NCJ Number
77884
Editor(s)
J Monahan
Date Published
1980
Length
174 pages
Annotation
A report of the Task Force on the Role of Psychology in the Criminal Justice System is presented along with five background papers concerning ethical issues that confront psychologists in four areas: police, the courts, corrections, and juvenile justice.
Abstract
The task force was created in 1975 by the American Psychological Association's Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology to consider the ways in which psychologists interacted with the criminal justice system and the ethical issues such interaction created. The report isolates such key ethical issues as questions of loyalty and competence and presents 12 recommendations on the ethical course that psychology, as a profession, should set in the criminal justice area. A paper on ethical issues for psychologists in police agencies examines the varied functions that psychologists perform and assesses questions of ethics, psychologists' roles in aiding police policy development and public relations, and future roles for psychologists in the law enforcement system. Ethical issues created for psychologists by the court and its power of coercion are outlined, the various positions advanced to solve them are given, and the many current roles and functions of psychologists in court settings are presented. Guidelines are suggested for resolving some of the common ethical dilemmas that psychologists face in corrections work concerning the issues of confidentiality, treatment, use of behavior modification, and research. A paper on juvenile justice reviews value constraints on psychologists and suggests that psychologists develop alternative paradigms for helping troubled youths. An alternative strategy might put less emphasis on the child's personality and more on the failure of social institutions to meet his needs. A final paper discusses findings from a national study of 349 psychologists concerning ethical dilemmas in the criminal justice system, particularly that of custody versus treatment; examines specific issues of psychological assessment and treatment; and lists three sources of these ethical dilemmas. Tables and figures are given. An extensive bibliography containing references and reference notes for each chapter is included.