Tattooing and Criminological Research in the Area of Forensics - Term Paper Example

Tattooing and Criminological Research Introduction Tattoos have been used since prehistoric periods, and their meaning varied from culture to culture. Although the history of tattoos began thousands of years ago, it became increasingly prevalent over the last few decades. Today pop culture icons and other celebrities wear tattoos in order to meet their fashion needs, to enhance physical endurance, and to reflect sexual notions. As a result of the growing popularity of prison tattooing, tattoos are often linked to deviant behaviours. Even when an estimated one-third of the US population carries a tattoo, many people still think that tattooing is a direct reflection of deviance. With the social image of tattooed individuals still under debate, it is an undoubted fact that tattoos have a great role to play in the forensic science. Evidences suggest that tattoos have assisted investigation officers to prove convictions in many popular cases. In addition, the proper knowledge of tattoos may benefit criminal justice personnel, court players, and correctional officers to reduce crime rates through shared efforts. This paper will discuss the practice of tattooing from a criminological perspective. The psychological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives of tattooing also will be described here. History of Tattooing While analysing the history of tattooing, it is identified that the practice of tattooing has not left much historical evidences despite its immense popularity. As described by Pesapane, Nazzaro, Gianotti and Coggi (2014), the etymological origin of the word ‘tattoo’ is generally attributed to major derivations. First is that this term was derived from the Polynesian word ta (meaning striking something) and the second is that it was derived from the Tahitian word tatau (meaning ‘to mark something’) (Pesapane et al). The practice of tattooing is believed to have begun thousands of years ago, and its history is varied and diverse depending on who use them. As described in the website Tattoo Temple, from a scientific viewpoint, tattooing is the practice of inserting coloured materials beneath the surface of the skin (Tattoo Temple). Historians believe that the first tattoos were created unintentionally. They assume that someone with a small wound on his/her body might have rubbed it with a dirty hand that was covered with soot or ash. Once the wound had healed, there remained a permanent mark because the skin was healed over the ash (Tattoo Temple). Ancient Greek and Roman historians spread first light on the development of tattooing in Europe. The archaeological findings, which are scarce and open to interpretations, are the only sources of information that helped historians improve the knowledge of tattooing in Europe. Experts in the field of tattooing believe that this practice already existed in Europe 12,000 years ago, even before the last Great Ice Ace. Sharpened flit instruments along with bowls bearing black and red pigments were discovered in France, Portugal, and Scandinavia in 1867. Identifying the shape and size of those tools, researchers argue that those instruments have been used for tattooing (Tattoo Temple). Images of people with four tattooed horizontal lines on both sides of their noses were discovered on prehistoric stone pillars in France. Clay cucuteni figures (dated back to 5,000 BC) bearing the evidences of tattoos have been found in the Romanian Danube region (Tattoo Temple). Although drawings and figurines that were found in a Thracian burial mound near Philippopolis depict tattooed people, researchers claim that those art works might represent body painting or finely worked figurines (Tattoo Temple). While examining the case of United Kingdom, it seems that the practice of tattooing had greatly spread to the British society by the 19th century although it was largely associated with sailors. However, it is to be noted that public schoolboys in the British society practiced tattooing from 1840s. By 1870s, tattooing became fashion among some of the upper class members of the society. In 1898, Harmsworth magazine estimated that nearly one in five members of the British upper classes was tattooed. Tattoos have been fashionable among celebrities and socially acceptable since 1970s (Wilkie, 2014). ‘Otzi the Ice man’ established a milestone in the history of tattooing when his body was found on a mountain between Austria and Italy. Further investigations assisted researchers to identify that people living in the mountainous regions of North America used therapeutic tattoos to treat rheumatic pains. The term tattoo has undergone a conceptual redefinition over the last several decades so that it has shifted from a form of deviance to a socially acceptable form of expression. In the 2000s, the broader popularity of tattoos became evident within the pop culture and as a result many art exhibitions featured tattoos as a major form of art (Tattoo Temple). Overview of Tattoos within the Area of Forensics The practice of tattooing is very common within correctional facilities and it is greatly related to the behavioural traits of criminals and deviants. Prison tattooing can be simply referred to the practice of marking of the skin by pigmented materials and displaying them in a prison environment. Currently American and Russian prisoners use tattoos to convey gang membership, code, or other hidden meanings purely for criminal purposes (Macdonald, 2014). Correctional officers indicate that tattoos may be used to express the wearer’s personal history such as skills, specialities, achievements, and convictions. Tattoos are often used by inmates as a means of personal expression. Researchers in the field say that certain tattoo designs have recognized coded meanings. However, this coding system