Specific Crimes ,Violent Offences

Specific Crimes
Violent Offences
The Offence
· offence type does not accurately predict future offence category
· about 15 % of sexual offences are re-convicted, but re-conviction is just as
likely to be a non-sexual offence
Degree of violence
· degree increases with:
· low IQ
· mental illness
· intoxication
· low victim resistance
· family killings
· multiple killings
· when women killed
Quality of violence
· better indication of mental illness than quantity
· bizarre quality equates with mental illness or severe personality disorder
Disinhibiting factors
1. alcohol and drugs
· 86 % of victims assaulted are intoxicated at time of injury
· 63 % of offenders are intoxicated at time of offence
· 60 % of murderers have drunk alcohol prior to their offence
2. companions and groups
· e.g. football match
3. stress and fatigue
4. blood sugar
Criminal record
· the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour
1. predictors of repetition for dangerous offences include:
a) a juvenile record
b) number of previous offences
c) convictions for violence
i) one previous violent offence predicts 14 % chance of reconviction
ii) four previous violent offence predicts 60 % chance of reconviction
iii) the exception is over-controlled murder, where a ‘mildmannered’
person is ‘pushed over the edge’
d) severity of last offence
Personal data
1. Sex
· women less likely to seek violent solutions
· but when women do become violent, they can display the same level of
violence
· the most common offence committed by women is stealing
2. Age
· high rates of offending in youths
· sex crimes may decline with increasing age if offence is linked to orgasm
· exhibitionism may persist to later age
3. Marital status
· persistent failure to achieve sexual relationship and one or more violent
assaults on a woman is ominous
· of adult female victims of murder, 40 % were killed by their husband
4. Social circumstances
· association between homelessness and violence
Personality
· two broad types:
· over-controlled - feelings inhibited
· under-controlled - easily exhibits feelings and resorts to violence
· Helman’s triangle (in childhood) is a good predictor of future violence:
1. bedwetting
2. firesetting
3. cruelty to animals
· paranoid / suspicious
· suspicious is more likely to resort to verbal or physical aggression
Family and personal history
· violent behaviour is associated with:
· childhood deprivation
· poor parent / child relationships
· childhood beatings
· alcoholic fathers
· dominant mother
· isolation from peers
· deep hostility to authority
· childhood physical abuse is associated with:
· marital conflict and violence
· single parent families
· low socio-economic status
Past psychiatric history
· schizophrenia (esp. paranoid) is most likely diagnostic group to commit crimes of
violence
· mentally ill are more likely to be assaultative, and risk is increased if:
· male
· young
· low socio-economic status
· substance abusing
· rates of violent offending:
· schizophrenia = 5 in 10,000
· affective psychoses = 6 in 100,000
Predictors of repetition
1. History:
a) one or more previous episodes of violence
b) repeated impulsive behaviour
c) evidence of difficulty in coping with stress
d) previous unwillingness to delay gratification
e) sadistic or paranoid traits
2. The offence:
a) bizarre violence
b) lack of provocation
c) lack of remorse
d) continuing major denial
e) severity of violence
3. Mental State:
a) morbid jealousy
b) paranoid beliefs plus a wish to harm others
c) sadistic fantasy life
d) deceptiveness
e) lack of self control
f) threats to repeat violence
g) attitude to treatment/ lack of insight or willingness to comply
4. Circumstances:
a) provocation or precipitant is likely to reoccur
b) alcohol or drug abuse
c) social difficulties and lack of support
Shoplifting
· peak age = 10-18
· majority offend once and are not re-convicted
· in middle-aged women, depression is present in up to 30%
· associated with:
· phobic anxiety states
· chronically stressed
· personality disorder, in association with low mood
· chronic physical illness
· organic states
Arson
· M:F = 1:2.5
· more common in:
· subnormality
· alcoholism
· recurrence more likely if:
· multiple attempts
· psychotic
· demented
· mentally retarded
· alcoholic
· sexual excitement derived from the act
Stalking
· usually due to:
· personality disorder
· paranoid illnesses
Juvenile delinquency
· is law breaking behaviour by 10- to 20-year-olds
· associated with:
· unsatisfactory child rearing
· low IQ
· conduct disorder in childhood
· parental criminality
· large family size
· refers to the recurrent failure to resist irresistible impulses to steal objects not
needed for personal use nor for their monetary value
· it is classified under ICD-10 F63 ‘Habit and impulse disorders’
· it is rare – with less than 5% of shoplifters giving a history consistent with
kleptomania
· the average age of onset is 20 years
· the diagnosis is usually made 1-2 decades after the average age of onset
· stealing is impulsive, and done without the assistance of others