Criminal Justice Psychologist The psychologist is a vital asset to the criminal justice system. The psychologist can examine victims, police officials and various witnesses thus making them ethically obligated to make the right decisions and evaluations. This essay will discuss the roles of psychologist as they work within the criminal justice system. I will Identify and describe the psychologists’ roles within the criminal justice system as it pertains to the applied scientist, the basic scientist, the policy evaluator, and the advocate. I will also provide detailed examples of each of those roles in action within the law enforcement, corrections and court system environments. The psychologist is vital in numerous exclusive roles in the criminal justice system. The psychologist can become the applied scientist, the basic scientist, the policy …show more content…
(Greene & Heilbrun, 2014). Applied scientists are in vital in the core components of the American justice system. Applied scientists have a variety of responsibilities throughout the corrections field such as treatment and counseling. An example of an applied scientist within the court system would be an expert witness. An expert witness is an individual that possesses specialized knowledge who can testify regarding this information in court (Mullen, 2010). Basic scientists are individuals who prefer to study occurrences in order to gather a better understanding to satisfy their curiosity. This process doesn’t resolve in answering the question but rather gaining the knowledge (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014). The basic scientists’ role in law enforcement is to conduct “research on the relationship between social attitudes and behavior can clarify why people obey or disobey the law” (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014). This predation is transferred to the courtroom through testimony and