APS 219: PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR

1.0 Introduction

The psychology of crime is the study of the psychological factors that contribute to criminal
behavior, including the motivations, thoughts, emotions, and personality traits of individuals
involved in illegal activities. This field of study seeks to understand why some individuals
engage in criminal acts while others do not and how psychological factors interact with social,
environmental, and cultural influences to shape criminal behavior.

The examination between psychology and crime provides an opportunity to consider how
individual psychological characteristics, experiences, and processes can contribute to the
commission of criminal acts.

The field of forensic psychology focuses on understanding how psychological principles can
shed light on the causes of crime, the motivations of offenders, and the impact of crime on
victims and society.

It also examines the application of psychological knowledge in the criminal justice system to
better understand and address deviance and criminal behavior. It’s important to note that while
psychology can provide valuable insights into criminal behavior, it is just one piece of a larger
puzzle.

Criminal behavior is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon influenced by social, economic,

cultural, and environmental factors, in addition to individual psychological traits. The
integration of psychological knowledge with other disciplines, such as sociology, criminology,
and law, is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of crime and the development of
effective strategies for crime prevention, intervention, and justice.

1.1 Personality Traits associated with Criminal Behavior

Certain personality traits have been associated with an increased likelihood of criminal
behavior. Traits such as impulsivity, sensation-seeking, low empathy, aggressiveness, and a
lack of conscience or guilt (associated with psychopathy) have been linked to criminal conduct.

Psychological traits that may be linked to criminal behavior include:

• Impulsivity: A tendency to act without thinking
• Sensation-seeking: A desire for intense experiences
• Low empathy: An inability to understand and share the feelings of others
• Aggression: A tendency to act in an aggressive manner
• Lack of conscience or guilt: A lack of remorse or guilt for one's actions
• Low tolerance for frustration: An inability to cope with frustration
• Substance abuse disorders: A tendency to abuse substances
1.2 Cognitive Factors Associated with Criminal Behavior

Cognitive factors play a role in criminal behavior. Deficits in decision-making, problem-

solving skills, and executive functions can lead individuals to engage in criminal acts as a way
of addressing their problems or achieving their goals.

1.3 Mental health Issues Associates with Criminal Behavior

Mental health issues can be relevant to criminal behavior, particularly in cases of severe
disorders like antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, or substance use disorders.
However, it is essential to recognize that most people with mental health issues are not involved
in criminal activities.

Adverse childhood experiences, such as physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or exposure to

violence, can significantly impact an individual’s likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior
later in life. Early trauma can affect brain development and lead to maladaptive coping
strategies.

The social learning theory suggests that individuals learn behaviors, including criminal ones,
through observation and imitation of others. Exposure to criminal role models or environments
can contribute to the adoption of criminal behavior.

Family influences, such as inconsistent discipline, family conflict, or a lack of parental

supervision, can impact an individual’s likelihood of engaging in criminal conduct. A
dysfunctional family environment may contribute to the development of delinquent behavior.

Peer relationships and social networks can play a significant role in criminal behavior.
Association with delinquent peers can reinforce criminal attitudes and behavior, leading to
further involvement in criminal activities.

Substance abuse can impair judgment and increase the likelihood of engaging in criminal acts
to obtain drugs or maintain an addiction.

Advances in neuroscience have shown that brain structure and functioning can influence
behavior, including criminal conduct. Abnormalities in certain brain regions may be associated
with increased aggression or impulsivity.

1.4 Environmental Factors

The psychology of crime is a complex and multidimensional field that considers various
individual and environmental factors. It’s essential to understand that criminal behavior is the
result of an intricate interplay between biological, psychological, social, and environmental
factors.

By integrating psychological knowledge with other disciplines, policymakers and practitioners

can develop more effective prevention and intervention strategies to address criminal behavior
and promote public safety. Moreover, understanding the psychological aspects of crime can
also contribute to efforts aimed at rehabilitation and reducing recidivism among offenders.
 CHAPTER 2

CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Although there are many different kinds of crimes, criminal acts can generally be divided into
five primary categories: crimes against a person, crimes against property, statutory crimes, and
financial crimes.

2.1 Crimes Against a Person

Crimes against a person are those that result in physical or mental harm to another person. They
can be divided into two main categories, forms of homicide and other violent crimes. Where
the physical harm to another individual is so severe that it causes death, a defendant may be
charged with any one of several types of homicide, including, for example, first-degree
murder, voluntary manslaughter, or vehicular homicide. Conversely, violent crimes, which are
also very severe, include:

Penalties
Crimes against a person often carry the steepest penalties.
▪ assault and battery
▪ arson
▪ child abuse
▪ domestic abuse
▪ kidnapping
▪ rape and statutory rape

2.2 Crimes Against Property

Crimes against property typically involve interference with the property of another party.
Although they may involve physical or mental harm to another, they primarily result in the
deprivation of the use or enjoyment of property. Many property crimes are theft crimes,
including burglary, larceny, robbery, auto theft, and shoplifting.

2.3 Inchoate Crimes

Inchoate crimes refer to those crimes that were initiated but not completed, and acts that assist
in the commission of another crime. Inchoate crimes require more than a person simply
intending or hoping to commit a crime. Rather, the individual must take a “substantial step”
towards the completion of the crime in order to be found guilty. Inchoate crimes include aiding
and abetting, attempt, and conspiracy. In some cases, inchoate crimes can be punished to the
same degree that the underlying crime would be punished, while in other cases, the punishment
might be less severe.

2.4 Statutory Crimes

Statutory crimes include those crimes, in addition to the crimes discussed above, which are
proscribed by statute. Three significant types of statutory crimes are alcohol related
crimes, drug crimes, traffic offenses, and financial/white collar crimes. These crimes are
specifically prohibited by statute because society hopes to deter individuals from engaging in
them. Alcohol-related crimes include a variety of offenses regarding how and where alcohol
can be consumed, such as:
Overlap
Statutory crimes may overlap with other types of crimes.
 ▪ Driving Under the Influence (DUI/OWI/DWI)
▪ Open Container Violations
▪ Minor in Possession of Alcohol
▪ Public Intoxication
▪ Underage DUI
▪ Boating DUI
▪ Selling and Supplying Alcohol to Minors
▪ Refusing to Perform a Field Sobriety Test
▪ Refusing to Perform a Breathalyzer or Provide a Blood Sample
Drug crimes concern any involvement in the creation or distribution of drugs, including drug
possession, drug manufacturing, and drug trafficking. One area of criminal law that is currently
receiving a great deal of attention is the regulation and prosecution of drug crimes related
to medical marijuana. Due to state trends toward the legalization of medical marijuana, this is
an area of criminal law that is in flux.

Traffic offenses include crimes that may arise while an individual is driving a vehicle on public
roadways. Because a DUI/OWI/DWI involves both alcohol and the use of a vehicle, it is
considered both an alcohol related crime and a traffic offense. Additional traffic offenses
include driving on a suspended or revoked license, driving without a license, hit-and-run
accidents, reckless driving, and vehicular assault. Where a traffic offense results in death, it
can be charged as a far more serious crime, such as a form of homicide.

2.5 Financial and Other Crimes

Finally, financial crimes often involve deception or fraud for financial gain. Although white-
collar crimes derive their name from the corporate officers who historically perpetrated them,
anyone in any industry can commit a white-collar crime. These crimes include many types
of fraud and blackmail, embezzlement and money laundering, tax evasion, and cybercrime.

In Kenya, criminal behavior is generally classified based on the severity of the offense, with
major categories including "serious offenses" like murder, robbery, rape, and kidnapping, and
"non-serious offenses" encompassing petty theft, assault, and minor property damage; this
classification is primarily based on the Kenyan Penal Code, which distinguishes between
felonies and misdemeanors depending on the potential punishment involved.
Key points about Kenyan criminal classification:
• Serious Offenses:
o Murder
o Robbery
o Burglary
o Rape
o Kidnapping
o Arson
o Ethnic violence
o Terrorism
• Non-Serious Offenses:
o Petty theft
o Assault
o Stealing domestic animals
o City and state regulation violations
o Drug offenses (depending on quantity and type)
Important factors in Kenyan criminal classification:
 • Penal Code:
The primary legal document defining criminal offenses and their associated penalties.
• Age of Criminal Responsibility:
Individuals under 18 are considered juveniles and are treated differently within the legal
system.
• Police Classification:
Kenyan police categorize crimes based on seriousness, determining the appropriate
investigative procedures.

2.6 Seven key requirements or elements that often define and explain criminal behavior

1. **Actus Reus (The Guilty Act)**

- This refers to the physical act of committing a crime. It can involve a range of actions, from
theft and assault to more complex activities like fraud or conspiracy. The act must be voluntary,
as involuntary actions (like reflexes or actions under duress) are generally not criminal.

2. **Mens Rea (The Guilty Mind)**

- Mens Rea refers to the mental state or intent behind the crime. It involves the intention to
commit a wrongful act or knowledge that the act was wrongful. Different crimes require
different levels of intent, such as:
- **Intent**: Deliberate purpose to cause harm.
- **Recklessness**: Disregard for a known risk of harm.
- **Negligence**: Failing to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will
result.

3. **Causation**
- The defendant’s actions must be the direct cause of the harm or injury that resulted. In legal
terms, causation refers to the link between the actus reus (the act) and the resulting harm. There
must be a clear connection that can be proven in court.

4. **Legality (The Principle of Legality)**

- A behavior must be prohibited by law at the time it was committed in order for it to be
considered criminal. This principle ensures that individuals cannot be prosecuted for actions
that were not illegal at the time they were performed (e.g., retroactive laws are generally not
allowed).

5. **Harm**
- Criminal behavior typically results in harm to individuals, property, or society. The harm
can be physical, financial, emotional, or psychological. Without harm, it may be difficult to
prove that the act is criminal, as criminal laws often exist to protect people or property from
harm.

6. **Concurrence**
- This principle requires that the guilty act (actus reus) and the guilty mind (mens rea) must
occur at the same time. The defendant must have the intent (mens rea) while committing the
act (actus reus). If the intent comes after the act or if the act was accidental, it may not constitute
criminal behavior.

7. **Punishment**
 - Criminal behavior typically results in a punishment or penalty, as defined by law.
Punishment can include imprisonment, fines, community service, probation, or other legal
consequences. The threat or imposition of punishment is meant to deter criminal conduct and
maintain social order.

These seven requirements or elements form the foundation for criminal law in many legal
systems. Not all crimes require all seven elements in every instance, but these elements are
useful for understanding how criminal behavior is defined and prosecuted.
 CHAPTER 3

PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR

3.0Introduction

“ Why are there crimes in the society?

Can any society be free of crime?
Why does a person commit crime?
Can crimes be prevented?”

To provide answers to these queries, criminal psychology takes the help of psychology and
uses some of the theories that explain criminality and criminal behaviour. Before proceeding
to discuss the theories and provide explanations to criminal behaviour, it is important to know
what is a “theory”. Often we ask “Why?” about many phenomena. Theory provides answers to
these “Why” questions. Theory helps enhance one’s knowledge of a subject area. Theory is a
combination of many ideas accepted by large number of persons in a community or society as
well by culture.

It is indeed well known that crime has existed from time immemorial. Many social scientists
such as criminologists, psychologists and others have attempted to explain why a person
commits a crime and why crime exists in society, but no specific conclusive answers have been
obtained.

While criminological theories try to explain crime and criminal behaviours in terms of society
and its environment, and many social changes that take place from time to time in the society,
psychologists try to explain crime and criminal behavior in terms of personality traits and
characteristics and psychopathology in the individual.

On the other hand biologists try to explain crime and criminal behaviours in terms of certain
biological, genetic, chromosomal, neurological and other related deficiencies with which the
individual is born.

There are basically five major psychological theories that are associated with criminal
psychology which deals with the thoughts and behaviours of offenders and criminals. These
are psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory, behavioural theory, personality theory and theory
of intelligence. These theories explain dynamics underlying crime and criminal behaviours.

