What is a forensic expertise in Psychology?

The need for collaboration between Law and Psychology for the proper functioning of the judiciary is becoming more and more evident. Psychology and Law have in common their object of intervention, which is none other than the behavior of the person. In fact, Psychology is an "ally" of Law, because before the questions of Justice, Psychology cooperates in the forum (court or tribunal), and improves the exercise of Law.

One of the roles of a forensic psychologist is to issue expert reports, that is, to be a forensic expert. The forensic expert is in charge of carrying out a psychological evaluation directly associated with the judicial case in charge based on his experience and specific knowledge.

In this sense, a forensic psychologist expert may not issue personal opinions without scientific basis, should not issue professional opinions (p. g., presence of psychopathology) without having evaluated it appropriately, it must not use inappropriate methods of evaluation, it must be impartial and it is obliged to use verified information. In addition, the report issued by the forensic expert must be replicable.

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Definition of forensic expertise

Purely, the forensic expertise is the action derived from a technical examination of a specialist or several specialists that serves as evidence for a Judge or a Court. The objective of forensic expertise is to help and facilitate the work of judges and Courts. That is, it is about make the technical knowledge of an expert available to the courts in the form of a report and oral testimony (ratification of the expert report).

It should be emphasized that forensic reports are not binding on the court, but are often a very useful tool for judges to clarify some doubts that may arise about the case that they are judging. To give an example in Psychology, the forensic psychological experts stand out. in the area of witness credibility analysis, as well as expert reports carried out on victims of child sexual abuse.

In Spain, the law that regulates the issuance of forensic expert reports in its breadth is the Criminal Procedure Law.

You may be interested: "Differences between criminal psychology and forensic psychology"

Who can request this service?

In Spain, there are normally 2 ways in which a psychologist can be contacted to carry out an expert opinion:

At the request of a party (art. 632 LECr): both by the prosecution and the defense.
At the request of judges, Courts or interested parties (457-458 LECr).

Issues

There are several reasons why it may be necessary to prepare a forensic expertise by a psychologist. In general terms, There are two large areas in judicial matters that delimit the issues that are likely to require these expert opinions: expert opinions in the civil, family and labor sphere, and, finally, expert opinions in criminal sphere.

Civil, family and work environment

Custody.
Guard and custody.
Psychological effects and risks of separation or divorce.
Total or partial incapacitation.
Damages and psychological consequences derived from accidents.
Parental suitability for adoption.
Testamentary capacity.
Mobbing.
Work disability or work disability.

Criminal field

Credibility of the testimony.
Crimes of domestic violence and gender violence.
Assessment of imputability (cognitive and volitional abilities).
Victimological psychological sequelae.
Bullying.
Child sexual abuse.
Crimes against sexual freedom.
Dangerousness and criminal recidivism.

What jobs does the forensic psychologist usually do?

Some of the questions that are most frequently entrusted to the forensic psychologist in the criminal field are:

Why did that person commit that crime? (motivation).
What are the sequelae that the victim presents?
Does the person have a mental disorder? (The imputability of the person is evaluated).
What personality characteristics define the accused?
What is the probability that the defendant will reoffend?
What degree of credibility does the minor's testimony have in relation to the alleged abuses?

Stages of psychological forensic expertise

Roughly speaking, five major stages can be defined for the preparation of a forensic expertise in Psychology. Depending on the complexity of the matter and the number of people to be evaluated, the process will be more or less long, as well as the fees.

1. Initial contact

The demand is received and an attempt is made to clarify its essential points. At this point the forensic psychologist decides whether to accept or reject the case.

2. Documentation about the case

Exploration of information sources, reading and study of the judicial file, documents, cars, etc.

3. Psychological evaluation

The people involved in the object of the expertise are evaluated. In the report, this section is very important, since the methodology used must be clearly stated. by the expert, the interviews carried out, the techniques used and the date and place of each evaluation.

4. Written report

The clarity of the exposition, the structure of the report and the give a clear and concise answer to the questions asked by the judge or client. At the end of the report, the conclusions and recommendations made by the expert based on the evaluation should appear.

5. Testimony in court

It is about the ratification of the report in oral proceedings. The questioning of the forensic expert by lawyers is common, and there may even be a "confrontation" (interrogation together with another professional of Psychology who normally maintains a position different from the our).

One of the points that generates the most controversy in psychological expert reports are psychiatric diagnoses. We must emphasize that personality descriptions, diagnoses, behavioral predictions... should always be limited to the situation in which the data have been obtained, and he should be especially cautious when making claims based on personal opinions (since they can easily lead to complaints against the psychology professional).

Can any psychologist be a forensic expert?

Unlike the practice of Clinical Psychology (in which to practice in the National Health System one requires the PIR and to practice in private practice the Official Master's Degree in General Psychology is required Sanitary), In Spain there is, for the moment, no current regulation on the practice of Forensic Psychology. This means that any graduate or graduate in Psychology can issue a psychological expert before a Judge, a Court or a People's Jury.

In fact, in most Psychology Colleges there is a list of experts drawn up by the colleges themselves, which is usually opened twice a year. In some schools, such as the College of Psychologists of Catalonia, there is the possibility of accrediting the specialization in Forensic Psychology, after having fulfilled a series of requirements. For a few years, leading professionals in the field, such as María José Catalán, have demanded a state regulatory framework.

We must emphasize that surely few specialties of Psychology require as much preparation and varied knowledge as the field of psychology. Forensic Psychology, and it is strongly recommended, in order to avoid possible complaints, the formal preparation of future experts forensics.