The APA Dictionary of Psychology (2007) defines psychological assessment as “the gathering and integration of data in order to make a psychological evaluation, decision, or recommendation”.

Forensic assessment is a type of psychological assessment which is used in legal settings. It helps the legal system to understand a person’s psychological, behavioral, cognitive aspects to make fair decision. Forensic criminological assessment is a scientific study and evaluation of a person’s criminal behavior.

Forensic psychologists perform criminological assessments for the purpose of addressing investigative and legal questions. Forensic assessment is a part of the broader category of psychological assessment. The assessment may include traditional psychological assessments and specially designed forensic measures.

 

There are 3 Categories of Forensic Assessments. those are:

  1. Non-forensic: Tests and assessment techniques that were developed for the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning of non-forensic populations.
  2. Non-forensic but relevant: Tests that were not specifically developed for addressing legal issues but are forensically relevant in that they address clinical constructs.
  3. Pure forensic: These tests are directly relevant to the assessment of psycholegal capacities, abilities, or knowledge. Such instruments can enhance the quality of a forensic assessment by providing relatively standardized assessment procedures.


JAIL SCREENING ASSESSMENT TOOL (JSAT)

The Jail Screening Assessment Tool (JSAT) is a screening tool developed for the purpose of identifying mentally disordered offenders in jails and prisons. The JSAT is administered by a mental health professional during a brief interview.

Research shows that psychological disorders are much more common among people in the criminal justice system—such as prisoners, offenders, and individuals held on remand—than in the general population. The JSAT is carried out by a short interview with the prisoner and a review of past histories. Even though the interview is brief, the JSAT is designed to collect enough information to help make early decisions about the mental health needs of new inmates.

AIMS OF JSAT

  • Minimize falsification
  • Treat disorder
  • Identify disorder
  •  Prevent violent behaviors.

To minimize the number of “false negatives” (failing to identify an actually mentally disordered person), at the expense of making “false positives” (those identified as possibly being mentally disordered who are not).

Mental health screening should normally be completed within the first day of admission to jail.

The interview covers 10 content areas:

  1. demographic information and social background,
  2. legal status,
  3. mental health assessment and treatment,
  4. suicide and self-harm risk,
  5. violence issues,
  6. criminal history,
  7. recent social adjustment,
  8. recent mental status,
  9. substance use and abuse history
  10. mental health history.


MACARTHUR COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT

The MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool–Criminal Adjudication is a 22-item structured interview. This approach was designed to introduce legal issues in a way that distances the defendant from the specifics of his or her own case.

It uses objectively scored questions to standardize the measurement of three competence-related abilities: Understanding (8 Items), Reasoning (8 Items) and Appreciation (6 Items)

  1. Understanding—the ability to understand general information related to the law and adjudicatory proceedings.
  2. Reasoning—the ability to discern the potential legal relevance of information, and capacity to reason about specific choices that confront a defendant in the course of adjudication.
  3. Appreciation—rational awareness of the meaning and consequences of the proceedings in one's own case.

Items are scored on a 0-2 scale. Score ranges for three levels of impairment-

  • • none or minimal
  • • mild
  • • clinically significant

 

COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT FOR STANDING TRIAL

The Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants with Mental Retardation (CAST*MR) consists of 50 questions. Here, For each MCQ asked, a 3 point rating scale is used— 0 point, 1/2 point and 1 point. According to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities “mental retardation is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18”.

 Competence Assessment for Standing Trial was designed to—

  • assess defendants’ understanding of basic legal concepts
  • ability to assist their attorneys
  • ability to relate important information regarding their own legal circumstances

Basic Legal Concepts: The evaluator should explore with the defendant his factual understanding of the proceedings. This section contains 25 multiple-choice items and addresses understanding of the roles of key players in the process—for example, judge, attorney, prosecutor, witness—and important procedures such as a plea bargain and trial.

Skills to Assist in Defense: It indicates the defender’s ability to defend himself during the trial. The defendants are presented with 15 scenarios in MCQ format that involve the choices they must make about their case or when working with their attorneys.

Understanding Case Events: The last portion contains 10 questions. The defendants must answer a series of open ended key questions about the circumstances of their arrest and the charges.