Forensic Psychology Principles

Forensic psychology is the interaction amid the integrity structure and psychology. It entails comprehension of the basic legitimate doctrines, especially with concern to proficient eyewitness authentication. The definite gratified extent of alarm includes workstation percipience, juvenile trusteeship and examination, and the expertise of an individual to stand hearing. Different countries have various jurisdictional deliberations (Stefoff, 2010). In order to intermingle with the legal professionals such as the advocates and judges, one has to be in the right state of mind.

This paper work seeks to understand the relationship between crime and forensic psychological principles. An evaluation of a criminal case study chosen is necessary in explaining the role of these doctrines. An analysis of the perpetrator’s behavior is necessary. The difference between a disorganized and an organized offender, and the organization or disorganization of a crime scene plays a critical role in crime assessment (Burgess, Regehr & Roberts, 2010).

Case Study: Homicide

David Koschman together with his four friends had recently just turned twenty-one and they decided to celebrate the occasion by club hopping.  They headed downtown and made a conclusion of their drinking spree at Bar Chicago. In their endeavors, Koschman and his pals traversed lanes with a woman and three men folks. The four seemed to be ten years older than the five fellas were. The strange group had strong ties with the high and mighty individuals in Chicago. “R. J.”  Vanecko, Mayor Daley’s nephew, was then twenty-nine years old and was amid the four personalities who clashed with David along the lane. It happened that Koschman jerked one of the males and this triggered the groups to start exchanging vulgarities and affronts.  The detectives described them as “sloshed” and “mortared”.  The skirmish ended with Koschman hit in the facade. David, five inch and foot, clear fell towards the back and injured the rear of his cranium. Twelve days far along, David Koschman died following the concussion in his head.

The initial police investigators concluded that Koschman was the aggressor so the one who attacked him did it out of self-defense. It was not clear on who hit David since the forces refused to reveal the identity of the perpetrator of the crime. Seven years later, the constabularies decided to revisit the case. The Chicago Sun-Times requested a reinvestigation of the case. The newspaper, underneath the Illinois freedom of information Act, sought copies of the police force information concerning the incident (Stefoff, 2010). A dissimilar gumshoe agency in Area 5, re-investigated Koschman’s death.  There was more to the murder case than what was meeting the eye.

The federation solicitor’s headquarters in Cook County, still insisted that the case was worthless. The files were missing and the initial DA still suggested that the incident does not make any sense. This raised an alarm, as it was so unusual for misdemeanor analysis records to be misplaced. According to the Sunday Times, Vanecko initially failed to meet the police and appeared a month later in the police department at the lineup of suspects. No one could identify him as he had shaved off his hair. The witnesses knew the attacker as a man who wore a hat and since none of the suspects donned a fedora.  Richard Devine, a family friend to the Daley family, destroyed all the evidences in the case and ensured the closure of the incident. Vanecko was earlier involved in a series of criminal behavior. Finally, Koschman’s demise turned the incident to homicide. Considering Vanecko’s physique, a blow at the noggin is sufficient to root serious harm. Others viewed the scenario as involuntary manslaughter and the perpetrator charged with first-degree manslaughter.

Criminal Profiling

            Criminal profiling also known as CIA (Criminal Investigative Analysis) is a feasible analytical asset contrary to ferocious criminalities. The profiling system ranges from analysis the scene of crime and reviewing illegitimate profiles of reprobates. Profiling entails a multi-punitive methodology of psychosomatic scrutiny of the misconduct committed. It is a contrivance the police may adapt in combining outcomes from other studies in various chastisements with outmoded modus operandi in order to contest vicious crimes (Turvey, 2011).  All police departments strive to apprehend perpetrators of vehement crimes. The work of the crime squad is to establish the distinctiveness of the reprobate in relation to his or her actions. It is essential to identify a criminal as soon as possible in order to prevent other occurrences of viciousness. Law enforcers have conformed to other studies that go hand in hand in determining criminal behavior.

