Bridging Psychology and Law: The Role of Clinical Criminology in Criminal Behaviour Assessment and Rehabilitation

Authors

  • Ramesh M
  • Mahalingam M
  • Bennet Paul Giftson D
  • Shubhankar Paul
  • Girish Ranjan Sahoo
  • Ganesh Ji

Keywords:

Clinical Criminology, Forensic Psychology, Criminal Law, Risk Assessment, Rehabilitation, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Criminal Responsibility, Psychology and Law

Abstract

Intersecting the domains of psychology and law, clinical criminology is an important multidisciplinary discipline. This paper explores how clinical criminology aids in the assessment and rehabilitation of offenders by integrating psychological evaluation with criminological analysis. It severely discusses the usefulness of psychological tests in legal ruling such as criminal tolerance, competency and risks of recidence. It also examines the rehabilitative measures, such as cognitive-behavioural and trauma-informed treatments through the prism of empirical scholarly studies and according to the existing legal precedents, in the realm of correctional and forensic facilities. The paper takes the stand of moving towards therapeutic jurisprudence and more restorative conception of justice which take into account psychological aspects of criminal malpractices.

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References

Primary Sources

• Case Law

 R v Byrne [1960] 2 QB 396 (CA)

 R v Dietschmann [2003] UKHL 10

 R v Kemp [1957] 1 QB 399 (CA)

 R v Lang [2005] EWCA Crim 2864

 R v Loughran [1996] NIJB 1

 R v Pritchard (1836) 7 C & P 303

 R v Vowles [2015] EWCA Crim 45

 R v Bouchard-Lebrun [2011] 3 SCR 575 (SCC, Canada)

• Legislation

 Mental Health Act 1983 (UK)

 Homicide Act 1957 (UK)

 Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (UK)

Secondary Sources

• Books

 Ronald Blackburn, The Psychology of Criminal Conduct: Theory, Research and Practice (Wiley-Blackwell 1993)

 James Bonta and D A Andrews, The Psychology of Criminal Conduct (6th edn, Routledge 2017)

 Tony Ward and Shadd Maruna, Rehabilitation: Beyond the Risk Paradigm (Routledge 2007)

 David B Wexler and Bruce J Winick, Law in a Therapeutic Key: Developments in Therapeutic Jurisprudence (Carolina Academic Press 1996)

 Clive R Hollin (ed), The Essential Handbook of Offender Assessment and Treatment (Wiley 2002)

• Journal Articles

 D A Andrews, Ivan Zinger and others, ‘Does Correctional Treatment Work? A Clinically Relevant and Psychologically Informed Meta-Analysis’ (1990) 28 Criminology 369

 David B Wexler, ‘Therapeutic Jurisprudence: An Overview’ (2000) 17 Thomas M Cooley Law Review 125

 Gwen Adshead, ‘Ethical Issues in Forensic Psychiatry’ (2000) 10 Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 379

Reports and Grey Literature

 Michael King and Christopher Pascoe, Mental Health Courts: A Comparative Study of the USA, Canada, Australia and England (The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust 2014)

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Published

2025-07-05

How to Cite

1.
M R, M M, Giftson D BP, Paul S, Sahoo GR, Ji G. Bridging Psychology and Law: The Role of Clinical Criminology in Criminal Behaviour Assessment and Rehabilitation. J Neonatal Surg [Internet]. 2025Jul.5 [cited 2025Jul.12];14(32S):3841-6. Available from: https://jneonatalsurg.com/index.php/jns/article/view/8019

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 32S (2025): Journal of Neonatal Surgery

Section

Original Article

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