Psychology in the Criminal Justice System: Theory and Implications for Practise

The bonding of the schools of psychology and criminology affords criminal justices systems globally the chance to implement a positive change that was, until recently, unavailable to them. Humanistic disciplines within psychology see offenders as more than blights on society; they see them as people who in many cases have the capacity to change. Frameworks such as therapeutic jurisprudence provide a beginning for this change to start by providing a starting point that can be expanded to help integrate offenders back into functioning members of society. Many systems of justice may claim that by having a psychologist or two on staff in prisons that are utilised when needed is enough, they are wrong. The change needs to be more pervasive and aspects like therapeutic jurisprudence, specialty courts and psychotherapy are core tools for that change to come to pass.