criminal psychology Flashcards
what did Brunner do in 1993?
published a research paper about the association between genes and aggressive behaviour
what did Brunner say about genes and aggressive behaviour?
he emphasised that there was no one gene for crime, and had suggested an association rather than a cause between genes and aggressive behaviour
the MAOA gene was said to be related to aggressive and violent criminal behaviour
what is MAOA?
the function of MAOA is to breakdown/metabolise excess serotonin in the brain, thus helping to control the levels of serotonin available for take up by the brain
what was brunner’s study?
brunner was a doctor in a Netherlands’ hospital and was approached by a woman for genetic counselling
there were a number of males in her family that suffered a syndrome of mental-retardation that was associated with aggressive antisocial and violently criminal behaviour
further research found 14 males in the woman’s extended family had a genetic mutation. This was a mutation of the X chromosome which had passed along the maternal line
Brunner discovered it was a mutation of this gene that stopped them producing any MAOA. This is now known as Brunner syndrome and only this family is known to be affected
a case study found the lack of MAOA increased their serotonin levels which is therefore associated with aggressive behaviour
some of the criminal activity the males had engaged in from this case study include attempted rape, exhibitionism, arson and assault
what was lombroso’s theory of atavism 1876?
argued that criminal is a sub species of human
argued that the physical shape of the head and face determined the ‘born criminal’
features also included a heavy jutting jaw, low brow, a flattened nose, protruding ears, extra fingers, toes and nipples
background to raine’s study?
studies have repeatedly shown violent offenders have poorer brain functioning compared to controls. Until Raine’s 1997 study, it had not been possible to localise which specific brain areas may be dysfunctional in violent offenders
at the time of his study, only some previous research had linked dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex to aggression. for most people, this part of the brain can ‘put the brakes on impulsive behaviour’ and prevent people from being aggressive
the introduction of brain imaging research made it possible for Raine to directly assess brain functioning in violent individuals
what was the aim of raine?
to investigate differences in murderers’ brains and nonmurderers’ brains and to find evidence that the murderers were Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)
what does NGRI mean?
argues that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act. It is rarely used but is sometimes successful
why was NGRI-pleading murderers a suitable sample for Raine?
it was hypothesised that murderers pleading NGRI would have localised brain impairments but at the same time, there was no brain imaging research on this target population
sample of raine?
41 murderers (39 men, 2 women). mean age 34.3 years.
41 nonmurderers (39 men, 2 women), mean age 31.7 years
6 participants were matched. across the conditions, participants were the same sex and age. 6 ps in each condition had schizophrenia. this study is a matched pairs design
all participants were kept medication free for the 2 week period preceding brain scanning
what are PET scans?
a small amount of radioactive glucose (called a tracer) is injected
the PET scanner takes a picture of where the glucose is being used in the brain
the active parts of the brain use up more glucose so show up brighter in pictures
IV and DV of raine?
IV = murderers vs nonmurderers
DV = glucose metabolism (quantitative data)
procedure of Raine?
all ps were kept medication free for 2 weeks leading up to the brain scan
10 minutes before being given the FDG injection, ps were given practice trials on a Continuous Performance Task. The CPT task required ps to search for targets on a screen and press a button to indicate when the targets were spotted
ps were then injected w the FDG which was the radioactive tracer
ps then completed the CPT task
after 32 minutes, the participant went straight to the PET scanning room and their brain was scanned to measure brain activity in the cortical and sub cortical regions
why was the CPT task used in Raine?
the CPT task was used bc it produces glucose metabolism in parts of the brain
results of raine regarding the prefrontal cortex?
there was reduced activity in the murderers’ prefrontal cortex compared to the controls
the prefrontal cortex plays a central role in the functions such as impulse control
reduced activity can explain criminality as murderers had less control making it more difficult to have constraints on aggressive behaviour
findings about the angular gyrus in raine?
there was less activity in
the murderers’ left angular gyrus
compared to the murderers
The angular gyrus has been linked
to lower verbal and reading ability,
educational failure, occupational
failure and thus, crime.
finding about the amygdala and hippocampus in raine?
Murderers had less activity in the
left amygdala and left hippocampus
compared to controls.
The amygdala is responsible for fear so
reduced activity in this part of the brain
can mean someone is more likely to
commit crime due to fearlessness.
finding about the thalamus in raine?
Murderers had less
activity in their left
thalamus compared to the
non-murderers.