3.1 Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Theories and Criminal behaviours

According to the psychodynamic theory, the early childhood experiences of the individual are
responsible for such behaviours. The proponent of this theory was Sigmund Freud and this
theory had three basic elements, viz., the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego.

While Id was considered the primitive part of the individual’s mental makeup and was also
present at birth onwards, the Ego developed in the early years of the individual’s life. The Id
functions on pleasure principle, in the sense, it needs immediate gratification of its needs,
desires and wishes.
Psychodynamic theorists are of the view that the individual’s personality is controlled by
unconscious mental processes having their origin in the person’s childhood. Thus, the Id
represents the basic biological drives for food, sex and other needs for the individual’s very
survival. Ego on the other hand functions on the reality principle, in the sense that it looks for
the available sources in the environment that could gratify the Id’s needs.

The Super ego is considered the moral arm of the individual’s personality. It is the embodiment
of all the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’, imbibed by the individual on the basis of do’s and don’ts,
dictated by the parents and significant others. The conscience is the sense of guilt when the
person does something wrong and the Ego Ideal is the idealistic view of all that which is
correct/right. While the Ego tries to gratify all the needs of the Id, it also makes sure that the
Super Ego’s requirements are not ignored and the ideal self remains and the person is not
overwhelmed by guilt feelings.

Thus the Ego strives to strike a balance between the Id’s desires and wishes and the moral
requirements of the Super Ego. So long as the Ego is strong and capable, neither the Id nor the
Superego becomes dominant or overpowering.

According to psychodynamic theory, the Id has been considered responsible for criminal
behavior. As mentioned above, Id is concerned with immediate gratification of its needs with
no concern for others or what is right and what is wrong. For instance, criminals have no
concern for their victims or the society or its laws and regulations. They are generally lonely,
interested in getting what they want by forcibly taking away from others their possessions in
the process injuring, harming the persons, to such an extent that if situation warrants, they may
take away the victim’s life too. Thus, psychodynamic theory explains criminal behavior in
terms of a dominant Id, frustration, provocation and childhood experiences such as being
neglected, unhappy and miserable, lack of love and nurturing and a very weak super ego which
is linked to immaturity, and dependency on others.

3.2 Cognitive theory and Criminal Behaviour

According to this theory, criminal behaviour is explained in terms of the mental processes of
the individual. The focus of this theory is to understand how criminals perceive the world
around them, and how the individuals solve problems. Cognitive theory has two sub
disciplines, ,
a) moral development
b) information processing.

a) Moral development:
The focus in moral development is to understand how individuals morally represent the world
and how do they reason about that world. In information processing, the focus is to study how
people people acquire, retain, and retrieve information. According to this theory, moral
development goes through three different levels and six different stages.

Level 1 is the Pre conventional which contains stages 1 and 2. Level II is called conventional
and contains stages 3 and 4. The third level (Level C) is called post conventional and contains
stages 5 and 6.

LEVEL I Pre conventional level: Covers kindergarten to class 5,

Stage 1 refers to obedience and punishment. Children will have to learn to behave according
to acceptable norms as laid by parents, teachers and the school. Obedient behaviour in children
at this stage is ensured through punishment.

Stage 2, the main characteristics to be developed by children include individualism,

instrumentalism and exchange. This stage focusses on the child developing the ‘right’
behaviour, inferring that the child behaves correctly and acts appropriately in his or her own
best interests.

LEVEL II Conventional level; This covers stages 3 and 4.

Stage 3, the individual is able to understand and recognise that he/ she is a member of the
society and has certain roles to play and are concerned with the approval and disapproval of
people in the society.

Stage 4 which is contained in this level 2, focusses on the individuals accepting the importance
of laws, rules and customs of the society. Such an understanding helps the individual to
function properly in the society, obey and recognise the social pillars of the society.

In other words, the child or the individual develops into a person who is reliable, who can
distinguish between right and wrong, is decent, hardworking, helpful and compassionate
towards others, engages in voluntary work and takes up worthy causes to work on for the
benefit of the society etc. The person is law abiding and follows all norms.

At this point, it is important to remember that no society can function without law and order
and by punishing those who violate the law, the society ensures obedience from its people. In
other words, people obey law and order due to fear of punishment. According to Kohlberg
(1984), most people in any society are at this stage of moral development, wherein morality is
driven by external force.

Level III Post conventional level; This contains stages 5 and 6.

Stage 5 is referred to as social contract (decisions taken by majority opinion with scope for
compromise)
Stage 6 is known as principled conscience (principled justice and human autonomy).
For explaining criminality and criminal behaviour, this theory states criminals are significantly
lower in their moral judgment development.
Thus one explanation for criminal behaviour based on this theory is that those who are low in
moral judgement, are more prone to criminal behaviour as compared to those who are high in
this characteristic.

b) Information processing and criminal behaviour:

Under cognitive theory, information processing is an important aspect. According to this,
people use their thought processes step by step to make a decision based on the information
that they received through their information processing system.

For instance, as the individual experiences an event, he/ she gathers all the relevant information
from the environment and stores them for retrieval at a later time.

Then the person searches for the appropriate response and from amongst the responses, selects
the most appropriate one for action. Those persons who use the information correctly and
appropriately will avoid criminal or delinquent behaviours.
Also those who make reasoned judgements when encounter emotional situations, would most
likely avoid criminal or antisocial behaviours. One of the reasons for inappropriate reasoning
is the faulty cognitive processes, that is the individual is following what he/ she had learned in
childhood.

Also such inappropriate reasoning may result from a very long period of exposure to violence
and also can be the consequence of rejection. and neglect experienced in childhood. These
persons tend to become hypersensitive and often resort to violent behaviours, as a coping
mechanism, in addition to becoming alcohol and substance dependent. Thus, cognitive theories
explain criminal behaviour as a defect in thought processes, mental development and moral
thinking.

3.3 Behavioural Theory and Criminal Behaviour

The main tenet of this theory is that all behaviours are learned and hence can be unlearned and
a new behaviour which is more appropriate and desired can be learned in place of the
undesirable behaviour. By the same logic, criminal behaviour or violent behaviours too are
lea\ned and so can be unlearned, and in their place new and desirable behaviours can be learned
afresh.

Behaviourists opine that behaviours are not inherited but are learned during growing up on the
basis of their experiences in their environment. Violent behaviours and criminal tendencies are
learned by the individuals from their experiences in their environment. For instance, the
individual in his/her childhood years if had been observing his father or any other adult or peer
being rewarded for violent behaviours, then the individual acquires and internalises the violent
behaviour, and uses it to get the desired outcome.

This is also termed “modelling”, as stated by Bandura(1977). Thus, according to behavioural

theory, criminal behaviour is a learned behaviour. If an individual, during his childhood, had
experienced a violent environment or had witnessed time and again violence getting rewarded
or if he/ she had acquired criminality as part of socialisation in his community, then one can
expect such an individual to indulge in criminal and violent behaviours.

3.4 Personality Theory and Criminal Behaviour

Every individual thinks, feels and acts. Personality can be described as the individual’s pattern
of thinking, feeling and acting (that is, the behaviour of the individual). Basically personality
deals with two areas, individual differences and how various parts of the person combine
together as a whole. Most definitions of personality focus on the characteristics and patterns of
behaviour of an individual. Personality is determined by the interaction of hereditary and
environmental factors. Other characteristics of personality include consistency, its impact on
individual’s behaviours, and its multiple expressions in thoughts, feelings and close
relationships with other people in the environment.

Thus, personality can be defined as the characteristic sets of behaviours, cognitions and
emotional patterns which evolve from both biological and environmental factors. Thus,
personality is relatively stable characteristic of a person that helps behaviour consistent across
situations. There are many personality theories, but the one that could explain criminal
behaviour appear to be that of Eysenck’s theory of personality.

3.4.1 This theory of Eysenck is also known as personality theory of offending.

It is also known as the PEN model. Eysenck considered criminal behaviour as the outcome of
interactions between extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. All these three traits can be
measured and interpreted. While E refers to the overall the person being sociable, active, lively
and sensation seeking etc. N stands for persons being anxious, depressed and react strongly to
adverse stimuli. P refers to psychoticism and people getting high scores on this dimension are
considered to be relatively more aggressive, antisocial and more egocentric and Eysenck
related P to the functioning of the nervous system and according to him/ her all the three E, N
and P traits are determined largely by genetics.

On the basis of this theory, Eysenck considered criminal behaviour as arising from immature
development, selfishness and persons demanding immediate gratification of all the desires and
wishes which arise within. In almost all societies many of these behaviours are intervened by
socialisation process and the individual is trained and made to learn to postpone his
gratification etc. However in the criminals, socialisation process does not have the needed
impact and such persons continue to act irresponsibly and remain immature and cannot tolerate
frustration arising due to the needs and wishes not getting gratified immediately. These
frustrations lead to anger, violence and indulgence in criminality.

One of the personality disorders associated with criminality is the Anti Social Personality
Disorder, characterised by impulsive behaviour, excitability, lack of remorse, violating other
people’s rights, and linked closely to adult criminal. The important factors of personality that
influence criminal behaviour are biological risk factors, adverse childhood experiences,
negative social environment and substance abuse. As for biological factors, the variances and
abnormalities in autonomic arousal, neurobiology and neuroendocrine functioning have been
found to increase the probability of a person to commit a crime.

In regard to adverse childhood experiences, it has been noted that children who are brought up
or raised in bad situations are considered to be at greater risk for indulging in delinquency
during childhood and adolescence and criminal behaviour during adulthood, as compared to
those who are brought up under favourable and good loving situations. Another factor
contributing to criminal behaviour is the social environment such as the crime filled
neighbourhood or living in a home with either or both parents involved in criminal activities.

Such persons by closely associating with criminality develop personality which is anti social
in all aspects and thus indulge in criminal behaviour unmindful unremorseful of the damage
and injury they cause to the victim. Furthermore, extreme poverty and struggling for food
causes intense stress and such persons are more likely to indulge in crime. Substance abuse is
another important problem that leads to criminal behaviour.

The substances which are intoxicants bring about an altered state of mind losing all the
inhibitions that a normal person would experience when contemplating or indulging in
wrongful behaviours. These intoxicants cause physiological and psychological changes
affecting adversely the individual’s ability to control himself and also his decision making
ability. Furthermore, the person’s craving for the substance such as alcohol or heroin etc.
accompanied by extreme discomfort compels him/ her to obtain the drug by any means
including criminality.

Thus, personality theory is able to explain criminal behaviour in terms of a number of factors
such as psychoticism trait, antisocial personality and factors such as biological, physiological
and psychological factors including substance abuse, poverty etc. There are different modalities
through which criminality has been associated with personality. The question in this regard is
whether there is a typical personality associated with criminal behaviour. Many researches in
this area have shown contradictory findings, even though the link between personality and
antisocial behavior has been fairly well established through research. Many facets of
personality or the traits of personality combine together to form personality of an individual.
More specifically, personality traits refer to the persisting underlying tendencies in an
individual to act in a certain way in particular situations (Farrington and Jolliffe, 2004) These
personality traits are combined together into super traits which characterise an individual’s
underlying personality. Traits which also contribute to the emotional and experiential spheres
of life, define people’s perception of the world and explains how that perception influences the
physical and psychological outcomes.

As pointed out by Miller and Lynam (2001), many structured models of personality exist, each
consisting of a set of traits and super traits. As one considers crime and personality, it is seen
that these two are linked in two ways, viz., certain traits or super traits are linked within a
structural model of personality and on to antisocial behaviour. Of the structural model, the main
ones include the 5-factor model of McCrae and Costa (1990), the PEN model of Eysenck
(1977), the 3-factor model of Tellegen (1985) and the Temperament and Character model of
Cloninger et al (1993).
The 5-factor model has Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and
Conscientiousness.
Eysenck’s PEN model consists of Psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism.
The 3-factor model of Tellegen covers Positive Emotionality, Negative emotionality and
Constraints.
The fourth model of Cloninger and colleagues contain traits such as novelty seeking, Harm
avoidance, Reward dependence, Persistence, Self directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self
transcendence.

