The ethical conflicts which are unique to police psychologists

Experts who do not conform to the adversarial needs of the retaining lawyer fear the loss of future income and risk gaining a reputation in the legal community as being uncooperative. However, experts who misrepresent the facts, for whatever reason, may face ethical and legal sanctions. Several professionals have presented suggestions on maintaining an ethical forensic psychology practice. Shuman and Greenberg recommend impartiality as the best advocacy as a way to strike a balance between the adversarial needs of the trial and the ethical obligations of the forensic psychologist.

The believability of the expert witness depends largely on how they are perceived by members of the jury. Downing-Hansen and Goldberg have proposed a seven-category matrix to use when evaluating ethical and legal dilemmas. Hess poses a list of 15 questions the forensic psychologist can answer prior to accepting a case as a strategy for avoiding the ethical pitfalls discussed above.

Brodsky and McKinsey have even provided sample letters to assist in the ethical confrontation of an unethical forensic colleague. Communication between retaining attorneys and forensic psychologists is critical to avoid misunderstandings.

Ethical problems can be avoided through continuing education and obtaining consultation and supervision form colleagues who are experienced and perceived as possessing an ethical professional identity. When confronted with an ethical dilemma, psychologists are encouraged to consult with colleagues in the profession and can call the APA Office of Ethics for guidance. Brodsky, S. The ethical confrontation of the unethical forensic colleague. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33 3 , Downing Hansen, N.

Navigating the nuances: A matrix of considerations for ethical-legal dilemmas. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30 5 , Hagen, M. Amazon UK. Victim Typeologies. Operant Conditioning and Criminal Behavior. By Elizabeth Hall In our modern society, advances in technology and science have propelled the study of crime into new frontiers.

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International Player. Regardless — whether the lawyers, the psychologists or both address the issues — it is likely that ignoring the questions will not improve the success of treatment in the justice system nor improve public perception of treatment. Assessment and treatment recommendations given in a forensic setting should be held to a standard that recognizes the risk to the patient and community if the treatment fails.

To allow the judicial equivalent of returning to the dark ages before treatment because the ethical questions are not adequately resolved would be a disservice to society. This column suggests that unless the ethical questions are faced and dealt with in a straightforward fashion, there are risks of returning to the dark ages of incarceration without diagnosis and treatment.

In short, the success of the justice reinvestment efforts, the therapeutic courts and other specialty court approaches will be determined by the public's perception of the success of the treatment ordered by the courts.

If on the child protection docket, more families are not successfully reunited or if on the criminal docket, repeat offending does not decrease, the public is likely abandon the treatment approach. If the public perceives treatment as not working, demands for changes to the justice system may imperil treatment efforts. From starting the first court alcohol treatment program to be certified by the Indiana Division of Addiction Services through the last 40 years, this writer has worked to advance the relationship between treatment providers and the courts.

This caution is found in the writing of many researchers. It is notable that those who research justice system programs for alcohol misuse, drug addiction and mental illness note clear caveats in their writing about the need for quality of treatment. In his reports for the different kinds of courts, highly respected researcher, Douglas B. Marlowe, JD, PhD, sets out the importance of the quality of treatment for the success of such programs.

The quality of treatment is also a critically important consideration. Significantly better outcomes have been achieved. Drug Courts are proven to retain offenders in treatment considerably longer than most other correctional programs when Drug Courts adopted standardized, evidence-based treatments. It would seem that youthful substance-abusing offenders may be unusually intolerant of weak or ineffective efforts.

Lackluster results have commonly been reported for programs that failed to offer evidence-based treatments, neglected to include family members or other caregivers in the interventions, or made insufficient efforts to tailor their interventions to the cognitive and maturational levels of the juveniles. Some family dependency courts also use a treatment court model. The extent of the coverage of courts using a treatment model varies wildly from state to state.

Some states have fewer than ten courts. Some states are not sure how many courts have a treatment model. In contrast, Michigan has problem-solving and other non-traditional courts that help specific offenders get needed treatment under strictly supervised conditions with frequent drug tests and judicial status hearings. The specialty courts are accessible to 97 percent of Michigan's population. Hastings Center series on ethics.

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Clark, R. Crime in America. Clemons, R. Proposed legal regulation of applied behavior analysis in prisons: Consumer issues and concerns. Arizona Law Review , , 17 , — Clingempeel, W. A national study of ethical dilemmas of psychologists in the criminal justice system. Cohen, A. Prison violence. Corsini, R. Two therapeutic groups that failed. Journal of Correctional Psychology.

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Beverly Hills, California: Sage, Dershowitz, A. The psychiatrist's power in civil commitment. Psychology Today , February , pp. Developments in the law—Conflicts of interest in the legal profession.

Harvard Law Review , , 94 , — Ennis, B. The rights of mental patients: The revised edition of the basic ACLU guide to a mental patient's rights. New York: Avon Books, Ethical standards of psychologists. Previous version Ethical principles of psychologists. Previous versions, Ethical standards of psychologists, , Fersch, E. Psychology and psychiatry in courts and corrections: Controversy and change New York: Wiley, a.

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