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Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime. Dr Ann Henry Lecture 1: Tuesday 29th October 2013 Forensic & Applied Cognitive Psychology. Overview of 6 lectures. Lecture 1 (29/10): Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime Lecture 2 (5/11): Sexual Offending (Rape)
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Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime Dr Ann Henry Lecture 1: Tuesday 29th October 2013 Forensic & Applied Cognitive Psychology
Overview of 6 lectures • Lecture 1 (29/10): Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime • Lecture 2 (5/11): Sexual Offending (Rape) • Lecture 3 (12/11): Sexual Offending (Paedophilia & Child Molesters) • Lecture 4 (19/11): Critical Approaches to Mental Illness, Personality & Crime (part 1) • Lecture 5 (26/11): Critical Approaches to Mental Illness, Personality & Crime (part 2) • Lecture 6 (3/12): Critical Approaches to Offender Profiling (FBI & Statistical)
Learning outcomes for Lecture 1 • By the end of the lecture you should be able to: • Briefly define Forensic & Criminal Psychology. • Describe & explain different types of theories of crime e.g. Macro-level or Societal; Community or locality; Group & socialisation influence; Individual/ Psychological: Social Constructionism. • Consider the strengths & limitations of each of these theories.
What is Forensic& Criminal Psychology? • Forensic psychology is concerned with the psychological aspects of legal processes in courts. The term is also often used to refer to investigative and criminological psychology: applying psychological theory to criminal investigation, understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour and the treatment of those who have committed offences. • http://careers.bps.org.uk/area/forensic (2013)
Where do they work? • The largest single employer of forensic psychologists in the UK is the HM Prison Service. • Forensic psychologists are also be employed rehabilitation units, secure hospitals, the social services and in university departments. Some practitioners also go into private consultancy.
Tasks of Forensic Psychologists • The daily key tasks for forensic psychologists may include: • piloting and implementing treatment programmes, modifying offender behaviour, responding to the changing needs of staff and prisoners as well as reducing stress for staff and prisoners.
Tasks of Forensic Psychologists • Forensic psychologists also provide: • hard research evidence to support practice, including undertaking statistical analysis for prisoner profiling, giving evidence in court plus advising parole boards and mental health tribunals.
Aspects of Forensic Psychology • Social context of crime; Fear of crime • Victims of crime. • Theories of crime; Violent offenders; • Sexual offending. • Police psychology; Terrorism; Eyewitness Testimony. • Offender profiling; lie detecting; false confessions. • Mental Disorders & Crime; Juries & Decision making. • Psychological treatments for prisoners; • Risk assessment, dangerousness & recidivism.
Theories of Crime • Howitt (2006) outlines a broad range of theories. • Macro-level or Societal • Community or locality • Group & socialisation influence • Individual/ Psychological
Macro-level or Societal • Marxist Conflict theory • Merton’s Strain Theory • Feminist Theory
Macro-level or Societal • Marxist conflict theory • Society has evolved in a state of conflict between competing groups in society over material resources & institutionalised power. • Dominant class uses laws to control other groups & maintain its command or hegemony (political leadership)
Macro-level or Societal • Merton’s Strain Theory • Recognises that society’s goals (prosperity, achievement etc.) are only available to a limited few. The rest can only achieve goals through deviant means. • Others adapt to the strain by retreating into alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, vagrancy.
Macro-level or Societal • Feminist Theory • Holds that criminality is associated with males. Males seek to maintain power in the gendered social system through the deployment of violence against women & children. • Male control is through their access to power over social institutions such as the law. • Powerless men are inclined to the cruder expressions of power which lead to their imprisonment.
Community/ locality Theory • Differential Opportunity theory • Explains the patterns of crime likely to be exhibited by individuals in terms of the range of crime opportunities close to home. • Different individuals display different modes of adjustment or adaptation to their particular social strains.
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Subcultural Delinquency Theories • Differential Association Theory • Lifestyle & Routine Activities Theory • Social Learning Theory • Criminogenic factors in childhood
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Subcultural Delinquency Theories • Youngsters with problems especially to do with the home & school tend to associate with gangs & other groupings in which they can achieve some status. • Through criminal activity, delinquent groups may provide an opportunity to achieve a sense of self-esteem.