Eysenck’s PEN model hypothesised that a typical criminal would possess high levels of
psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism traits. Cloninger on the other hand hypothesised
link between anti social personality with high novelty seeking, low harm avoidance, and low
reward dependence.
Another way by which personality theorists link the personality with criminal behaviour is by
asserting that abnormal persons, and persons showing deviant behaviours possess criminal
personality. These personality include psychopathic personality trait, sociopathic or antisocial
personality trait. Persons with these traits are generally highly self centered, grandiose, callous
and lack remorse or empathy for others in addition to being manipulative and superficial.

They are impulsive irresponsible, and antisocial in their behaviours. Some may suffer from
antisocial personality disorder as classified by DSM-5 of APA, and this personality disorder
persons do engage in criminal behaviour or kit may be stated that those who indulge in criminal
behaviours, may suffer from this personality disorder. While personality is linked to criminal
behaviour, many researches have shown that the environment too plays a significant role in
criminality. For instance a person having anti social personality trait may not necessarily
indulge in criminal behaviour. However if the environment in which he/ she lives and brought
up is conducive to criminality, this individual too would indulge in criminal acts. According to
Moffitt (2006), persistence in antisocial behaviour is the result of the interaction between
individual traits and environmental reactions to the personal traits of the person concerned.

3.5 Intelligence Theories and Criminal Behavior

Until now we explained criminal behaviour by different psychological theories, such as the
psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory, behavioural theory and personality theory. Now we
will discuss criminal behaviour from intelligence perspective, that is intelligence theory.

1Before proceeding, let us define intelligence generally and from psychology point of view.
According to the general definition, intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge
and skills. The Merriam Webster dictionary states that Intelligence refers to ‘ a wide range of
environments. having or indicating a high or satisfactory degree of intelligence and mental
capacity. Intelligence refers to ‘revealing or reflecting good judgment or sound thought, that is
skilful.

Psychologists define intelligence as the functioning of a number of related faculties and

abilities that enable the individual to respond to the different environmental pressures
appropriately. It may however be kept in mind that even though there is no single or ‘correct’
definition of intelligence, most definitions have certain common features .

For instance, intelligence is a property of an individual which interacts with its various aspects
of the individual’s environment. Intelligence is also related to the individual’s ability to succeed
in realising an objective or reaching a goal. The ability to adapt oneself to the different
objectives and environments. When these are combined, we obtain the definition of
‘intelligence’ as one that measures an individual’s ability to achieve goals with the ability to
learn and adapt, to understand and succeed in Whether intelligence is in any way related to
criminality, has been a topic researched a great deal.

The research results over centuries have demonstrated that individuals with low intelligence
quotient (IQ) tend to be more likely to engage in criminal behaviour. An important research in
this regard is associating school performance with intelligence and criminal behaviour. Studies
that have worked on future delinquency and adult criminality have demonstrated that the IQ
and poor school performance are linked to each other and the youngsters who fail or drop out
of school due to poor performance and low IQ and also having very few career options,
indulge in criminality and antisocial behaviours.

Thus, it may be mentioned that based on research work relating IQ with criminality and low
school performance, those youngsters who drop out of school without even obtaining the
minimum level of education, have relatively less opportunity to get any suitable vocation or
job and thus tend to indulge in crime. Some studies have also indicated that low verbal
intelligence (low verbal IQ) is obtained in those children who are considered poor school
performers and who are also low in academic achievement, both of which together lead to
their likelihood of indulging in criminal activities. Many theories of intelligence have shown
that people with low IQ are likely to be impulsive, break the law, do not have social bonding,
struggle at school etc. all of which are related to criminal behaviour.
At the same time people with high IQ also indulge in criminal behaviours. In this context there
are many examples of genius (high IQ) indulging in crimes as for instance many white collar
crimes that go undetected. Such high IQ persons plan meticulously every detail so that their
crimes go undetected and even if detected they will be able to escape as no evidence of any
kind is left back. Many computer related crimes, money being drained out of someone’s
account etc. are thypical crimes committed by persons with high IQ. Oleson (2003) took one
group of persons with high IQ and the other control group and compared crime rate between
the two groups, for 72 types of crime, that included minor offences as trespassing , copyright
violation to serious crimes like arson, kidnapping and fraud. he/ she concluded that the high IQ
offenders got away with their crimes and very few convictions for the reported offences by
them. Oleson interviewed these offenders, and reported that the exceptionally bright persons
appear to be more inclined to commit crimes because they do feel alienated from others because
of their high IQ. They suffer from social maladjustment , and experience more
isolation,bullying by peers and difficulty in forming attachments and bonding with significant
others.

All these characteristics make them at risk for committing crimes. Despite the fact they do
commit crimes, the rate of crime committed by them is far lower than those committed by
persons with low IQ. Oleson’s book, “Criminal Genius- A portrait of High offenders (2016)
published by California university press, has brought out the high IQ crimes and the
findingshas implications for criminal justice and public policy. While there is a relationship
between IQ and criminality, the debate continues about the extent or degree of this
relationship between lower IQ and crime. One of the criticisms against this relationship is the
measurement of IQ itself. It is argued that the IQ tests measures only middle-class knowledge
and values rather than innate intelligence. Furthermore those who score low on IQ tests also
belong to different cultural backgrounds and suffer from certain structural disadvantages, as a
result of which these persons are involved in more criminality. However, there are
explanations about IQ being a causal factor in crime related behaviours

However, research results to quite an extent appear to be contradictory withsome researches

showing no significant relationship between IQ and criminality. Despite all these,one may
conclude this section by stating that intelligence theories do indicate IQ being a correlational
factor to crime. Low verbal IQ and poor school performance and lack of education etc do lead
persons to take to criminal activities to survive and sustain living. However IQ alone is not the
deciding factor in criminality. As pointed out in this section there are many biological,
psychological and sociological theories
 CHAPTER 4

BIOLOGICAL AND INTERGRATED EXPLANATIONS FOR CRIMINAL

BEHAVIOUR

4.0 Introduction

These theories focus on neurobiological factors contributing to criminality. Amongst various

factors, three biological factors have been found to be associated with crime related
behaviours, and these are psychophysiology, brain and genetics. These are discussed in detail
in this section.

4.1 Psychophysiology and Criminal Behavior

This refers to the arousal levels within the individuals which can be measured. Heart rate and
skin conductance are the two common psychophysiological measures, that explain antisocial
and criminal behaviours. While both these measures are related to autonomic nervous system
functioning, the skin conductance, reflects sympathetic nervous system functioning whereas
heart rate reflects both sympathetic and parasympathetic functioning. Antisocial and criminal
behaviours are explained by the functioning of these physiological measures. Blunted
functioning of these systems causes antisocial and criminal behaviours. (Choy, et al., 2015;
Portnoy and Farrington, 2015, Choy, et al., 2018)

Elaborating the blunted physiology explanation, it may be stated that as the physical and mental
state is disturbed by the blunted physiology, the individual feels extremely uncomfortable and
wants to do something (even indulging in criminal behaviour) that would relieve him/ her from
the state of discomfort. In other words, indulging in criminal behaviour, leads to higher
arousal level which reduces the state of discomfort. When there is disruption to the autonomic
functioning, the individual fails to associate cognitively the physiological responses with his
emotional state.

This leads to inappropriate behaviours such as antisocial behaviours due to the so called
“somatic aphasia” in which the individual cannot identify accurately his own bodily state. Also,
blunted autonomic functioning affects adversely the emotional intelligence, thereby increasing
the psychopathic traits in the person, which in turn disrupts the development of moral emotions
such as shame, guilt and empathy. Such persons would not hesitate indulging in anti social and
unlawful activities.

While biological factors do contribute to criminality as pointed out above, there are different
types of criminals and these different criminals may not share the same kind of blunting of
autonomous functioning. Research shows that persons who are high on reactive aggression
may manifest hyperactive autonomic functioning (Hubbard et al., 2010).
Thus, one may conclude that dysfunctional or blunted autonomic functioning appear to be an
important correlate of antisocial and criminal behaviours.

4.2 Brain and Criminal Behaviour

In this section we will be discussing the functions of the brain and criminal behaviour. Amongst
the most important organs of the brain that appear to be associated with criminal behaviours,
prefrontal cortex, amygdala, striatum and genetics will be discussed. The neuromoral theory of
antisocial behaviour explaining criminality will be taken up followed by an integrated
theory of biological, genetic, neurological and psychological aspects. It is well known that
research studies linking brain functions to criminality had started somewhere in the late 17th-
18th century. Since then there has been no looking back and from associating mental
retardation and abnormality in brain function to criminal behaviour, the present day research
has taken up typical areas of the brain like the pre frontal cortex, amygdala etc to criminal
behaviour.

As for the brain, relatively recent research shows that antisocial and criminal behaviours are
found in those persons who exhibit reduced brain volumes and impaired functioning in those
areas related to executive functions in the brain. (Meijers, Harte, Meynen, & Cuijpers, 2017)
Other researchers (for example, Banks et al., 2007) pointed out that impaired functioning of
emotional regulation is associated with criminal behaviour.

On the other hand researchers working on decision making , pointed out that For example,
(Coutlee and Huettel, 2012) the executive functions of the brain shows abnormality in decision
making in cases of criminal behaviour. Thus, brain has an important role to play in criminal
behaviour especially when the area related to executive functioning is adversely affected or is
not active or functions inappropriately, thereby impacting negatively the decision making and
emotion regulation functions thereby leading to antisocial and criminal behaviours.

Most of these criminal behaviours are attributed to the prefrontal cortex which is responsible
for the executive functions of the brain such as the decision making, attention, emotion
regulation, impulse control and moral aspects of behaviours. This prefrontal cortex in criminals
and antisocial persons, is considered to suffer from structural and functional abnormality,
affecting the executive functions of the brain (Yuvan and Raz, 2014)

Furthermore, findings from research (for example, Taber-Thomas et al., 2014) on prefrontal
lesions, categorically showed that these lesions at younger age level, disrupt the moral and
social development of the individuals. Relatively more recently, Darby et al., 2018, studied 17
patients who, developed criminal tendencies after they were found to have developed
lesions in the prefrontal cortex and other locations in the brain. They concluded that even
though brain lesions may be in different locations they were all connected functionally to
regions activated by moral decision making, implying there on that disruption of neuromoral
network and criminality are associated.

However, it may be mentioned here that the prefrontal cortex malfunctioning may differ
amongst criminals. For instance, the lesions mentioned above and the malfunctioning etc. are
obtained more in the conventional criminals rather than in white collar criminals and other high
level operating criminals like the drug lord etc. Hence, it is important to recognise that It is
therefore important to acknowledge that there may exist different neurobiological causes in
different types of antisocial and criminal behaviours. Hence prefrontal cortex lesions or brain
lesions need not necessarily lead to all types of criminal behaviours. As of the present day
research, it is more associated with conventional criminality than other modern day white
collar, cyber crimes, IT (information technology) crimes, etc.

Another important region of the brain associated with criminality is the amygdala. This organ
of the brain is involved with emotional processes and is implicated more for negative emotions
such as fear etc. Normal functioning of the amygdala is important for fear conditioning and
when amygdala is appropriately integrated with prefrontal cortex, it leads to the development
of morality in the individual. In cases where there is maldevelopment of amygdala and where
stimulus reinforcement learning is not present, this leads to an increased aggressive and
antisocial behaviours. It has been pointed out that amygdala is associated with stimulus-
reinforcement learning that discourages anti social and criminal behaviours (Sterzer. 2010).
Also, it has been stated (Pardini et al., 2014) that if amygdala volume is reduced in adulthood
it may lead to aggressive and criminal behaviours, and be also associated with increased risk
for future antisocial and psychopathic behaviour.

Another organ in the brain in explaining criminality, is the striatum, which is involved in
reward and emotional processing. Increased activity in the striatum has been associated with
impulsive and antisocial behaviours.

