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PubMed2006

Appraising, researching and conceptualizing criminal thinking: a personal view.

BACKGROUND: It is argued that current interest in the concept of criminal thinking has its roots in traditional theories of criminology and criminal justice such as Sutherland's differential association model, neutralization theory, and Yochelson and Samenow's criminal personality. AIM: The purpose of this paper is to briefly review and summarize theory, research, and practice on criminal thinking as it relates to the author's work in this area. CONCLUSIONS: Three self-report inventories--the Criminal Sentiments Scale (CSS), the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS), and the Measures of Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA); three principal areas of research--criminal thinking as a predictor of criminal behaviour, offence as a moderator of criminal thinking, and changes in criminal thinking leading to changes in criminal behaviour; and a general theory of criminal thinking are briefly reviewed in this paper.

Attitude↗
PubMed1999

Adolescence-limited versus life-course-persistent criminal behaviour in adolescent psychiatric inpatients.

A nation-wide sample of 1072 Norwegian adolescent psychiatric inpatients were followed up 15-33 (mean 23.8) years after hospitalisation, by record linkage to the National Register of Criminality. Defining criminal behaviour as entry into the criminal registry, 481 patients (45%) had an adolescent criminal debut, entering the registry before the age of 21. Of these, 130 (27%) had no criminal record after the age of 21 and were consequently considered as adolescence-limited criminal offenders, as opposed to the remaining 351 (73%) individuals who continued their criminal behaviour beyond the age of 21 and were considered as life-course-persistent criminal offenders. On the basis of hospital records, all patients were rediagnosed according to DSM-IV and scored on factors hypothesised to have predictive power as to persistence of criminal behaviour. We found that 79.6% of the male, and 58.8% of the female adolescent delinquents went on to life-course-persistent criminality. In females, intravenous use of illegal drugs, and being discharged from the hospital elsewhere than to the family home, were strong and independent predictors of life-course-persistent criminal behaviour. In males, the following were significant and independent predictors of life-course-persistent criminality: a high number of conduct disorder criteria fulfilled, comorbidity of psychoactive substance use disorder, and having attended correctional school.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees. I. Genetic and environmental heterogeneity.

The inheritance of criminality was studied in 862 Swedish men and adopted by nonrelatives at an early age. If type of offense and association with alcohol abuse were neglected, criminality was heterogeneous and appeared to be largely nonfamilial. Nevertheless, different genetic and environmental antecedents influenced the development of criminality, depending on whether or not there was associated alcohol abuse. Alcoholic criminals often committed repetitive violent offenses, whereas nonalcoholic criminals were characterized by commission of a small number of petty property offenses. These nonalcoholic petty criminals had an excess of biologic parents with histories of petty crime but not alcohol abuse. In contrast, the risk of criminality in alcohol abusers was correlated with the severity of their own alcohol abuse, but not with criminality in the biologic or adoptive parents. Unstable preadoptive placement was associated with increased risk for petty criminality, whereas low social status was associated with alcohol-related criminality. We discuss the significance of these results in relation to the classification of criminals and current concepts about antisocial personality.

Adoption↗
PubMed2005

Involvement with the criminal justice system among new clients at outpatient mental health agencies.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed involvement with the criminal justice system among new clients of community mental health centers and self-help agencies in order to determine the characteristics and service needs of this population. Such information has implications for improving the care available for persons with mental illness who have been involved with the criminal justice system. METHODS: Interview assessments and criminal records were obtained for 673 new clients of 21 outpatient mental health agencies. Descriptive statistics, chi square tests, and multivariate analysis of variance were used to describe these new help-seekers and their involvement with the criminal justice system. RESULTS: A total of 303 study participants (45 percent) had at least one contact with the criminal justice system before arriving at the agency, with an approximately equal percentage at community mental health centers and self-help agencies. The mean+/-SD number of contacts with the criminal justice system was 7.81+/-9.12. A total of 240 individuals (36 percent) had at least one criminal conviction, including 128 (19 percent) with a felony conviction. Common charges and convictions included petty theft, assault and battery, felony theft, narcotics offenses, and misdemeanor drug offenses. Clients who had been involved with the criminal justice system were more likely to be homeless, to have drug dependence, to have greater psychological disability, and to have less personal empowerment than other clients. CONCLUSIONS: The population overlap between the mental health system and criminal justice system and the multiple problems facing criminally involved clients argues for greater collaboration between the two systems and a comprehensive package of services to meet the multiple needs of this population. The equal distribution of these individuals and similar offense patterns at both types of agencies necessitates further consideration of the role that nontraditional service providers have in serving individuals with a history of involvement with the criminal justice system.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Predisposition to criminality: Swedish adoption studies in retrospect.

