What Do Criminal Psychologists Do?

Why do some people commit crimes? Is it due to inherent characteristics, or do circumstances play a bigger role? Criminal psychology is a field that strives to answer these types of questions by examining the thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and experiences of criminals.

From understanding why otherwise law-abiding people engage in criminal activity to exploring the minds of serial killers, professionals who work in this field help law enforcement learn more about the factors that influence criminal activity.

The field of criminal psychology is related to forensic psychology, but there are important differences. Criminal psychologists typically focus more directly on criminal behaviors. Forensic psychologists, on the other hand, deal more with the intersection of psychology and civil and criminal law.

Interest in criminal psychology has grown dramatically in recent years, thanks to popular television programs that depict fictionalized criminal psychologists, such as “Criminal Minds” and “CSI.” The field is highly related to forensic psychology, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Keep reading to learn more about what criminal psychology is and what criminal psychologists do. If you are interested in this career, we’ll also learn more about educational requirements, typical salaries, and work environments for those who work in criminal psychology.

What Does a Psychologist for Criminals Do?

A large part of what a criminal psychologist does is studying why people commit crimes. They may also assess criminals to evaluate the risk of recidivism (how likely the person is to re-offend in the future) or make educated guesses about the actions that a criminal may have taken after committing a crime.

Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling, also known as offender profiling, is one of the most recognized responsibilities of criminal psychologists. Although the practice had been used informally for many decades, criminal profiling made its professional debut in the 1940s, when the U.S. Office of Strategic Services asked a psychiatrist to create a profile for Adolf Hitler.

Today, organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) use offender profiling to help apprehend violent criminals. The goal of criminal profiling is to provide law enforcement with a psychological assessment of the suspect and to provide strategies and suggestions for the interviewing process.

Criminal Psychology In Real Life vs. the Movies

The practice of criminal psychology in real-life isn’t quite the same as how it’s depicted in popular media. Psychologists don’t typically accompany officers to interrogate apprehended suspects. Moreover, many cases take weeks, months, or even years to solve, and are rarely pieced together as quickly and irrefutably as they are on TV shows.

In addition to profiling, criminal psychologists may counsel people who have committed crimes and need psychological assessment. Many psychologists work in computer-related fields, like studying internet predators or helping investigate online fraud.

Criminal Psychology Work Environment

People in the field of criminal psychology usually work in office and court settings. A criminal psychologist might spend a considerable amount of time interviewing people, researching an offender’s life history, or providing expert testimony in the courtroom.

Some specific areas where a person might work with a degree in criminal psychology include:

• Criminal profiler: Work with law enforcement to look for patterns in crimes and create profiles of offenders
• Criminal analyst: Look for patterns in communities to assess criminal activity and help develop crime prevention programs
• Criminal psychologist: Work in correctional, government, or mental health settings to assess and treat criminal offenders
• Victim advocate: Assist people who have experienced crime or trauma to help them understand their rights, process their experiences, and access support resources in the community
• Behavioral therapist: Work with people who have come into contact with the criminal justice system to overcome problematic behavior to minimize the risk of re-offending
• Expert witness: Provide testimony in criminal court cases to answer questions about behavioral and psychological questions
• Case manager: Work with clients who need support managing their behaviors and legal situations, including helping them access and coordinate treatment services
• Forensic psychologist: Perform assessments and evaluations in civil and criminal court cases

Criminal psychologists are employed in a number of different institutions. Some work for local, state, or federal government, while others are self-employed as independent consultants. Still others opt to teach criminal psychology at the university level or specialized criminology training facilities.

Education and Training in Criminal Psychology

What kind of educational background and training do you need to become a criminal psychologist? In many cases, criminal psychologists start out by earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After completing an undergraduate degree, some students opt to then enter a master’s in psychology program.

Enrolling in a doctorate program after earning your bachelor’s is another option. Job openings in this specialty area are more plentiful for those with a PhD or PsyD degree in psychology.

To become a criminal psychologist, you should seriously consider earning a PhD or PsyD degree in clinical or counseling psychology. In some cases, students opt to focus on a particular specialty area such as forensic or criminal psychology.

No matter what type of doctorate degree you choose to earn, it will likely take about five to seven years to complete and will include classroom work, practical training, research, and a dissertation. In order to become a licensed psychologist, you will also need to complete an internship and pass state examinations.

Typical Salaries in Criminal Psychology

While there are jobs in forensic psychology at the master’s level, the competition for these positions is fierce. While there were roughly 207,500 psychologists in the United States in 2023, around 56,600 of them were specialist psychologists, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (The database doesn’t have data for forensic psychologists specifically.)

Specialist psychologists working for state and local governments or private practice tend to have higher average salaries, while those employed by the federal government or hospitals tend to have lower annual salaries.

Takeaways

Before you decide if this is the right specialty area for you, spend some time considering your own capabilities and goals. Due to the nature of this profession, you may find yourself dealing with some truly disturbing situations. You may need to look at crime scene photos or interview people suspected of horrifying crimes. You need to be prepared to deal with the emotional distress that this type of work may cause.

One of the best ways to determine if this career is right for you is to talk to a practicing criminal psychologist about what the job is like. Contact your local law enforcement department to see if they can connect you with a criminal psychologist in your area.