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Differential Association Theory • Circumstances of upbringing determines their exposure to crime & pressure to commit crime. • Hence, learning to be a criminal applies to different strata of society e.g. middle class might be exposed to fraud, tax evasion etc.
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Lifestyle & Routine Activities Theory • Argues that most crime is trivial & impulsive – thus elements of opportunism (Cohen & Felson, 1979)
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Social Learning Theory • Bandura (1973, 1983) Vicarious learning through observing other people. • However, doesn’t explain under what circumstances criminal behaviour will or will not be learnt, so has limited explanatory power.
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Criminogenic factors in childhood • Glueck & Glueck, 1962, 1968) claim that the following are antecedents of antisocial & criminal behaviour: • Punitive child-rearing practices & attitudes (strict discipline, corporal punishment, authoritarian attitudes) • Lack of love or rejection • Laxness (poor monitoring, lack of supervision) • Family disruption (separation, divorce, instability, marital conflict) • Deviant parental characteristics (criminality, mental health problems, substance abuse)
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Criminogenic factors in childhood (cont) • Yoshikawa (1995) argued that delinquency is product of interaction of multiplicity of factors: • Neurological & biological factors • Low cognitive ability • Childhood history of antisocial behaviour • Parental substance abuse • Violent or socially disorganised neighbourhoods • Media violence
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Criminogenic factors in childhood (cont) • Farrington (1996) claims that childhood conduct disorder and adult Antisocial Personality Disorder have the same aetiological precursors: • Low family income • Poor housing • Large family size • Convicted parents • Harsh or erratic parental discipline • Low intelligence • Early school leaving
Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Protective factors from delinquency • Farrington (1998) • Personal Resources – resilient youngsters had better technical/spatial intelligence, flexible temperaments, approach-orientated, more positive self-esteem & active coping styles • Social Resources – resilient youngsters were more satisfied with social support & experienced openness, autonomy & low conflict in their residential institution.
Individual/Psychological Theories • Personality Theories • Biological Theories • Attachment Theory • Isomorphism hypothesis
Individual/ Psychological Theories • Personality Theories • Eysenck’s biosocial theory emphasises link between biological factors, personality & crime. • High extraversion, high psychoticism & high neuroticism
Individual/ Psychological Theories • Biological Theories • Genetics e.g. genetic make-up, brain activity, hormonal imbalances • Evolutionary theory – inherited genes • Body shape type: mesomorph, endomorph & ectomorph • Evidence is contradictory and controversial
Individual/Psychological Theories • Attachment theory • Based on John Bowlby’s work in 1950s • Bonding & attachment in infancy & early childhood • Internal Working Model • Different types of attachment: Secure and • Insecure • Ainsworth (1970s)- classified insecure into • Anxious-Avoidant, Anxious-Ambivalent & Disorganised
Individual/Psychological Theories • Isomorphism hypothesis • Close relationship between the characteristics of abuse and its effect on the victim. • Widom (1989) explored links between childhood abuse and adult criminality. • Victims of physical abuse have highest rates of violent offences (16% of sample) • Victims of neglect had similar levels of violence (13%) • Controls (not abused as children) had 7% risk of violent offending in adulthood • Hence, evidence is inconclusive & other factors need to be taken into consideration (see previous list re criminogenic factors)
Intelligence & Crime • Howitt (2006) summarises that there is little reliable evidence of the link between intelligence level and crime. • Controversial topic as also linked to the debate about race and intelligence.
Social constructionism & crime • Constructions of crime • Social • Cultural • Historical
Lecture Summary • Briefly defined Forensic & Criminal Psychology & the work involved. • Outlined & described different theories of crime: • Macro-level or Societal • Community or locality • Group & socialisation influence • Individual/ Psychological
Useful references • Howitt, D. (2012). Introduction to Forensic and Criminal Psychology, 4thed, Harlow, Pearson Education Ltd. • McGuire, M., Morgan, R & Reiner, R. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Oxford, Oxford University Press. • Towl, G.J., Farrington., D.P., Crighton, D.A. & Hughes, G. (2008). Dictionary of Forensic Psychology, Devon, Willan Publishing. • Ward. T. & Stewart, C. (2003). The relationship between human needs and criminogenic needs, Psychology, Crime & Law, Vol. 9(3), pp. 219 -224