is really complex and therefore tattoo designs are not widely recognized across the globe (Macdonald, 2014). Since tattooing is forbidden in most prisons worldwide, tattooing is often done secretly. As a result of the illegal status of prison tattooing, inmates cannot use proper equipment necessary for this practice. This situation forces prisoners to seek new ways and devices to create tattoo designs out of their limited belongings. Correctional officers indicate that inmates often use mechanical pencils, radio transistors, paper clips, magnets, staples, or guitar strings to make their own tattooing devices (Wax, 2014). Likewise, the ink for tattooing is either taken from pens or they are artificially made using melted plastic, melted Styrofoam, or soot mixed with shampoo. Generally, prison tattooists are paid for their job and they may receive anything from stamps and cigarettes to actual cash. Due to the secrecy of prison tattooing, this illegal practice may take a few hours to a few years depending on the complexity of art work (Wax, 2014). When it comes to motifs, it is observed that different symbols and numbers are used to represent multiple gangs or groups (Tattoo Motif and Symbolism). Images like spider webs are widely used to represent the terms and length of punishment. The widely-recognized teardrop tattoo is used to indicate each murder committed. Another objective of prison tattooing is to communicate who prisoners are as people – for instance, white supremacists generally use very well-known tattoos to reflect their beliefs. The percentile symbol (100%) is such a common symbol used by a white supremacist to indicate his/her racial purity (Tattoo Motif and Symbolism). Three dots arranged in a triangular shape, meaning ‘my crazy life’, is commonly linked to the Mexican mafia whereas four dots reflecting the same meaning is used by Mexican gang members associated with the NuestraFamillia (Department of Corrections, 2007). It is found that a clock with no hands is used to depict ‘doing time’ and the number 13 to reflect being unlucky (C1 Staff, 2014). Five dots tattoo is one of the most common prison tattoos used worldwide with different meanings in different cultures. In the United Kingdom, it is widely seen that criminals tattoo four dots across their knuckles that stand for ACAB (All Coppers Are Bastards).Another popular prison tattoo in UK is a single dot on each hand in between the thumb and forefinger, reflecting that going into prison and completed sentence. In Ireland, ex-inmates use a single dot placed under the right eye, and this is colloquially called ‘jail dot’. Although Borstal dot was another major prison tattoo that meant doing time, its popularity considerably declined with the abolition of Borstals. In the North American context, common tattoos bear the names of relatives or gang members, symbols of aggression, or religion imagery. Three dots or four dots represent another popular prison tattoo used in American correctional facilities, especially by Hispanic inmates. The dots indicate that the tattoo wearer have earned his/her position in the gang. (C 1 Staff, 2014). Tattooing is of great importance in the field of forensics because this practice has assisted investigating agencies to prove convictions and to identify offenders many times. As tattoos provide scientific and valid evidences in a court of law, they help judges to make well-informed and authentic judgements (Jennings, Fox & Farrington, 2014). Following the nature of tattoos, it is easy for crime investigating officers to identify the involvement of a particular gang in a crime and to capture all the persons involved in the crime. It is relevant to note that prison tattooing may have adverse health implications because improper equipments are used and efficient means of sterilisation is not possible when tattooing is practiced in a prison environment. Prison tattooing may lead to the transmission of deadly diseases like hepatitis and AIDS because of the shared use of the tattooing needles. In addition, the makeshift ink may contain toxic chemicals, and hence it would result in permanent scarring (Jennings, Fox & Farrington). Literature review on Tattoo Studies ‘The consumption of tattoos and tattooing: The body as permanent text’ is a thesis submitted by Follett (2009) for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In this paper, the author investigates the permanence of tattooing through researching tattoo consumption in the social-historical context of being tattooed. Follett explores how permanence occurs with respect to tattoo consumption, with particular importance given to physical permanence linked to identity creation. The author relies on the Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) to support his arguments and suggestions. He suggests that tattoo consumption has become a means of embodied expression, which is bounded by physicality and permanence. Follett also evaluates the typology of tattooed consumers on the basis of commitment. Follett found that the commitment to tattoo usage reflects the physical permanence. The permanent nature of tattooing presents it as an act of consumption which is dualistic in nature, socially accepted and yet equally rejected. Being tattooed reflects a form of consumption that breaks certain rules and norms of the society and yet at the same time forms the basis for community membership and compliance with a set of sub-cultural norms and values. The author used existing literature and empirical evidences to support his findings and to structure this paper. According to another study edited by Burrows, K & Smith (2011), the current social science literature on tattooing is mainly based on two divergent paths. The first interpretation is generated from the mental health community and identifies the practice of tattooing as an outward manifestation or a