The psychology of criminal justice
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The psychology of criminal justice
Blackwell, 1992
- : pbk
Available at 28 libraries
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
ISBN 9780631145462
Description
Stephenson examines the contribution that psychologists have made to our understanding and evaluation of legal processes, particularly the criminal justice system. The book begins by exasmining criminological and psycho-legal traditions of research, including a discussion of the personal and moral qualities of law-breakers, the factors determining the preparedness of people to commit crimes, and the circumstances leading to particular criminal decisions. He goes on to look at the role of the victim in criminal acts and discusses social psychological issues in the attribution of blame and criminal liability. This leads to a detailed consideration of police performance in general and a discussion of the dynamics of interrogation and confession in particular. The book also considers what happens to suspected criminals in court, examining issues as the factors determining the performance of witnesses oncluding that of children, jury performance, and the sentencing practice of judges. The book concludes with an overview of the social ;sychology of procedural and distributive criminal justice.
Table of Contents
- Who is the criminal?
- are criminals morally immature?
- preparedness for crime
- calculating criminal behaviour
- criminal-victim interaction
- social psychology of criminal liability
- police on crime
- stories in court
- testifying in court
- twelve available people - how juries decide
- punishing the offender - sentencing in practice
- procedure and distribution of criminal justice.
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780631145479
Description
The Psychology of Criminal Justice integrates aspects of psychology's contributions to criminology and to socio-legal studies within a single narrative framework. It does this by describing the interpersonal and group dynamics of decision-making at key stages in the processing of accused persons from the time an alleged offence is committed to the moment sentence is passed. The book bears directly on many current debates concerning the ability of the criminal justice system to deliver reliable verdicts. It recognizes the interdependence of decision makers in the system and addresses questions at an appropriately social-psychological level. The book examines systematically and critically the dynamics of criminal decision-making, the response of victims, the assumptions, attitudes and behavior of police officers, the conduct of court proceedings, the performance of witnesses, the strengths and weaknesses of juries, and the sentencing of magistrates and judges. Discussions of law and morality, the attribution of blame in court and in everyday life, and the achievement of justice in interpersonal and organizational contexts, provide a definitive account of the social psychology of law in the context of criminal justice.
Problems with our adversarial system of justice have led to the establishment of a Royal Commission on Criminal Justice. It is commonplace to seek a scapegoat in the behavior of one or other protagonist in the system - especially the police. It will become clear to readers of this book that breakdowns of the system are a product of persuasive interpersonal and intergroup processes of organization, reaching well beyond the behavior of any one agent.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements. List of Figures.
List of Tables.
Introduction.
1. Who is the criminal?.
2. Are Criminals Morally Immature?.
3. Preparedness for Crime.
4. Calculating Criminal Behavior.
5. Criminal-Victim Interaction.
6. Social Psychology of Criminal Liability.
7. Police on Crime.
8. Stories in Court.
9. Testifying in Court.
10. Twelve Available People: How Juries Decide.
11. Punishing the Offender: Sentencing in Practice.
12. Procedure and the Distribution of Criminal Justice.
References.
Index.
by "Nielsen BookData"