Biological and Psychological Perspectives of Crime - Essay Example

Biological and psychological perspectives of crime, crime careers and deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation Abstract Crime in the society has been a major social problem since human existence. Historical crime deterrence measures such as punishments, fines and incapacitation have done little to deter crime. The understanding of the biological and psychological explanation of the causes of criminal behavior can help in enacting correctional measures which seek to rehabilitate the offender thus preventing repeat crimes. Different types of crimes have different motivations which run from economic, political, ideological, religious, ethnic motive and social motive. Methods of deterring crimes like retribution and rehabilitation have curtailed the freedoms of the offenders without any significant reduction in the crime levels. Rehabilitation seeks to prevent further crimes and not punishing the offender hence it is an effective method of preventing further crimes in the society. The paper will provide recommendations on how one can become a useful member of society. Biological and psychological perspectives of crime, crime careers and deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation Introduction Crime has existed in the society since time immemorial. The society cannot completely eradicate crime hence various means have been devised to eradicate crime. Key to these means include deterrence mechanisms which include punishments like jail imprisonments and fines. However, devising efficient methods to combat crime entails understanding crime from both the biological and psychological perspectives (Conklin, 2010). There are different organizational structures for crimes which depend on the number of the members involved, the nature of the crime, the communication requirements and the motivations of the criminal activity. Many judicial systems have relied on incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation to control the crime rate in the society. Interestingly, rehabilitation has proved to be more effective than the other methods which are geared at punishing the offender (Conklin, 2010). This paper will consider the biological and psychological explanations of crime and the organization of crimes. The paper will also address the different forms and functions of punishments and their effects in deterring repeat crimes. Biological and psychological explanations of crime Numerous theories have been advanced by researchers to explain the biological and psychological causes of crime. For instance, Aristotle found out that poverty is the main cause of revolutions and crimes. According to the classical theory of criminology, people choose their criminal behavior if they believe the benefits of crime outweigh the costs. The classical theory argues that it is appropriate to make punishment equal the nature of the crime committed in order to achieve deterrence. Generally biological explanations of crime assert that persons commit crimes due to genetic make up where they are considered ugly in the society. Psychological explanations dwell on the personality imbalances which develop early during childhood (Conklin, 2010). The earliest biological explanation of criminal activity was the atavism theory which was developed by Lombroso in which he concluded that a person is “born criminal”. Atavism is a primitive man in the early age of human evolution hence will commit crime unless he or she is restrained. According to Lombroso theory, criminals can be determined by their physical appearance and attributes (Conklin, 2010). Lombroso theory only investigated the postmortem bodies of dead criminals where his investigations revealed that the structure of the skulls and jaws was different from that of non-criminals. Lombroso argues that criminality is inherited hence people have no control of their criminal behavior. According to him, criminals can be identified by physiognomic defects such as sloping brow which is a symbol of low intelligence and renowned jaw which symbolizes strong passion. According to the theory, the criminals have attributes of sloping brows, high cheek bones, and handle shaped ears, scanty beard and insensitivity to pain (Conklin, 2010). Bowlby theory of criminal behavior identifies the patterns of attachment between the mother and child which occurs through genetically inherited skills such as crying or facial expressions. According to his theory, maternal deprivation results to aggression, delinquency and delinquency anxiety which results to criminal behavior. The theory could be true because women prisoners are allowed to stay with their new borne child for about two years (Conklin, 2010). Another biological explanation for criminal behavior is the William Sheldon (1942) theory where he argued that the body type (somatype) is correlated with the personality. He surveyed several male physiques and grouped his findings in three categories where the first is the Ectomorphics which were the individuals who were tall, thin, introverted, sensitive, and nervous and with well developed brains (Albanese, 2012). The second groups comprised the Mesomorphs who were muscular, vigorous, bold, assertive and athletic people. The third category comprised of Endomorphs who were the obese, soft, sociable and fun loving people. In conclusion he asserted mesomorphics were more likely to commit crimes. Later researchers like Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck (1950) found similar results with a different sample. However, Philip Feldman (1977) asserted that Mesomorphics due to their ugly appearance are likely to be juvenile offenders hence their bodies develop muscles due to heavy work in prisons (Albanese, 2012). According to the genetic theory of criminal behavior, certain criminal traits exist in the body of a person. The genetic theory was evidenced by conducting twin studies where the researchers examined the concordance rate where DiLalla and Gorresman(1990) did the metanalysis for four decades and