of the charge, comprehend the evidence against them, follow the
court proceedings, instruct legal advisers, know that a juror can be challenged
Impairment can occur for various reasons: (lack of) medication, addiction, trauma, other mental
disorder, organic injury
Gerrit Jan van D.- Ruinerword abuse case
- Unlawful detention of his children. Various forms of abuse, sometimes related to his religious
beliefs
- Had a stroke in 2016- cognitive issues- related to memory and speech
- Experts judge hum unable to (Not prosecuted)
Criminal reponsibility – What makes a crime?
Legal aspects of a crime:
- Actus Reus (criminal act, or lack of on act) (Geen zorg opnemen voor je kinderen, stelen etc)
- Mens Rea (intent, willingness) (Iemand per ongeluk of express van de brug afduwen)
“An act does not make a man guilty of a crime, unless his mind be also guilty (Actus non facit reum,
nisi mens sit rea)
Examples:
Door rood rijden en iemand dood rijden (Careless, je bent onveilig gaan handelen)
Rijden en iemand steeks opeens over (
Psychiatric Defences- Insanity
,In other countries:
M'Naughten test of insanity
“Every man is to be presumed to be sane, and to possess a sufficient degree of reason to be
responsible for his crimes, until the contrary be proved” “to establish a defence on the grounds of
insanity, it must be clearly proved, that at the time of committing the act, the party accused was
labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as to not know the nature and
quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was
wrong.”
Disposals for insanity cases: hospital order under MHA, supervision order, absolute discharge
Nikolas Cruz – Parkland High School Shooting
- Behavior issues since preschool
- Suicidal ideation and attempt
- Depression, autism and ADHD
- Received treatment but not in year preceding shooting
- Blamed his ex gf new
Defence: brain damage, mental ilness and disabilities from his mom’s drinking during pregnancy.
Failure to get him the treatment he needed
Prosecution: he faked mental condition: diagnosed antisocial and borderline personality disorder.
Convicted
PSYCHIATRIC DEFENCES – INFANTICIDE
“Where a woman by any willful act or omission causes the death of her child, being a child under the
age of 12 months, but at the time of the act or omission the balance of her mind was disturbed by
reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of
the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child, then, notwithstanding that the
circumstances were such that but for this Act the offence would have amounted to murder, she shall
be guilty of felony, to wit of infanticide, and may for such offence be dealt with and punished as if
she had been guilty of the offence of manslaughter of the child.”
If accepted by the court the charge is reduced from murder to manslaughter
Many countries (including the Netherlands) have a lower maximum sentence for this crime, it is its
own offence category
Basically door postpartum depression kind doden.
ANDREA YATES - DROWNING
- Confessed to drowning her five children in bath tub (Texas, 2001)
Severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, and schizophrenia
- Defence: agreed that she was psychotic but Texas law required proof that she could not tell right
from wrong at the time of the crime
- Prosecution: expert lied about a television episode being aired just before the murders
- Pled not guilty by reason of insanity; sentence overturned, institutionalised
Ze was eerst convicted maar daarna intutionlized.
, PSYCHIATRIC DEFENCES – AUTOMATISM
Accused lacked intent (mens rea) or act was involuntary and beyond the control of the individual's
mind
Insane automatism: e.g. epilepsy, narcolepsy, dissociative state
Sane automatism: e.g. reflex, sleepwalking, insulin induced hypoglycaemia, head injury,
intoxication
In the Netherlands: Psychological incapacity – when an external force leaves the individual with no
other option than to commit the act. An involuntary, internal condition is not covered
BRIAN THOMAS – CAMPER VAN DREAM KILLER
Brian Thomas, 60, admitted killing Christine, 57, in their camper van, but blamed his rare sleep
disorder, and was cleared during a trial in 2009. He said Mrs Thomas died because pressure was
involuntarily applied to her neck by Mr Thomas because of a “transient condition known as night
terrors”
- He dreamed a man wearing blue jeans and a fleece jacket had broken into the van and was on
top of his wife. He dreamed he was grappling with the intruder only to wake and discover he had
strangled her.
- Both sleep experts agreed his behaviour was consistent with automatism, which meant at the
time he killed his wife, his mind had no control over what his body was doing.
- The court heard that medication that Mr Thomas usually took to control the disorder had been
stopped while the couple were on holiday.
