Module 1 Assignment 3: Select a Specific Criminal Behavior
| Course Overview |
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| Have you ever wondered why an individual turns to a life of crime? What causes a middle-class child to become a serial killer? Why does a relatively average man lead a double life as the bind-torture-kill (BTK) serial killer? What triggers school violence and the other seemingly random acts of killing seen in shopping malls and restaurants? Can the profession of forensic psychology shed light on these mysteries and answer how to prevent future crimes? Psychology of Criminal Behavior will provide an overview of the psychological factors related to criminal behavior. First, you will examine how we define and measure criminal behavior. You will also learn about the many risk factors correlated with criminal behavior. You will explore the etiology theories of criminal behavior, including biological, learning, and sociological perspectives. The course will then give you the opportunity to explore explanations for various types of criminal behavior, from property crimes to serial murders. Finally, the course will conclude with an examination of prevention, intervention, and treatment factors related to criminal behavior. In addition, you will learn about the complex relationship between crime and mental disorders while discovering the different roles of a forensic psychology professional. This course will provide you, as a forensic psychology professional, with important knowledge and help you develop some basic skills. You will learn the theories of criminal behavior, explore the nature of human aggression, and have an opportunity to consider prevention and intervention strategies to mitigate risk factors associated with criminal behavior. You will also be able to understand the complexity of predicting criminal behavior among specific populations, identify high-risk factors as well as moderating variables, and develop prevention methods that can successfully reduce criminal behavior among high-risk groups. |
| Module 1 Overview |
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| In Module 1, you will be introduced to the definitions and measurement of criminal behavior by exploring some of the tracking systems employed by the federal government. You will also learn how each state maintains its own classification system and how the definition of what exactly constitutes a crime can vary from state to state. Learning how society and the criminal justice systems track and measure crime is an important step in understanding criminal behavior. It gives us an understanding of what types of crime are occurring and where. These patterns are an essential part of developing prevention and intervention strategies. However, the methods of tracking criminal behavior are certainly not perfect and have many shortcomings. It is important that you are aware of both the positive and negative aspects of using such measuring tools in your quest to understand criminal behavior and the society patterns. After you have gained an understanding of how the criminal justice system defines and measures crime, you will begin your journey of learning about the risk factors that are correlated with criminal behavior. Before we address the age-old “nature versus nurture” question in the next module, you need to become familiar with the developmental risk factors associated with deviant behavior. Essentially, the more risk factors a person has, the more likely he or she is to engage in criminal behavior. You will examine juvenile delinquency in particular and understand the risk factors that may lead to criminal behavior. Understanding these risk factors will assist you in your final project. Finally, in this module, you will examine one of the biggest correlational risk Reference: Teplin, L. A. (1994). Psychiatric and substance abuse disorders among male
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| Defining and Measuring Crime |
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| Crimes are secretive in nature; therefore, they are difficult to determine and count accurately. There are several ways in which the US government attempts to track crime rates. You will have the opportunity to review government tracking systems used by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). What is a crime? At first glance, this seems to be an easy question. A crime is anything that is illegal. However, laws vary by jurisdictions, and many jurisdictions have outdated laws still on the books. In Kentucky, you cannot marry the same man four times. In some states, marijuana use for medicinal purposes is legal, but it is illegal in other states. Another question is, "Is an action criminal simply because it is illegal?" Until 1967, interracial marriages were illegal in fifteen states. Some interracial couples married prior to the Supreme Court’s decision allowing such marriages. Are such couples criminals and, thus, worthy of study? Currently, there is a great deal of debate on marriage between same-sex couples. This issue will likely come up before the Supreme Court. On the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision, marriage between same-sex couples will either be legal or not be recognized by the government. As societal norms and values change, so do the laws that the government enforces. You can see that it is a struggle to define criminal behavior, and this can lead to other issues when you study the causes of crime, for example, how can you measure criminal behavior when there is no single definition of crime? Before we can start to look for causes of criminal behavior, we need to establish an operational definition of criminal behavior. As defined in the textbook, "Criminal behavior is intentional behavior that violates a criminal code, intentional in that it did not occur accidentally or without justification or excuse." However, there are exceptions to this definition that serve to illustrate the complexity of defining criminal behavior. Now that we have an operational definition, let’s discuss crime rates and how we measure crime. What is the crime rate in your neighborhood? Do you know of areas where there are higher and lower crime rates? Are you certain that you know the actual incidence of crime in a particular area? At first glance, measuring crime may seem like a rather easy endeavor. We could simply record the crimes reported to the police. However, there are problems with assessing how often crimes occur. Measuring crime can be a difficult process. By its very nature, crime is something that goes undetected. Law enforcement has developed a variety of techniques to track crime, such as police reports and victim reports. The FBI classifies crime based on how serious the crime is. These classifications have several different names, such as Part 1 and Part 2 crimes and indexed and nonindexed crimes. The FBI uses the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This data is available on the FBI’s website. All crime-reporting and crime-tracking systems that categorize crime do have certain limitations. Some crimes may go unreported. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Some minor crimes, such as property theft, may not be reported because the victim does not feel the report will lead to recovery of the property and does not intend to file an insurance claim. Some crimes may not be reported to the police due to a distrust of the police and a desire to not have the police involved. Some individuals on the wrong side of the law may decide not to report a crime, such as a drug dealer who is robbed or a prostitute who is assaulted. Some people may be too embarrassed to report a crime, such as a woman who encounters a flasher in a park or an elderly person who is swindled by a con artist. Some crimes may not be reported because the individuals involved do not want the police to get involved. Gamblers are not very likely to report their illegal activity to the police, regardless of whether they win or lose. A spouse of a prominent physician may be reluctant to pursue domestic violence charges against her husband due to the social and financial ramifications. Some crimes may go undetected for years and do not appear as part of the crime statistics. Bernard Madoff ran his Ponzi scheme for nearly two decades before he was caught. Even though the FBI’s current method of measuring crime is not perfect, it is still a good start in terms of understanding criminal patterns with the ultimate goal of developing prevention and intervention methods. In the next lecture, you will examine another important underlining aspect of developing prevention and intervention strategies—knowledge of risk factors. |
| Developmental Risk Factors |
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| A risk factor is something that increases a person's risk for or susceptibility to a medical problem or disease. For example, being overweight, having high blood pressure, and smoking are all risk factors for developing a heart disease. What are the risk factors for juvenile delinquency or criminal behavior? Most experts believe that the more risk factors a person is exposed to, the greater the probability that person will engage in criminal behaviors. Risk factors we are most concerned about are divided into three categories: social, family, and psychological (i.e., individual attributes). Let's take a look at some of the risk factors in each of the three categories. |
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual
of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Coie, J. D., Dodge, K., Terry, J., & Wright, T. (1991). Communities and
changes in children’s socio-economic status: A five-year longitudinal
study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 29, 261–282.
