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Essay / Importance of forensic psychology in today's world. The study of forensic psychology has been a growing field in psychology in recent years. With this form of psychology, we bridge the gap between psychology and criminal justice. “Forensic psychology has been defined as “the branch of applied psychology concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of evidence for forensic purposes” (Gudjonsson). Forensic psychology ensures that criminals are tested to ensure that they were not mentally disturbed at the time of the crime. Forensic psychologists take different types of tests to train themselves to test the mental stability of criminals. Forensic psychology is important in today's Driver 1921. Although this was not the first time a psychologist was used as a witness, it was the first time a psychologist was used to help confirm mental stability during the crime. (Weiner) In this case the psychologist's findings were not used to render a final verdict on the driver. Another important case that occurred in the field of forensic psychology was Frye v. United States in 1923. (Weiner). In this case, she set the standard for the acceptance of a forensic psychologist in the courtroom. This case constituted enormous progress in the field of psychology. The first case in which the defendant was convicted by reason of insanity was People v. Hawthorne in 1940. In that case, a man had murdered his wife and the courts would not allow a psychologist with a doctorate to be the expert witness. This trail continued to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court adopted a docket stating that a person should not be based on whether or not they have a Ph.D. One of the last court cases that helped develop the field of forensic psychology was Jenkins v. United States in 1962. The Washington, D.C. courts ruled that psychologists could be expert witnesses in cases of mental illness. After this decision, many courts in the United States began allowing psychologists to become expert witnesses. (Law Library- American Law and Legal Information.) In these legal cases, “behavior analysis is the use of techniques and principles to bring about meaningful and positive behavior change. » (Autism Speaks). In 1974, the FBI created the Behavioral Sciences Unit to investigate rape and murder cases. When the unit started, there were only eleven officers. Over the years, the Behavioral Sciences Unit split into two units, with one unit responsible for training all officers to study the behavior of criminals. The other unit where the officers were located who were certified behavior analysts. Around the time of the September 11 attacks, unity became a very important factor in understanding what was happening. During this period, the unit was divided again. Behavioral Analysis Unit 1 focused on issues related to terrorism, arson, threats, bombings, stalking, cybersecurity violations, and anticipated or active crises. (FBI) During 9/11, agents in this part of the unit were responsible for analyzing the actions of terrorist groups. Behavioral Analysis Unit 2 was in charge of crimes against adults. Some of the examples given were: serial, spree, mass and other killings; sexual assaults, kidnappings, missing persons cases. (FBI) The third and final unit dealt with crimes against children. He.
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