Dr. Jared Linebach, assistant professor of criminal justice at Shorter University, has coauthored a newly published textbook on forensic psychology.

The text, available from online retailers Barnes and Noble and Amazon, is titled “Psychology in the Justice System.”

The online description of the text says, “The purpose of this book is to introduce aspects of forensic psychology that the reader may not realize are relevant to this field. Forensic psychology can be broadly defined as any area of the legal system where psychology is applied or consulted. This broad definition is integral to the book’s foundation as seemingly disjointed topics are weaved together under the overarching umbrella of forensic psychology. …Herein, you will find topics relevant to forensic psychology in the broad sense but still related to its major subfields including: criminal psychology, police and investigative psychology, correctional psychology, legal psychology, and victimology.”

“The book is meant to be a supplemental text, a reader to be assigned by the professor and used to springboard discussion in class,” Linebach said.

He said the text is designed with college students in mind and offers relatively brief chapters that examine topics and offer specific examples to illustrate hot-button issues including human trafficking, sex offender legislation, prison reform policy and the use of video policing.

Linebach added that the book is meant to be a discussion starter about the topics and provide a basis of knowledge to encourage additional study and thought.

Linebach earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Clearwater Christian College and both the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Alliant International University’s School of Forensic Studies. His previous publications include “Profiling Campus Administration: A Demographic Study of Campus Police Chiefs,” which appeared in the “Campus Law Enforcement Journal,” and “Nonparametric Statistics for Applied Research,” which is available on Springer.com. He previously taught at Cameron University and Clearwater Christian College.

His work in forensic psychology included assessing the viability of a video arraignment system for a California county and working with the public defender in a California county to assess attorney workload and caseload to better understand needs within the department. He plans to continue writing and said that as the current book was in the editing phase, he began working on a chapter for a class he teaches on criminological theory or the theories of crime.

“I find it difficult to go very long before I begin another project,” Linebach said. “My main focus is on teaching, but it is an added bonus when the content I teach matches up with the writing I want to do.”

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christ-centered, four-year liberal arts university committed to excellence in education. The Princeton Review annually includes Shorter on its list of best Southeastern Colleges. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 areas of study, online courses and degree programs, undergraduate programs for working adults, and master’s programs. Learn more about Shorter at www.shorter.edu.

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