According to recent research findings (for example, Geurts, et al., 2016), those individuals who
are high on impulsive and antisocial traits, show also higher level of activity in the striatum.
Under ‘brain’ abnormalities, neuromoral theory is an important theory that explains
criminality. According to this, impaired brain regions, other than PFC, amygdala and striatum
overlap regions, such as the and ventral PFC regions, and the anterior cingulate, insula, superior
temporal gyrus, etc. which are involved in moral decision making. (Raine, 2019) frontopolar,
medial. One implication of the model is that significant impairment to the neuromoral
circuit could constitute diminished criminal responsibility.

4.4 Genetics and Criminal Behaviour

The aspect of hereditary factors associated with criminality has been researched
comprehensively though no specific conclusions could be arrived at as many of these factors
are impacted and influenced b y social and environmental factors also. For instance, a large
number of psychological and psychiatric variables, such as intelligence, personality and mental
disorders etc. have been associated with criminal behaviours. Almost all these factors are
heritable and 40-60% of these heritable factors contribute to antisocial and criminal behaviours
(Raine, 2013).

Another important factor to note is the interaction of gene with the environment. The
predisposition of indulging in criminality by an individual is determined by the gene. However,
the individual may not necessarily become a criminal or indulge in criminal behaviour due to
this predisposition. However if the environment is such that, as for instance, residing in a
criminal neighbourhood or community or being neglected and maltreated by people, family
and society, it would render the individual susceptible to indulge in criminal behaviour. For
instance a particular genotype DRD2 (Dopamine genes) when combined with having a criminal
father increased the risk for serious delinquency , violent behaviours and being apprehended
by the police (Delisi et al., 2009).

Thus, the gene-environment interaction contributing to criminal behaviours indicates, how the
genotypes influence the sensitivity of the persons to environmental stressors. Thus, one may
categorically state that the gene environment interaction is an important factor causing criminal
behaviour. Just as biological mechanisms influence environmental factors, so also the
environmental factors such as environmental stressors can influence biological factors and their
expressions. While biological factors interacting with environmental factors are considered to
cause criminal behaviours, quite often the interaction between and amongst different biological
factors can also influence criminal behaviour. For instance, as mentioned earlier the pre frontal
cortex which regulates the amygdala activity if disrupted or the connectivity between PFC
andamygdala is disrupted, it leads to increased antisocial /criminal behaviours. It is therefore
important to also consider the working together of the different biological systems in producing
criminal behaviours.
In addition to the above factors, based on the many theories discussed above, another important
factor is the social environment, which is unhealthy or abnormal or criminalistic, may lead to
criminality. Studies in this regard (for example, Tottenham, et al., 2011) have identified early
adversity and childhood maltreatment as two important risk factors that may lead to both
neurobiolgical and behavioural problems in the individuals.

Furthermore, it has been shown that for normative brain development and its function, there is
a need for a healthy social environment. This knowledge regarding the association between
healthy social environment, brain functioning and criminality helps in changing the social
environment in such a manner that the criminal behaviours could be reduced in the individuals
and in turn in the society.
 CHAPTER 5

MENTAL ILLNESS AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR

Understanding the symptoms of mental disorders and classifying them according to their
symptoms is important in terms of taking preventive measures to protect mental health and
treating deteriorated mental health.

However, understanding and classifying the symptoms of mental disorders is of great

importance not only in the field of protection, maintenance, and improvement of deteriorated
health but also in the establishment, protection, and maintenance of social order.

One of the first things that come to mind when it comes to social order is norms, rules, rights-
law and justice system. In this context, the coexistence of the mental health field and the rights-
law and justice system in the establishment, protection, and maintenance of the social order has
laid the groundwork for the emergence of forensic psychology.

1. Neuro-developmental disorders and criminal behavior

Neuro-developmental disorders are characterized by developmental disabilities that lead to
disruptions in individual, social, educational and occupational functions, and these disabilities
appear early in life, often before the child starts school.

Neuro-developmental disorders include intellectual disability, communication disorders,

autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disorder,
motor disorders, and tic disorders.

Evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that social cognition is processed in networks
involving the prefrontal cortex. Impairments in empathy are frequently observed in prefrontal
cortex lesions. Therefore, it has been reported that neurodevelopmental disorders such as
ADHD, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), specific learning disorders (SLD), intellectual
disability may have negative effects on the development of empathy. Inability to correctly
evaluate the motivation of others’ emotions and behaviors and anger control disorders are
among the underlying causes of violent behavior that is on the rise in our age. Therefore, it can
be said that there is a positive relationship between inability to empathize and criminal behavior

2. Schizophrenia and other disorders that go with psychosis

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disease characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized

behaviors, negative symptoms, and social dysfunction [5]. In the 10th edition of the World
Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD), schizophrenia
and its related diseases were grouped under the title of “Schizophrenia, Schizotypal and
Delusional Disorders”. Studies have shown that delusions, hallucinations and confusion in
schizophrenia cause criminal behavior.

3. Bipolar related disorders and depression disorders in criminal behavior

There are studies reporting that an explosive and exuberant affect in manic disorders can make
these individuals prone to violence. It has been stated that this risk is always higher with
grandiosity, high self-confidence, and temper tantrums occurring in manic episodes. It has been
stated that sexual harassment, fraud, and theft crimes can also be committed, especially during
the mania process. It has been determined that the reasons such as narcissistic injury, the
perception of humiliation of the person, or the feeling of shame can create the motivation for
crime in the murders committed by people diagnosed with depression impulsively. In addition,
it has been reported that post-homicide suicide is frequently observed in psychotic or severe
depression

4. Anxiety disorders and criminal behavior

Anxiety is uncertainity how it will happen in the present and future; maybe it can be defined
as a state of worry and uneasiness about a subjective situation that is unlikely to happen. The
results of the studies show that anxiety disorders are a mood state that occurs after criminal
behavior rather than causing criminal behavior. It is thought that the reason for this is that an
individual who has committed a crime experiences intense anxiety because he will be deprived
of his freedom when he is arrested, he will have to eat, drink, and sleep in the same place with
people he does not know when he is arrested, and he will be referred to as an “ex-convict” in
the society when his detention is over and he will not be trusted.

5. Obsession-compulsive disorder and related disorders

According to the psychoanalytic view, obsessions are derivatives of repressed impulses.

Obsessive–compulsive personality has anal features and shows fixation features in the anal
period. According to Freud, when these individuals get into conflict due to their unresolved
oedipal demands that cause anxiety, they regress to the anal stage of psychosexual development
to get rid of the anxiety they experience. Regression affects not only the ego but also the
superego, making the superego more rigid and primitive.

Basically, three defense mechanisms are used to cope with aggressive and sexual urges. These
are isolation, doing-undoing, and opposition formation (reaction formation). It is the separation
of the impulse from its emotional composition by isolation and keeping it at the level of
consciousness only with its thought content. Doing-destroying is the removal of an action that
was actually done or assumed to have been done, with the opposite action in order to prevent
bad consequences.

It is possible that the compulsive action is canceled by a second action and through such actions
the person gets rid of the ego-threatening and frightening obsessive thoughts. The opposite
reaction is the development of behavior patterns that are the exact opposite of one’s main
impulses . No study has been found in the literature on Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder and
Criminal Behavior. This is thought to be due to the belief that the rigid superego will not allow
the self to go beyond the norm. However, when faced with any stressful situation, a person can
also commit a crime by disrupting what he does right or by compulsive continuation of what
he does right. This can be seen clearly in crimes committed by white-collar workers. Consider
a scenario where a doctor is extremely concerned about contracting an illness and refuses to
touch a patient with mild allergies. Likewise, a nurse who is overly suspicious may administer
extra medication to a patient due to uncertainty about whether they have taken their medication
on schedule. Unfortunately, if the patient ultimately passes away due to the doctor’s failure to
intervene in a timely manner and the nurse’s excessive dose of medication, the nurse would be
held responsible for committing a crime.
6. Disorders related to trauma and triggering factors
It is a post-traumatic mental disorder that causes fear, helplessness or horror reactions in the
person. The disease is characterized by re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoiding trauma-
related stimuli, and hyperarousal symptoms.
According to the research, trauma victims exhibit excessively angry behaviors and tend to use
alcohol and drugs in order to cope with the guilt and hyperarousal they feel because they cannot
prevent the traumatic event from happening again . This extreme anger behavior will increase
the tendency to exhibit criminal behavior by committing violence against other people and by
committing acts such as being involved in crime when the consciousness is clouded due to the
drug effect of the alcohol and substance used.

7. Dissociative disorders
It can be defined as a mental illness that includes problems related to memory, identity,
emotion, perception, behavior and sense of self, and whose symptoms can potentially impair
all areas of mental functionality.
Three common symptoms of this disorder are amnesia, fugue, and multiple personality. In
multiple personalities, different personalities and identities are experienced in the same person.
As if the other personality did not exist at that time, the personality in which he or she lives at
that moment dominates his attitudes and behaviors.

When the patient transitions to a second identity, the real personality is often not remembered.
The real personality is not aware of the other. The transition from one personality to another is
often sudden. Each personality has different characteristics. When they are subjected to a two-
person psychological test, they give completely different results. In these sudden personality
transitions, the tendency of the person to not be able to recognize and make sense of where he
is and the people he is with increases, and in this case, the tendency to exhibit criminal behavior
increases.

8. Somatic symptom disorders and related disorders

Somatic symptom disorder occurs when a person feels excessive and exaggerated anxiety about
physical symptoms. As mentioned before, the relationship between anxiety disorders and
crime-related behaviors, results of studies show that anxiety disorders are a mood state that
occurs after criminal behavior rather than causing criminal behavior. It is thought that the
reason for this is that an individual who has committed a crime experiences intense anxiety
because he will be deprived of his freedom when he is arrested, he will have to eat, drink, and
sleep in the same place with people he does not know when he is arrested, and he will be
referred to as an “ex-convict” in the society when his detention is over and he will not be
trusted.

9. Nutrition and eating disorders

Eating disorders are psychiatric disorders in which there are deteriorations in eating attitudes
and behaviors, behaviors toward weight control are revealed, and psychosocial and physical
functions are impaired . Since eating disorders are a disorder characterized by behaviors aimed
at controlling one’s own weight, its relationship with criminal behaviors is thought to be limited
to the suicide dimension.
10. Expulsion disorders;

Excretion disorders are disorders that are common in childhood and negatively affect the life
of the child and the family, associated with the lack of bladder or bowel control expected
according to the child’s age and developmental status. As it can be understood from the
definition of expulsion disorders, it is thought that there is no direct relationship with criminal
behaviors.

11. Sleep–wake disorders;

According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, sleep disorders are basically
divided into two as “dyssomnia” and “parasomnia.” Dyssomnia is defined as sleep initiation
or continuation disorders with changes in the amount, quality and timing of sleep. Parasomnia,
on the other hand, is used to express changes and deterioration in behavioral and physiological
areas during sleep, concurrent with the sleep period. When the defenses in criminal cases are
examined, many examples of sleep disorders, especially parasomnias, are used as defense in
criminal cases. In particular, there were many cases where sleepwalking convinced the jury in
American courts that the accused was innocent. This suggests that sleepwalking seen in
parasomnia leads to criminal behaviors.

12. Continuing with sexual dysfunctions

Gender complaints, and sexual perversion disorders; Physiological responses to sexual stimuli
in humans are divided into four stages as arousal, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Sexual
dysfunctions are the absence of response or overstimulation in any of these stages. Sexual
dysfunctions are generally divided into three as paraphilias, sexual identity disorders, and
sexual dysfunctions. Depending on the type of disorder acts such as violations of sexual
autonomy and sexually aggressive behaviors toward children, violations of privacy and
inviolability of home, and attacking the body of the deceased after the death of the deceased
were observed in the acts committed by the perpetrators with these disorders.

It is also understood from the use of the word perpetrator that the behaviors are also criminal
acts.

