Crime Questions Help?

Question

Hi, can you help me answers these 2 questions because I want to hear your points of view. Thanks!

Q1) How does crime affect society?

Q2) Why do people commit crime?

Thanks Again!

Answer 1

anybody is 1 mph away from manslaughter...

Answer 2

as to (part of) Q2:

KILLER’S MINDS

[Wikipedia: Charles Sobhraj (born April 6, 1944 in Saigon, Vietnam) is a French serial killer of Indian and Vietnamese origin, who preyed on Western tourists throughout Southeast Asia during the 1970s. Nicknamed "the Serpent" and "the Bikini killer" for his skills at deception and evasion, he allegedly committed at least 12 murders and was jailed in India from 1976 to 1997, but managed to live a life of leisure in prison. He retired as a celebrity in Paris, then unexpectedly returned to Nepal, where he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment on August 12, 2004.]

“Charles Sobhraj” by Mark Gribben [ML – a rather clunky writer]

(from http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_mu...

Chapter 2: Motive

Early childhood abuse, injury to the brain -- usually the frontal lobes -- and extremely indifferent or cruel parenting are often found in the backgrounds of serial killers. But what made Charles Sobhraj evolve into a psychopath? Could the constant travel back and forth between his natural parents and the ensuing rejection be enough to drive a man to serial homicide? Recent scientific research into the minds of psychopaths provides a different theory.

"Until the psychopath came into focus, it was possible to believe that bad people were just good people with bad parents or childhood trauma and that, with care, you could talk them back into being good," writes journalist Robert Hercz. "(Noted criminologist Dr. Robert Hare's research suggested that some people behaved badly even when there had been no early trauma.")

A professor at the University of British Columbia, Hare has spent years studying psychopaths to try to address what has turned out to be a common malady. Through decades of research, interviewing and conducting experiments on some of society's most notorious criminals, Hare developed a commonly used measurement scale to determine a subject's level of "psychopathy." What he has learned is troubling.

"Hundreds of thousands of psychopaths live and work and prey among us. Your boss, your boyfriend, your mother could be what Hare calls a 'subclinical' psychopath, someone who leaves a path of destruction and pain without a single pang of conscience," Hercz writes. "Even more worrisome is the fact that, at this stage, no one -- not even Bob Hare -- is quite sure what to do about it." [ML – see page 2 for Hare’s PCL info.]

Hare's research helps explain the behavior of men like Charles Sobhraj. Unlike many serial killers, Sobhraj killed for economic and personal gain. He only wanted the passports and identity papers of his victims because that made it easier for his jewel and drug smuggling operations. Sobhraj wasn't driven to kill by perverse sexual desire, nor did he get any particular satisfaction out of homicide. The people he murdered were merely in the way. They had something that Sobhraj wanted and so he took it.

"If I have ever killed, or have ordered killings, then it was purely for reasons of business, just a job, like a general in the army," Sobhraj told journalist Richard Neville during his trial in India.

Psychopaths like Sobhraj are incapable of feeling remorse. To them, the phrases "I want to kill you" and "I want to kiss you" carry the same emotional punch. The concept of fear is almost unknown to them, so threat of punishment will never be a deterrent. [ML – to what extent is this true? Then why do they evade arrest? Isn’t it the thrill of killing that outweighs the risk of punishment? Add to that their belief that they’re smarter than the cops. Maybe arrogance (narcissism) is the over-riding factor: that they have the right to kill, and that they can outsmart the cops. Further, isn’t “no fear” another overstatement? They must fear obvious lethality: lions, bullets, etc.]

Within the psychopath diagnosis is a subdivision of behavior that analysts call "the puppet master." This class is made up of men like Charles Sobhraj, although killers like Charles make up only a small portion of the puppet masters out there. "The puppet master would manipulate somebody to get at someone else. This type is more powerful because they're hidden," Hare said.

Industrial psychologist Paul Babiak [ML – who’s he? Does he rank with Hare?] attributes a trio of motivations to psychopaths: thrill-seeking, an almost insatiable desire to win, and the propensity to injure others. "They'll jump on any opportunity that allows them to do those things," he says. "If something better comes along, they'll drop you and move on."

In one of Charles Sobhraj's earliest encounters with crime, he once explained to his mother that he could "always find an idiot to do what I wanted." The comment came when 10-year-old Charles was accused of inducing a stepbrother to rob a shopkeeper.

