CHAPTER 1CHAPTER 1Introduction to Criminal BehaviorIntroduction to Criminal Behavior

CRIMINAL BEHAVIORCRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Intentional behavior that violates a criminal code, intentional in that it did not occur accidentally or without justification or excuse Vastly complex No all-encompassing psychological explanation for

crime

THE STUDY OF CRIMINAL THE STUDY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR

Should we restrict ourselves to a legal definition and study only those individuals who have been convicted of behaviors legally defined as crime?

Should we include individuals who indulge in antisocial behaviors but have not been detected by the criminal justice system?

Should we include persons predisposed to be criminal?

THEORIES OF CRIMETHEORIES OF CRIME Provide a general explanation of crime that

encompasses and systematically connects many different social, economic and psychological variables to criminal behavior

Supported by well-executed research

TWO THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES TWO THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CRIMEON CRIME

Classical Theory Free will Decision to violate law is choice

Positivist Theory Determinism Criminal behavior is result of social, psychological,

biological influences

THREE PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN THREE PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN NATURENATURE

Perspective Assumption

Conformity Humans want to do right thing

Nonconformist Humans undisciplined

Learning Humans neutral

PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN NATURE

CONFORMITY PERSPECTIVE CONFORMITY PERSPECTIVE Humans basically good and want to live up to their

potential, influenced by society’s attitudes and values

Strain theory Crime occurs when there is perceived discrepancy

between materialistic values and goals and available means to reach goals

PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN NATURE

NONCOMFORMIST PERSPECTIVENONCOMFORMIST PERSPECTIVE Humans unruly and undisciplined, need rules and

regulations to keep them in check Social control theory

Crime occurs when one’s ties to standards are weak or nonexistent

PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN NATURE

LEARNING PERSPECTIVELEARNING PERSPECTIVE Humans learn all behavior and beliefs from the

environment Social learning theory

Rotter, Bandura Differential association

Sutherland

CRIMINOLOGYCRIMINOLOGY

Psychology

SociologyPsychiatry

SOCIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGYSOCIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY Examines relationships of demographic and group

variables to crime Focuses on groups and society as a whole and how

they influence criminal activity Racial disparity Unemployment Poverty

PSYCHOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGYPSYCHOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY The science of the behavior and mental processes

of the person who commits a crime Focuses on how individual criminal behavior is

acquired, evoked, maintained and modified Offender personality Offender behavior

PSYCHOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY

DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVEDEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

Protective Factors

Risk Factors

Dispositions or Traits

Trajectory of Criminal Behavior

PSYCHIATRIC CRIMINOLOGYPSYCHIATRIC CRIMINOLOGY Traditionally followed psychoanalytic tradition Contemporary is more diverse and research based Education differences

MD or DO as opposed to Ph.D. Psy.D. or Ed.D

MEASURING CRIMEMEASURING CRIME Official police reports

UCR NIBRS

Self-report studies ADAM MFS NHSDA

Victimization studies NCVS

MEASURING CRIME

UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING SYSTEM UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING SYSTEM (UCR)(UCR)

Compiled by the FBI Most cited source of U.S. crime statistics Federal agencies do not report Part I and Part II crimes

UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING

COMMON PART I CRIMESCOMMON PART I CRIMES

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated assault Burglary Larceny-theft Arson

UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING

COMMON PART II CRIMESCOMMON PART II CRIMES

Simple assaults Forgery and

counterfeiting Fraud Embezzlement Stolen Property

Offenses against the family and children

Sex offenses Drug abuse

violations Gambling Vandalism

MEASURING CRIME

UCR PROBLEMSUCR PROBLEMS Hierarchy rule Reliance on agencies to report crime Dark figure Missing information

MEASURING CRIME

NATIONAL INCIDENT-BASED NATIONAL INCIDENT-BASED REPORTING SYSTEM (NIBRS)REPORTING SYSTEM (NIBRS)

All federal law enforcement agencies must collect and report data on two categories Group A offenses Group B offenses

MEASURING CRIME

NIBRSNIBRS Group A offenses

The crime is viewed along with detailed data about aspects of the crime

Group B offenses Information about the arrestee and circumstances of

the arrest

HATE CRIMESHATE CRIMES The FBI definition

A criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin

HATE CRIME LEGISLATIONHATE CRIME LEGISLATION

1990 Hate Crime Statistics Act

1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

1996 Church Arson Prevention Act

2009 Matthew Shepard Act

MEASURING CRIME

SELF-REPORT STUDIESSELF-REPORT STUDIES Interviews or questionnaires Most individuals admit to violating criminal law Large dark figure Majority of self-reported crime is minor

MEASURING CRIME

DRUG ABUSE SELF-REPORT DRUG ABUSE SELF-REPORT SURVEYSSURVEYS

Survey Data CollectionNHSDA Computer

interviews of individuals over

age 12MFS Survey of U.S.

high schoolersADAM Urinalysis

MEASURING CRIME

VICTIMIZATION SURVEYSVICTIMIZATION SURVEYS Extent to which individuals are victim of various

crimes Victims able to describe the impact of crime and

characteristics of offenders

MEASURING CRIME NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMIZATION NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMIZATION SURVEY (NCVS)SURVEY (NCVS)

Households interviewed every six months for three years

Designed to supplement the UCR Provides detail about crime and victim Relationship patterns

Intimate partner violence (IPV) Homeless not represented

JUVENILE DELINQUENCYJUVENILE DELINQUENCY Status offenses

Behavior not against the criminal code but forbidden to juveniles because of age

Data Imperfect Nature and extent unknown

Behavior may be regarded as “rite of passage” that stops with maturity

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIORANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR Habitual actions that violate personal rights, laws,

and/or widely held social norms Legal delinquency and criminal behavior Actions that violate standards of society but undetected

by law enforcement

FOCUS OF THE TEXTFOCUS OF THE TEXT The persistent and repetitive offender

Detected or undetected The individual who has frequently committed

serious crimes or antisocial acts over an extended period of time

The one-time serious offender

CHAPTER 1

KEY CONCEPTSKEY CONCEPTS

Antisocial behavior

Classical theory

Clearance rate Cognitions Conformity

perspective Criminal

profiling

Criminology Dark figure Developmental

approach Differential

association theory Dispositions Hate Crime Statistics

Act Hierarchy rule

CHAPTER 1

KEY CONCEPTSKEY CONCEPTS

Index crimes Intimate partner

violence Just-world hypothesis Learning perspective National Crime

Victimization Survey

National Incident-Based Reporting System

Nonconformist perspective

Nonindex crimes Part I crime Part II crime

CHAPTER 1

KEY CONCEPTSKEY CONCEPTS Positivist theory Psychiatric

criminology Psychological

criminology Social control

theory Social learning

theory

Sociological criminology

Status offenses Strain theory Theory verification Traits Uniform Crime

Reporting