Criminal Justice and Behavior

The founding and early history of Criminal Justice and Behavior are briefly reviewed. Several significant differences are noted between correctional psychology in the early 1970s and the mid-1990s. Psychology in corrections has become more conceptually complex. Prison psychologists have become both better educated and more aware of the limitations of their therapeutic interventions. Contracting for services has become a prominent part of mental health service delivery. Finally, the battles between treatment efforts and security demands have diminished in intensity as treatment programs have assumed a better-defined role.

This article briefly reviews some historical approaches to the development of offending over time and stresses the conceptualization of developmental criminology. It emphasizes the study of within-individual changes in offending over time and the study of causal factors that may explain onset, escalation, deescalation, and desistance in individuals' offending. In particular, a better understanding of individual differences in criminal careers can help to explain why some youths become involved in delinquency only marginally and others more deeply, and which groups of individuals start to desist in crime at which part of the life cycle. Developmental criminology is relevant for applied criminal justice for several reasons: (a) the formulation of developmental theories, (b) the study of individuals rather than of variables, and (c) decisions about which behaviors to target for intervention and when to intervene.

Although the evolution of psychopathy as a formal clinical disorder began more than a century ago, it is only recently that scientifically sound psychometric procedures for its assessment have become available. The result has been a sharp increase in theoretically meaningful and replicable research findings, both in applied settings and in the laboratory. The construct of psychopathy is proving to be particularly useful in the criminal justice system, where it has important implications for sentencing, diversion, placement, and treatment options and for the assessment of risk for recidivism and violence. Although the etiology of the predatory, cold-blooded nature of psychopathy remains obscure, the theories and methods of cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics promise to greatly increase our understanding of this disorder.

Although the past 20 years have seen changes in the statutory definition of rape, its investigation, and its adjudication, for the bulk of this period those responsible for the measurement of rape victimization in national and international crime surveys have clung to inadequate rape screening. Because the resultant victimization estimates failed to capture accurately the incidence of rape, independent researchers tried to fill the data vacuum, a situation that has precluded a cumulative database and promoted an antirape backlash. Flawed federal data ill-serve policy needs and fuel a negative recovery climate for victims. This article argues that it is time for U.S. victimization statistics to measure rape with the same precision accorded other crimes and to communicate more openly to the public the limitations of crime survey methodology to detect intimate violence including rape.

This article summarizes the past, describes the present, and forecasts the future of police psychology, broadly defined. The past is discussed within the context of four historical trends that characterize the expanding activities of police psychologists during the past 75 years. The results of a nationwide survey of 152 police psychologists form the basis for describing contemporary aspects of the field, including demographics, functions, salary, and perceptions of the profession. The future of the profession is highly dependent on the political, economic, and social pressures directed at law enforcement. Topics discussed concerning the future of the profession include the Soroka case, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, small town and rural policing, changes in the composition of law enforcement, changes in policing in general, and graduate training.

This article highlights 25 years of legal, technological, professional, and systemic influences on the delivery of clinical evaluations for competence to stand trial and for criminal responsibility. Projections are made for potential changes in this area of assessment in the near future, as well as suggestions for preserving past advances in the field and promoting its further development.

Twenty years ago, the constitutionality of violence prediction was a salient legal issue, but little research existed to address it. Today, tort law, rather than the Constitution, frames questions of violence prediction, and much data can be invoked in debating the answers. Over the next 20 years, actuarial research is likely to become more common, and the role of risk communication may begin to receive sustained empirical attention.

This article reviews the literature of the past 20 years on offender classification. Early developments represented a convergence of professional, legal, and political demands. Recent progress in several areas is noted: risk assessment and correctional supervision, classification based on psychological characteristics, and needs assessment. An integration of trends argues for a systems approach to classification, connecting it more specifically to intervention. Current efforts that warrant further attention are discussed.

Enormous gains in knowledge regarding the effective treatment of offenders for the purposes of reducing recidivism have been accomplished in recent years. Several successful assessment and treatment strategies have been identified in this regard. Nevertheless, there are obstacles to future progress in the field. These are identified as theoreticism, failure to effect technology transfer, and a dearth of suitable training programs. Some suggestions are advanced for addressing these problems.

This article considers developments during the past 20 years in the assessment and treatment of sex offenders and in theoretical interpretations of their behavior. Research is reviewed indicating that in assessment there is a move toward including more cognitive features. One interpretation of the evidence to date suggests that phallometry has been overvalued and that considerable work remains to be done on the psychometric aspects of erectile measurement. Treatment also has moved in a more cognitive direction, but the addition of a relapse prevention approach has been the most significant innovation. A focus on treating juveniles has been a major development during the past 10 years. Theory development is accelerating, but there needs to be more emphasis on developing and refining our specific constructs rather than elaborating broad explanatory theories. Future developments are suggested.

Although psychology had a brief—and rather dramatic—foray into the legal system early in this century, it was only after World War II that psychology started to systematically permeate the legal system. Building on the interest psychologists and other social scientists had on the law, education and training in the areas of psychology and law/criminal justice has undergone considerable growth and development over the past two decades. The authors discuss the early developments and current models of this education and training. Implications of the increased interest and training in psychology and law/criminal justice, and directions for future developments in these areas, also are explored.

This article traces the recent history of the liaison between psychology and law, describes the need for an examination of the content domain of psychology and law, and considers the wisdom of uniting the overlap between psychology and law in a discipline termed forensic psychology, with its roots emphatically psychological. The article places the preceding articles in this issue in the context of a developing forensic psychology. It then outlines several emerging trends that will shape the future theory, research, and practice agenda of psychology and calls for a rededication to our mission of knowledge generation and transfer for the betterment of both our students and the public weal.