The predisposition to criminality was studied in 913 women and 862 men from the Stockholm Adoption Study. Different genetic and environmental antecedents influenced the development of criminality, depending on whether or not there was associated alcohol abuse. Male alcoholic criminals often committed repeated violent offences, whereas non-alcoholic criminals characteristically committed a small number of petty property crimes. These non-alcoholic petty criminals more often had biological fathers with histories of petty crime but no excess of alcohol abuse. The risk of criminality in alcohol abusers was correlated with the severity of their own alcohol abuse, but not with criminality in their biological or adoptive parents. Most explained variation in petty crime was due to differences between the genetic predispositions of the adoptees, but substantial contributions were also made by postnatal environment, either alone or in combination with specific genetic subtypes. There was no overlap between the congenital antecedents of alcoholism and non-alcoholic criminality, but some postnatal variables were common to this kind of criminality and type 2 or male-limited alcoholism. Low social status alone was not sufficient to lead to petty criminality, but did increase risk in combination with specific types of genetic predisposition. Unstable preadoptive placement contributed to the risks of both petty criminality and male-limited alcoholism.

Adoption↗
PubMed1997

Psychophysiological protective factors for male subjects at high risk for criminal behavior.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the role of elevated autonomic nervous system reactivity in protecting individuals at high risk for criminal behavior from antisocial outcomes. The authors hypothesized that subjects with criminal fathers who did not become criminals themselves were biologically protected from such an outcome because of, in part, heightened responsiveness of the autonomic nervous system. METHOD: Ninety-four male subjects were placed into one of four study groups: criminal with criminal father (N = 26), noncriminal with criminal father (N = 24), criminal with noncriminal father (N = 20), and noncriminal with noncriminal father (N = 24). Skin conductance and heart rate data were gathered in an orienting paradigm. RESULTS: Skin conductance and heart rate orienting reactivity were found to be significantly higher in the group of noncriminal subjects with criminal fathers than in the other three groups. CONCLUSIONS: For subjects at high risk for criminal behavior, heightened autonomic nervous system responsiveness appears to be associated with lower likelihood of criminal outcome.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Male drug abuse, criminality and subcultural affiliation in a career perspective.

Degree of connection to the criminal underworld was the basis for typologic research on 698 male drug abusers; interviews as well as official records were used. Four types were distinguished: The addicted criminals seemed to resemble the groups dominant in Sweden from the 1950s to the 1970s. An early crime debut and criminal offenses in youthful years characterized their deviant careers. Drugs and criminal activities coexisted with an often very high intake of alcohol and the most difficult childhood and adolescence conditions compared to the other types. The criminal addicts had fewer recorded acts of juvenile delinquency. Their drug abuse was severe and occurred later in life, as criminality did, but tended to accelerate very rapidly. Their subcultural affiliation was probably as strong as that of the addicted criminals. A large group called low-crime addicts had a weak subgroup affiliation. The "normal" abuse pattern, with cannabis as the first substance used and a gradual shift to more severe opioid and CNS stimulant abuse, was most true of this type. Probably the drug abuse played a role in the development of the criminal pattern. Emotionally unstable addicts with little or no criminality had the best education, job situation and social relations. Multiple drug abuse and abuse of legal drugs were common. Mental ill-health was characteristic for this group. The results show that drug abusers in Sweden cannot be seen as a homogeneous group of individuals, that they do not commit crimes only in order to finance their habit, and that the history of narcotics use in Sweden, with its strong connection to a criminal subculture, is highly relevant to this sample.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Penal aspects of psychiatric intervention: management modes and impact of new criminal legislation].

