Risk Factors of Special Criminal Populations - Essay Example

Identify and describe risk factors and causes of criminal behavior for each of the two special criminal populations you selected. Sexual Serial Killers: Sexual serial killers usually have sadistic tendencies; they love to kill for pleasure. The greatest risk associated with them is homicide. They get sexual gratification from murdering their victims. Marc Lepin, a mass murdered entered a classroom and opened fire, killing 14 women in the process. They might not be as silent as stalkers but the risks associated with them are more threatening.

Causes for such behaviors vary; they include genetics as well as environmental factors. Stalkers: Before 1989, stalking wasn’t really considered a threat that would enable victims to drag the offenders (stalkers) to the courts. But the murder of Rebecca Schaeffer changed the whole situation. Risk factors associated with stalkers are; they are silent predators and usually hide under the cloak of fandom, they can harass the victims in many ways, the ultimate risk is death. The court’s order against stalking is defined in two narrow parameters; either the stalker is coming in the physical proximity of the victim or is trying to harass/terrify the victim with measures such as mails, email, phone calls, text messages or with other criminal innovations.

The causes of stalking are mostly attributed to environmental factors like disrupted childhood. Compare and contrast risk factors and causes of criminal behavior for the two populations you chose.Compared to stalking, serial killers are much more dangerous. The causes and risks in both populations are different. Serial killers usually take two factors; the genetics and environment, to cause such a violent behavior. While a stalker (although the research on stalking is very limited) usually acts that way because of environmental factors.

The approach in the latter is usually quiet and methodical and very rarely takes the shape of a homicide. A serial killer, on the other hand, is by definition a homicide; a person whose aim is to kill the other person to get satisfaction. This satisfaction can also be a form sexual perversion (a disorder of sexual behavior such as necrophilia). Provide one or two insights for how your analysis would inform the rehabilitation of special criminal populationsAt the rehab center for stalkers, a psycho-analyst can dig deep down into the childhood of the stalker.

The point is to identify what triggers such behavior. Was it being neglected during childhood? Or was there some obsession that the suspect developed due to abusive parents or siblings? Once such factors are correctly identified, rehab can truly be effective. For instance what was not provided for the ‘patient’ during the childhood can be arranged so that the need can be fulfilled. Rehabilitating a serial killer is much more difficult. Genetics play a huge role in triggering such behavior, curing the genes and the DNA is probably not yet offered at hospitals.

Similar to stalkers, the psychologists first need to pin point exactly why the person is involved in such crimes. If it is a mental disorder, then depending on the severity, medication can be started. If it is a clinically perverted sexual orientation then shock therapy or something along those lines can be recommended for the person. But there also comes a saturation point. It can also be diagnosed that the person will never be completely healed and needs to be retained in a special facility like prison or a mental institution.

As implied above, environmental factors might be cured due to better environment, economic stability, healthy relationships but a genetic mental disorder that sends the patient on a killing spree can be very hard to treat.