tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54972411463687445542024-02-19T04:11:32.769-08:00Crime is a choiceStudying criminal thinking and motivation.BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-59686550562449977872012-06-21T18:28:00.000-07:002012-07-06T08:23:06.361-07:00The criminal, the narcissistThe literary archetype
In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky’s aspiring criminal Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov tests his theory that the world exists only to serve the needs of a few exceptional men, to lift them to great heights and achievements. Raskolnikov convinces himself that laws apply only to average men, and not to those of his own intelligence and willpower:
[The extraordinary men] BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-46106040017932281422012-02-03T12:41:00.000-08:002012-05-29T06:55:03.960-07:00On criminal impulsivenessSelf-control theory revisited
A General Theory of Crime by Gottfredson and Hirschi suggests that we can reduce crime by improving self-control. Inheriting the conservative idea that by nature we are all plagued by impulses to harm each other - that to quote Travis Hirschi on crime “we would if we dared” – they write that what distinguishes a law abiding person from a criminal is his successful BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-22526204837285005902011-08-25T18:45:00.000-07:002011-08-26T05:34:15.640-07:00Gang crime, and crime as a hobbyIs crime really about wealth?
One persistent idea, chiefly advocated by strain theory, is that crime is motivated by the pursuit of wealth or opportunity. That is, a person commits a crime in order to better his life. We may not approve of his methods, but after all, don’t we all want the same thing in the end? And some crimes do involve either increasing the offender’s wealth or his perceived BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-22308320531942189882011-08-19T11:05:00.000-07:002011-08-19T11:05:21.057-07:00The error of putting yourself in a criminal’s shoesMany people develop natural but erroneous assumptions about motives for crime. These include:
1) The crime was committed to fulfill a need.
2) The crime was a response to unique stress or emotional distress.
3) The criminal believes what he is doing is right.
For example, when we fiction readers think of a thief, our mind might go to the character Jean Valjean, from Les BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-86069301789020139402011-07-27T18:40:00.000-07:002011-08-25T13:34:27.727-07:00What is terrorism, really?The word “terrorism” refers to acts of destruction used against groups to compel them to make changes in behavior or policies. Examples of terrorist groups range from the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) to Al Qaeda. The climate of terror during the aftermath of an attack, due in part to the trauma of victimization and also to the threat of future attacks, is intended to cow communities and leaders BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-59442050556302774232011-06-10T14:08:00.000-07:002011-06-10T14:08:12.202-07:00Conservative vs. liberal criminologyTwo perspectives on crime
So far I’ve spent much time in the blog reviewing (and criticizing) what are sometimes referred to as “conservative” theories of crime. While these theories are described as defending individual responsibility, individual choice and rationality, they do these things in name only. From the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham to the social control theories of today, I’ve BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-35878464927212294102011-05-19T11:06:00.000-07:002011-05-19T12:46:15.488-07:00White collar crime and feelings of entitlementMyths surrounding white collar criminals
In "The Perils of Fraud Detection", an article published recently in The Forensic Examiner, Frank Perri exposes misperceptions about white collar criminals. Generally they are regarded as "one-shot" offenders. They have the reputation of being "'good people' who committed a 'bad act'". You might have in your mind characters from the comedy "Office Space",BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-88273885946529240592011-04-26T12:54:00.000-07:002011-05-25T11:21:29.390-07:00Desistance and the “aging out” phenomenon
One of the most fascinating topics in crime is the “aging out” phenomenon. The number of offenders recorded across gender and race spikes in the early twenties, before sharply declining. (The example from UK data shown here is taken from a Cambridge article on the subject ) The number of offenses also decreases sharply, meaning that this curve cannot be explained only by a spike in one-time BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-16287509218461621342011-04-07T09:38:00.000-07:002011-05-25T11:46:12.550-07:00Victims of crime and their recoveryHeaven's Rain
For this post I decided to focus not on criminal choices but on the choice of victims during their recovery. I recently attended a small premier for a movie based on a true story, titled “Heaven’s Rain”. A synopsis of the film can be found here.
For the survivors of violent crime, the greatest damage is psychological rather than physical. The film tells of siblings Brooks and BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-30707984187804165092011-01-25T17:19:00.000-08:002011-08-25T07:09:10.789-07:00Criminal “toughness” and victimhoodIn From Hard Time, Understanding and Reforming the Prison, Robert Johnson studies accounts of institutional life.