The thalamus and
hippocampus play a role in
learning and memory.
Reduced activity in the
thalamus suggests
murderers are impaired
with learning from
experience (e.g.,
behavioural mistakes)
finding about the corpus callosum in raine?
Murderers had less activity in
their corpus callosum compared to the
controls
Less activity in the corpus callosum
(which transfers information between
the hemispheres)can prevent the left
hemisphere from inhibiting the right
hemisphere’s generation of negative
emotions…leading to aggressive
behaviour.
finding about the temporal lobe?
no differences were
found between the
conditions suggesting
that brain
abnormalities in
murderers may not be
in all parts of the brain
conclusions of raine?
There’s evidence that murderers pleading NGRI
have brain differences to non-murderers.
It is possibly a combination of abnormal brain
processes that leads to someone being a
criminal (not just reduced activity in one part of
the brain)
why did raine say that the results from his research should be used with caution?
because we cannot:
- say that biology alone contributes to crime
- say NGRIs are not responsible for their actions
- diagnose murderers
- generalise as the control/comparison group did not contain a non-violent criminal control group
evidence for the biological strategy of intervention programmes for children involving diet, exercise and cognitive stimulation
in another one of Raine’s studies conducted in Mauritius, he investigated 100 children with a low resting heart rate. The children had a 3 part intervention programme. This programme focused on:
- Nutrition (given milk, fruit juice and a hot meal a day of chicken, fish or mutton with salad)
- Physical exercise (afternoon sessions of gym, structured games and free play were run)
- Cognitive stimulation (children went to 2 specially constructed nursery schools that aimed at using different methods of toys, arts, handicrafts, drama and music)
These children were compared to a control group who did not have this specialised programme
During a follow up at age 11, the research found the children could focus better and had more matured brains
In addition, the level in their brains increased. During a follow-up at age 17, they found the children also scored lower on conduct disorder ratings.
evidence for biological strategy of omega 3 adminstration?
a further 100 children in Raine’s study participated in a trial with omega 3
for 6 months, children had a daily juice drink called Norwegian Smartfish, which contained a whole gram of omega 3
they were compared to a control group who just drank the juice with no omega 3 supplement
after 13 months, parents reported a significant reduction in aggression, delinquency and attention problems in those taking the drink
their behaviour was measured before, at the end of the trial (at 6 months) and 6 months after the trial finished
Raine said omega 3 enhances brain structure and function, boosts cell size and regulates neurotransmitter functioning
what did Lewison find about the effects of plastic surgery on criminals?
Dr Lewison performed facial reconstructive surgery on prisoners and tracked their post-surgery behaviour
by 1965, Lewison had performed surgery on 450 patients in a Canadian prison
Behaviour changes were observed almost immediately– there was more cooperation and they participated in more prison activities. Previously hostile criminals became polite
what is chemical castration?
chemical castration involves the use of drugs to lower the production of sex hormones such as testosterone. This procedure can be used to top sex offenders from re-offending
in the UK, this procedure is voluntary
what are biological strategies for preventing criminal behaviour?
intervention programmes for children involving diet, exercise and cognitive stimulation
omega 3– fatty acids
plastic surgery
chemical castration
how to answer part c crimpsych questions?
two strategies minimum
write what suggestion is
write how you would do it
write when/where it would be used
write why (support with evidence from study)
ALWAYS LINK TO SCENARIO– need to embed all of the characters from the question into ur answer
what is forensic evidence?
information collected from a crime scene, eg ballistics, blood spatters, footprints, tyre prints, bite marks, DNA, fingerprints etc
what are the strengths of using fingerprints as forensic evidence?
it is cost and time effective and relatively easy to analyse
no two people have ever been found to have the same fingerprints
we now have national and international digital databases which store fingerprints, this makes analysis of a match much easoer
what was a real life error in finger print analysis?
in 2004, a series of bombs went off in Madrid. Many people were killed which led to an FBI investigation
A latent fingerprint (created by sweat) was found on a bag which was believed to have belonged to the bomber as it contained detonating devices.