13. Disruptive disorders

Impulse control disorders are characterized by the repetitive inability of the person to perform
actions that may be clearly harmful to himself or to others, while destructive behavior disorders
are characterized by behavioral problems such as aggression and breaking the rules [21].
According to the DSM-5, there are two forms of the disorder with childhood-onset and
adolescence-onset. In the childhood onset, physical violence and difficulty in peer relationships
predominate, and the symptoms of the disorder begin before the age of 10. Another disorder,
such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder
(COD), often accompanies the clinical picture. In the adolescence-onset type, the findings
related to the disorder are absent before the age of 10, and the disorder in violent behavior and
peer relationships is relatively mild [22]. The dimension of this disorder, which is characterized
by physical violence and disorder in peer relationships, is closely related to criminal behavior,
especially in terms of violent behavior.
14. Substance-related disorders and addiction disorders

Substance addiction, which is called substance use disorder together with DSM-V, is defined
as a brain disease characterized by the desire to take substances continuously or periodically
and some behavioral disorders in order to feel the pleasurable effects of the substance or to
avoid the discomfort caused by its absence.

While there are many factors that lead individuals to commit crimes, drug addiction can also
be among the reasons that lead individuals to commit crimes. The individual may become a
victim of crime by causing a change in the situation and behavior of individuals. When the
literature is reviewed, the relationship between illegal substance use and crimes of violence,
aggression and theft is mentioned. Apart from violence, aggression and theft committed under
the influence of drugs, crimes such as traffic accidents, media courier, and sexual assault can
also be committed. In addition, due to wrong decisions when people are under the influence of
substance use; behavioral disorders, provocation and aggression, fraud, drug addicts can be
involved in crimes such as armed and unarmed attacks, blackmail and threats, murder in order
to obtain the substance they use, may cause traffic accidents, sexual abuse, work in a way that
can harm oneself and others. They may cause accidents and commit crimes such as substance
use during imprisonment

15. Personality disorders

It is very difficult to define a personality disorder. It can be said that personality disorders are
the area that causes the most diagnostic discussion in psychiatry. It is known that people who
are excluded from mental disorders and who show long-term adjustment disorders are common
in every society.

What distinguishes personality disorders from personality structure is the severity of the traits.
In order for the diagnosis of personality disorder to be made, significant disorders must be
present for a relatively long period of time without changing the individual’s ability to adapt to
society, to keep a regular job, and to ensure continuity in relationships. These behavioral
patterns, which are embedded in the self, are maintained without showing flexibility for the
purpose of adaptation and cause significant impairment in the society and work life. There are
many subtypes of personality disorders. Individuals who have difficulty in adapting to social
norms and who constantly repeat behaviors that are considered criminal by social norms are
diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (APD).

Individuals with this diagnosis are those who cannot take the necessary responsibility in family
and social life, act impulsively, and often display aggressive behaviors. In addition to APD,
although intense anger and impulsive behaviors are evident in borderline personality disorder,
the presence of transient paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms under intense
stress are features that increase the risk of being involved in crime. In addition, it is known that
paranoid, passive – aggressive personality disorders and narcissistic behaviors increase the risk
of committing violent crimes in adolescents and young adults.

Multiple personality disorder causes sexual dysfunctions in individuals; it is said that

sadomasochism, pedophilia, zoophilia, exhibitionism, and erotic asphyxia can be seen in both
homosexual and heterosexuals.
How individual differences account for propensity to commit crime

Individual differences, including personality traits like low self-control, impulsivity, lack of
empathy, and cognitive distortions, can significantly influence a person's propensity to commit
criminal behavior, as these traits can make individuals more likely to act on criminal impulses
when faced with certain situations, even when considering external social factors; essentially,
some people are more predisposed to criminal behavior due to their unique psychological
makeup.
Key points about individual differences and criminal behavior:
• Personality traits:
o Low self-control: Considered a major factor, individuals with poor self-control
may struggle to resist immediate gratification, leading to impulsive actions that
could be criminal.
o Impulsivity: A tendency to act without considering consequences, increasing
the likelihood of risky or illegal behavior.
o Aggression: Individuals with high levels of aggression may be more prone to
violence or aggressive criminal acts.
o Lack of empathy: Difficulty understanding or relating to the emotions of
others, potentially leading to callous disregard for victims.

• Cognitive factors:
o Distorted thinking patterns: Criminal offenders might hold skewed
perceptions of reality, justifying their actions or minimizing the harm caused.
o Moral reasoning deficits: Inability to recognize the ethical implications of
certain actions, leading to criminal behavior.
• Biological factors:
o Genetics: Research suggests potential genetic links to certain personality traits
associated with crime, like aggression and impulsivity.
o Neurological differences: Studies have explored possible connections between
brain abnormalities and criminal behavior.
How individual differences interact with environment:
• Social context:
While individual traits play a significant role, environmental factors like poverty, lack of
opportunity, and exposure to crime can also contribute to criminal behavior, especially when
combined with certain personality characteristics.
• Stressful situations:
Individuals with pre-existing vulnerabilities may be more likely to react with criminal behavior
when facing high levels of stress or frustration.
Important considerations:
• Not all individuals with these traits will commit crimes:
While certain personality characteristics may increase the risk of criminal behavior, not
everyone with such traits will engage in criminal activity.
• Complex interplay of factors:
Criminal behavior is often the result of a complex interaction between individual psychological
factors, social environment, and biological influences.
VICTIMIZATION

Victimization and the psychology of criminal behavior are intertwined, with studies showing
that being a victim, especially of violent crime, can increase the likelihood of future criminal
behavior, and vice versa.

As a subfield of criminology, the victimology definition encompasses the study of crime

victims and their experiences. People who study victimology or victimization examine the
psychological effects of crimes on victims, the interactions between victims and the criminal
justice system and the relationships between victims and offenders. Victimology is also the
exploration of the characteristics of crime victims.

Modern theories of victimology try to explain why some are more likely than others to become
victims of a crime. Other theories consider how victims may use coping mechanisms to heal,
while still others seek to develop a greater understanding of victimization and criminal behavior
and how the roles of victim and criminal may sometimes be reversed (e.g., a criminal may
become a victim, and a victim may become a criminal).

Why is victimology important?

Developing a more enlightened understanding of crime victims, their characteristics and
the impact of criminal behavior on them is important because it can inform more effective
policies and procedures in criminal justice. A better understanding of crime victims may
lead to better or more appropriate support for them. In some cases, victimology may even
support more effective rehabilitation measures for criminal offenders, helping them to
reintegrate into society while reducing recidivism rates.

• Primary Victimization:
This is the initial harm experienced by the individual directly targeted by the crime, such as
physical injury, psychological trauma, or financial loss. Examples include the physical injuries
sustained in a robbery, the emotional distress caused by a sexual assault, or the financial loss
from a theft.

• Secondary Victimization:
• This occurs when the victim experiences further harm or distress as a result of
interactions with the criminal justice system, law enforcement, or other
institutions. his refers to the negative experiences a victim encounters after the
crime, often stemming from interactions with the criminal justice system or
societal reactions.
Examples include:
• Disbelief or victim-blaming: When authorities or others fail to take the
victim's experience seriously or blame them for the crime.
• Inappropriate or insensitive treatment: Experiencing disrespectful or
insensitive language or behavior from those involved in the criminal justice
process.
• Traumatic procedures: Medical examinations or court proceedings that are
unnecessarily traumatic or distressing for the victim.
• Other examples include:
• Unfair treatment or disrespect from law enforcement or court
personnel .
• Victim-blaming or disbelief from others .
 • Inappropriate or insensitive language or behavior from those in
contact with the victim .
• Experiencing a further violation of a victim's legitimate rights or
entitlements .
• Feeling unsafe or unsafe due to the crime .
• Difficulty accessing support services or justice .
• Feeling that their victim status is not recognized .
• Secondary victimization can also be caused by the victim's appraisal of the
criminal proceedings.
• It can lead to further trauma, decreased trust in the system, and a sense of
injustice.
Why is secondary victimization important?
• It highlights the need for a victim-centered approach to criminal justice, ensuring that
victims are treated with respect and dignity throughout the process.
• It underscores the importance of training and guidelines for criminal justice
practitioners to effectively deal with victims and their needs.
• It emphasizes the need for multisectoral institutions that work with victims to reduce
the risk of secondary victimization.
• It can lead to a higher level of trust in the legal system, and a greater sense of justice
for victims.

• Tertiary Victimization:
This refers to the broader impact of the crime and the criminal justice process on the victim's
community, including increased fear, decreased social cohesion, and economic hardship.

Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing effective policies and interventions in
criminal justice.
Here's a more detailed look at the connection:
• Victimization as a Risk Factor:
• Victimization, particularly violent victimization, can increase the risk of engaging in
criminal behavior, potentially due to factors like learned behaviors, psychological
distress, and a desire for revenge, according to research.
• Research indicates that individuals who have experienced victimization,
particularly violent crime, are at a higher risk of engaging in delinquent or
criminal behavior later in life.
• This can be attributed to various factors, including psychological distress,
trauma, and learned behaviors.
• For example, studies suggest that witnessing or experiencing violence can lead
to hostility, anger, and a tendency towards aggression, which can manifest in
criminal behavior.
• Psychological Effects of Victimization:
• Being a victim of crime can have significant psychological consequences,
including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and
substance abuse.
• These psychological issues can further impair an individual's ability to cope
with life's challenges and increase the likelihood of engaging in risky or criminal
behaviors.
• The Role of Trauma:
 • Traumatic experiences, such as abuse, neglect, or witnessing violence, can have
long-lasting effects on an individual's development and behavior.
• These experiences can lead to difficulties in emotional regulation, social
interaction, and decision-making, potentially increasing the risk of both
victimization and offending.
• Victim-Offender Dynamics:
• Some theories explore how the roles of victim and offender can sometimes be
reversed, with a victim potentially becoming an offender, or an offender
becoming a victim.
• Understanding these dynamics is important for developing comprehensive
approaches to crime prevention and intervention.
• Importance of Victimology:
• Victimology, the study of crime victims, is crucial for understanding the impact
of criminal behavior on individuals and communities.
• By studying victims, researchers can gain insights into the factors that
contribute to victimization and develop more effective strategies for prevention
and support.
• Examples of Research:
• Studies have shown a link between childhood victimization and increased risk
of future criminal behavior.
• Research also indicates that certain types of victimization, such as sexual
assault, can lead to long-term psychological and relational problems.
• Some research focuses on the impact of cybercrime on victims and the
psychological effects of online harassment and cyberbullying.

PUNISHMENT

The principle of Punishment

What justifies punishment? What are the underlying rationales? This part of the Module
examines the main purposes of criminal punishment. There are five main underlying
justifications of criminal punishment considered briefly here: retribution; incapacitation;
deterrence; rehabilitation and reparation.

Retribution
Retribution is probably the oldest justification of punishment and can be found in the theories
offered by Kant and Hegel (Brooks, 2001). It is the fact that the individual has committed a
wrongful act that justifies punishment, and that the punishment should be proportional to the
wrong committed. Its underlying premise has been summarized by the philosopher Kurt Baier
as follows:
• All those convicted of a wrongdoing or crime deserve punishment;
• only those convicted of a wrongdoing or crime deserve punishment;
• the severity of the punishment should not be less than the gravity of the crime;
• the severity of the punishment should not be greater than the gravity of the crime
(Baier, 1977, p. 37, emphasis in original).
•
Retribution theorists claim that individuals are rational beings, capable of making informed
decisions, and therefore rule breaking is a rational, conscious decision. They propose an
'offence-based tariff', that is, "a set of punishments of varying severity which are matched to
crimes of differing seriousness: minor punishments for minor crimes, more severe punishments
for more serious offences" (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p. 44). While the idea of retribution
as a justification for criminal punishment often enjoys intuitive support, it has been subjected
to various strains of criticism.

Some critics, for example, have raised questions about the difficulties of ordering or ranking
offences. Is it possible to develop a satisfactory scale of punishments for all crimes? Others
question the extent to which crimes are committed by rational agents and argue that retribution
unduly rationalizes criminality. It has also been suggested that punishing individuals because
they have acted wrongly does not address the underlying causes and social conditions that have
led to criminality in the first place, and that punishment needs to incorporate a more
rehabilitative approach (Hudson, 2003; Zedner, 2004).