The profiling process aims to aid the investigative team to classify the foremost developmental and disposition characteristics of the reprobate based on the evaluation of the misconduct he or she has committed (Daniels, 2014). The first step entails evaluating the felonious deed itself. A comprehensive evaluation of the specifics in the crime scene is necessary. Moreover, an inclusive assessment of the details of the crime scene is necessary. An all-inclusive investigation of the fatalities is part of the process and the preliminary police reports evaluated. As protocol demands, the homeopathic examiner’s dissection report is important. Afterwards, the profile development of the wrongdoer takes place with his or her major characteristics outlined.  Finally, the compilation of analytical proposals grounded on edifice of the profile.

In Leigh man’s terms there involves data collection and assessment, the state of affairs reassembled, suppositions articulated, a silhouette established and itemized, and the outcomes recounted. It tapers down the range of the investigations since it indicates the type of person likely to have committed the crime. The classification of assassination is by both style and type.

In the case study of the murder of David Koschman, there was the evaluation of the criminal act and the specifics of the crime scene revealed. David suffered a heavy fall on his head that caused him to lose his life twelve days later. The law enhancers visited the Division Street and tried to capture the actual intentions of the perpetrator (Jacobs, 2011). Some instigated that the victim, David Koschman, initiated the fight amidst the two groups.  He had suffered a blow in his head that made him fall backwards and developed internal bleedings. The victim had no criminal records; he was a social individual, and had no enemies. Therefore, the theory that developed that he brought about the fracas did not hold any water. The medical practitioner’s department confirmed that David succumbed to “craniocerebral damages caused by blunted affliction”.  Vanecko had a history of violence and criminal behavior under his name. At first, building the case proved a difficult task since no one could identify the perpetrator. Some police officials who knew the wrongdoer tried to conceal the evidences pointing out to him (Turvey, 2011).  The lawbreaker tried to use his status in the society to evade the prosecution process but when the media intervened, the incident took a different turn. 

Organized versus disorganized offenders

            After the evaluation of the actions that lead to the demise of David Koschman, the crime committed was by a disorganized offender. Such offenders are usually loners with deprived societal skills. Most of them have the feeling of inadequacy hence experience challenges in maintenance of relationships and affectionate affiliations. Their crimes are most of the cases this sort of misconduct occurs impetuously sparkled by either alcohol, mental disorder, inexperience, youth, or drugs. In this case, both of the parties were under the influence of alcohol. The victims are debilitated and without much warning and left with severe injuries. The attack left David Koschman unconscious after he hit the lane at the back of his head. The crime scene was simply a mess. Vanecko attacked David in front of a number of individuals. The witnesses were many hence chances of him escaping the crime were a dead end. He even went to the extent of changing his hair hoping that no one would recognize him but eventually, after his name was mentioned at the crime scene, and judging on his previous criminal behavior, there was no doubt that he was the perpetrator(Burgess, Regehr & Roberts, 2010) . With such an individual, multiple cases of homicide may present themselves because he acts impulsively and the delinquencies occur by him being at the erroneous habitation at the mistaken phase.

            On the other hand, organized offenders strategize to implement their delinquencies in premeditated techniques since they are naturally conniving, wary, and meticulous individuals. The perpetrator is a self-engrossed psychopath deficient of fellow feeling and compunction. Records of the individuals who are organized offenders are amusing, soft-spoken and outgoing. At first, they appear as harmless. These reprobates carry their own murder tools to the crime scene and after the execution; they do away with them from the scene (Burgess, Regehr & Roberts, 2010). The personalities display a lot of professionalism at the criminality prospect in the sense that they take their time to eradicate all evidences such as removal of knives, blood, fingerprints, or bullet cartridges at the sight. This is the type of person after a homicide; he or she will hide the body.  Vanecko ran away after he realized what he had done. He automatically disqualifies to be an organized offender but rather a disorganized one.

