Psychology Students attend Informative Forensic Psychology Conference

Our Psychology students gained an insight into the experience of an offender in a UK prison, delving into the reality of these organisations as places of punishment, treatment and rehabilitation in a day-long conference held at The Sixth Form College.

Students took part in three workshops throughout the day, designed to inform and educate them about whether prison in the UK works as a method of punishment and had the opportunity to discuss why the recidivist rate (reoffending) is so high. A chartered independent forensic psychologist instructed students in the process of rehabilitation and risk assessment of violent and sexual offenders and how often these assessments are very difficult to carry out effectively.

Students also examined the nature versus nature debate and where and why the reasoning for crime develops, whether this is a genetic cause or whether an individual's socialisation was the reasoning behind their crimes.

Students were shocked at evidence presented in a case where an individual had been accused of murder yet the description of the crime didn't seem to match the sentence, and were surprised at the difficulty faced by jurors and the decisions they have to make without, at times, all of the facts.

Overall students said the day was informative, shocking, eye opening and inspiring, with many students planning to pursue careers working within the various organisations of the criminal justice system.