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PSYB3 - Forensic Psychology

PSYB3 - Forensic Psychology. Forensic psychology. Defining & measuring crime Offender profiling Theories of criminal behaviour Punishing & treating crime. Today’s session. What is a crime?. What is a crime?.

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PSYB3 - Forensic Psychology

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  1. PSYB3 - Forensic Psychology

  2. Forensic psychology • Defining & measuring crime • Offender profiling • Theories of criminal behaviour • Punishing & treating crime

  3. Today’s session

  4. What is a crime?

  5. What is a crime? “Crimes...are acts attracting legal punishment. [They] are offences against the community” Blackburn (1993; p. 5)

  6. What is a crime? • Crimes have consequences that may range from trivial to highly injurious. They also: • Are socially disapproved of • Involve the violation of moral rules • However, Blackburn notes exceptions to these conditions. How many can you identify?

  7. What is a crime? • Socially disapproved of. What about... • Using work stationery for personal use? • Exceeding the speed limit? • Violate moral rules. What about... • Possessing marijuana? • Consensual sex between 15 year olds?

  8. What is a crime? • Are there any acts that everyone can agree are deserving of legal punishment? • Most societies condemn murder, rape and theft (Lemert, 1972).

  9. What is a crime? • “The core of criminal law is the same, but the border moves” (Feldman, 1993; p4). E.g. • Sexual conduct • Drugs and alcohol • Religious conduct • Criminal law in these areas varies greatly over time and between different places. How many examples can you think of?

  10. What is a crime? • The prevailing Western legal view is that a crime involves: • Actus reus – a voluntary act • Mens rea – an intention to commit the act • Does this satisfactorily distinguish between crimes and non-crimes?

  11. What is a crime? • What problems arise from: • requiring mens rea? • requiring actus reus? • Where might psychologists and members of the legal professions come into conflict? • Relevant issues: • Strict liability offences • Criminal responsibility/diminished responsibility

  12. What is a crime? • Some basic conclusions: • A crime is an act that violates the criminal law of a particular society at a particular time. • ‘Crime’ is not a natural or homogenous category of behaviour. • So what should we study? • Crime as legally defined? • Harmful antisocial behaviour (‘criminal’ or not)?

  13. What is a crime? • “one common feature is the knowledge of the lawbreaker that it attracts legal punishment [...] rulebreaking is a meaningful [...] focus for criminological psychology.” Blackburn (1993; p.17)

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