Psychiatry and criminal justice have been closely related for a long time. Traces of such ties can already be found during the 19th century through the establishment of the contemporary systems of social control. Various questions that will mark the development of policies in this domain were important objects of discussion and analysis: Is mental illness a cause of criminality? Should the "insane" be held responsible for their crimes? What are the appropriate measures to heal, reform, control? In other words, should we consider the individual as sick or as criminal? If these questions are formulated differently nowadays they haven't lost any of their relevance. In this article, we will briefly present the forms of intervention available to the criminal justice system when dealing with persons suffering from mental health problems. This presentation is based on recent studies conducted in Montreal, elsewhere in Canada, as well as in the United States. The main stages of the criminal justice process will be examined, taking into account the recent modifications to the Canadian Criminal Code and its impact on the relations between the courts and psychiatric facilities. This type of situation is not without impact on community mental health for two main reasons. First, with the diminishing public funding of various health services there seems to be a growing practice of criminalization of persons suffering from mental health problems, especially the most vulnerable segments of this population. Secondly, there is a growing trend, in the criminal justice system, of requiring support from community groups or facilities to deal with these criminalized individuals. In the coming years criminalization will constitute an increasing and complex challenge for community mental health.

Canada↗
PubMed1997

The criminalization of persons with serious mental illness living in rural areas.

In the context of restrictive admissions policies at public inpatient facilities, rates of arrest and incarceration of persons with serious mental illness (SMI) have been increasing, leading to the perception that SMI persons are being unduly "criminalized." This paper describes the characteristics of persons with SMI (N = 177) in Mississippi who have been (1) jailed without charges while awaiting a hospital bed and (2) jailed for a criminal offense. Seventy-five percent (N = 132) of the 177 subjects had been held in local jails awaiting state hospital admission at least once in their lives, most for more than five days. Fifteen percent (N = 26) had contact with the police for a criminal offense in the past year. Rural residence markedly increased the risk for waiting in jail (OR = 4.24) but was not related to committing a criminal offense. Protective factors for any type of criminal justice contact were female gender, caucasian ethnicity, better compliance with medication regimes, and nonrural residence. The phenomenon of rural criminalization, i.e., waiting in jail without criminal charges, differs qualitatively from the criminalization that occurs in urban areas and may require a different solution. To avoid criminalization of SMI persons in rural areas, public mental health systems must develop effective crisis interventions in the community or work with local law enforcement officials and medical and mental health facilities to create more immediate access to acute inpatient care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Racial disparity and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system: exploring consequences for deterrence.

Minority (over) representation in the criminal justice system remains a puzzle, both from a policy and an intervention perspective. Cross-sectional reviews of the policies and practices of the criminal justice system often find differential rates of involvement in the criminal justice system that are associated with the nature of the criminal charge/act or characteristics of the offender; however, longitudinal reviews of the race effect often show it to be confounded by procedural and extralegal variables. This review focuses on how the cumulative policies and practices of the criminal justice system contribute to churning, or the recycling of individuals through the system. In conducting our review, we describe how the same criminal justice processes and practices adversely affect select communities. The consequences of policies and procedures that contribute to churning may affect the legitimacy of the criminal justice system as a deterrent to criminal behavior. A research agenda on issues related to legitimacy of the criminal justice system aimed at a better understanding of how this affects individual and community behavior is presented.

Crime↗
PubMed1994

The criminal careers of incident cases of schizophrenia.

