How to Become a Criminal Psychologist

A criminal psychologist is a professional that studies criminal minds and behaviours. Analysing why people commit crimes and undertaking criminal profiling are some of the primary responsibilities of a criminal psychologist. Criminal psychologists are also responsible for assessing criminals to evaluate the risk of re-offending in the future or make assumptions about the actions that may be taken after committing a crime.

Criminal psychologists provide expert testimonies in court systems for government agencies and police departments. It’s a branch of psychology that is often related to forensic psychology, given the involvement in helping law enforcement solve crimes, and by providing strategies and suggestions that can be used in the criminal interviewing process. Forensic psychologists and criminal psychologists are two occupations that are often used interchangeably.

This article will explain the educational requirements to become a criminal psychologist in New Zealand, as well as exploring skills, career outlook and prospects for criminal psychologists in the future.

In most cases, criminal psychologists undertake a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology then specialise into areas such as clinical psychology, educational psychology, forensic psychology and other degree programs.

After completing an undergraduate psychology degree, students can opt to earn a master’s forensic psychology degree and even enter a Doctoral Degree (Psyd). There are also several online postgraduate certificates such as a Counselling & Psychology Advanced Certificate that are recognised by official training and education providers in New Zealand. 

Furthermore, job openings in speciality areas may be more plentiful for those that possess this kind of qualification. After earning a Master’s Degree in your specialist area, psychologists need to undergo practical training accreditation by a professionally established organisation such as the New Zealand Psychologists Board, The Institute of Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology or the Department of Correction’s.

Practical training hours needed to be supervised and documented in addition to the degree coursework to meet the requirements of these psychology programs. For criminal psychologists, the Department of Corrections’s supervision involves 18 months of supervised practice. Once completed the required number of hours, criminal psychologists can join or register with the New Zealand Psychologists Board highlighting their qualifications and authenticity by previously having trained/worked in the criminal psychology field. 

To summarise, the education and training requirements to become a forensic psychologist in New Zealand include:

There are some of the top skills and core competencies that criminal psychologists possess:

Currently, the demand for criminal psychologists in New Zealand is quite high, given there are only a few universities that offer postgraduate degrees in this field.

The need for psychologists, in general, is also high due to the limited number of psychologist trainees and the duration it takes to train them, for example, most universities only take in 10 postgraduate psychology students per year. Furthermore, the number of jobs available in psychology and the criminal justice systems has increased significantly over the last few years.

Health Central New Zealand did an article which stated that the number of new psychologists entering the workforce in New Zealand is not growing fast enough to keep up with population growth, estimating New Zealand needs an extra 1000 psychologists. It also said that to reach the required number of mental health professionals in New Zealand, substantial new investment is needed into the psychology profession.