A suspect was identified who was named as Brandon Mayfield. He was actually just one of 20 other matches but he had been a person of interest since 9/11. A number of experts confirmed the fingerprint was Mayfield’s
Mayfield protested his innocence until the Spanish police matched the print to the real bomber– Ouhnane Daoud. A formal apology was given to Mayfield by the US government was reportedly given a $2million settlement
why do errors with fingerprint analysis occur?
cognitive biases– there might be a confirmation bias. this means people might give emphasis to, or intentionally look for evidence to confirm their beliefs
Itiel Dror suggested that because a human ultimately makes the decision as to whether there is a match, human error may occur
what is bottom-up processing?
examination of ridge patterns and characteristics. ‘Zooming in’
what is top down processing?
using contextual elements such as prior experience/knowledge, emotional state, and general expectations
this is where biases can occur and override objectivity
what are some examples of cognitive biases that could influence fingerprint analysis?
OBSERVER/EXPECTANCY EFFECTS: the expert anticipates the outcome as a result of info from another expert
CONFORMITY EFFECT: when you’re asked to validate the opinion of a peer you’re more likely to agree with them
NEED-DETERMINAITON PERCEPTION: a bias due to a strong desire to solve a crime (strong motivation to solve case eg Madrid Case)
what was the aim of dror 2006?
do contextual influences create biases in fingerprint experts?
sample of dror 2006
5 fingerprint experts recruited with 85 years of experience between them
procedure of dror 2006?
signed consent form giving permission that at sometime in the next 12 months, theyll be tested in their normal working environment
they were asked to analyse a pair of fingerprints that they had previously declared as matching in a real life case 5 years earlier (but they did not know this during the research). They were told that the pair of prints had been mistakenly matched previously by the FBI as the Madrid Bomber
findings of dror 2006?
4 of the ps changed their identification from 5 years earlier
3 of these 4 ps now judged the fingerprints as ‘definite non-matched’ but one of these 4 now judged that there was insufficient information to make a definite decision
conclusion of dror 2006
fingerprint experts decisions can be influenced by contextual influences
aim of dror 2005
what are the effects of top down processing (emotion and subliminal messages)
sample of dror 2005
27 university student volunteers
procedure of dror 2005
ps asked to analyse 96 good quality or incomplete poor quality fingerprints. also given emotional stimuli (case details about bike theft) or high emotional stimuli (case details about a murder). photographs were also used
findings of dror 2005
when the fingerprint was poor quality, ps relied more on the contextual information– they were also affected by the emotional context
they were more likely to say a pair of prints was a match when analysing poor quality prints
what is the current protocol for analysis prints in the met police?
involves providing the fingerprint examiner with a copy of the crime scene report. this report details the nature of the crime but does not provide any photographic images of the crime scene
background of hall and player?
wanted to investigate whether real fingerprint experts (rather than students as previously used by Dror) would be affected by the emotional context of the crime scene report
previous research by dror found that non-experts were more likely to identify a match between fingerprints when presented with a high emotional context rather than a low emotional context
aim of hall and player
to investigate whether the written report of a crime will affect a fingerprint expert’s interpretation of a poor quality fingerprint mark
to investigate whether fingerprint experts are emotionally affected by the circumstances of a case
sample of hall and player
70 ps
worked at the Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau
Length of experience ranged from less than 3 months to more than 30 years
Mean length of experience 11 years
VOLUNTEER SAMPLING METHOD
all asked to participate in work time
details of experiment were not disclosed
what were the conditions in hall and player
condition 1 = low emotional context, allegation of forgery. trying to pay for some goods with a fake £50 note
condition 2 = high emotional context, allegation of murder. trying to pay for some goods with a fake £50 but then they shoot the guy twice
design of hall and player
independent measures
procedure of hall and player
ps either received the low emotional or high emotional context crime scene report. just like in real life, fingerprint experts did not have to read the report. 35 ps were in each condition
ps were given a £50 note with a superimposed (placed on the note using a computer) fingerprint in the corner. they were told to treat the task as part of their normal working day
they had a magnifying glass to help then analyse the note against the suspects fingerprints. Ps were also provided with a Russel comparator.
to obtain quantitative data, the experts were asked to consider whether the note mark was a match, not a match, insufficient (not enough detail to make a comparison) or insufficient detail to establish identity.
