Forensic Psychology For Dummies (108 page)

A married man in his mid-30s who pleads guilty to sexually abusing his teenage daughter since she was the age of 4.

A single young man in his early 20s who’s convicted of having sex with an under-age boy a few years younger than himself, who he’d just met in a local park.

According to some standard risk assessment procedures, the young man has a much higher risk of future offending than the married man. The reason is that statistics show that a married man, aged over 25 years old, who abuses a female family member is less likely to offend again than someone not in a cohabiting relationship, who offends against a male stranger. This difference may come as some surprise, but it’s based on studies using these assessment procedures and following up how accurately they do predict what happens later.

Although such risk assessment procedures have a strong logic to them, and studies show that they’re generally accurate, they’re far from being foolproof. One reason for this is that, although it may be possible to characterise an individual, characterising and predicting the situations in which that person may find themselves is much more difficult. Also, for many people who must be assessed, little reliable background information is available.

Courts may use risk assessments in the following circumstances:

If a decision needs to be made for involuntary committal to a hospital or other institution, this can’t be made only on the grounds of mental illness. The person must also exhibit impending danger to themselves or others.

If an expert becomes aware that a person has the potential to be violent towards a specific person, they must provide a report that warns of this possibility.

If the person poses a serious risk of future criminal conduct, a risk assessment report can contribute to deciding on preventative detention.

To assess how dangerous a person is who’s been convicted of predatory sexually violent behaviour, and to provide background information as regards sentencing and the form of institutional commitment.

The general principle for risk assessment is that the more recently a person has been violent in the past, the more likely he is to be violent in the near future. Consequently, risk assessment is more likely to predict with accuracy whether a person will be violent in the next 48 hours, or even 14 days, than over a longer period such as 48 months or 14 years.

Psychological Autopsy

When the cause of a person’s death is equivocal – for example, some doubt exists as to whether someone committed suicide, suffered an accident or was murdered – a forensic psychologist may be asked to establish the characteristics of the deceased in order to throw light on what happened. In other words, an autopsy is conducted but on the person’s psychology and not his body. This task is called a
psychological autopsy
(or if you want a term that sounds more sophisticated
reconstructive psychological evaluation
).

The psychological autopsy process consists of trying to build a picture of the dead person’s thoughts and feelings leading up to their death, as well as a detailed examination of exactly how the fatality happened. The psychologist uses documents (such as letters, diaries, blogs or e-mails) the deceased left behind as well as interviews with people who knew the person.

The resulting reports can provide important information in murder trials where the defence is that the deceased committed suicide, but also in contested wills or other circumstances in which the mental state of the deceased is of significance.