Incapacitation
The theory of incapacitation assumes that the state has a duty to protect the public from future
wrongs or harms, and that such protection can be afforded through some form of incarceration
or incapacitation. It prevents future crime by disabling or restricting the offender's liberty, their
movements or ability to commit a further wrong.

The most extreme form of incapacitating punishment is the death penalty, but there are several
other forms including imprisonment, curfews, house arrest, electronic monitoring and
disqualification from driving for drunken drivers. Incapacitating sentencing, however, has been
subject to serious criticism, on both moral and empirical grounds (see for example: Zedner,
2004; Binder and Notterman, 2017). One major concern is that incapacitating sentences
effectively punish individuals for crimes not yet committed. An inherent risk with
incapacitation is that some individuals who have committed a crime, and are thus incarcerated
or incapacitated, would not have gone on to (re)offend.

Moreover, as Barton (2005, p. 464) suggests, "even if the methods of prediction were accurate,
there are naturally moral and ethical questions about incarcerating individuals for what
they may do rather than what they have actually done" (emphasis in original). Yet this
justification for punishment has proved highly popular among politicians and the media, and
has clearly played a role in significant rises in prison populations across many jurisdictions.

Deterrence
Theories of deterrence draw on Jeremy Bentham's philosophy of utilitarianism, captured in the
maxim, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" (see for example: Shackleton, 1972;
Baujard, 2009). In similar vein to incapacitation, deterrence justifies punishment based on what
it will achieve in the future.

Theorists claim that the pain of punishment and the costs of imposing that pain upon the
offender are outweighed by the social benefits consequently enjoyed. A distinction has been
drawn between two types of deterrence: individual (or specific) and general deterrence.
Individual deterrence refers to the aim of imposing punishment to deter individuals who have
already offended from doing so again. General deterrence justifies the imposition of
punishment to deter other potential offenders. The logic of this theory is that if the imposition
of criminal punishment deters people from committing crimes then the general public can enjoy
a greater sense of safety and security (Hudson, 2003).

Deterrence has often been criticized for being neither effective or morally acceptable. The
research evidence is generally inconclusive on whether punishment deters potential offenders
from committing future crimes. Furthermore, deterrence allows for punishments to be imposed
that are disproportionate to the harms done, for the innocent to be punished and for the
punishment of crimes that have not yet been committed (Hudson, 2003; see also von Hirsch et
al., 1999).

Rehabilitation
The central premise of rehabilitation is that punishment can prevent future crime by reforming
the individual offender's behaviour. Rehabilitation may involve education and vocational
programmes, counselling, intervention programmes or skills training. The behavioural premise
of this theory of punishment is that criminal behaviour is not a rational choice, but determined
by social pressures, psychological difficulties, or situational problems of various kinds
(Ashworth, 2007).

Although once dominant in penal discourse, the ideal of reform became discredited in the early
1970s, partly due to research results which suggested that penal measures intended to reform
offenders were no more effective than punitive measures in preventing recidivism (Martinson,
1974; Cullen and Gendreau, 2001). Furthermore, rehabilitative approaches have been criticized
for holding an overly-deterministic view of behaviour, that places too much emphasis on social
and cultural conditions, and too little on the ability of individuals to make decisions and
choices.

It also conflicts with the idea of a right not to be punished disproportionately and places no
limits on the extent of treatment or intervention. Yet, reform remains a key rationale within
many penal systems, justifying punishment which aims to address and reduce the risk and needs
of individual offenders (see Zedner, 2004).

Reparation
While reparation in criminal justice, at the international level, can be traced back to the late
1800s (UNODCCP, 1999), the concept of reparation has been the subject of increased attention
in recent years. The justification of reparation in criminal justice is based on the idea that crimes
should be corrected by requiring that offenders make amends to victims to repair the wrong
that they have done. Restitution and compensation to victims, their families or communities,
should therefore be a key objective of criminal justice.

According to the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of
Power (GA Resolution 40/34), restitution should include, "the return of property or payment
for the harm or loss suffered, reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of victimization,
the provision of services and the restoration of rights" (1985, article 8). Furthermore, states
should endeavour to provide financial compensation to victims when the offender is not able
to compensate the victim for the harm caused (1985, article 12). Proponents argue that
restitution can be implemented at different points throughout the criminal justice process, as
part of a sentence or as a sanction in itself. Not only does it offset some of the harm done to
victims, it provides a "socially constructive way for the offender to be held accountable, while
offering the greatest possible scope for rehabilitation" (UNODCCP, 1999, p. 47).

In recent years, there has been strong emphasis on the development of restorative justice
interventions that bring together key stakeholders in the offence (the state, the offender and the
victim) to decide on the appropriate response to the offence, and of restorative goals such
reparation to the victim and the community (Ashworth, 2007). If there is no individual or
identifiable victim (or if the victim is unwilling to participate), reparation can be made to the
community, as a whole, through community service sanctions, or paying a fine into public
funds. Restorative justice interventions vary significantly across jurisdictions and can include:
victim-offender mediation; family group conferencing; healing, peacemaking or sentencing
circles; community panels; and, restorative prisons (see Dünkel et al., 2015; Dignan, 2005;
Crawford and Newburn, 2003; Edgar and Newell, 2006; Johnston, 2014; see also UNODC,
2006b).

Critics of reparative approaches, however, argue that rather than empower stakeholders, such
initiatives may actually undermine the rights of victims and offenders. Defendants may suffer
from a lack of procedural safeguards, failure of adherence to due process, and lack of access to
legal advice. Victims may feel burdened by responsibility for their offender's future and may
feel pressured to offer forgiveness. Proponents of restorative justice and the principle of
reparation often argue, however, that such criticism is "born of undue pessimism or an
unwillingness to think beyond the conventions of the punishment paradigm" (Zedner, 2004, p.
106).

Summary

In sum, there are five key rationales or justifications for the imposition of criminal punishment,
all of which have their supporters and critics in modern societies. Importantly, the goals of
criminal justice systems described above are not static, but can evolve, shift and even merge
over time, often because of contemporary cultural values and political priorities (see Garland,
1990). While there is much debate regarding the relative weight that should be given to the
differing aims in the administration of criminal justice, it is increasingly acknowledged that
retributive punishment must be balanced with other considerations that will contribute to the
rehabilitation of the offender, the restoration of the victim, and the protection of society in the
long-term.

The various rationales for criminal punishment can be achieved with non-custodial measures.
Accordingly, the international community has recognized that effective criminal justice
responses necessitate that sentencing authorities have a wide range of penalties at their
disposal. The Commentary to The Tokyo Rules advocates that sentencing authorities "should
be guided by the principle that imprisonment should be a measure of last resort" and that "every
effort should be made to apply non-custodial measures" (1993, p. 17).

Recognizing the different goals of the administration of criminal justice, The Tokyo
Rules emphasize that states should "ensure a proper balance between the rights of individual
offenders, the rights of victims, and the concern of society for public safety and crime
prevention" (1990, Rule 1.4). At the same time, the Rules call on member states "to develop
non-custodial measures within their legal systems" to reduce the use of imprisonment, and to
"rationalize criminal justice policies, taking into account the observance of human rights, the
requirements of social justice and the rehabilitation needs of the offender" (1990, Rule 1.5).
According to the Commentary to The Tokyo Rules, non-custodial measures are of
"considerable potential value for offenders, as well as for the community", and can be an
appropriate sanction for a whole range of offences and many types of offenders (1993, p. 5).
CRIME PREVENTION

The word of prevention nowadays in its common sense has two dimensions: Prevention or
Prevention means “Prevent, Overtake and Prevent Something”, and also “Warn Awareness”.
In preventive criminology, prevention is used in its first meaning, that is, by using different
techniques to prevent delinquency, the purpose is to prevent the crime of going and overcoming
delinquency.

Studies and research findings on the history of the rights of criminals show that human societies
mainly used punishment to combat crime, including its severe forms (ie, criminal prosecution),
but the findings of criminal law and various schools of philosophy- The criminality of this
intensity and the criminal system has not been able to curtail or eliminate the curve of the crime
as expected. Such offenses have undermined the quality of life of the people, ultimately
hindering the cultural, economic and social spheres of society, which means that the progress
of the society is unreliable and disrupted. Violence and harassment are one of the most
prevalent crimes, given the importance of the matter and the high degree of attention. Criminal
cases in this regard are urgently needed to take preventive measures. If social behavior is not
compatible with the common expectations of community members or a group or social
organization and is considered by many to be inappropriate or inaccurate, social exclusion is
considered.
An organization or any community of its own members expects its own values and norms to
follow. But it’s natural that people in the community are always found to be “non-social” and
“incompatible”. The factors causing distortion and distortion are not the same in different
societies, and areas are different in terms of type of crime, severity and weakness, number, and
also in terms of factors.
Raymond Gessen argues that criminology is a branch of applied criminology whose purpose is
to determine the most effective means to provide crime prevention on a community-wide scale
or in a more restrictive direction, such as a city, a district of a city, etc., from public intimidation
by threat.

The oldest type of prevention is the prevention of child crime and the prevention of public
delinquency. According to this distinction, children and adolescent juvenile offenders whose
personality is in the process of being educated and rehabilitated should be used; while adult
offenders should be used as frightening and threatening punishment because their personality
is shaped [1].

But so far in the field of crime prevention, a number of species have been proposed by
criminologists. For example, a number of criminologists, inspired by medical knowledge, have
outlined the triple prevention pattern, namely, the first, second, and third of the delinquency,
and others have classified delinquency prevention into two types of actions: Nowadays, recent
division is more criminologist’s point of view [2].

Of course, there are other divisions that are referred to below. However, this diversification of
preventive methods suggests that delinquency is out of range of legal, judicial and police forces
and effectively tackles it, on the one hand, requires cooperation and participation of state
institutions and popular organizations, and on the other hand, It requires the development and
development of traditional strategies and tools for combating crime.
Types of Prevention
Primary Prevention
The primary prevention is to protect individuals from fighting all areas of crime that fall within
the framework of social development [3]. At this stage of prevention, people are trying not to
commit crime. At this level of prevention, the goal is to improve living conditions in order not
to offend people, and to produce values that improve healthy relationships. In primary
prevention, more attention is paid to the crime event than to the instigated offender. This
approach has also been linked to Hendel Lang’s lifestyle theory [4].

Secondary Prevention
The secondary prevention is to use methods to protect people at risk. Like: addicts, street
vagabonds and street children [3]. In this type of prevention, the goal is to prevent the
occurrence of crime by people who are in critical condition and likely to be victimized by the
use of appropriate and early measures. For example, in the prevention of addiction, the focus
is on those who entertain in the form of recreation and have not yet reached the level of
addiction. Also, children living in disadvantaged families and poorer neighborhoods in poor
conditions, or young people who have experienced violence in their homes, are more likely to
commit criminal misconduct than others.

Tertiary Prevention
This kind of prevention includes programs such as counseling for women and children,
criminal interventions, and various groups. Preventive efforts at this stage are to prevent
criminal behavior so that criminals can adapt to their social environment and not re-commit
crimes.
The third prevention is used as a result of detecting operations for arresting the offender,
imprisoning a convicted person, or sentencing and rehabilitating a prisoner..

Short -Term Prevention

Short-term prevention is a set of short-term solutions. Such as: providing more illumination of
streets, alleys and public places, tailor-made and deterrent penal laws, setting up work
institutions, providing decent leisure facilities, protecting children who are harassed and abused
by the family Closing neighborhoods and crime areas, preventing the broadcasting of violent
programs on television, and equipping the police and law enforcement forces to reduce the
chance of occurrence of deviance or crime
In dealing with social and cultural issues, due to systematic and long-term planning, one cannot
overlook preventive measures in the short and long term [4]. This prevention includes
“community-based prevention” or “social prevention” and “early prevention” [5].

Social Prevention
This kind of prevention includes measures and interventions that seek to eliminate or reduce
the causes of crime and thereby prevent delinquency by intervening in the development process
of individuals, improving their living conditions and normalizing the social and natural.
According to Gessen [6], this kind of prevention is said to be social prevention as a result of
social worker prevention experiences without interfering with police and justice discussions,
and focusing on the inadequacies of juvenile delinquents and their growth environment [7].