future deviance predictor. The second interpretation is based on anthropological and sociological perspectives and presents tattooing as a new form of creating meaning and facilitating identity formation. The view that the former interpretation is losing its relevance and validity and the latter is becoming an increasingly conducive frame for the interpretation of this popular social phenomenon. The writers use concepts like coping, mastery, self-efficacy, and narrative self-construction from social psychology to demonstrate how tattooing may perform a pro-social activity rather than an anti-social activity expressing social disaffection. Ellis (2012) in the book titled ‘Tattoos – Philosophy for everyone: I ink, therefore I am’ states that it is possible to read many things about the criminality of a person from the pattern of the tattoo he/she wears. The author quotes to the popular norm ‘I tattoo myself, therefore I will commit murder’. Referring to this, the writer shows that tattoos hold out an interpretive promise and point toward future or past. In addition, Ellis claims that that all tattoos may not be understandable to all as they may be greatly influenced by changing cultural norms. The author also examines tattooing in the perspectives of Christianity that banned this practice. Ellis says that Christians responded brutally to the tattoo business occurred on Sundays, particularly during church services. ‘Tattoos as personal narrative’ is a thesis paper written by Michelle Alcina (2012) for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology. This paper is drafted with intent to explore the history of tattoos in the United States and to identify their role and significance in the modern society. Alcina tries to discover whether or not tattoos are capable of expressing an individual’s personal narrative or solidifying an individual’s sense of self. For this, the researcher relies on primary data collection techniques like interviews and various secondary data gathering approaches. According to Alcina, an individual’s desire for permanent record-keeping through tattooing suggests that he/she is experiencing postmodern conditions as noted by Kenneth Gergen, particularly his theory of saturated self. In this paper, the author concludes that tattoos have a tendency to serve as a creative method to solidify various and often conflicting aspects of personality. The findings of this research paper suggest that individuals form the significance of their tattoos in a wide variety of ways. The essence of this thesis paper is that tattoos serve as the personal narrative of individuals and hence tattoos that they wear provide a range of information about them. Mary (2000) presents tattoo as a form of visual communication which is relevant in a multiplicity of contexts. This research work draws up some key conclusions based on in-depth interviews with eight tattooed men and women. In her article, the writer strongly argues that a tattooed body has the power of distinct communication. In other words, a tattooed body can convey a range of information, not only about the identity of the individual but also about the culture in which the wearer lives. According to the observations made by Kosut, tattoo is a conceptual tool that can assist researchers to unlock the complicated relationship between the body, self-identity, and society. The writer considers tattoo as an aesthetic icon that could be read in many ways and as a cross-cultural, historical, and contemporary phenomenon. The author also observes that tattoos reveal information about how an individual’s body and self-identity are constructed and interconnected reflexively. ‘The communicative value of tattoos: The role of public self-consciousness on tattoo visibility’ is a research paper developed by Kathleen Doss and Amy S. Ebesu Hubbard (2009). In this scholarly article, the authors investigate the communicative value of tattoos with the help of impression management principles. They particularly examine the extent to which tattooed individuals would depend on their tattoos to communicate to others, the link between communicative value and tattoo visibility, and the relationship between public self-consciousness and tattoo visibility. The authors draw data from a survey conducted by tattoo shop patrons and undergraduate students to form good understanding of the communicative value of tattooing. Referring to the results of the survey, the writers demonstrate that the communicative value of the tattoo increases with tattoo visibility, and hence there is a positive correlation between these two. They also discovered that tattoo visibility decreased when public self-consciousness increased because individuals thought that the public would evaluate them negatively. Another major finding of this study is that concerns over minimising disapproval can influence the impression management of tattooed individuals. Wohlrab, Stahl and Kappeler (2007) try to explore various motivational factors for modifying the body by way of tattooing and piercing. They state that although body modifications have been prevalent for centuries, the practice of tattooing and piercing has become increasingly popular only a few decades ago. The researchers say that a detailed understanding of the underlying motivational factors behind tattooing and piercing is necessary to understand why modern people are so much interested in this type of body modification practices. They suggest ten broad motivational categories such as beauty, art, and fashion; individuality; personal narrative; physical endurance; group affiliations and commitment; resistance; spirituality and cultural tradition; addiction; sexual motivation (p.92). And, no specific reason influence people to acquire tattoos and body piercings. The writers require future researchers to focus on the quantity of motivations so as to