The “tough and menacing pose”, state-raised convict Jack Abbott argues, is the only way “to keep a hostile and rejecting world at bay”. He defends his malice and capacity for violence as the result of persecution by an “uncaring and impersonal” society. In fact, Abbott was the victimBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-85524943294177289012011-01-17T12:27:00.000-08:002011-04-26T13:21:38.205-07:00"Making Good"I am currently reading a fascinating book called Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives, by Shadd Maruna. The book focuses on one element referred to as the “self-narrative”, defined as how individuals make sense of their lives. According to Maruna, “sustained desistance most likely requires a fundamental and intentional shift in a person’s sense of self.” His research set BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-47419943457161795832011-01-17T08:33:00.000-08:002011-01-26T07:14:03.743-08:00Sociology and the criminal mind ignored“A priori” dead ends
In the study “Dropout and Delinquency” (Sweeten, Bushway & Paternoster, 2009) on the relationship between school attendance and delinquency, the authors argued that the researcher’s role is “to generate meaningful a priori theoretical predictions”. Theories are not developed from observation, but essentially from imagination, projecting possible explanations to be measured. BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-140850989919277392010-11-11T13:02:00.000-08:002011-04-08T13:22:12.776-07:00Social learning theories vs. choiceDifferential association
“White collar” crime refers to crimes committed by those in positions of trust or authority (e.g. employees, businessmen, public officials). The name was coined by Edwin Sutherland, who had argued that “the principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.” (“Differential Association”) Although white collar crime is sometimes BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-16057834608669269502010-09-22T20:06:00.000-07:002010-09-22T20:21:29.566-07:00Investigating the drug-crime linkA correlation between drug use and crime can hardly be denied. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS), National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) and Home Office in the UK all report high rates of positive drug tests among arestees. For example, DHSS reported in 1997 that arestees tested positive for drugs at rates ranging from 42.5% in Anchorage, Alaska to 78.7% in BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-30675318291486353722010-09-17T16:28:00.000-07:002011-04-26T13:32:21.046-07:00Website of interest: Dr. Stanton Samenow's homepageI introduced quotations from Dr. Samenow,a forensic psychologist, in earlier posts. I would be remiss if I did not mention that he maintains a website listing his work and, much to my excitement when I discovered it, a blog-style "Concept of the Month". This month he discusses the challenges of reforming from crime.
I have currently only read one of his books, Inside the Criminal Mind. However IBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-52734133510181112412010-09-16T10:47:00.000-07:002012-02-08T10:56:08.291-08:00“Crimes of passion” and two approaches to motiveSources: Inside the Criminal Mind, A General Theory of Crime, FBI’s Crime Classification Manual, Daily Mail
The “crime of passion”
Reading an article the other day, I remembered the alleged category of “crimes of passion”. These crimes are spontaneous, unpredictable, and occur in response to a sudden emotional trauma. For example a husband, hearing of his wife’s infidelity, murders her or her BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-24364220622270836862010-09-11T20:30:00.000-07:002011-04-20T11:24:56.072-07:00The Classical School and conservative criminologyThe roots of the American criminal justice system are mixed in nature, divided between what is known as the Classical School of criminology - consisting of the works of Cesaria Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham - and the works of the Enlightenment thinkers. Despite their differences, together they helped to civilize the Western world by fighting against the use of torture and for the rule of law. It BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-55872246719504252242010-09-04T05:35:00.000-07:002011-04-26T13:26:32.113-07:00Hostage situations and the Discovery building attackSources: FoxNews, The Huffington Post, and the FBI’s Crime Classification Manual
On Wednesday, a man entered the Discovery building in Silver Spring, MD threatening employees with a gun and explosives. Although most people were evacuated, he managed to keep three hostages for the stand-off with police, demanding changes to Discovery Channel and TLC television programming.
Hostage situations BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-16125927656804823382010-09-01T17:10:00.000-07:002012-05-29T06:59:41.947-07:00Robbery targetsSource: Where Offenders Choose to Attack: A Discrete Choice Model of Robberies in Chicago, Wim Bernasco, Richard Block, American Society of Criminology, Criminology Volume 47, Number 1 2009
In "Where Offenders Choose to Attack", Bernasco and Block studied robberies committed in Chicago over a three year period in order to understand how robbery targets are selected. They confirmed the importanceBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5497241146368744554.post-58351645200933615202010-08-29T13:57:00.000-07:002010-08-29T14:05:05.415-07:00IntroThe problem with criminology today is dead-end research. This should be evident from two persistent mythologies of crime, which have needlessly consumed so much time and money: the conservative "war on drugs" and the liberal "war on poverty". Drugs, conservatives have argued for decades, cause crime by affecting the consciousness of their user. The drug user loses his moral restraint and commits BBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175279184044886534noreply@blogger.com0