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J. Reid Meloy

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J. Reid Meloy
Occupation(s)Forensic psychologist, professor, consultant
Academic background
Alma materUnited States International University
Academic work
DisciplineForensic Psychology
InstitutionsUniversity of California, San Diego

J. Reid Meloy is a forensic psychologist and academic known for his work in psychopathy, stalking, and threat assessments.[1] Meloy is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine[2] and faculty member of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center.[1] Meloy has served as a consultant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Units, various criminal and civil cases, as well as the TV show CSI since its launch in 2001.[1][2]

Education

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Meloy received a B.A. in History at the College of Wooster in 1971.[3] He soon went on to obtain a M.S.W in Clinical Social Work from the University of Illinois in 1974.[3][4] In 1975, he completed his second graduate degree, receiving a Master of Devinity in Theology from the McCormick Theological Seminary.[3] Six years later, Meloy would obtain his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology form the United States Interational University in 1981.[3]

Career

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Meloy started in social work and worked both in private and public practice. In 1982, after receiving his Ph.D., Meloy became the director of the Psychiatric Security Unity at the San Diego County Detention Facility.[3] Meloy held this position until 1986 when he became Chief of the Forensic Mental Health Division of the San Diego County of Health Services.[3]

Meloy would later go on to work in a consulting and private practice as a forensic and clinical psychologist. Since the 2000s, he was worked with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Units such as the Terrorism Research and Analysis Program, Critical Response Group, and Counterintelligence Division.[3][2] Additionally, Meloy consulted on the TV program CSI from 2001 to 2015.[2][5]

Meloy has held several teaching positions throughout his career, most notably as a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.[6][7] Meloy has since retired from the University and now remains as a faculty member at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center.[8]

Meloy has authored, co-authored, or edited over 220 articles and 11 books.[2] His research has focused on stalking, personality disorders, psychopathy, narcissism, criminality, mental disorders, and targeted violence.[1] Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Meloy broadened his research to investigate and compare terrorist characteristics to that of mass murderers.[6] Since this switch, Meloy has developed two risk assessments: Workplace Assessment of Violence Risk (WAVR-21)[9] and the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18).[10]

Controversy

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Wrongful conviction of Timothy Masters

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On February 11, 1987, Peggy Hettrick's body was found in a Fort Collins, Colorado field by a bicyclist.[11] Timothy Masters, a fifteen-year-old who lived near the field, was brought in for questioning after he claimed to have seen a mannequin on his walk to school that morning.[12] Masters consented to a search of his backpack, locker, and bedroom. During the search, police recovered knives, swords, pornography, maps of the crime scene, and over 2000 pages of graphic drawings and writings.[11][12] Many of the writings and drawings depicted hatred for women and individuals being stabbed in the back, which resembled that of Hetrrick's murder.[11]

In 1997, Meloy was brought on by the Fort Collins police department as a consultant in the case.[11] Meloy concluded that Masters' illustrations made him culpable of the murder. Meloy stated that the crime was a "displaced sexual matricide"[12] stemming from a sense of abandonment following his mother's death four years prior to Hettrick's murder.[12] Using Meloy's report along with other evidence such as the drawings and knives, Masters was found guilty in 1999 and sentenced to life in prison.[12]

Masters filed for an appeal of his conviction in 2007 which was later denied.[12] His lawyers petitioned for a new trial which would allow for DNA testing to be brought in as evidence. On January 2, 2008, it was revealed that reports from two experts contradicting that of Meloy's was withheld from Masters defense.[12] Later that month, DNA results exonerated Masters and charges were dismissed.[12]

Books

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  • Meloy, J. R. (1988). The psychopathic mind: Origins, dynamics, and treatment. Jason Aronson.[13]
  • Meloy, J. R. (Eds). (1998). The psychology of stalking: Clinical and forensic perspectives. Academic Press, Inc. [14]
  • Meloy, J. R. (2000). Violence risk and threat assessment: A practical guide for mental health and criminal justice professionals. Specialized Training Services.[15]

Awards

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Meloy was awarded the Association of Threat Assessment's National Achievement Award in 1998.[3] In 1999, he received the William T. Rossiter Award from the Forensic Mental Health Association of California.[16] His latest awards, the American Academy of Forensic Psychology's Distinguished Contributions to Forensic Psychology award[17] and the Manfred Guttmacher Award from the American Psychiatric Association[18] were both presented to Meloy in 2022.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Bio". Dr. J. Reid Meloy. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e "J. Reid Meloy Ph.D. | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D. - Forensic Psychologist". Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  4. ^ "People v. Timothy Lee Masters" (PDF). Karenfranklin.com.
  5. ^ The Defuse Podcast - Threat Assessment with Dr Reid Meloy - The Defuse Podcast - The Art and Science or Feeling Safer. 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2024-10-17 – via www.buzzsprout.com.
  6. ^ a b Bergen, Peter (2022-06-18). "Opinion: Forensic psychologist largely dismisses common talking point that mass shootings are caused by individuals with mental disorders". CNN. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  7. ^ "The Mark of Cain: Psychoanalytic Insight and the Psychopath". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  8. ^ "Reid Meloy, Ph.D. | San Diego Psychoanalytic Center". www.sdpsychoanalyticcenter.org. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  9. ^ "WAVR-21 | A Structured Guide for the Assessment of Workplace and Campus Violence Risk". Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  10. ^ "Global Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Analytics leader will now be the exclusive source for an innovative counter-terrorism protocol designed specifically for lone actor terrorists". Global Institute of Forensic Research. 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  11. ^ a b c d "MASTERS v. PEOPLE (2002)". FindLaw.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "Timothy Masters - National Registry of Exonerations". www.law.umich.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  13. ^ Meloy, Reid J. (1992-10-01). The Psychopathic Mind: Origins, Dynamics, and Treatment. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4616-3174-3.
  14. ^ Meloy, J. Reid (2001-04-17). The Psychology of Stalking: Clinical and Forensic Perspectives. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-490561-0.
  15. ^ "Violence Risk and Threat Assessment". Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  16. ^ "Conference Awards". FMHAC. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  17. ^ "Distinguished Contributions to Forensic Psychology Award – American Academy of Forensic Psychology". Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  18. ^ "Convocation of Distinguished Fellows: 2022 Annual Meeting" (PDF). American Psychiatric Association.
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