I am taking a class about California’s court systems, in which our major project is to research a court or court-related organization and to present on same. I want to research a court psychology department, but I’m not sure such a thing exists, and the kind lady answering the phone at the San Diego Superior Court is less than knowledgeable about such things herself. Trying to find a definite answer on a San Diego or California court website proves rather difficult. I’m not exactly striking gold on the San Diego Police Department website, either.
What I’m asking here is: Can any of you, my fellow Dopers, help me research or at least establish the existence/inexistence of a specifically court- or police-related psychology (ie counseling, profiling, etc.) organization in the state of California?
I can’t imagine a court having a psychologist on staff, although there may be a pool of psychologists on retainer for those cases where the court orders a study. (Our county has no such position, although the county social services department is sometimes called upon to provide services.)
If anyone in the system had a staff psychologist, I would have guessed it would be the District/Prosecuting attorney.
Such a department would probably do any or all of these things:
Conduct psychological evaluations of defendants.
Determine the ability of particular defendants to stand trial, to represent themselves, to use legal representation properly, to adhere to the rules of the court, etc. based on mental health and specific psychological considerations.
Help judges, prosecutors, etc. determine how sentencing [recommendations] should be adjusted based on the mental health of particular defendants.
Conduct psychological analysis and therapy for judges, attorneys, and/or law enforcement officers, particularly those involved in extroardinarily horrific cases (one might imagine, for example, a psychology unit in a Sex Crimes department).
Assist law enforcement in finding suspects by analyzing a criminal’s modus operandi. For example, a trained psychologist might determine that, based on a particular way that a criminal strangles his/her victims, that criminal would most likely be (for example) a 30-40 year old Caucasian male who lifts weights daily and never knew his mother.
Determine the ability of law enforcement officers, judges, and the like to handle particular cases based on mental acuity and special psychological considerations.
Assist law enforcement by suggesting that a criminal might be most susceptible to certain tactics. For example, a psychologist might determine that a particular criminal, based on what’s known about him/her, might respond in a certain way to a public press release about their case, which might bring him/her closer to being caught.
While all of those actions are undertaken (or ordered) by various groups within the system, I suspect that few of them would be associated with the courts as opposed to the police or prosecutor. There might also be a perception of conflict on interest if they were on the staff of the court, so I suspect that such actions are usually carried out by “independent” authorities appointed by the court.
I know for a fact that the San Diego Superior Court has psychologists on staff. However, I’m required to focus my research project on organizations, not individuals. Thusly, a “Criminal Psychology Division” would be an acceptable topic, but a “Dr. Tom Endeb, PhD Criminal Psychology, San Diego Superior Court” would not. I know that individuals such as the hypothetical Mr. Endeb exist, but I’m trying to figure out if an organization such as the hypothetical Criminal Psychology Division exists.
Thanks! I’m browsing this website right now. It looks like it doesn’t have information on specific organizations that would be helpful, but it does include a list of members of the Association who may be able to help me.
I’m really trying to find any organization involved with police, prosecutors, courts, whatever; I think most of these kinds of organizations would be acceptable research topics for the class. The SDPD’s Psychological Services division seems to have a pretty well-closed door: it doesn’t have a website, doesn’t have any contact information and isn’t mentioned on the SDPD website except in a single list of police units and several transcripts of meetings in which the continuation of funding for Psychological Services is debated. I’m trying to find this in other California police departments, but no luck so far.
Sorry; I had never heard of such a beast before. My suggestion would be to call the San Diego PD (maybe their PR division) and ask if they’ve got someone on staff. As tomndebb said, most of the tasks you’ve identified as potentially being done by the court are actually done by an entity outside the court (i.e., the attorneys, the police) with possible court supervision. Make sure to let us know how it turns out!
My attempts to crack the case of the Secret Criminal Psychology Society have been fruitless. Unfortunately, I’ll have to let them roam the streets. I’ve decided to focus on San Diego Drug Court(s) for my project instead. Thanks anyway for the links and suggestions.