Psychology of Crime Section JB

VHS Catalog 12-13

Course Title:	Psychology of Crime Section JB
Course Code:	chrimerf
MA NCES Code:	04254
Discipline:	Social Studies
Grade Level:	11, 12
Level:	Honors
Offering:	Repeated Semester (Fall: 25 Seats; Spring: 25 Seats; )
Duration:	15 weeks
Prerequisites:
Additional Requirements:
Accredited by:	Certified by NCAA for initial-eligibility (VHS School Code: 221356); Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools; Northwest Accreditation Commission
Course Requires a Media Kit to be Shipped to Students: No
Course Requires a Media Kit to be Purchased by Course Sponsor (see additional details below): No
Description: Students will learn how psychology applies to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system. The course will include all aspects of the legal system including police, the trial and corrections. Topics will include: recovered memories, children as victims and offenders, violence and murder, strategies for interviewing witnesses, expert testimony, and factors influencing the credibility of witnesses, victims and offenders and insanity. Students will also examine the relationship of psychology and law in the educational and work settings.

MediaKit Contents:

Syllabus:
Week 1: Introduction to forensic psychology
What is forensic psychology?
Historical relationship between psychology and law
Contemporary relationship between psychology and law

Week 2: Roles of forensic psychologist
Trial consultant
Expert witness
Preparation of “friend of the court” briefs

Week 3: Interrogations and confession
Interrogations
Psychology of false confessions
Use of technology to detect lies (Polygraphy/MRI)

Week 4: Eyewitness identification and testimony
Eyewitness identification
Memory and information recall
Forensic Animations
Line-ups and photo arrays
Children as witnesses
Use of hypnosis

Week 5: Legal Competencies
Competency to stand trial
Competency to confess
Other competencies: manage money, medical decisions

Week 6: Jury selection
Assembling a jury pool
Using juror traits to predict verdicts
Effect of pre-trial publicity
Understanding judges’ instructions
Social pressures of verdict deliberation

Week 7: Family Law and psychology
Intimate Partner violence
Violence against children
Violence by children
Child custody
Emancipation of minors

Week 8: Drugs, alcohol and crime
Prevalence of drug use in criminal activity
Treatment for drug offenders

Week 9: Psychology of Sexual Offenses
Rape Trauma Syndrome
Sexual abuse of children
Profiling Sexual Predators
New Treatments for Sex offenders

Week 10: Profiling and risk assessment
What is profiling?
Using profiles to predict violent behavior
Profiling offenders and victims
Hate crimes as a special class of crimes

Week 11: Crime and mental disorder
Evolution of insanity defense
Tests to determine mental competence
Difficulty in determining insanity
Case studies

Week 12: Police training and evaluation
Tests for Selection of police officers
Training of police officers
Effects of job-related stress

Week 13: Psychologists in the correctional phase
Sentencing decisions
Treatment of offenders
Death penalty
Effects of prison culture

Week 14: Legal issues and psychology in the school and work settings
Harassment
Discrimination
Special education
Personal injury lawsuits

Week 15: Putting it all together
Final project presentations and discussions
Course Evaluation

Course Objectives:
Students will:
1. Explain the connection between the fields of psychology and law.
2. Describe the specific roles assumed by forensic psychologists in the legal system.
3. Examine the roles of forensic psychologists in schools and the workplace.
4. Analyze the influence of psychological traits in interrogations, confessions, and eyewitness testimony.
5. Explore the technology used in the field of forensic psychology.
6. Apply the standards for mental competency and insanity to case studies.
7. Explore the role of psychological testing in law enforcement.
8. Evaluate the usefulness of forensic psychologists in the treatment of victims and offenders.
9. Use profiling techniques to assess dangerousness levels and profile suspects.
10. Complete a research project on an aspect of forensic psychology.

This catalog description was last modified on 07/25/2012