CCJ1191 HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Introduction to Criminal Behavior
Criminal 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 Behavior
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 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 on Crime
Classical Theory
Free will
Decision to violate law is choice
Two Theoretical Perspectives on Crime
Positivist Theory
Determinism
Criminal behavior is result of social psychological biological influences
Perspectives on Human Nature
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 Perspective
Humans unruly and undisciplined, need rules and regulations to keep them in check
Social control theory
Travis Hirschi
Crime occurs when one’s ties to standards are weak or nonexistent
Perspectives on Human Nature
Learning Perspective
Humans learn all behavior and beliefs from the environment
Social learning theory
Rotter, Bandura
Humans born neutral and learn virtually all their behavior, beliefs, and tendencies form the social environment
Learning Perspective
Differential association
Sutherland
Criminal behavior is learned
People learn to be criminal as a result of messages they get from others who were also taught to be criminal
An excess of favorable messages to law violation over unfavorable messages promotes criminal activity
Three Perspectives on Human Nature
Criminology is study of crime; Primarily dominated by 3 disciplines:
Psychology, Psychiatry and Sociology
Sociological 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 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
Cognitions
Attitudes, beliefs, values, and thoughts that a person holds about the social environment, interrelations, human nature, and him or herself
Psychological criminology
Developmental Perspective
Psychiatric 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
Psychoanalytic Tradition
Psychoanalytic Tradition
Explains behavior in terms of motives and drives
Views human nature as innately antisocial
Humans are biologically driven to get what they want when they want it unless held in check by internal (conscience) and external (society) forces
Without organized society with rules and laws, humans would aggress, steal, plunder
The prime determinant of human behavior lies within the person, and after the first few years of life, the environment plays a very minor role
Measuring Crime
Official police reports
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Self-report studies
Arrestees Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM)
Monitoring the Future Study (MFS)
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA)
Victimization studies
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
Measuring Crime
Uniform Crime Reporting System (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 Crimes
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter
Forcible rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Burglary
Larceny-theft
Arson
Uniform Crime Reporting
Common 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 Problems
Hierarchy rule
Reliance on agencies to report crime
Dark figure
Missing information
Measuring Crime
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
All federal law enforcement agencies must collect and report data on two categories
Group A offenses
Group B offenses
Measuring Crime
NIBRS
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 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 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 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 Surveys
Measuring Crime
Victimization 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 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 Delinquency
Status offenses
Behavior not against the criminal code but forbidden to juveniles because of age
Running away
Curfew
Underage drinking
Truancy
Data Imperfect
Nature and extent unknown
Behavior may be regarded as “rite of passage” Stops with maturity and when stake in prosocial behavior
Antisocial 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 Chapter 1
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 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 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 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
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