Psychology and Crime

by Pakes; Francis

• ISBN13: 9781843922605
• ISBN10: 1843922606
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-10-01
• Publisher: Willan

Summary

Society today is fascinated by crime. Crime is a hot topic in the media, so that people are continually exposed to criminal events, portrayals of those who commit them, and the suffering of victims. Yet the reality of crime is often very different from how it is portrayed in the media. Most crime is neither violent nor morbid; most offenders are not psychopaths, and although prison generally does not work, there may well be other, less punitive but more constructive interventions that are actually quite effective.This book exposes some of the most prevalent myths about crime and criminal behaviour. It also highlights the ways in which psychological methods of research and psychological knowledge can help us to understand criminal behaviour and the ways that targeted interventions are developed based upon this.Pakes' and Winstones' Psychology and Crime is essential reading for students taking courses in the psychology of crime, criminal and forensic psychology, criminology, and community justice, as well as for other courses where a knowledge of the complex relationship between psychology and crime - and its application in practice - is required. Practitioners and policy-makers will also find it highly informative.

Author Biography

DR. Francis Pakes is a principal-lecturer at the University of Portsrnouth. He coordinates a number of MSc programmes at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, including an MSc in criminology and criminal psychology. His other books include comparative Criminal Justice (Willan 2004), Community Justice (co-edited with Jane Winstone, Willan 2005) and Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice (co-edited with David Carson, Becky Milne, Karen Shalev and Andrew Shawyer; Wiley 2007). Jane Winstone is a principal lecturer at the University of Portsmouth where she also coordinates probation training. Her main research interests are in the management of mental health in the criminal justice system and in youth crime. Her recent publications include Community Justice (co-edited with Francis Pakes, Willan 2005) and a co-authored chapter (with Francis Pakes) in Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice(Wiley 2007).

Table of Contents

About the authors	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Why do people offend? psychological and sociological explanations	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Understanding causes of crime	p. 2
Biology	p. 4
Personality	p. 7
The family	p. 9
Environmental factors: bonds, gangs and society at large	p. 12
Conclusion	p. 16
The-criminal mind: understanding criminals from their- scene of crime	p. 19
Introduction	p. 19
Offender profiling	p. 20
Criminal profiling at the FBI	p. 22
Organised and disorganised offenders	p. 24
Statistical profiling	p. 28
The success of profilers	p. 29
Pschopathy and antisocial personality disorder	p. 31
Conclusion	p. 33
Pathways into crime: understanding juvenile offending	p. 35
Introduction	p. 35
Background	p. 36
Youth offending in England and Wales - key statistics	p. 36
Correlates and causes of youth crime	p. 37
Offender profiling and assessment	p. 44
Responses to youth crime	p. 47
Sentencing and legislation: prevention, punishment or net-widening?	p. 52
Conclusion	p. 55
Aggression and violence	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Frustration and aggression	p. 59
Testosterone, brain injury and a genetic defect	p. 61
Social learning	p. 63
Television and video games	p. 65
Alcohol	p. 68
The general aggression model	p. 71
Conclusion	p. 73
Sexual violence: from theory into practice	p. 74
Introduction	p. 74
Settings, scenarios and issues of consent	p. 75
Profile of sex offending in England and. Wales	p. 76
Recent legislation	p. 78
Sexual violence and typology	p. 80
Typology of child molesters	p. 83
Integrated theory and the sexual cycle of offending	p. 84
Biological and evolutionary explanations of sexual aggression	p. 88
Interventions and effectiveness	p. 88
Risk prediction and management	p. 92
Conclusion	p. 94
Insanity, mental health and the criminal justice system	p. 95
Introduction	p. 95
Types of mental disorder	p. 96
Personality disorder	p. 97
Psychosis - a break with reality	p. 102
Neurosis disorders	p. 105
Mood disorders	p. 105
Exploding the myth of mad, bad and dangerous	p. 106
Treatment or punishment?	p. 109
Conclusion	p. 114
Stalkers and their victims	p. 115
Introduction	p. 115
What is stalking?	p. 116
How common is stalking?	p. 119
Stalkers and victim characteristics	p. 121
Attachment, power and delusion	p. 122
Antistalking legislation	p. 126
Conclusion	p. 129
The psychology of addiction - are there more questions than answers? (by Aaron Pycroft)	p. 131
Introduction	p. 131
The assumptions of treatment approaches ”	p. 134
Is there a whiff of ’nothing works’ in the air?	p. 135
The trans-theoretical model of change (TTM)	p. 137
The strengths of the TTM	p. 138
Weaknesses of the TTM	p. 142
The way, forward	p. 144
Complex self-organising systems	p. 144
Conclusion	p. 147
Date rape and drugs	p. 149
Introduction	p. 149
Stranger rape, date rape and acquaintance rape	p. 150
Prevalence of date rape	p. 151
Who is at risk? Victims and offenders	p. 153
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA)	p. 157
Date rape drugs	p. 158
Conclusion	p. 161
Can prison ever work?	p. 165
Introduction	p. 165
The prison population	p. 166
The psychology of prison	p. 169
When things go wrong - the prison officer role	p. 169
When things go wrong - the detainee role	p. 172
Rehabilitation and the prison experience	p. 174
Rehabilitation and prison - the alternatives	p. 178
Conclusion	p. 180
Victims and fear of crime	p. 182
Introduction	p. 182
Who is afraid?	p. 184
Fear of crime and the media	p. 187
Deconstructing fear of crime	p. 189
Getting to the causes	p. 191
Defensible space	p. 192
Conclusion	p. 196
References	p. 197
Index	p. 227
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