The Scope of the Social Sciences in the Criminal Justice System: Defining the Forensic Social Sciences and their Roles

Abstract

The place, importance and scope of social science approaches in the criminal justice system are increasing day by day. In this context, the fields of study of social sciences in criminal justice have increased and professionals from social sciences have started to take an active role in the criminal justice system. The aim of this study is to conceptualize the scope of social sciences within the criminal justice system and to define the roles of professionals such as social workers, psychologists, sociologists, and pedagogues from the fields of social sciences through a qualitative method. Within the scope of the study, data were collected by interviewing four professionals. In the analysis, 6 main themes and 41 subthemes were yielded. After the content analysis, the definition of forensic social sciences was made. The roles of forensic social sciences are also grouped under four mainroot roles. As a result, the criminal justice system needs social scientific approaches to protect the individual from potential harms arising from the nature of the system, to ensure that the individual participates more actively in judicial processes, to ensure the reintegration of criminals into society and to prevent criminalityvictimization. Making definitions can provide a perspective, especially for professionals working in the field, when determining their approaches to offender and victim groups.

Keywords

• Criminal justice system
• Social Work
• Psychology

Ceza Adalet Sistemi İçerisinde Sosyal Bilimlerin Kapsamı: Adli Sosyal Bilimlerin ve Rollerinin Tanımlanması

Abstract

Ceza adalet sistemi (CAS) içerisinde sosyal bilim yaklaşımlarının yeri, önemi ve kapsamı her geçen gün artmaktadır. Sosyal bilimlerden gelen profesyoneller ceza adalet sisteminde aktif olarak görev almaktadır. Ülkemizde sosyal bilimlerin ceza adalet sistemi içerisindeki kapsamını ve rollerini çerçevelendirebilecek tanımlamalar olmasa da sosyal bilim yaklaşım ve uygulamaları uzun süredir CAS içerisinde aktiftir. Bu çalışmanın amacı ceza adalet sistemi içerisinde sosyal bilimlerin kapsamını kavramlaştırmak ve sosyal bilimler alanlarından olan sosyal hizmet uzmanı, psikolog, sosyolog, pedagog gibi profesyonellerin rollerini tanımlamaktır. Bu amaçla yürürlükteki ceza adaleti mevzuatı, sosyal bilimlerle ilgili ifadeler, görevler, roller vs. açısından nitel bir yöntemle irdelenmiştir. Çalışma kapsamında alanda çalışmış ve konuyla ilgili çalışmaları olan dört katılımcıyla görüşülerek veriler toplanmıştır. Yapılan analizde 6 ana tema, 41 alt tema ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu temalar çerçevesinde yapılan içerik analiz sonrasında adli sosyal bilimlerin tanımı yapılmıştır. Adli sosyal bilimlerin rollerinin ise dört ana çatı rol altında toplandığı değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuç olarak ceza adalet sistemi, sistemin doğasından kaynaklanan potansiyel zararlardan ferdi korumak, ferdin adli süreçlere daha aktif şekilde katılmasını temin etmek, suçluların topluma kazandırılmasını sağlamak ve suçluluğu mağduriyeti önlemek için sosyal bilimsel yaklaşımlara ihtiyaç duymaktadır. Tanımlama yapma özellikle alanda çalışan profesyoneller için suçlu ve mağdur gruplarına yönelik yaklaşımlarını belirlerken bir perspektif sunabilir.

Keywords

• Ceza adalet sistemi
• Sosyal Hizmet
• Psikoloji

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