The public is only growing more interested in the psychology of crime and of the justice system—but this fascination certainly isn’t new.¹

Perhaps that’s why interest in criminal and forensic psychology careers is also on the rise. Not to mention that working in the criminal justice system can offer a sense of fulfillment or higher purpose. If you’re interested in learning more about this field, start with the basics: like the differences between criminal psychology vs. forensic psychology.

In this guide, we’re exploring the distinctions and offering a birds-eye view of both careers. While criminal psychology primarily concerns the motivations of criminals and forensic psychology is applied more generally throughout the justice system, these definitions are only the tip of the iceberg.

Read on for a complete comparison of forensic psychology vs. criminal psychology.

What is Criminal Psychology?

Let’s start with criminal psychology; there’s more to this career than what’s depicted in popular media.

The Primary Focus of Criminal Psychology

Criminal psychologists seek to assess, understand, and (potentially) diagnose people who have committed crimes.² The justice system calls upon criminal psychologists to:

Supply legal experts with a window into criminals’ psyches so that they can render judgments as fairly as possible

• Clinically evaluate suspected and convicted criminals
• Assemble data that can help prevent future crimes
• These are just three of the many professional tasks criminal psychologists often undertake.

Roles and Responsibilities

To paint a clearer picture of the criminal psychology field, let’s dive into some of the day-to-day responsibilities of people working in this role:

• Researching – Researching and understanding historical and contemporary data helps criminal psychologists create criminal profiles, identify trends, and provide expertise to legal professionals.
• Serving as an expert witness – Criminal psychologists are often called to the witness stand in a courtroom to provide expertise and psychological assessments of suspected criminals.
• Interfacing with people – Criminal psychologists may sometimes interview criminals (or the people close to them) to get a feel for their personalities and habits.
• Compiling reports and presentations – By assembling their data (e.g., crime scene analysis and interview material) into digestible reports, criminal psychologists can share their findings with relevant authorities, legal experts, or the public.
• Contributing to predictive work – Criminal psychologists often use their criminal profiling expertise, data, observations, and theoretical knowledge to predict future crimes, potentially giving law enforcement the opportunity to intervene.

In short, a criminal psychologist’s job is to help law enforcement and justice workers understand criminals, make judgements fairly, and prevent future crimes against the public.

Cases and Work Environments

Criminal psychologists may work on both civil and criminal cases; they might also be permanently retained by law enforcement to provide general expertise.

For these reasons, there are a few potential work environments where you might find a criminal psychologist on staff:

• The justice system – Attorneys, judges, parole/probation workers, and other justice system experts often partner with criminal psychologists to build a comprehensive understanding of criminals.
• Law enforcement – Since they have expertise in crime scene and data analysis, criminal psychologists often work for law enforcement agencies.
• Non-profit organizations – Organizations that offer legal aid to accused criminals or victims of crimes may employ a criminal psychologist for advocacy support.
• Education – Many veteran clinical psychologists retire from the field to contribute to education efforts—training the next generation of criminal psychologists or spreading awareness about the field among students.

What is Forensic Psychology? 

On the other hand, there’s forensic psychology. Let’s dive into the specifics of this career track.

The Primary Focus of Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychologists are experts in mental health, human behavior, and the criminal justice system.³ They use their skills and training to:

• Assess evidence
• Identify behavioral patterns
• Develop evidence-based reports and action plans
• Interface with the public and people facing the justice system
• Understand patients’ or subjects’ actions and motivations

Compared to clinical psychology, forensic psychology is a slightly broader field. Instead of specifically exploring criminals (and data relevant to criminals), forensic psychologists can be more general psychological advisors to the justice system as a whole.⁴

Roles and Responsibilities

What does a forensic psychologist do? Forensic psychologists often:

• Contribute to courtroom trials – Like criminal psychologists, forensic psychologists often serve as expert witnesses in court cases.
• Work directly with people facing justice – Forensic psychologists can work directly with accused and convicted criminals as advocates or advisors.
• Advise governmental departments and other organizations – Forensic psychologists may contribute their expertise to law enforcement matters, legal aid organizations, correctional institutions, parole/probation systems, and other justice-related institutions.
• Contribute to policy making – Forensic psychologists with experience may create internal policies and regulations for large organizations (like justice-related non-profits).

Some forensic psychologists take on roles that are more similar to criminal psychologist specialties: crime scene analysis, predictive work, and law enforcement.

Cases and Work Environments

Like criminal psychologists, forensic psychologists may contribute to both criminal and civil cases.

However, forensic psychologists work in much broader contexts; you might find a forensic psychologist on staff in:

• Law enforcement agencies
• Local, state, or federal justice systems
• Organizations advocating for accused criminals, victims, or incarcerated people
• Rehabilitation facilities
• Parole/probation offices
• Foster care or child protection systems and organizations

Since forensic psychologists are experts on human behavior in relation to the justice system as a whole (and not just accused and convicted criminals’ behavior specifically), their skills are applicable to a wider range of justice-related careers.

Key Differences Between Criminal and Forensic Psychology 

While we’ve touched on some differences between criminal psychology vs. forensic psychology, let’s explore a few others—starting with educational requirements.

