Eyewitness Testimony – What Is It? If two individuals stand as witnesses of the same event, will their testimonies be the same? Will they tell and describe the event that transpired without any contradictions? When a person witnessed a crime, untoward incident, or other events that need legal support, a testimony from the eyewitness isRead More
Eyewitness Memory and Misidentification at Trial
When forensic psychology was being established in the late 1870s, among the top topics that got scrutinized was the examination of eyewitness memory. According to the website of History of Forensic Psychology, Albert Von Schrenk-Notzing was the first psychologist to play the role of expert witness during a court hearing in 1896. The case beingRead More
What Does Forensic Psychology Make of the Jacksonville Landing Shooting?
Anyone who has ever played a video game or been in the same house with people who do play is aware that player participation can become tense. But video game competitions aren’t usually on the list for sporting events that are likely to erupt into violence. But on a Sunday afternoon, August 26th of 2018,Read More
Veterinary Pathologists as Forensic Experts
What do an abused beagle and a battered wife have in common? Why would it be useful to have samples of confiscated black rhino horn and illegal ivory carvings? When is the death of a bald eagle a crime, and when is it a natural event? These questions and more can be answered by veterinaryRead More
Some Forensic Alertness Can Be Practiced by Anyone
Boredom Therapy is one of those crazy Internet ad/story websites that require visitors to click through several pages to get a heartwarming story about a child, a dog, a cat, a wild animal or the elderly. One of their stories details an incident where a Walmart service desk worker was alert and used her forensicRead More
Forensics, Schools and Election Year
Even numbered years are usually election years, and 2018 is no exception. Among other offices under consideration this year are several openings in Parkland school board in Broward County. School board elections are not usually so heated, but this one reflects the emotional atmosphere left by the Parkland school shooting. A Little Background On FebruaryRead More
Forensics, Confidentiality & The Law
Confidentiality and the Law “Protecting my sources” has long been a vital part of news reporting. Confidentiality is often also claimed by physicians, counselors, and the clergy. How far that can go and whether or not information can be requested for a legal proceeding of has long been a hotly contested arena for debate. ThereRead More
Fishing in Heraclitus’ River: An Examination of Criminal Psychology and Rehabilitation
Who was Heraclitus and why would his river have anything to do with criminal psychology or rehabilitation? Here’s an examination of some ideas that revolve around Heraclitus’ most famous saying, advances in criminal psychology and rehabilitation. Heraclitus, a Greek Philosopher Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher who said that we could never wade in the sameRead More
What is Forensic Psychology?
It might be easier to define forensic psychology by starting out with what it is not. It is not forensic science. Forensic science is what is seen on television when detectives tweeze hairs out of a blood stain or lift fingerprints off a glass. It is not a Vulcan mind meld that allows the psychologistRead More
Confessions, Forensic Psychology, and DNA Evidence
One of the tasks of a forensic psychologist is to interview an alleged perpetrator who has given a confession with an eye toward judging whether the person understands the gravity of having confessed and whether he or she understands what it is that has been confessed. It has been discovered that confessions are not alwaysRead More