Hare talks about how imprisoned psychopaths learn "the words but not the music" that parole boards and society want to hear. "They can repeat all the psychiatric jargon -- 'I feel remorse,' they talk about the offense cycle -- but these are words, hollow words."

HARE PSYCHOPATHY CHECKLIST - DEFINITION

(from http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Har... )

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is a diagnostic tool used to rate a person's psychopathic or antisocial tendencies. People who are psychopathic prey ruthlessly on others using charm, deceit, violence or other methods that allow them to get with they want. The symptoms of psychopathy include: lack of a conscience or sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentricity, pathological lying, repeated violations of social norms, disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimizing others.

Originally designed to assess people accused or convicted of crimes, the PCL-R consists of a 20-item symptom rating scale that allows qualified examiners to compare a subject's degree of psychopathy with that of a prototypical psychopath. It is accepted by many in the field as the best method for determining the presence and extent of psychopathy in a person.

The Hare checklist is still used to diagnose members of the original population for which it was developed— adult males in prisons, criminal psychiatric hospitals, and awaiting psychiatric evaluations or trial in other correctional and detention facilities. Recent experience suggests that the PCL-R may also be used effectively to diagnose s*x offenders as well as female and adolescent offenders.

Description

The Hare PCL-R contains two parts, a semi-structured interview and a review of the subject's file records and history. During the evaluation, the clinician scores 20 items that measure central elements of the psychopathic character. The items cover the nature of the subject's interpersonal relationships; his or her affective or emotional involvement; responses to other people and to situations; evidence of social deviance; and lifestyle. The material thus covers two key aspects that help define the psychopath: selfish and unfeeling victimization of other people, and an unstable and antisocial lifestyle.

The twenty traits assessed by the PCL-R score are:

glib and superficial charm

grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self

need for stimulation

pathological lying

cunning and manipulativeness

lack of remorse or guilt

shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)

callousness and lack of empathy

parasitic lifestyle

poor behavioral controls

sexual promiscuity

early behavior problems

lack of realistic long-term goals

impulsivity

irresponsibility

failure to accept responsibility for own actions

many short-term marital relationships

juvenile delinquency

revocation of conditional release

criminal versatility

[ML – evaluating the above traits (the degree thereof) is quite arbitrary, subjective, a matter of opinion. Evaluators may well disagree significantly.]

The interview portion of the evaluation covers the subject's background, including such items as work and educational history; marital and family status; and criminal background. Because psychopaths lie frequently and easily, the information they provide must be confirmed by a review of the documents in the subject's case history.

Results

When properly completed by a qualified professional, the PCL-R provides a total score that indicates how closely the test subject matches the "perfect" score that a classic or prototypical psychopath would rate. Each of the twenty items is given a score of 0, 1, or 2 based on how well it applies to the subject being tested. A prototypical psychopath would receive a maximum score of 40, while someone with absolutely no psychopathic traits or tendencies would receive a score of zero. A score of 30 or above qualifies a person for a diagnosis of psychopathy. People with no criminal backgrounds normally score around 5. Many non-psychopathic criminal offenders score around 22. [ML – so, anywhere from 6-30 would be a 'subclinical' psychopath? Are any non-killers in the 30-40 range? (See page 5)]

One percent of the general population in the United States meets the criteria for psychopaths. But the percentage is 15-20 percent in prisons because of the criminal activity psychopaths often engage in. Often, people think that childhood abuse can create psychopathy in adults. Childhood trauma certainly can aggravate psychopathic tendencies, but it's not a cause-effect relationship. Research over the last 10-15 years is supporting the notion that psychopathy is related to a genotype.

Answer 3

Good grief!  Could you be any more broad?  I teach semester long classes on each of those questions.

What kind of answer are you looking for?

Generically, crime impacts public policy, human behavior, tax spending, popular media, etc.  

There are a variety of possible reasons people commit crime.  It may be choice, biological factors, psychological factors, environmental factors, economic factors, or any combination of them.

Some argue crime doesn't really exist because it is an artificially created reality based on the social and political views of the groups in power.  If a different group was in power, the rules would likely be totally different and behaviors called crimes in our society may be seen as perfectly acceptable.