concluded that average concordance rate for fraternal twins was 22 percent and for identical twins was 51 percent. According to the adoption study which was conducted by Cloninger and others in 1982, children whose biological parents were criminals have 12 percent likelihood of becoming criminals and 6 percent likelihood of becoming criminals if adopted parents were criminals (Conklin, 2010). Biological perspectives of crime can be explained by the natural chemicals and imbalances which are present in the body of the person. For instance, Conklin (2010) has identified violent behaviors which are linked to mental defects in neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. The neurotransmitters plays a major function in the mental processes and influence the mood, sleep and concentration of the person hence such imbalances may lead one to exhibit violent behaviors like aggression which can lead to criminal activities (Conklin, 2010). There are numerous psychological theories which can be used to explain the criminal behavior. The first psychological theory was offered by Freud where he attributed crime to unchecked ego and super-ego. Freud believes that criminals perform criminal acts to fulfill their ego and relief their guilt feelings. Freud suggests that a child needs conducive work environment. In his research, he interviewed juvenile delinquents and compared them non-criminal but disturbed juveniles where out of 44 interviewed, 39 percent had experienced total separation from parents for a period of six months and more in the last five years. The current research has supported the claims that most criminals come from unstable families (Conklin, 2010). According to the personality theory, crime is a result of defective, deviate behavior which results from inadequate personality. Examples of such behaviors include aggression and hostility (Albanese, 2012). According to the psychoanalytic theory, the causes of crime are personal to each individual. According to Eysenck’s personality theory, extraverts are more likely to participate in crimes in order to gain excitement since they are less likely to learn the costs of crime through the classical and operant conditioning. Psychopaths are the people who frequently engage criminal behavior hence are deceitful and arrogant. Psychopaths commit most of the violent crimes since they are unable to inhibit behavior. Desire for psychological arousal in unapproved means can also lead one to commit crimes. Child abuse can also be responsible for criminal behavior. For instance, 42 percent of the 36 murders interviewed in USA had been sexually abused when young. In the future, psychologists and the law enforcement agencies should implement measures which reduce the child abuse (Albanese, 2012). Valuable members of the society should understand the biological make up of different people by early detection of behavior which may forecast future criminal activities. Organization of criminal behavior Criminals have their own social organization structure a part from the normal lives of the common people. Just like a corporate organization where we have the general manager, criminal circles can be broken down to groupings of gangs and networks (Albanese, 2012). Some of the criminal gangs operate a patron-client networks which have hierarchies based on the family, social and cultural traditions. The patron-client networks include nepotistic vale systems and are closely knit. Such network also includes deeply entrenched religious, family values and class politics and a well established communication channel. Sicilian Mafia is an example of such patron-client network gang. Other gangs follow bureaucratic operations where there is complex authority structure, strict rules and division of labor with the communication flowing from top to down. Drug smugglers and criminal families can be described as network of criminals with clear leadership. There are also aggregates which are the criminals who mainly participate in the illegal activities in the black market (Conklin, 2010). The knowledge is useful in combating the criminal gangs and helping the youths stay away from crime by providing them with education and job opportunities in order to earn a living. Organized criminal gangs participate in crimes such as extortion, abduction, kidnappings for ransom, caste conflicts, drug smuggling, illegal immigration and violence. Organized criminal gangs target the lucrative industries like banking and restaurants. These kind of criminals are very violent but they also care for their families hence their primary motivator to crime is to make economic gains from their illegal activities (Conklin, 2010). Mercenary gangs combine professional killers who commit murder for money. The mercenaries assault other groups or individuals. Mercenaries have an organization which includes different gangs each occupying a different territory where the members undertake the roughest activities like smuggling, kidnapping, maiming and killing. Mercenary gangs are highly disciplined, efficient and motivated in their criminal activities. Street crime which is mainly conducted by organized or unorganized groups involve predatory crimes such as robbery, assault, burglary, auto theft and larceny which occur mostly on the crowded streets (Albanese, 2012). The street gangs involve mainly the minority groups in the society who feel isolated. The main motivation of the street crime is economic benefits though some members commit the criminal activities to show loyalty and allegiance to the gang. Criminal networks such as terrorism organizations commit crimes against the innocent citizens of a particular country mainly for political and ideological goals. Currently, some terrorism activities have been conducted on the basis of extreme religious faiths where the members want to assert the dominance of a particular religion in some countries (Conklin, 2010). Hate crimes may involve individuals or groups. They are committed against persons on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientations. Personal characteristics