Crime forensic law 2300
Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ posts (on different days), including at least one person who identified a different APA ethical guideline which may be challenging, by asking a probing question, providing additional insight, offering a new perspective, and/or challenging their assumptions in a respectful way.
Esther:
Hey Class,
Forensic psychology is guided by the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and enforced in California by the California Board of Psychology. Even though these guidelines are clear, they can be difficult to follow in real-world forensic settings because of the pressure and complexity of legal cases.
One major challenge is competence. Psychologists are expected to only work within their areas of training, but in forensic settings they are often asked to complete specialized evaluations like custody assessments or competency evaluations. If a psychologist lacks specific forensic training but still completes these assessments, it can lead to errors and ethical concerns.
Another challenge is maintaining objectivity. Forensic psychologists are often hired by one side in a legal case, which can create pressure (even if unintentional) to support that side’s argument. However, ethical guidelines require psychologists to remain neutral and base their conclusions only on evidence.
Multiple relationships and role conflicts are also common issues. A psychologist might serve as both an evaluator and an expert witness in the same case, which can make it harder to stay unbiased and independent.
Informed consent and confidentiality are also more complicated in forensic work. Unlike therapy, forensic evaluations are not confidential, and the person being evaluated must clearly understand that their information will be shared with the court. In practice, this can be difficult to communicate fully, especially in stressful legal situations.
Recent disciplinary cases from the California Board of Psychology highlight what can happen when these ethical rules are broken. The Board has reported cases involving gross negligence, boundary violations, and sexual misconduct, with some psychologists losing their licenses or facing suspension. These cases show how serious ethical violations can be and how they are handled through formal discipline.
Overall, these kinds of violations can damage the public’s trust in forensic psychology. Because forensic psychologists often provide important testimony in court, unethical behavior can lead people to question the reliability of psychological evidence in legal decisions. Even a few cases of misconduct can affect how the entire field is viewed.
In short, forensic psychology requires careful attention to ethics because mistakes can have serious consequences for both individuals and the justice system.
- American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017)Links to an external site.. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
- Psy vs. Psy. (2020, August 27). Ethics in psychology: The APA code of ethics [Video]Links to an external site.. YouTube.
LAMAR POST: - APA Ethical Guidelines:I am very interested in the five ethical principles noted in the APA Ethical principles and code of conduct. This highlighted many things that I was not aware of. I can see how these principles govern a psychologist's order of business. According to the text, the five principles are Beneficence and Nonmaleficence, Fidelity and Responsibility, Integrity, Justice, and respect for people's rights and dignity (APA Ethical principles and Code of conduct, 2017).Part 1I feel like the main one a psychologist would have to be very mindful to uphold is Fidelity and Responsibility which is using ethical practices that will not get a psychologist entangled in a scandal or seem to be inappropriate behavioral use such as taking advantage of a person and their situation. This principle also ties into the others as well. Due to the confidentiality factor, it is a great chance that it will be hearsay if inappropriate claims are executed by the client. However, that's why it's important to ensure that the psychologist is taking every step cautiously which will prevent the client from misconstruing anything received from the psychologist. I have seen counselors get taken off of cases because the inmate in corrections made advances towards them thinking they were going to "bite back" as they say, and unfortunately some have fallen into that trap by the people they are striving to help. Part 2My description of the initial impressions of the ethics violations I read about in the California Board of Psychology publication were not surprising. I say that because I am not a novice in the criminal justice study. There are many cases where people commit back acts or either fraud, treason, or anything that is illegally obtained for their personal gain. Learning about real-life ethics violations impacted does not change my views about my subspecialty of interest and the ethical guidelines in general. In my opinion, the person has to be committed to the profession and do all that it takes to safeguard their name. If you know that you are in a compromising situation as in the cases presented in the newsletter, then it's up to the individual to rectify their wrongdoing by trying to fix errors made. If these were not intentional acts. Specifically, the case mentioned about the psychologist who committed fraud by submitting bills for visits that never occurred, "failed to provide appropriate care to his clients, and violating professional standards by engaging in deceptive practices in the course of his psychological services" (California Board of Psychology, 2024) was interesting and obviously intentional; People like that should be held accountable to the highest extent of the law. This type of ill-disciplined practice may impact others that hear about his blatantly ethical behaviors causing them to feel like psychologist cannot be trusted and they are only out for your money, or they are "scammers". When a psychologist follows the code of ethics, there is no room for baseless accusations because all measures would have been taken to ensure compliance to the code.ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017)Links to an external site.. https://www.apa.org/ethics/codeCalifornia Board of Psychology. (2024, Winter). Board of Psychology newsletter (Issue No. 43). California Department of Consumer Affairs. https://www.psychology.ca.gov