Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsJob DescriptionWork EnvironmentEducation and TrainingSalary
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Job Description
Work Environment
Education and Training
Salary
Close
Criminal psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the behaviors and thoughts of criminals.
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 asCriminal MindsandCSI. The field is highly related toforensic psychologyand, in some cases, the two terms are used interchangeably.
This article discusses what criminal psychology is and what criminal psychologists do. It includes information about educational requirements, typical salaries, and work environments for those who work in criminal psychology.
Criminal Psychology Job Description
A large part of what a criminal psychologist does is studying why people commit crimes. They may also assess criminals in order 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.
In addition to helping law enforcement solve crimes or analyze the behavior of criminal offenders, criminal psychologists also often provide expert testimony in court.
Criminal Profiling
Perhaps one of the best-known duties of a criminal psychologist is known as offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling. 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 that can be used in the interviewing process.
1:15Click Play to Learn More About What Criminal Psychologists Do
1:15
Click Play to Learn More About What Criminal Psychologists Do
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 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 at specialized criminology training facilities.
Education and Training in Criminal Psychology
Entering 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.
The PhD (or Doctor of Philosophy) degree is typically more focused on theory and research, while thePsyD (or Doctor of Psychology)tends to be more practice-oriented.
To become a criminal psychologist, you should seriously consider earning a PhD or PsyD degree in clinical orcounseling 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 completeand will include classroom work, practical training, research, and a dissertation. In order to become alicensed psychologist, you will also need to complete an internship and pass state examinations.
Typical Salaries in Criminal Psychology
While there are jobs inforensic psychologyat the master’s level, the competition for these positions is fierce. While there were roughly 181,700 psychologists in the United States in 2018, around 18,300 of them were specialist psychologists, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.(The database doesn’t have data for forensic psychologists specifically.)
In terms of income, salaries for specialist psychologists tend to be higher than in other fields of practice, with a mean annual wage of $95,610. In 2018, annual incomes ranged from $41,220 to as high as $127,510.
A Word From Verywell
Before you decide if this is the rightspecialty areafor 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.
20 Types of Psychologists and What They Do
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Psychological Association.A career in forensic and public service psychology.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Psychologists.Occupational Outlook Handbook.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018: 19-3039 Psychologists, All Other.
American Psychological Association.What is forensic psychology?
Meet Our Review Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
What is your feedback?