WHY LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY?
Legal psychology: Cognitive/social psychology applied to legal context
Key questions
1. Howcanweapplypsychologytolegalinvestigationstomakethemfair,objectiveandvalid? 2.
2. Howcanweapplypsychologytoajudicialcontexttomakecourtproceedingsfair,objectiveand
valid?
Different from forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is clinical psychology in a forensic context
This concerns risk assessment and treatment as well as improving our understanding of why person
A commits crime B
Law enforcement
Jean Charles de Menezes
Gedood door de politie, ze dachten dat hij een terroristische aanval zou plegen. Er zijn heel veel
fouten gemaakt door de politie. Niemand is hiervoor verantwoordelijk gesteld
Sample research questions:
- How are police trained to make snap decisions?
- How should they be trained?, How do people respond following exposure to traumatic
COURTS
Kasim Davey
Table of Contents
FORENISIC AND LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY............................................................................................................. 1
Hoorcollege 1:.................................................................................................................................................1
hc 2: psychological explanations.....................................................................................................................6
week 1: pychological theories.......................................................................................................................11
hc 3: risk assesment & interventions.............................................................................................................15
literatuur 3 (2): risk assesment & interventions............................................................................................22
lecture 4: mental health & criminal behavior (forensic)..............................................................................27
literatuur 4 (3): forensic mental health.........................................................................................................33
lecture 5: gender based violence...................................................................................................................36
literatuur 5 (4): Gender-based violence........................................................................................................42
lecture 6: Investigative psychology (legal psychology).................................................................................44
literatuur 6 (5): investigative psychology......................................................................................................50
lecture 7: groups in the justice system..........................................................................................................53
literatuur 6: groups in the justice system......................................................................................................56
literatuur 7: legal decision-making & detecting deception...........................................................................56
lecture 8.........................................................................................................................................................59
Course learning objectives:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
• Understand, evaluate and recommend investigative best-practice
• Understand and explain the experience of various groups of people in the CJS
• Apply knowledge about risk, needs and responsivity to individual cases to
formulate intervention plans
• Critically evaluate the link between mental health and criminal behaviour
• Understand and the aetiology of violent and sex offending, with a particular focus
on intimate partner violence and stalking
HOORCOLLEGE 1:
Forensic psychology: clinical psychology applied to forensic context
Key questions:
- Who commit crimes and why?
- How do we asses the risk of criminal behavior and recidivism
- What can we do to minimise the risk?
Difference with legal psychology:
Legal psychology looks at investigative and legal aspects of psychology
Applying cognitive, social psychology to a legal context
How should we interview (vulnerable) suspects? How does racial bias affect legal decision-making?
Do jury instructions work?
Forensic psychologist @work
,Evaluations for court:
- Fitness to plead
- Fitness to stand trial
- Criminal responsibility (Can we actually held them legally responsible for the crime
(Toerekeningsvatbaarheid)
Treatment:
- Forensic mental health clinics
- Outpatient services (People who are convicted but not serious enough for prison but do need to
follow tbs, or people who are transitioning back into society)
- Probation (Released people who still need to show up to apointments)
- Addiction specialist/homeless services
- Youth services
Research & policy
- Acaemia
- Ministry of Justice/police/ charities
Court Evaluations- Fitness to plead/stand trial (competency)
Generally, a defendant must be able to understand court proceedings and to aid in their own
defence
Enter a plea with understanding of the charge, comprehend the evidence against them, follow the
court proceedings, instruct legal advisers, know that a juror can be challenged
Impairment can occur for various reasons: (lack of) medication, addiction, trauma, other mental
disorder, organic injury
Gerrit Jan van D.- Ruinerword abuse case
- Unlawful detention of his children. Various forms of abuse, sometimes related to his religious
beliefs
- Had a stroke in 2016- cognitive issues- related to memory and speech
- Experts judge hum unable to (Not prosecuted)
Criminal reponsibility – What makes a crime?