We present a population-based, longitudinal study of all incident cases (N = 538) of schizophrenia in the London Borough of Camberwell between 1964 and 1984. Cases were selected from the Camberwell Cumulative Psychiatric Case Register. Case-notes were obtained, and further classified using a computerized operational check list for rating psychotic illness. Cases are not restricted to hospital discharges, as in previous studies, and account is taken of time at liberty to offend. In order to test the hypothesis that schizophrenia makes an independent contribution to criminality over other mental disorders, controls were chosen to be representative of nonschizophrenic mental disorders matched for age, sex and period. The rate of conviction is increased in women with schizophrenia compared to other mental disorders for most offence categories (rate ratio = 3.3). In men overall rates do not differ (rate ratio = 1.03), although there is an interaction between gender, schizophrenia and ethnicity, with young black men with schizophrenia being most at risk. The rate ratio for violent offences in men with schizophrenia is 3.8, confirming recent studies from Sweden. Subjects with schizophrenia were more likely to acquire any criminal record than those with other mental disorders. The rate of lifetime conviction was greater in those with schizophrenia than either a sample of working-class boys from the same area followed by Farrington & West, or National data. The risk of first conviction is increased by schizophrenia, unemployment, ethnic group, substance abuse and low social class, and decreased by being employed, married, female and older age of onset. Adjustment using survival analysis showed that schizophrenia made a small independent contribution to the risk of acquiring a criminal record (hazard ratio = 1.4) but gender, substance abuse, ethnicity and age of onset were more substantial. Previous criminality was the strongest independent association of post-illness conviction, with schizophrenia only a trend. Although subjects with schizophrenia were more likely to acquire a criminal record, criminal careers began later and were shorter than those of the controls. The risk of criminality increased throughout the study period, but suggestions of a specific increase in those with schizophrenia as a result of changes in community care were not confirmed. These results confirm that women with schizophrenia are at increased risk of acquiring a criminal record, but the effect in men is for violent convictions only. The strongest associations of criminal conviction remain those recognized in non-schizophrenic subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Relationship of criminality to endogeneity and anxiety in patients with unipolar depression.

The relationship between criminal behavior on the one hand and endogeneity and anxiety on the other hand was investigated in a sample of patients with unipolar depression to help elucidate factors influencing the criminality rate in this population. A lower criminality rate in patients with higher ratings of endogeneity and anxiety was predicted. Clinical records of 179 male and 99 female psychiatric inpatients were retrospectively evaluated using the Newcastle Scale II and Hamilton Anxiety Scale. A full account of conviction records served as a measure of criminal behavior. Forty per cent of male patients and 7% of female patients were criminally registered. A lower criminality rate was indeed found in male and female patients with endogenous type of depression and in male patients with higher anxiety ratings. In a multivariate evaluation, however, sociodemographic variables in terms of age and social class seem to be more important predictors of criminality and all variables we assessed contributed only marginally to the explanation of the criminality variance. Thus, in patients with unipolar depression, sociodemographic factors seem to be of a greater even though still limited importance regarding criminal behavior compared with the clinical variables of endogeneity and anxiety.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Criminality among female drug abusers.

Criminality among female (n=351) drug abusers is compared to that of men (n=798) as part of a longitudinal study of persons in treatment in Sweden (the SWEDATE project). The extent of criminality was much less among females than among males, and fewer women than men were criminal. The pattern of criminality varied between the sexes. Women's crime debuts occurred later, and they committed less violent crimes and more drug-related crimes. The majority of women supported themselves in other ways than with criminality. Also, women tended to have a more severe pattern of abuse, a more rapid drug career, and more complex psychological problems than men. A subgroup of prostitutes whose drug of choice was heroin often began drug use early with cannabis and went on to amphetamine for their first injection, which often took place in a junkie pad. There was also a criminal group (as there was among men) with a very early and intensive juvenile delinquency pattern, early drug debuts and a rapid transition to regular abuse and extensive adult criminality. Forty-two percent of the women had no criminal records; they had more extensive multiple drug abuse than the other women (this was also true for the noncriminal male addicts). The study shows that drug abuse and criminality are interrelated for certain individuals, but not for others.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[A testimony procedure of forensic psychiatry used for criminal cases].

A testimony procedure of forensic psychiatry containing of the following steps as: "to set-up the medical diagnosis-to clarify the criminal motive-to determine the property of criminal legal ability damage-to evaluate the criminal responsibility" is recommended, and upon them "to clarify the criminal motive" is of importance. The property of criminal legal ability damage can be determined through the criminal motive and then the degree of criminal responsibility can be evaluated objectively through the criminal motive and criminal legal ability effected by the disease.

Crime↗
PubMed2002

Apology in the criminal justice setting: evidence for including apology as an additional component in the legal system.

