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Psychological Autopsies

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Submitted By foster12
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Psychological Autopsies
Jessica Foster
December 19, 2012
Kaplan University

As a police psychologist, you are part of an investigation into the homicide of a high profile community member, the mayor. The information you received from the department is that the victim was found with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was last seen with another notable figure at a nearby restaurant. You learn that before becoming the mayor, the deceased was the chief of your department and was very close to many administrators and officers. Psychologists play many different roles in a law enforcement agency. A psychologist can perform as a consultant for the agency or conduct fitness for duty evaluations. In this paper though, we will be looking at the role the psychologist will play in a murder investigation. The psychological autopsies are becoming popular for psychologists. This paper will go over what an autopsy is, how to do one, what you will put in a report, and the psychological issues that the close members will go through during this time. A psychologist may participate in the debriefing process in an investigation (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). They will help interview witnesses and can conduct the psychological autopsy (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). An officer will experience situation that could lead to issues that include the inability to cope or develop post traumatic stress disorder (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). An officer may witness the death of a child or have to shoot someone (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). The possibilities of those kinds of situations are endless (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). Now is when the psychologist conducts debriefings to help officers deal with these situations (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). During interviews it can be beneficial for a psychologist to help assist (Kurke & Scrivner, 2007). Since they are an

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