Legal aspects of a crime:
- Actus Reus (criminal act, or lack of on act) (Geen zorg opnemen voor je kinderen, stelen etc)
- Mens Rea (intent, willingness) (Iemand per ongeluk of express van de brug afduwen)
“An act does not make a man guilty of a crime, unless his mind be also guilty (Actus non facit reum,
nisi mens sit rea)
Examples:
Door rood rijden en iemand dood rijden (Careless, je bent onveilig gaan handelen)
Rijden en iemand steeks opeens over (
Psychiatric Defences- Insanity
,In other countries:
M'Naughten test of insanity
“Every man is to be presumed to be sane, and to possess a sufficient degree of reason to be
responsible for his crimes, until the contrary be proved” “to establish a defence on the grounds of
insanity, it must be clearly proved, that at the time of committing the act, the party accused was
labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as to not know the nature and
quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was
wrong.”
Disposals for insanity cases: hospital order under MHA, supervision order, absolute discharge
Nikolas Cruz – Parkland High School Shooting
- Behavior issues since preschool
- Suicidal ideation and attempt
- Depression, autism and ADHD
- Received treatment but not in year preceding shooting
- Blamed his ex gf new
Defence: brain damage, mental ilness and disabilities from his mom’s drinking during pregnancy.
Failure to get him the treatment he needed
Prosecution: he faked mental condition: diagnosed antisocial and borderline personality disorder.
Convicted
PSYCHIATRIC DEFENCES – INFANTICIDE
“Where a woman by any willful act or omission causes the death of her child, being a child under the
age of 12 months, but at the time of the act or omission the balance of her mind was disturbed by
reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of
the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child, then, notwithstanding that the
circumstances were such that but for this Act the offence would have amounted to murder, she shall
be guilty of felony, to wit of infanticide, and may for such offence be dealt with and punished as if
she had been guilty of the offence of manslaughter of the child.”
If accepted by the court the charge is reduced from murder to manslaughter
Many countries (including the Netherlands) have a lower maximum sentence for this crime, it is its
own offence category
Basically door postpartum depression kind doden.
ANDREA YATES - DROWNING
- Confessed to drowning her five children in bath tub (Texas, 2001)
Severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, and schizophrenia
- Defence: agreed that she was psychotic but Texas law required proof that she could not tell right
from wrong at the time of the crime
- Prosecution: expert lied about a television episode being aired just before the murders
- Pled not guilty by reason of insanity; sentence overturned, institutionalised
Ze was eerst convicted maar daarna intutionlized.
, PSYCHIATRIC DEFENCES – AUTOMATISM
Accused lacked intent (mens rea) or act was involuntary and beyond the control of the individual's
mind
Insane automatism: e.g. epilepsy, narcolepsy, dissociative state
Sane automatism: e.g. reflex, sleepwalking, insulin induced hypoglycaemia, head injury,
intoxication
In the Netherlands: Psychological incapacity – when an external force leaves the individual with no
other option than to commit the act. An involuntary, internal condition is not covered
BRIAN THOMAS – CAMPER VAN DREAM KILLER
Brian Thomas, 60, admitted killing Christine, 57, in their camper van, but blamed his rare sleep
disorder, and was cleared during a trial in 2009. He said Mrs Thomas died because pressure was
involuntarily applied to her neck by Mr Thomas because of a “transient condition known as night
terrors”
- He dreamed a man wearing blue jeans and a fleece jacket had broken into the van and was on
top of his wife. He dreamed he was grappling with the intruder only to wake and discover he had
strangled her.
- Both sleep experts agreed his behaviour was consistent with automatism, which meant at the
time he killed his wife, his mind had no control over what his body was doing.
- The court heard that medication that Mr Thomas usually took to control the disorder had been
stopped while the couple were on holiday.
WHY LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY?
Legal psychology: Cognitive/social psychology applied to legal context
Key questions
1. Howcanweapplypsychologytolegalinvestigationstomakethemfair,objectiveandvalid? 2.
2. Howcanweapplypsychologytoajudicialcontexttomakecourtproceedingsfair,objectiveand
valid?
Different from forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is clinical psychology in a forensic context
This concerns risk assessment and treatment as well as improving our understanding of why person
A commits crime B
Law enforcement
Jean Charles de Menezes
Gedood door de politie, ze dachten dat hij een terroristische aanval zou plegen. Er zijn heel veel
fouten gemaakt door de politie. Niemand is hiervoor verantwoordelijk gesteld
Sample research questions:
- How are police trained to make snap decisions?
- How should they be trained?, How do people respond following exposure to traumatic
COURTS
Kasim Davey