demonstrate their influence on the acquisition of tattoos and body piercings. Overview of Tattoo Studies Involving Criminals ‘Inked into Crime? An Examination of the Causal Relationship between Tattoos and Life-Course Offending among Males from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development’ is a journal article written by Jennings, Fox and Farrington (2014). A number of previous studies have investigated the relationship between tattoos and crime and suggested that individuals with tattoos are more likely to commit crime and to be a victim to personality disorders. However, these individuals are disproportionately concentrated in institutionalised populations. In this research work, the authors used data from a study of 411 British males from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. They also used the propensity score matching to identify whether the link between tattoos and crime is casual. The authors found that having tattoos can be considered as a key symptom of a set of development risk factors and personality traits. The researchers also identified that the tattooed Cambridge males were more prone to individual and environmental risk factors and they were more likely to become binge drinkers and smokers at the age of 18. As compared to their non-tattooed counterparts, tattooed Cambridge males were convicted more than twice over their lifetime. George (2004) reviews the history of tattooing and the relevance of skin as a means of facilitating interpersonal communication. His paper takes psychodynamic dimensions of tattooing into account and evaluates different psychological and criminological tattoo studies. The writer particularly focuses on gang tattoos and tattooed criminals with respect to the criminal justice system. George gives some practical suggestions for criminal justice personnel, court players, and correctional officers regarding the importance of tattoos in field of criminology. The author suggests mental health professionals, particularly those in the field of forensics and corrections, to be aware of the possible significance of tattoos in offenders. The investigating and correctional officers should include their interpretation of offender tattoos in their reports so as to help court players to effectively deal with possible future recidivism. The author concludes that effective study of offender tattoos can greatly help law enforcement agencies to reduce their prevention and intervention costs notably. Camacho (2014) tries to challenge the common belief that tattoos represent the sign of deviant behaviour. According to Camacho, it is senseless to still consider tattoos as a sign of deviance even when an estimated one-third of the US population carries a tattoo. Although the practice of tattooing was first followed by the bodies of the lower classes and outcasts of society, this trend changed notably over the last few decades, and currently tattoos are widely used by today’s pop culture celebrities. The author points out that even though tattoos have moved from deviant subcultures to the mainstream over the last two decades, tattoos are still recognised to be a mark of the disfavoured factions of the society. The writer performs research study to determine whether or not tattoos and arrest seriousness are related. Random sampling method was used for evaluating the records of a total of 3,733 arrestees in Pinellas County Florida. The author used numerous logistic regression models to examine this relationship but no association was found. Hence, Camacho concludes that there is no association between tattoos and severity of offense charges. Byard (2013) argues that decorative tattooing has been prevalent in most societies over many centuries. The purpose of tattooing may vary from simple decoration to a marker of social status or membership in a criminal group. Tattooing is used in the field of medicine to mark areas for chemotherapy. Sometimes, the use of tattoos may be inadvertently associated with occupations like coal mining. In term of forensic science, tattoos are very beneficial to deal with body identification if facial features or other body parts have been damaged or removed. Byard says that it is possible to understand the history of the wearer from some tattoos – for instance, military tattoos may be seen in service personnel and rudimentary line tattoos in ex-inmates. Byard tells that since population movements occur at a fast pace today, common tattoos are less likely to be found during forensic evaluations. Josh (2009), in his scholarly paper says that today the practice of tattooing is followed by a diverse population in the United States. Due to the increased popularity of tattoos in the country, tattoos are considered to be grown beyond its negative associations. Researching on a representative data set comprising both tattooed and non-tattooed respondents, this paper tries to explore the social characteristics of tattooed individuals and the associations of tattooing with deviant behaviour. Referring to the findings, the writer argues there are still some strong associations between tattooing and deviance, specifically criminality. In particularly, Adams indicates that highly visible placement of tattoos may be closely linked with deviant behaviours. Hence, the author supports the common belief that tattoos may represent a sign of deviance. As Katherine (2003) points out, the practice of tattooing is often linked to negative deviance but many recent studies have focused on the connection between tattooing and positive deviance. The positive deviance perspective greatly motivated several strong theoretical views reflecting that deviance can be only conceptualised as a negative response to norm breaking. This scholarly paper pays attention to researchers studying positive deviants as well as those investigating negative deviants within