Elliott, D. S. (1994). Serious violent juvenile offenders: Onset, developmental
course, and termination: The American society presidential address.
Criminology, 32, 1–21.
Farrington, D. P. (1989). Early predictors of adolescent aggression and adult
violence. Violence and Victims, 4(2), 79–100.
Farrington, D. P. (1991). Childhood aggression and adult violence: Early
precursors and later-life outcomes. In D. J. Pepler & K. H. Rubin
(Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression
(pp. 5–29). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Hawkins, J. D., Herrenkohl, T., Farrington, D. P., Brewer, D., Catalano, R. F.,
& Harachi, T. W. (1998). A review of predictors of youth violence. In
R. Loeber & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile
offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 106–146).
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Kupersmidt, J. B., Coie, J. D., & Dodge, K. A. (1990). Predicting disorder
from peer social problems. In S. R. Asher & J. D. Coie (Eds.), Peer
rejection in childhood (pp. 274–305). New York, NY: Cambridge
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Lipsey, M. W., & Derzon, J. H. (1998). Predictors of violence and delinquency
in adolescence and early adulthood: A synthesis of longitudinal research.
In R. Loeber & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile
offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 86–105).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescent-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial
behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4),
674–701.
Murray, J., & Farrington, D. P. (2005). Parental imprisonment: Effects on
boys’ antisocial behavior and delinquency through the life-course. The
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46(12), 1269–1278.
doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01433.x
Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1987). Peer relations and later personal
adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk? Psychological
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Steinberg, L. (1987). Single parents, stepparents, and the susceptibility of
adolescents to antisocial peer pressure. Child Development, 58(1),
269–275.
Thornberry, T. P., Huizinga, D., & Loeber, R. (1995). The prevention of
serious violence and delinquency: Implications from the program of
research on the causes and correlates of delinquency. In J. C. Howell,
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| Substance Abuse and Crime |
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| The last risk factor we will discuss is substance abuse. For the past several decades, the United States has been waging a “drug war” against individuals who possess, sell, or use illegal substances. The correlation between the drug war and increasing incarceration rates has been widely documented. Let’s take a closer look at the relationship between substance abuse and crime, along with the implications for treatment. How much does substance abuse cost the US society? According to a report published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, 2006), “the cost to society of drug abuse in 2002 was estimated at $181 billion, $107 billion of which was associated with drug-related crime” (para. 2). Substance abuse is a significant factor among our incarcerated populations. National Institute on Drug Abuse (2012) clearly indicates that “providing comprehensive drug abuse treatment to criminal offenders works, reducing both drug abuse and criminal recidivism” (para. 1). NIDA published thirteen principles supported by research to help improve the treatment approaches to criminal populations. Illegal drugs are not the only reason why many individuals end up in jails or prisons, but failure to provide treatment almost assures that they will end up back in the system. Without the benefit of proper treatment, substance abusers are more likely to relapse and return to criminal behavior and ultimately reincarceration. Providing evidenced-based treatment is the best approach to interrupting this cycle of recidivism. |
References:
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2006). DrugFacts: Treatment for drug
abusers in the criminal justice system. Retrieved from http://www.
drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-drug-abusers-in-
criminal-justice-system
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2012). Principles of drug abuse treatment
for criminal justice populations—A research-based guide. Retrieved
from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-abuse-
treatment-criminal-justice-populations-research-based-guide/preface
| Conclusion |
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| Trying to understand why a criminal became a criminal is a complicated and, sometimes, mysterious endeavor. There are no absolutes in terms of risk factors or causative elements with regard to what causes an individual to become a juvenile delinquent or a criminal. In this module, you learned the definition of criminal behavior and how it is measured. In addition, you were introduced to some of the risks associated with the development of criminal proclivities. In the next module, you will build upon this knowledge and begin to explore the etiology of criminal behavior in more depth by examining the biological, behavioral, and social theories of criminal behavior. |