A well thought-out crook is usually college educated, most of them are mature, have average intelligence, and are socially competent. They have homes, families, seem like good fathers and they are ardent followers of developing stories in the television. Most of their crimes prospects are usually near their homes have a good command of their responses to interviews, and they usually have the guts of playing games with the police (Turvey, 2011). Most of the crimes they commit are during the day, mutilates the victim’s body, ensures the execution of the crime is perfect and is not responsive to counselling.

A topsy-turvy reprobate in most cases, is a high school dropout, immature individuals, below average intelligence, and socially inadequate. They are the kinds who live alone under pathetic unhygienic conditions, and they are sexually incompetent. Most of the time they use drugs, are incompetent fathers, and their crime scenes are next to where they work or live. They have minimal interest in news, a frequent user of public transport, and do not respond well to interviews. The good thing is that they respond well to counselling.

Organized versus Disorganized Crimes

Well-prepared individuals execute organized homicides. As pointed out before, they usually leave very little physical evidence at the scenes. During the execution of the crime, the personality has a calm and collected mood enhancing his or efficiency of the wrongdoing and they are the kind of people who leave town after committing delinquency.

Ill-prepared individuals execute higgledy-piggledy misconducts. They usually leave a messy crime scene since they experience anxiety during the execution of the wrongdoing. They leave the body at the site, intact with evidences of blood and fingerprints all over. The tools used for murder are usually on set hence making the detectives work easier. At times, they contact the family members of his or her victims and they are the kind of people who do not have steady well-paying jobs.

The executioners of either of the above crimes mostly plead not guilty under the advice of their advocates and argue that they may not be in the right state of mind. This strategy is relevant in reducing the time span of the trial. This argument relates to an eclectic variety of maladies, the prevalent one being neurosis instigated by schizophrenia.

Analysis of perpetrator’s behavior

The scrutiny of the criminal’s conduct is important.  A sequential slayer is a communally fashioned spectacle. The extent to which the crime has been committed explains the type of individual who executed the act. A messy crime scene explains that the committer of the delinquency is a nerve wreck person. The Crime Classification Manual helps the police force in forming a basis on the comprehension of a homicide killer. A person may commit such atrocities with events of power, sexual fantasies, or even religious beliefs in his or her mind. In this case study, due to his association with the mayor, Vanecko thought that his criminal history would be cleared and get away with the corruptions he has committed.

Individuals who commit murders try to pass out a point that they are in control though all along they have had a series of demeaning and stressful situations making them feel powerless in the society. Researchers believe that homicide perpetrators are psychologically disturbed individuals (Burgess, Regehr & Roberts, 2010). Though not all of the perpetrators may have this problem neither could they have suffered from child abuse. Other individuals’ may find pleasure in seeing blood flow hence committing a series of law breaking.

A sequential executioner goes on a spree of killing people within a specified period. A serial killer finds pleasure in killing people (Burgess, Regehr & Roberts, 2010). A homicide attacker at times befits the description of a sequential executioner during manifold and separate events.

In conclusion, psychology has helped the law enforcement department in a great deal. It has enhanced the criminal procedures and helped the police to understand the perpetrators of ferocities. The principles of forensic psychology have enhanced the stages of capturing an evildoer shorter. The stages help in curbing the mastermind of an atrocious felony committed enabling the searching process to narrow down to individuals who match the descriptions received from eyewitnesses. The case study in this paper work has eased the understanding of the application of the principles in the investigative world.

                                                                     References                    

Stefoff, R. (2010). Criminal profiling. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.

Burgess, A. W., Regehr, C., & Roberts, A. R. (2010). Victimology: Theories and applications. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Turvey, B. E. (2011). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis. Burlington: Elsevier Science.

Daniels, A. B. (2014). Jungian crime scene analysis: An imaginal investigation.

Jacobs, D. (2011). Analyzing criminal minds: Forensic investigative science for the 21st century. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.