To obtain qualitative data, ps were also asked to elaborate on their findings by providing observations and opinions
finally, ps completed a feedback sheet which asked whether they had referred to the crime scene report prior to their assessment of the marks and to indicate what info they had read. if they had referred to the report, they had to state whether they felt that the information contained on the report had affected their analysis, and if so, how.
what were the materials in hall and player
cannon laser 1000 printer
test mark on £50 note
10-print fingerprint form
magnifying glass
russel comparator
computer that superimposes
results of hall and player
no significant difference was found between the two conditions. the emotional context of the crime scene reports did not affect the overall outcome of whether the analysts thought the prints were a match
52% of the 30 who had read the high emotional context crime scene report about murder felt that they were affected by the info given in the report. this is significantly greater in comparison who had read and reported that they were affected by the low emotional context crime scene report about forgery
not all ps read the crime scene report. 57 out of 70 ps indicated that they had read the crime scene report prior to examining the prints. 30 out of the 57 had been in the high emotional condition. 19% of the ps did not read the crime scene report at all
how is hall and player high in population validity
fingerprint experts is the target population
range of experience from experts
how does hall and player lack population validity
all work for MET police
volunteer sampling– biased towards more confident experts
how is hall and player high in ecological validity
they were given what experts are normally given eg 10 print finger form, examination report ,sheet of paper advising of the contents and the mark. also given a magnifying glass and russel comparator which they would usually use.
how is hall and player low in ecological validity
experts would not normally be presented with a fingermark on card
they were not allowed to discuss the fingerprints with coworkers
how did hall and player reduce demand characteristics
did not declare the full details of the experiment
what are the strategies to reduce bias in the collection and processing of forensic evidence?
fingerprint ‘line-ups’
blind testing
sequential unmasking
what are fingerprint ‘lineups’
this involves providing fingerprint analysts with similar multiple possible comparisons (including fillers and possible matches)– as opposed to just latent fingerprints and the ones matched on the computer
the examiner would then be working more blind to the information about which fingerprint may belong to the suspect
what is blind testing
fingerprint experts should not be aware of any information about the crime and unaware of the person who has previously also examined the prints
this strategy attempts to remove as many top down processes as possible
what is sequential unmasking
the examiner has information revealed to them as and when they need it– only when necessary so that the examiners only receive the information they need to conduct their forensic testing
which study supports sequential unmasking
dan krane and his colleagues, who coined the phrase ‘sequential unmasking’, have asserted that this debiasing technique is an ‘obvious, common sense step’ for dealing with a recognised flaw in the task presented to forensic scientists
which study supports blind testing
dror
what study supports finger print line ups
miller
used a human hair evidence line up, which significantly reduced inaccurate conclusions and mitigated cognitive biases
what is the Reid Nine Steps of Interrogation
a psychological police interview technique designed to get confessions/evidence out of unwilling suspects
only used in the US (the UK does not use interrogation)
the technique has been criticised as it could lead to false confessions
what are the stages in the Reid Nine Steps of Interrogation
- Confrontation Stage
- Theme Development
- Stopping Denials
- Overcoming objections
- Getting the suspects’ attention
- Handling mood
- Present the alternatives
- Confession in front of witnesses
- written confession
what is the standard interview
most basic type of interviewing and it is easy to train officers with (cheap)
can vary amongst interviewers and may include interruptions which affect recall
involves 4 stages of orientation, listening, questions and answers and advice
what is the cognitive interview
Geiselman et al (1985) developed the Cognitive Interview as an alternative to the Standard Interview. It apples psychological principles to increase the accuracy of witness’ memories
what are the four parts of the cognitive interview
mental reinstatement of context technique
report everything technique
change perspective technique
recall in different/reverse orders technique
what is the mental reinstatement of context technique
based on context dependent memory
witnesses are asked to mentally take themselves back to the scene of the crime to imagine the smells, sounds, light, thoughts, feelings and the physical context
what is the report everything technique
witnesses are asked to report everything they can from the event, even if they see it as irrelevant
what is the change perspective technique
witness is encouraged to describe the event as others saw it, such as the perpetrator, victim or another witness
what is the recall in different/reverse orders technique
witnesses asked to recall the event in reverse
can help prevent schemas affecting their memory, as otherwise the danger is that the witness will reconstruct the event and their memory will be distorted
what is the enhanced cognitive interview
the enhanced version of the cognitive interview contains the same four retrieval rules as the original
the enhanced CI includes more social aspects including techniques to improve communication, minimise distractions, allowing for pauses between questions and tailoring the language to suit the witness
involves putting the witness at ease to enable their account to be more accurate
what was the aim of fisher 1989
to investigate the effectiveness of the cognitive interview on witness testimony
procedure of fisher
used a field experiment of 16 detectives from Miami, Florida
7 of the 16 detectives were trained to use the cognitive interview
interviews were recorded and analysed by a team at the University of California, who were blind to the conditions. The researchers counted the number of facts remembered
findings of fisher
after CI training, the 7 detectives gained 47% more information after training compared to previous interviews
the detectives also gained 63% more information from witnesses compared to 9 untrained detectives
conclusion of fisher
the cognitive interview is effective
what did Gudjonsson do?
