Here are some of the many values, however, that derive from practical involvement in real work of relevance to forensic psychology:
Seeing what the real working day is like, with its challenges and demands.
Getting to understand how the law works in practice, with its delays, tedium, confusions and frustrations.
Appreciating the different areas of activity, including those for which further qualifications aren’t necessary and those for which they’re essential.
Finding out about the sorts of people involved in this area, clients and staff, and whether you want to spend your professional career with them.
Opening up possible job opportunities for the future.
You can achieve such practical experience in many different settings; you don’t need to ‘shadow’ an established professional psychologist. As long as the placement has contact with the legal process and a link with psychologists, your experience is going to be worthwhile. Therefore, consider the following possibilities:
Assisting a lawyer who deals with criminal cases.
Being part of rehabilitation projects for ex-prisoners.
Working as a volunteer for the Victim Support service.
Joining a prison’s ‘prison visitor’ scheme that involves meeting with prisoners and hearing their accounts of their experiences.
Taking advantage of what some police forces offer to be a community officer; you don’t have the powers or responsibilities of a fully-fledged officer, but the role provides help in many law enforcement activities.
Helping out with a forensic psychology research project can help you discover something of the area and perhaps get a foot in the door for future training or employment.
Supporting the work of a forensic psychologist, though such opportunities are few and far between (professionals usually take on people with higher-level qualifications, see the next section ‘Gaining a Master’s Qualification’). If such an opportunity does arise, seize it: even simply photocopying, filing, printing out reports and sorting out websites is useful. Any contact provides insights into the work and organisation.