The criminal justice system has reached unprecedented scope in the United States, with over 6.4 million people under some type of supervision. Remedies that have the potential to reduce this number are continually being sought. This article analyzes an innovative strategy currently being reconsidered in criminal justice: the apology. Despite a legal system that only sporadically acknowledges it, evidence for the use of apology is supported by social science research, current criminal justice theories, case law, and empirical studies. Social psychological, sociological and socio-legal studies pinpoint the elements and function of apology, what makes apologies effective, and concerns about apology if it were implemented in the criminal justice system. Theoretical evidence is examined (including restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, crime, shame, and reintegration) to explore the process of apology in the criminal justice context. Attribution theory and social conduct theory are used to explain the apology process specifically for victims and offenders. A brief examination of case law reveals that though apology has no formal place in criminal law, it has surfaced recently under the federal sentencing guidelines. Finally, empirical evidence in criminal justice settings reveals that offenders want to apologize and victims desire an apology. Moreover, by directly addressing the harmful act, apology may be the link to reduced recidivism for offenders, as well as empowerment for victims. This evidence combined suggests that apology is worthy of further study as a potentially valuable addition to the criminal justice process.

Crime↗
PubMed2004

A cross-sectional study on expression of anger and factors associated with criminal recidivism in prisoners with prior offences.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine demographical characteristics leading to crime recidivism and define anger levels and anger expression manners for those who re-commit crime. METHOD: All the literate inmates in Izmit Closed Penitentiary were included in this cross-sectional study. The prisoners were asked to respond to State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Their socio-demographic data were collected and a questionnaire was given to them to determine their state of imprisonment, sentence, nature of the crime in which they were involved, their criminal history, their relationship with inmates and prison staff and substance and alcohol use. RESULTS: Of the 438 prisoners, 302 (68.9%) responded to the questionnaires. Crime recidivism among the study cohort was observed to be 37.4%. Mean trait anger, anger out and anger in scores were significantly higher in prisoners with criminal recidivism in comparison with those who did not have prior criminal records. However, mean anger control scores for prisoners with or without criminal recidivism were similar. Unemployment, education level completed at secondary school or below, having committed a crime under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, having been involved in prison fights, having resisted police officers, caused damage in their vicinity when angry and violent crimes were all found to be possible causes of criminal recidivism. Educational level completed at secondary school or below, getting into fights with other prisoners, unemployment and resisting police officers were determined to be the strongest indicators to predict criminal recidivism when all variables were considered according to a logistic regression model. CONCLUSION: It can be proposed that those who have problems with officials or hostile towards others constitute a risk group for criminal recidivism. If prisoners with criminal recidivism can be helped to identify and control their anger, their risk of committing a new crime can be minimised.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

African American female drug users and HIV risk reduction challenges with criminal involvement.

The main objectives of this paper are to examine the prevalence of criminal involvement among a sample of African American female drug users and to identify factors associated with that criminal involvement, where criminal involvement is defined as having been in jail or prison. Data were collected in Atlanta from 333 adult women at two points in time, namely during baseline assessments conducted prior to their enrollment in an HIV risk reduction intervention and at follow-up assessments conducted 6 months after completion of the intervention. The prevalence and period prevalence of criminal involvement were relatively high. At baseline, 86.8% of the women indicated criminal involvement at some point in their lives and over one-third (37.2%) were involved in the year prior to enrolling into the study. During follow-up interviews, 31.5% reported criminal involvement during the 6 months since enrollment. The findings revealed that victimization/abuse and drug use setting might be salient risk factors for criminal involvement. The unique needs of women such as those in this sample must be taken into account when designing intervention and prevention programs, both within and outside the criminal justice system.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees. III. Sex differences and validation of the male typology.

Sex differences in the inheritance of criminality were studied in 913 women and 862 men from the Stockholm Adoption Study. Our multivariate classification of genetic heterogeneity was validated in the female sample by confirmation of predictions derived from the men. The congenital antecedents of criminality were the same regardless of sex, but the congenital predisposition to criminality had to be more severe for a woman to be affected. Furthermore, the postnatal antecedents of criminality that were studied were qualitatively different in the two sexes. Prolonged institutional care and urban rearing increased the risk of criminality in women but not in men. In contrast, multiple temporary placements and low social status of the adoptive home increased the risk ot criminality in men but not women. The antecedents of petty criminality and alcohol abuse were distinct in both sexes. Cross-fostering analysis indicated that postnatal factors were more important for criminality than for alcoholism in women. We discuss the overall significance of this series of reports and make suggestions for future research.

Adoption↗