Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice

Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice is published twice a year and publishes research on the intersection of psychology and criminal justice as well as the social and psychological aspects of human behavior. It covers a lot of different topics such as diversity, social organization, crime victims, social networks, recidivism rates, murder trials, police legitimacy and many more topics. What I noticed about the topics is it made me question where psychology comes into different topics such as recidivism rates and police legitimacy. I read two articles to gain a better idea of the research, “Perceptions of Criminal Responsibility through the Lens of Race” and I was intrigued by these articles to see how they pertained to the topics that are covered in the journal. A brief description of “Perceptions of Criminal Responsibility through the Lens of Race” is racial disparity in the criminal justice system and how it affects the outcomes of cases in court (Gamache et.al, 2021). On the surface of this article, I did not see how it is related to forensic psychology but after deeper thought and reflection I realized the decision-making in racial disparity has a role in psychology as it is related to the social aspect of human behavior. The article “Cheese It, It’s the Fuzz: Testing the Belief That Guilt Predicts Police Avoidance” discusses the purpose of the fourth amendment and how it pertains to lawful searches and seizures and how it affects the role of law enforcement. It further discusses how guilt can create an avoidance to police and what constitutes reasonable suspicion as a person flees from the police based on seeing a uniformed officer.
I would say I was surprised by the broader topics of forensic psychology that this journal covers. As I learn more about forensic psychology, I gain knowledge of how it pertains to diversity, social organization, and police legitimacy as listed above. Each of the topics that this journal covers creates a reason to dive deeper into forensic psychology and gain more knowledge. According to the topics and the research within the articles this journal is aligned with my career objectives. My main objective is to work in investigative and police psychology and these topics cover investigative practices and how they intersect with psychology.
References
Gamache, K., Platania, J., & Zaitchik, M. (2021). Perceptions of Criminal Responsibility through the Lens of Race. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 16(1), 52–64.
Reynolds, J. J., Estrada-Reynolds, V., Freng, S., & McCrea, S. M. (2021). Cheese It, It’s the Fuzz: Testing the Belief That Guilt Predicts Police Avoidance. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 16(1), 84–106.
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