CRM 512 Fundamental Criminology

CRM 512 Fundamental
Criminology
The importance of violent offenders
to criminology
Violent offenders
For most of the 20th century, criminology

floundered because it focused on normal
processes and situations that were purported
to cause people to be delinquent.
Violent offenders
During the 1960s -1970s the causes of crime
were even attributed to functional features of
society.
Sociological, specious, and liberal criminology

had a credibility problem because its major
theories of crime lacked the ring of truth
they were too academic.
Violent offenders
Between 1985 1993, three major works
appeared that save criminology.
1. James Wilson and Richard Herrnstein
Crime and human nature (1985)
2. Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi A
general theory of crime (1990)
3. Terrie Moffitt Developmental taxonomy
theory (1993)
Violent offenders
Individually and collectively, these works have

made a towering impact on the study of
criminal behavior.
Violent offenders
Wilson and Herrnstein articulated the idea
that crime is fundamentally a matter of
choice.
Therefore, rational choice theory and the

thought processes of individual actors are
essential in understanding why some people
use violence against others
Violent offenders
Wilson and Herrnstein suggested the

existence of biological predispositions means
that circumstances that activate behavior in
one person will not do so in another.
Violent offenders
Gottfredson and Hirschis theory advanced

that low self-control is the indispensable
predictor of crime and violence received a
similar reception for it occupied a similar
niche.
Violent offenders
These are very accomplished and influential

academics who because they focused on
individual-level factors to explain crime, went
against the grain of the discipline.
Violent offenders
A general theory of crime has single-

handedly dominated criminological journals
since 1990 racking up more than 1100
citations.
Violent offenders
Terrie Moffitts developmental taxonomy
theory advances 2 offender prototypes:
1. A normative group who tend to engage in

low levels of crime consisting of benign
offenses during adolescence
2. A pathological group whose antisocial
behavior is chronic, frequent, serious and
violent.
Violent offenders
Moffitt has advance the understanding of the

interaction between nature and nurture in
explaining crime and violence.
Violent offenders
As a result of the popularity, appeal, and

empirical strength of these researchers, there
has been a renewed emphasis on the
individual as the rightful locus or place to
explain crime and violent behavior.
Violent offenders
There has been an increased recognition of

criminality as an important way, perhaps the
most important way, to understand violent
criminal behavior.
Violent offenders
There has also been an increased appreciation

for the diversity of criminals from an array of
disciplinary perspectives.
Violent offenders
With these new reformulations, criminology

became more believable and scientifically
confident discipline.
Violent offenders
This is because it disproportionately focuses

scholarly attention on the most serious
offenders, namely the violent offenders that
pose the greatest threat to society.
Violent offenders
To understand violent offenders it is

imperative to understand individual-level,
such as personality, temperament, self-
control, temper, or psychopathy that influence
behavior.
Violent offenders
Reductionism: to boil scientific explanations

down to a more fundamental unit of analysis
Thus, to understand violent offenders it is

necessary to understand the characteristics
that appear to typify violent offenders not just
the statuses the might occupy,
Violent offenders
An interest in individuals as the unit of

analysis to explain crime was a major
contribution of Wilson and Herrnstein
Their work speaks to the pressing need to
acknowledge constitutional features of people
that powerfully affect how they choose to
behave.
Violent offenders
According to Wilson and Herrnstein whatever

factors contribute to crime..they must all
affect the behavior of the individuals, if they
are to affect crime. If people differ in their
tendency to commit crime, we must express
those differences in terms of how some array
of factors affects their individual decisions.
Violent offenders
Even as children and adolescents, violent

offenders are noteworthy for their callous and
emotional traits which reflect low empathetic
concern for others, little guilt or anxiety over
misdeeds, and limited emotional range.
Violent offenders
Violent offenders are often removed by

normal human emotions and connectedness
to others that they are so un-empathetic
facilitates their ability to harm others.
Violent offenders
When criminogenic traits are so apparent in

early life, and when they accompany violent
or antisocial behaviors, it is likely that their
etiology stems from the offenders themselves.
Violent offenders
A recent study conducted found significant

genetic risk for psychopathy in 7-year olds
the data is staggering
Extreme violent behavior strikes some as very

young children and it strikes from within.
Violent offenders
Personality is the relatively enduring,

distinctive, integrated, and functional set of
psychological characteristics that results from
peoples temperaments interacting with the
cultural and developmental experiences.
Violent offenders
Criminality can be understood as the raw

material or potential to engage in crime and
violence that every person has within
ranging on a continuum from very low to very
high.
Violent offenders
Criminality is not normally distributed; most

people have low criminality whereas a small
number of people have very high criminality
Criminality is a global characteristic in that

affects more than just criminal behavior.
Violent offenders
Moffitt advises that children with

neuropsychological deficits coupled with
adverse home environments are especially at
risk of criminal behavior.
Violent offenders
Neurodevelopmental and family risk factors at
age 3 predict life-course persistent offending
in adulthood
Criminology only recently paid close attention

to the criminality that likely distinguishes
mundane from deeply problematic offenders.
Violent offenders
A psychological phenomenon that has been

historically helpful in understanding violent
offenders is psychopathy.
Violent offenders
a
Violent offenders
Hervey Cleckleys work was the most

systematic clinical study of psychopathy and
laid the groundwork for contemporary
research.
Violent offenders
His work is helpful in discerning subtle but

important differences among even the most
violent offenders.
Violent 0ffenders
Focusing on the individual-level characteristics

of the most serious criminals has also led to
strides in understanding crime from general
and more specific theoretical perspectives.
Violent offenders
While there are great commonalities in the

lives of serious offenders, there are also
important distinctions between them.
Violent offenders
Because murder and rape are the most

serious forms of violence, much scholarly
attention is devoted towards the offender and
offense characteristics of murderers and
various types of sexual offenders.

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CRM 512 Fundamental

For most of the 20th century, criminology

Sociological, specious, and liberal criminology

Individually and collectively, these works have

Therefore, rational choice theory and the

Wilson and Herrnstein suggested the

Gottfredson and Hirschis theory advanced

These are very accomplished and influential

A general theory of crime has single-

1. A normative group who tend to engage in

Moffitt has advance the understanding of the

As a result of the popularity, appeal, and

There has been an increased recognition of

There has also been an increased appreciation

With these new reformulations, criminology

This is because it disproportionately focuses

To understand violent offenders it is

Reductionism: to boil scientific explanations

Thus, to understand violent offenders it is

An interest in individuals as the unit of

According to Wilson and Herrnstein whatever

Even as children and adolescents, violent

Violent offenders are often removed by

When criminogenic traits are so apparent in

A recent study conducted found significant

Extreme violent behavior strikes some as very

Personality is the relatively enduring,

Criminality can be understood as the raw

Criminality is not normally distributed; most

Criminality is a global characteristic in that

Moffitt advises that children with

Criminology only recently paid close attention

A psychological phenomenon that has been

Hervey Cleckleys work was the most

His work is helpful in discerning subtle but

Focusing on the individual-level characteristics

While there are great commonalities in the

Because murder and rape are the most

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