While both criminal and forensic psychologists can take on more clinically-focused roles (which may require licensure), educational requirements more closely depend on your chosen career path:

• Criminal psychologists primarily work with accused and convicted criminals. Since they fill a highly specific niche, many jobs require candidates to complete a bachelor’s degree program, a master’s program, and a doctoral program—either a PhD or PsyD degree program.⁵
• Forensic psychologists work in a broader variety of roles, so forensic psychology degree requirements vary by specific career track. While you may not need to pursue licensure, a graduate degree, or a doctoral degree to work for a non-profit organization, government employment may pose more rigorous requirements.⁶

As we’ve explored above, forensic psychologists and criminal psychologists often take on very different roles both within and outside of the justice system. While criminal psychologists often pursue careers related to criminal interactions specifically (which often translates to law enforcement employment), forensic psychologists can embrace a law enforcement career, work in other government systems, or pursue advocacy work.

In short, these differences come down to each career’s approach to interacting with the justice system: criminal psychologists’ work is mostly related to criminal activity and behavior while forensic psychology also seeks to more broadly contribute to the justice system as a whole.

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Similarities Between Criminal and Forensic Psychology 

Clearly, there is some overlap between both of these careers:

• Both may require licensure – Both forensic and criminal psychologists may pursue licenses to practice psychology. Such licenses typically require completion of a master’s in forensic behavioral science or a related discipline.
• Both can contribute to law enforcement and justice efforts – Both criminal and forensic psychologists have the training necessary to support law enforcement functions, like assessing evidence to better understand human behavior in an investigation.
• Both pursue an understanding of behavior in a justice context – Since both criminal and forensic psychologists seek to understand how people’s behavior impacts their interactions with the justice system, they share a primary goal. As such, they may use some of the same methodologies to learn more about their subjects, draw conclusions, and contribute to action plans.

Career Paths in Criminal Psychology 

If you’re considering a career in criminal psychology, the following positions may be of interest to you:⁷

• Crime analyst
• Criminal profiler
• Expert witness
• Consultant to a law firm
• Victim or defendant advocate
• Case manager

Once you’ve gained some experience in the field, you may be eligible to pursue more advanced careers like:

• Supervising psychologist
• Law enforcement leadership positions
• Policymaking or legislative work
• Criminal psychology educator

Additionally, there are a few ways for criminal psychologists to advance in their careers:

• Supervised work – Whether you’re trying to pursue licensure to practice psychology or simply looking for tips from seasoned pros, working under the supervision of a more experienced criminal psychologist can offer professional development opportunities.
• Continuing education – If you started working as a clinical psychologist without a doctoral degree, for instance, completing an additional degree program or pursuing licensure could offer a track to promotion.
• Accruing experience – Since criminal psychology is a hands-on, people-focused career, experience may be a prerequisite for many advanced positions.

We also have guides on how to become a criminal profiler or how to become a crime analyst if you’re interested in these related jobs.

Career Paths in Forensic Psychology 

With training in forensic psychology, you might qualify for one of the following positions:⁸

• Correctional counselor
• Consultant to a law firm
• Victim or defendant advocate
• Forensic social worker
• Child welfare advocate
• Case manager
• Criminal profiler
• Correctional or rehabilitation clinical psychologist
• Expert witness

More advanced careers in this field include:

• Legislative or regulatory leadership roles
• Supervising psychologist
• Leadership careers in law enforcement, the justice system, or non-profit groups
• Forensic psychology educator

Like criminal psychologists, forensic psychologists typically move up in their careers by pursuing advanced education and professional development, getting more experience, and working under those in leadership roles.

Deepen Your Knowledge at Alliant 

In short, the key difference between forensic psychology vs. criminal psychology is scope—while forensic psychologists work to understand a wide variety of players in the justice system, criminal psychologists are mostly focused on criminal behavior.

No matter which career catches your eye, you’ll need to start with a high-quality degree program like the Alliant International University MS in Forensic Behavioral Science. This degree track is designed specifically for future psychologists working in law enforcement, the justice system, and related industries.

Our curriculum is hands-on and allows students to specialize in specific concentrations that interest them: professional protection, forensic victimology, trial consulting, and more. Our faculty is also composed of experienced experts in the field, and our instructors use the most up-to-date data and theoretical principles to train the next generation of psychologists.

Learn more about our psychology graduate admissions and apply today.

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Sources:

1. Lettieri, Richard. “Why Are We So Interested in Crime Stories?” Psychology Today. September 4, 2021. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/decoding-madness/202109/why-are… Accessed June 25, 2024.
2. “Law and Crime.” Psychology Today. 2024. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/law-and-crime. Accessed June 25, 2024.
3. Tobin, James. “How to Become a Forensic Psychologist.” Psychology.org. April 11, 2024. https://www.psychology.org/careers/forensic-psychologist/. Accessed June 26, 2024.
4. “What Is Forensic Psychology?” American Academy of Forensic Psychology. 2024. https://aafpforensic.org/. Accessed June 27, 2024. 
5. “What Is Criminal Psychology? How to Begin Your Career.” Careers in Psychology. 2023. https://careersinpsychology.org/criminal-psychology-careers/. Accessed July 27, 2024. 
6. Tobin, James. “How to Become a Forensic Psychologist.” Psychology.org. April 11, 2024. https://www.psychology.org/careers/forensic-psychologist/. Accessed June 26, 2024.
7. "What Can You Do With a Criminal Psychology Degree? 10 Career Fields.” Indeed. March 10, 2023. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/what-can-you-do-with…. Accessed June 27, 2024.
8. “10 Top Career Paths in Forensic Psychology.” Psychology Degree Guide. May 11, 2021. https://psychologydegreeguide.org/resources/careers-in-forensic-psychol…. Accessed June 27, 2024.