One of the goals of this type of prevention is to reduce or eliminate the causes of crime in the
social environment and is essentially designed to help change the situation of delinquency in
local and residential communities. Establishment of recreational areas and parks for recreation,
the establishment of educational, cultural centers, creating income generation and job creation
in neighborhoods, strengthening religious beliefs through effective and appropriate activation
of local religious centers, the formation of local police [5], the development of equipment and
measures such as youth sports clubs and activity-based projects to dissuade actual and potential
offenders from future mistakes are examples of this type of prevention.

Another goal in social prevention is to coordinate community members with social rules, and
the focus of this prevention is “individual.” In other words, social prevention is the same as
criminal prevention, offender and individual, and through education, persuasion, education and
punishment, it seeks to induce the criterion of recognizing good and bad deeds for the
individual, and the power of evaluating their performance. The basic point in this model of
prevention is the specialty, thought and duplication of effort, because of the scale and
complexity of the subject, despite the huge and massive investments, the desired result in the
reduction of crime is not achieved.

Followers of this type of prevention believe that by knowing the causes of committing a crime,
such as: individual and social, and eliminating them by carrying out individual and social
reforms such as: treating diseases and physical and mental failings and enhancing social values
and Social institutions and the excellence of economic, educational, recreational, housing and
other opportunities can prevent criminal tendencies in individuals [4].

In fact, social prevention is a series of measures that control factors affecting the formation of
crime, and since, in addition to the social environment, it affects one’s personality and motives,
so0me also call it Individual-Based Prevention.

Another of the goals of social prevention is to strengthen the foundations that contribute to
socialization by influencing groups at risk. In other words, social prevention seeks to harmonize
the individual with social rules through education.
What those involved in this type of prevention should do is to expel as many people as possible
from the criminal system. In general, social prevention is an attempt to resolve criminal
behavior issues by addressing the roots of crime and includes measures that affect the crime
context through social, economic and cultural issues. For this reason, social prevention is the
best description of primary prevention [3].

Developmental prevention
This kind of prevention attempts to prevent a child from continuing his criminal misery in the
future if a child for any reason manifests itself as a criminal offense, with early intervention in
him and his environment. [4]. Early prevention, early psychosocial intervention, in the process
of children’s development, to prevent risk factors that increase the likelihood of admitting and
mimicking persistent criminal behavior in the future.
Risk factors in this prevention are a combination of individual and social conditions that have
the appearance, continuity and sustainability of future criminal behavior in children and
adolescents [3]. The features of this type of prevention are: Behavioral, personal, general, and
its founders include: identification of individual and social risk factors and, consequently, the
utilization of supportive factors through early psycho-social interventions at the levels School,
family, and social environment, and it is based on the idea that early intervention can be
prevented from delinquency and persistence of criminal offenses against those who are exposed
to specific circumstances because of specific situations [5].
Long term prevention
Long-term prevention refers to mechanisms that take place in a time-consuming process to
reduce crime opportunities in the future. Such as: Providing appropriate platforms for
individuals to access appropriate education opportunities; Developing and implementing
general policies for community members’ engagement; Developing family education classes
to enhance life skills; Strengthening the preventive role of schools through content promotion.
And the quality of education and training programs, efforts to reduce the economic gap among
different classes of society and achieve social justice
Police stations are required to use these types of planning to prevent various crimes such as
theft, street harassment, evasion, and harassment [4]. is prevention to eliminate or suppress
offenders takes into account policies that are structured, process-driven and focused on
individual and general crime factors in a broad and inclusive manner, and include social,
economic, cultural, Political and legal [5].

Shame prevention
In passive prevention, some routine preventive measures are not of a precautionary or deterrent
nature, such as police warnings, but remain in a passive way to influence these actions. In this
kind of prevention, social factors (social prevention) have no effect, and in the meanwhile, they
do not play the smallest role.The role of preventative institutions such as the police and the
judicial authorities is also very low

Active prevention
In this kind of prevention, police force is the main focus of prevention that is activated to avoid
crime and is also active at the social level. That is, the police take charge of leisure planning
and guidance for a group of young people who are exposed to crime or deviation at a specific
time and place. Meanwhile, the role of deterrent institutions is of crime or deviation at a specific
time and place
Meanwhile, the role of deterrents of crime is also evident. In active prevention, long-term
planning is planned to prevent delinquency and reduce it. Government officials have a major
role in their social function, and they take independent action [4].

Non penal prevention

Non-Penal prevention is “ Preventing the outcome of thought and criminal intent by changing
the circumstances and in which a series of similar crimes have occurred or may be committed
in those circumstances.” In other words, non-criminal prevention aims at eliminating the root
causes and causes of crime and delinquency by addressing the issue of social control and the
impact on criminal thought, so that human beings are raised to stay away from crime. In this
kind of prevention, it is important to pay attention to the environmental, cultural, economic and
social factors that lead the person to crime.

Noncustodial prevention is, in fact, the root cause of crime before crime, in which remedies are
out of context within the justice system. This prevention against criminal prevention is also
sometimes called “new prevention.” In fact, non-penal prevention is a non-criminal act that
seeks to prevent the occurrence of crime by reducing or eliminating criminal and inappropriate
means of showing off crime situations. Therefore, preventive action features include: - Effects
on the factors or processes that play a decisive role in delinquency; - Collective; in the sense
that it targets the whole population or a certain group - Lack of coherence and action.
In this way, non-criminal prevention includes prevention by eliminating and neutralizing
delinquents and preventing by eliminating or changing victim positions [5]. Non-penal
prevention is virtually a priori interfering with the process of transition from thought into a
criminal act [2].

Penal prevention
Penal Prevention, in essence, is the next step, and applied to criminal justice through criminal
justice through criminal justice. This prevention is divided into two types of “general reaction
prevention” and “specific reaction prevention” based on the effect on society or the offender.
General reaction prevention is a collective or group-based reactive prevention that seeks to
prevent the perpetration of criminal delinquency by addressing citizens through horrific and
collective learning.
A specific reaction prevention is a reactive prevention of a criminal offender who, by
committing a punishment against a criminal, with a terrible and personalized training, seeks to
prevent delinquent individuals [2]. In general, reactive or criminal prevention involves criminal
proceedings before and after the crime, which seeks to reduce the rate of crime by taking
advantage of the criminal justice system’s mechanisms.

The reactive prevention approach is a frightening, individual, collective, and educational tool
to prevent early delinquency and redress among people [5]. This kind of prevention, although
it is not a response to the social and security needs of the community alone, can provide an
important factor in reducing crime in the community by combining noncriminal preventive
areas of crime and the use of both elements. . Criminal prevention, as it has many disadvantages
and disadvantages, and the impact of criminals and their future lives in society, should be used
as the last resort against crime. In general, the objectives of criminal prevention are: criminal
reform, protection of the community, intimidation and general prevention by intimidating
others.

Judicial prevention
Judicial prevention is a type of crime prevention based on the efforts of the government and
the responsible institutions to reduce crime and eliminate its roots. This policy is examined in
the context of judicial prevention, in which the ruling apparatus or the state acts as the first
institution against crime and delinquents and by reforming it through the application of law
and legislative policies against the perpetrator. In policy-making, crime prevention is one of
the ways to prevent crime.

This method is “a process in which actions that are in conflict with their interests are prohibited
and penalized”. But this limitation in the lives of individuals should not be beyond the scope
and purpose of social ends. The use of judicial prevention in order to reduce crimes is one of
the important elements in the criminal system, and its existence in the criminal system is
necessary because judicial and legal prevention in the executive and legal system leads to
intimidation and criminality of criminals, especially potential criminals, and until It largely
prevents criminals from committing crimes and repeating offenses.

Drawing up appropriate bills for correcting criminal policy and reforming the law with a wise
and religious education perspective such as: victimization, decriminalization, punishment and
disadvantages of penalties for legalizing can be part of the actions of the judiciary in the
prevention of crime.

Disciplinary prevention
The existence of weaknesses in each society makes the sense of security safe by the people.
Since a group of unhealthy people in the community are behaving in an unconventional manner
and in conflict with social values, they create conditions of weakness and instability in parts of
society based on their thoughts and intentions, for this reason ,In order to prevent insecurity
and increase social security, governments and authorities have sought to control and reduce
crimes through the implementation of crime prevention programs.

Police and law enforcement are one of the public security guards, whose main task is to prevent
law enforcement. Police prevention includes: “Inhibition and control of crime through police
actions, such as: increasing police patrols and the concrete and effective presence of police at
the city level in order to prevent criminal acts and reduce the repetition of crime within the
framework of the law.

Also, investigate the process of delinquency and the causes of its occurrence in order to take
measures against the perpetrator and to take immediate action in the fight against delinquency
and criminals and to work with the responsible bodies in reducing crime. “ Regulatory
prevention is important because it is the guardian of order and social security. In the prevention
of law enforcement, the government and the responsible institutions play the most important
role in establishing and maintaining security and their field of work is within the law [4].

Common prevention
The prevention of delinquency in the general sense includes those measures and measures that
prevent the commission of crime. In this way, any criminal or non-criminal proceeding
according to this definition will be placed within the scope of prevention of delinquency [2].
General prevention is a crimebased prevention that focuses on deterrence, intimidation and
criminal education on the general public.

In this type of prevention, attempts are made to prevent the perpetration of crimes by
individuals by establishing rules, determining punishment and enforcing them for criminals. In
public prevention, creating fears, intimidation, threats, punishments, and fears of losing
credibility to all who are potentially prepared to commit crimes. This level of prevention places
the general public at the heart of people who are potentially willing to commit a crime, thus
attempting to prevent public crime through public awareness.

Special prevention
The effect of punishment in deterring the offender from recommitting a crime is called special
prevention. In this type of prevention, try to avoid reprisals of the same crime or other crimes
by imposing punishment on the perpetrator and his punishment and suffering from punishment.
Therefore, preventing recurrence of crime and creating fears for those who committed a crime
earlier is the most important objective of the specific prevention, which is taking place in the
form of measures for the training, rehabilitation and rehabilitation of criminals.

This kind of prevention is usually useful in the short term, such as: combating addiction and
collecting children without a guardian from the street level [4]. Therefore, special prevention
includes “a set of measures and actions aimed at combating delinquency by reducing or
eliminating criminal causes and influencing prospective opportunities, so that it can be
exploited by means of action mechanisms Personality of individuals and positions before crime
was committed” [2].

Situational prevention
Situational prevention includes a set of non-criminal measures and measures that prevent the
commission of crime through the elimination or reduction of appropriate opportunities for
crime and improper prosecution. The strategies of this method, focusing on environmental
changes, are part of controlling the perpetrators and partly on protecting the victims [8].

Situational Prevention was introduced as Clark, Cornish, and Heeur, as a scientific theory to
reduce delinquency in the 1980s. In their works, they always have to take appropriate measures
and take the necessary measures to reduce the opportunities and situations that lead to criminal
behavior, as well as to change the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim [9].

This method is a method of prevention that, by changing the person’s situation of crime and
victimization or changing environmental conditions such as time and place, seeks to prevent a
person from committing a crime by committing a crime. In this way, someone is sometimes
exposed to victimization and is prevented from realizing a criminal act by supporting him or
what is at risk of crime. In some cases, changing environmental conditions, such as location
and time, makes it more difficult to realize the crime of deprivation or occurrence [10].