can also influence the commission of hate crimes. The main motivation of hate crimes is to assert racial or ethnic advantage over the other races or ethnic groupings (Conklin, 2010). White collar crimes such as computer fraud, embezzlement, credit card fraud, currency schemes, forgery, insider trading, police impersonations, money laundering and tax evasion mainly involve politicians, businessmen and financial transactions. These are mainly non-violent crimes which may involve numerous people and financial institutions in different countries hence the main motivator is to receive economic benefits (Conklin, 2010). Drug crimes which include the unlawful possession, sale, distribution and manufacturing or cultivation of the unlawful drug crops like cocaine and heroine include wide organized networks and families in different continents. The ordinary members of the network and family members may be forced by the drug trafficking patrons who demand strict obedience and secrecy from the members of the drug distribution chain (Albanese, 2012). Deterrence, incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation The society and the judicial justice systems have different methods of controlling crimes. Every jurisdiction has its own system of combating crime (Conklin, 2010). The criminal punishment aims at deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation. Many criminal researchers have argued on the best method of punishing the criminals and the importance of the criminal justice system in ending the crimes. The criminal punishments whether jail imprisonments, fines, correctional systems and rehabilitation should aim at combating the crimes in the society (Albanese, 2012). Criminal Justice system punishments play the role of deterrence. Deterrence is the threat of punishment which seeks to combat criminal activities. General deterrence seeks to influence the future behavior of criminal elements that are yet to be brought to justice but have intentions of committing crimes. Specific deterrence seeks to reduce the chances of repeat offenses by convicted offenders (Conklin, 2010). Deterrence calls for severe punishment to the convicted offender in order to protect the citizens from being victims of crime by criminal elements in the society. Deterrence has not helped in controlling crime since it does not give the offender the opportunity to change their criminal behavior. Many convicted criminals commit further crimes while incarcerated. Incapacitation is the second main goal of the criminal punishment which seeks to prevent the public from the criminal acts of the offenders. Incapacitation is done by isolating the offender from the society and placing them in prisons where they serve jail terms making sure they cannot commit further crimes to the public. Incapacitation is mainly utilized for serious crime perpetrators like murderers, kidnappers and rapists (Albanese, 2012). Incapacitation does not consider the reasons why the offender committed the crime hence no counseling is offered to the convicted offender. Research ahs shown that incapacitation does not deter crime since most of the incapacitated offenders repeat the same crimes after their jail terms. Incapacitation is also costly to the government since many prisons have to be constructed. Many prison police officers have to be employed to guard the incapacitated offenders. The government has to spend further resources on maintaining the incapacitated offenders (Conklin, 2010). The third form and function of the criminal punishment is retribution which aims to punish the crime in equal manner with the offence committed (Albanese, 2012). Retribution causes pain to families and dependents of the offender since crimes like murder calls for capital punishment according to the retribution’s approach. The main proponents of retribution argue that offender deserves the punishment due to the intrinsic good in their guilt of suffering and punishment should annul the crime committed. They also claim offenders have knowledge of the punishments while committing the crimes hence they deserve such punishment. Opponents of retribution argue that it does not prevent further crimes hence punishment should only be justified when it combats further crime and brings good to the society (Albanese, 2012). Rehabilitation seeks to bring fundamental changes to the offender’s behavior. The goal of rehabilitation is to reduce the criminal offense rates while deterrence aims at creating fear to criminals (Albanese, 2012). Rehabilitation includes community supervisions and probations where the behavior of the offender is monitored during a counseling period of time. Rehabilitation may involve placing the offenders in correctional facilities where they are counseled on the importance of respect to the rule of law. Rehabilitation also involves training offenders on technical skills hence they can secure jobs after the correctional period and deter from further crimes (Albanese, 2012). Conclusion The effective control of crime in the society entails understanding of the biological and psychological aspects of crime. Deterrence, retribution and incapacitation have not been able to reduce the crime in the society hence there is a need to implement rehabilitation measures. The goal of the judicial justice systems should not be to punish the offender for the crimes committed but to rehabilitate the offender in controlling repeat crimes which can be done probations and community supervisions. Rehabilitation can prevent future crimes hence the knowledge is useful in preparation of counseling probation and correctional needs which cater for the unique biological and psychological needs of the offenders. The knowledge can help an individual stay away from criminal activities and advice peers on the dangers of crime. References: Albanese, J. S. (2012). Professional ethics in criminal justice: Being ethical when no one else is looking. (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Conklin, J. E. (2010). Criminology. (10th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More