the most elite realm of tattooing, tattoo collectors and tattooists. In his paper, Katherine tries to identify how these research groups employ both positive and negative deviant attributes to develop a privileged status on the fringe of society. For this, the author explores examples of individuals who exceed and fall below the accepted social norms. The author suggests two new categories of positive deviance such as high culture icon and popular celebrity. According to Kent (1997), anthropologists often attribute the fast growing popularity of tattoos to the ritual and magical significance of personal decoration in almost every part of the world. The exhibition of tattooed individuals in fairs and circuses during olden days greatly contributed to the popularity of tattooing. The writer says that tattooing may be considered as a deliberate decision to something in an enduring form. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that the practice of tattooing has sociological, psychological, anthropological, and criminological perspectives. It is identified that tattoos can serve as the personal narrative of individuals and hence people often find tattooing as a better way to express themselves before others. The permanent nature of tattooing reflects this practice as an act of consumption which is dualistic in nature, socially accepted and yet equally rejected. The current literature on tattooing interprets this practice as a new form of creating meaning and facilitating identity formation. The major motivational factors for tattooing and body piercing may include beauty, art, and fashion; individuality; personal narrative; physical endurance; group affiliations and commitment; resistance; spirituality and cultural tradition; addiction; sexual motivation and no specific reason. The presence of tattoos may be considered as a key symptom of a set of development risk factors. Mental health professionals, particularly those in the field of forensics and corrections, must be aware of the possible significance of tattoos in offenders because such knowledge would assist them to perform their tasks more efficiently. Many studies point to the conclusion that there is no association between tattoos and severity of offense charges. References Alcina, M. (2009)."Tattoos as Personal Narrative".University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations.Paper 993. Burrows, K & Smith, D. C. (Eds.).(2011). Mind, Body and Society. The Rutgers Journal of Sociology I, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Byard, R. W. (2013). Tattoos: forensic considerations. Forensic Sci Med Pathol, 9, 534–542. Camacho, J. (2014). "The Tattoo: A Mark of Subversion, Deviance, or Mainstream Self-Expression?".Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4994 C1 Staff. (Sep 4, 2014). 15 prison tattoos and their meanings. Retrieved from http://www.correctionsone.com/corrections/articles/7527475-15-prison-tattoos-and-their-meanings/ Department of Corrections. (2007). STG Identification Summary Guide. Retrieved from https://info.publicintelligence.net/MTgangguide.pdf Ellis, J. (2012). “How to read a tattoo and other perilous quests”.Chapter 2. In Tattoos – Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am. (ed.) R. Arp. US: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Follett, J. A. (2009). The consumption of tattoos and tattooing: The Body as permanent texts. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. George, B. P. (2004). Tattooing and Tattooed Criminals, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 4:1, 1-25, DOI: 10.1300/J158v04n01_01 Josh, A. (2009). Marked Difference: Tattooing and its Association with Deviance in the United States. Deviant Behavior, 30 (3), 266-292. Jennings, W. G., Fox, B. H & Farrington, D. P. (2014). Inked into Crime? An Examination of the Causal Relationship between Tattoos and Life-Course Offending among Males from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.Journal of Criminal Justice, 42, 77–84. Kathleen, D & Amy, S. E. H. (2009). The Communicative Value of Tattoos: The Role of Public Self-Consciousness on Tattoo Visibility. Communication Research Reports, 26 (1), 62-74. Katherine, I. (2003). Saints and Sinners: Elite Tattoo Collectors and Tattooists as Positive and Negative Deviants. Sociological Spectrum: Mid-South Sociological Association, 23 (1), 27-57. Kent, D. (1997). Decorative bodies: The significance of convicts’ tattoos. Journal of Australian Studies, 21 (53), 78-88. Mary K. (2000). Tattoo Narratives: The intersection of the body, self‐identity and society, Visual Sociology, 15 (1), 79-100. Macdonald, F. (April 24, 2014). Secret meanings of Russian prisoner tattoos. BBC Culture. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140424-decoding-russian-criminal-tattoos Pesapane, F., Nazzaro, G., Gianotti, R & Coggi, A. (2014). A Short History of Tattoo. JAMA Dermatology, 150(2):145. Tattoo Temple. Despite immense popularity, the practice has not left much of an historical record. Retrieved from http://tattootemple.hk/history-of-tattooing Tattoo Motif and Symbolism. Retrieved from http://www.thetattoocollection.com/tattoo_motifs_and_symbolism.htm Wohlrab, S., Stahl, J &Kappeler, P. M. (2007).Modifying the body: Motivations for getting tattooed and pierced.Body Image, 4, 87-95. Wilkie, P. M. A. (Aug 27, 2014). Tattoo and its generational fade. New Telegraph. Retrieved from http://newtelegraphonline.com/tattoo-and-its-generational-fade/ Wax, A. (April 11, 2014). Polish Prison Tattoos Displayed on Their Original Skin Canvases. IMDB. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/news/ni57061669/ Wesley G. J., Hahn, F. B & David, P. F. (Inked into Crime? An Examination of the Causal Relationship between Tattoos and Life-Course Offending among Males from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42 (1), 77-84. Read More