Adult Forensics
Traditionally, the fields of law enforcement and psychology have made for strained
if not strange bedfellows. Policing by its very nature requires that officers neces-
sarily and responsibly exercise restraint and caution, be alert and suspicious, and
exert power and force where appropriate. Psychology, by contrast, encourages con-
siderable openness, reflection, and introspection. In short, the "protect and serve"
function of policing does not seem easily assimilable with the "touchy-feely" senti-
ment of psychology. This notwithstanding, there are certainly a number of instances
where the tools of psychology help officers interface with the public (for example,
see the sections on police and the mentally ill, policing and minority populations,
and police as mediators in domestic disputes).
Perhaps nowhere else is the tension between law enforcement and psychology
more evident then in the adult forensic arena. In this chapter, five issues and/or
controversies are examined, exploring different facets of this relationship. These is-
sues/controversies include (1) power, authority, and discretionary decision making;
(2) the use of force; (3) evidence tampering; (4) adult criminal profiling; and (5)
coerced confessions. Clearly, there are a number of other domains where the psy-
chological sciences impact the practice of policing; however, the selected topics were