Situational prevention includes eliminating some of the hazards, reducing some of the risks by
reducing the extent of the damage, reducing some of the risks by taking security measures such
as: installing CCTV cameras or increasing the number of policemen to scare and prevent the
offense. Crime, the transmission of some of the hazards by means of facilitating insurance and
the like, and accepting some of the risks that are inevitable or removing them from imposition
of unwarranted costs. This type of prevention, based on the circumstances of the crime, the
type of crime, the goals and issues of crime and the characteristics of the victim, will take
measures that will destroy or weaken the situations and opportunities for committing the crime.
Reducing opportunities and crime situations is accompanied by the development of physical
security or the design of buildings and neighborhoods, which ultimately leads to dangerous and
costly criminal acts. In this method of prevention, crime prevention management, by modifying
the way of life of individuals and their environment, seeks to neutralize criminal operations,
which in fact are such complementary measures of police work. Therefore, forecasting,
recognizing and assessing the crime risk and taking actions to eliminate or reduce it is a
conditional prevention, sometimes referred to as “crime risk management” [4].
Sexual crime seems to be more effective in preventing crime, because in this category of
crimes, firstly, increasing the victim’s safety factor is much easier than dissuading the offender
from committing a crime that is influenced by uncontrolled natural instincts and intrusions.
Sexual assault; secondly, because of the very negative consequences of this crime on the morale
and psychological tragedy and the concern of potential victims, especially women, it can be
more actively used as a potential victim for prevention [11].

PSYCHOLOGY OF TESTIMONY

The psychology of testimony, particularly eyewitness testimony, is a crucial area within

forensic and criminal psychology, examining how individuals recall and report events,
including crimes, and how these accounts are affected by various psychological factors, which
can impact the criminal justice system. The psychology of testimony explores how human
memory, perception, and cognitive processes influence the accuracy and reliability of
eyewitness accounts, highlighting potential biases and errors that can affect legal proceedings.
EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY
Eyewitness testimony, or the account a witness provides about an event, is a vital part of the
criminal justice system, but it's also a complex area of study with potential for
errors. Eyewitness testimony is an important and integral component of our criminal justice
system. The difference between an acquittal and a conviction can rest on the testimony of an
eyewitness, and eyewitness testimony is often the most compelling evidence offered in a trial.
Loftus (1984) examined 347 cases for which the only evidence presented was eyewitness
testimony and found that the defendant was convicted in three-quarters of the cases. In half of
those cases of conviction, there was only one eyewitness. Cutler and Penrod (1995) found that
mock jurors would convict a defendant twice as often when the defendant was identified by a
credible eyewitness as when there was no eyewitness identification. It has been estimated that
eyewitness evidence plays a significant role in over 75,000 criminal cases annually in the
United States (Goldstein, Chance, & Schneller, 1989).Of course, mistaken eyewitness
testimony is of great concern, especially in light of the significant weight placed on the
testimony of an eyewitness. Penrod and Cutler (1999) estimated that mistaken eyewitness
identifications account for approximately 4,500 wrongful convictions each year, and Costanzo
(1997) estimated that about a dozen people are executed each year for crimes they did not
commit, many as a result of faulty eyewitness identification. In fact, mistaken eyewitness
identifications have led to more wrongful convictions than all other causes together (Wells et
al., 1998).

• Why it matters:
Psychologists study eyewitness testimony to understand how memory works, how it can be
influenced by factors like stress, suggestion, and bias, and how these factors can impact the
accuracy of a witness's account.
• Key areas of study:
• Memory: Researchers investigate how people encode, store, and retrieve
memories, and how these processes can be affected by factors like trauma, time,
and leading questions.
• Perception: How people perceive events, including the role of attention,
expectations, and biases, can influence what they remember and how they
describe it.
• Suggestibility: The tendency for witnesses to alter their memories based on
suggestions or leading questions, either consciously or unconsciously, is a
significant area of research.
• Confidence: Witness confidence is often used as an indicator of accuracy, but
research shows that confidence and accuracy are not always correlated.
• Cross-racial identification: Studies have shown that eyewitnesses are often less
accurate when identifying individuals of a different race than their own.
• Stress and Trauma: High levels of stress or trauma experienced during a crime
can negatively impact memory and recall, potentially leading to inaccurate
testimony.
• Applications in Criminal Justice:
• Investigative Interviews: Psychologists can advise on best practices for
interviewing witnesses to maximize the accuracy of their accounts.
• Lineups and Identifications: Psychologists can help design and implement fair
and reliable lineup procedures to reduce the risk of mistaken identification.
• Expert Testimony: Psychologists can provide expert testimony in court,
explaining the psychological factors that can affect eyewitness testimony and
the potential for errors.
 • False Confessions: Research on eyewitness testimony also informs the study of
false confessions, which can occur when individuals falsely confess to crimes
they did not commit.
•
Whether we are talking about memory for events or memory for faces, it is useful to think
about factors that affect eyewitnesses’ performance as being
either estimator variables or system variables (Wells, 1978).

• Types of Variables Studied:

• Estimator Variables: These are factors that are not under the control of the
criminal justice system, such as the lighting conditions at the crime scene, the
age of the witness, or the race of the perpetrator.
• System Variables: These are factors that are under the control of the criminal
justice system, such as the way a lineup is conducted or the questions asked
during an interview.
•
Estimator variables may affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony but the criminal justice
system has no control over them—it can only estimate their effect. These variables have to do
with the characteristics of the eyewitness or the circumstances surrounding the event witnessed.
For example, the emotional state of the eyewitness, the amount of attention an eyewitness paid
to the event and to the perpetrator, the length of time an eyewitness viewed a perpetrator, or
the lighting conditions under which a perpetrator was viewed would be examples of estimator
variables since they have to do with the eyewitness or the circumstances surrounding the event.
The criminal justice system does not have any control over these variables.
System variables, on the other hand, affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, but the
criminal justice system has some control over them. For example, the way an interview is
conducted or the way a lineup is constructed may impact the accuracy of eyewitness reports,
and the justice system has some control over these situations. The vast majority of research on
eyewitness identifications deals with system variables because they are under the control of the
justice system and thus can be modified to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications
and testimony.

1. Eyewitness Memory and its Limitations:

• Memory as a Construct:
Human memory isn't a perfect recording device; instead, it reconstructs memories, which can
be influenced by various factors, leading to inaccuracies.
• Memory Distortion:
Stress, time, and suggestive questioning can distort memories, making them less reliable.
• False Memories:
People can sometimes develop false memories, believing they witnessed events that never
occurred.
• The Influence of Emotion:
Strong emotions, like fear or excitement, can affect what people remember, potentially leading
to inaccuracies in their testimony.
• Suggestive Questioning:
Leading questions or prompts can subtly influence a witness's memory, leading them to recall
details that never happened or to misremember details.
2. Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony:
• Witness Confidence:
A witness's level of confidence doesn't necessarily correlate with the accuracy of their
testimony.
• Lineup Procedures:
The way lineups are conducted can influence eyewitness identifications, and biased lineups can
lead to incorrect identifications.
• Cross-Examination:
The process of cross-examination can reveal inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a witness's
testimony.
• Evaluation Apprehension:
Witnesses may be concerned about how they are perceived by others, which can create anxiety
and affect their performance.
• Thin-Slicing:
Individuals may form quick judgments about a witness's credibility based on brief interactions,
which can be inaccurate.

3. Expert Psychological Testimony:

• Psychologists can provide expert testimony in court, explaining the psychological
factors that can affect eyewitness testimony and memory.
• This testimony can help jurors understand the limitations of eyewitness accounts and
make more informed decisions.

4. Examples of Psychological Concepts in Testimony:

• Yerkes-Dodson Law:

Stress exerts complex effects on eyewitness memory. On the whole, it has a negative effect,
but this can be quite variable depending on the level of stress and the aspect of the witnessed
event that one is trying to remember. Stress operates similarly in affecting person recognition
(i.e., lineup performance) and recall of event details. Increased arousal (stress) can improve
performance up to a certain point, but excessive arousal can impair performance.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law explains the relationship between arousal (stress or anxiety) and
performance. It suggests that moderate arousal enhances performance, but excessive or
insufficient arousal impairs it. In the context of eyewitness testimony, this means there's an
optimal level of stress that can improve a witness's ability to recall and describe events
accurately.

• Dunning-Kruger Effect:
People may overestimate their own abilities or knowledge, leading them to make inaccurate
statements.
The Dunning-Kruger effect can manifest in witness testimony when individuals, lacking
expertise or knowledge in a specific area, overestimate their ability and confidence in their
testimony, leading to potentially inaccurate or misleading statements. This can happen because
those with low competence in a particular area are often unaware of their limitations and may
not recognize the complexities of the situation.

Here's how the Dunning-Kruger effect can impact witness testimony:

 1. Overestimation of Knowledge: Individuals with limited knowledge in a relevant
area might confidently assert opinions or details they believe are accurate, even
if they are not. This can lead to incorrect statements or biases in their accounts.
2. Lack of Self-Awareness: The Dunning-Kruger effect often involves a lack of
self-awareness, where individuals are unable to recognize their limitations or
the possibility of error in their testimony. This can make them resistant to
correction or feedback.
3. Unintentional Misinformation: Witnesses may unknowingly provide
misleading information because they are unaware of the nuances or
complexities of the situation. They may not realize that their understanding is
incomplete or inaccurate.
4. Difficulty in Recognizing Expert Testimony: Witnesses who overestimate
their knowledge might also struggle to recognize the value of expert testimony
or advice, leading them to dismiss or disregard it. This can undermine the
credibility of expert opinions.
5. Influence on Jurors and Judges: Jurors or judges may be influenced by the
perceived confidence and certainty of a witness, even if their testimony is based
on limited knowledge or is inaccurate. This can affect the outcome of a case.

• Confirmation Bias:
People tend to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs, which can influence
their testimony.
Confirmation bias in eyewitness testimony refers to the tendency of witnesses to selectively
remember and interpret information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs or expectations
about a crime, while ignoring or downplaying evidence that contradicts those beliefs. This bias
can lead to inaccurate and unreliable eyewitness accounts, potentially contributing to wrongful
convictions.
How it works:
• Selective Memory:
Eyewitnesses may unconsciously distort their memories of an event to align with their
expectations or beliefs about the crime, the perpetrator, or the circumstances.
• Focus on Confirmatory Evidence:
They may pay more attention to details that support their existing beliefs and overlook or
misinterpret details that contradict them.
• Confirmation in Lineups:
For example, witnesses might become more confident in their identification of a suspect in a
lineup after being told that the person they chose is the prime suspect, even if their initial
identification was uncertain.
• Leading Questions:
Questioning techniques that suggest specific answers or theories can also reinforce
confirmation bias, leading witnesses to unconsciously tailor their responses to confirm those
suggested ideas.
Examples:
• A witness who believes a particular race or gender is more likely to commit crimes
might selectively remember details that support that belief while downplaying details
that don't.
• A witness who has strong emotional attachment to a particular suspect might remember
details that support their guilt and ignore details that suggest their innocence.
• An eyewitness who believes a certain theory about a crime might focus on details that
confirm that theory, even if they are inconsistent with other evidence.
Consequences:
• Erroneous Testimony:
Confirmation bias can lead to eyewitness testimony that is inaccurate, incomplete, or biased,
which can have serious consequences in legal proceedings.
• Wrongful Convictions:
Faulty eyewitness testimony has been implicated in a significant percentage of wrongful
convictions, highlighting the dangers of confirmation bias in criminal justice.
• Erosion of Trust:
The potential for confirmation bias to distort eyewitness testimony raises concerns about the
reliability of eyewitness accounts and can erode trust in the legal system.
Mitigation:
• Awareness and Training:
Educating law enforcement, attorneys, and jurors about the risks of confirmation bias can help
them identify and mitigate its effects.
• Cognitive Debiasing Techniques:
Techniques like "explanatory thinking" can help decision-makers consider multiple
explanations for an eyewitness account and avoid drawing overly extreme conclusions.
• Structured Interviewing:
Using structured interviewing techniques, such as cognitive interviewing, can help minimize
the influence of suggestion and leading questions.
• Independent Evaluation:
Having independent experts evaluate eyewitness testimony can help ensure that the evidence
is assessed objectively and without the influence of confirmation bias.

5. The Importance of Psychology in the Legal System:

• Understanding the psychology of testimony is crucial for ensuring fair and just legal
outcomes.
• By acknowledging the limitations of eyewitness testimony, the legal system can avoid
relying on unreliable evidence.
• The Innocence Project highlights cases where flawed eyewitness testimony has led to
wrongful convictions.