conducted a case study of a 17 year old boy (FC) accused of committing two murders
during police interrogation, the boy was put under pressure which made him confess to the murders, which he did not do. Initially, the boy denied committing the crimes, but after extensive interviewing for 14 hours, he confessed
FC was described as ‘coerced compliant’ which mean the gave a false confession to escape the stressful interview situation
aim of Memon and Higham?
to review theoretical and methodological issues that they believed needed to be considered when researching the cognitive interview. They also offer suggestions for future implementation of the CI
sample of memon and higham
reviewed 65 pieces of research into the Cognitive Interview and memory
procedure of memon and higham
conducted a review article summarising previous research into the CI. They made suggestions for future use of the CI and future research into the CI
what were the four mains sections of memon and higham’s review?
the effectiveness of the 4 components
comparison of the CI to other interview techniques
measures of memory
quality of training
what was memon and highams finding about the effectiveness of context reinstatement
found to be the most effective component
of the CI. Can gather as much information as the full CI procedure
used as a whole however other research has shown this stage also
shows no positive effects.
m + h – effectiveness of recalling from different perspectives?
can lead to false
memories – some police officers have expressed concern about this
stage. Has been found to produce information as accurate as the
other CI techniques.
m + h, effectiveness of recall in reverse order stage?
one study found it was more effective
to recall in forward order, then followed by reverse order compared
to make 2 attempts at recalling from the beginning.
what did m + h say about comparison interviews in research
It’s no longer appropriate for future research to
compare the CI with the standard interview as
they are too different from one another (the SI is not standardised and varies between
interviewers)
what did m+h say about measures of memory
Previous research into this looks at the number of correct/incorrect details remembered but fails to look at the amount and detail about unreported information.
The ‘recall everything’ component in the CI can be more effective than the SI as the SI goes by “tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth” so may restrict witness’ responses.
what did m + h say about the quality of training
training on the CI. Research has found that minimal training (4hours) on the CI has shown poor practice. Research has highlighted a need for better training.
Attitude, motivation and experience all play a role in effectiveness of
the CI.
Feedback should be given to officers on their performance. Practice ofthe CI is needed.
A 2 day training programme on the Cognitive Interview is advised.
Officers should be identified and trained by potential. But this assumes poor interviewers won’t benefit from training
police officers may be less likely to contest the training techniques of a superior officer in the force than an external researcher from a university setting
conclusions from m + h’s review?
research into the effectiveness of the CI and its components is inconclusive and contradictory– there is a need for further research into the CI’s effectiveness
future research into the effectiveness of the CI should avoid comparing the CI to the police standard interview as they are too different from one another
future research should focus on the unreported information by witnesses, not just the reported/remembered information
interviewers differ in their ability and motivation to conduct an effective CI– more quality training is needed to ensure high effectiveness of retrieving accurate witness’ memories
what is a jury?
the final decision in a trial comes down to a jury– they decide if the person is guilty or not guilty
in the UK a jury is made up of 12 randomly selected citizens who are chosen from the electoral register (18+)
if you are summoned for jury service it is mandatory
if you do not turn up their is a £1000 fine– it is our civil duty
what is court procedure?
the prosecution make their case against the defendant. they call any witnesses.
the defence lawyer is allowed to cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses
after the prosecution present their case, the defence present their case and call their witnesses to the stand
prosecution sum up their arguments
defence sum up their arguments
the judge instructs the jury on their responsibilities then they deliberate
what else could influence the jury’s verdict?
extra-legal variables, such as:
- age
- race
- confidence
- social class
- accent
- how they are dressed
- attractiveness
- profession
what was penrod and cutler’s 1995 study?
used a lab experiment and independent measures design to investigate whether a confident witness leads to more chance of a guilty verdict and the ‘jury’ being more likely to believe the witness
a female ‘witness’ said she was either 80% confident with her eyewitness account or 100% confident to participants (the IV)
when witness said she was 80% confident to ps, 60% of ps gave guilty verdicts, but when the witness said she was 100% confident, 67% of ps gave guilty verdicts
it was concluded that witness confidence could therefore affect the jury’s decision
what is the halo effect
a type of cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character
when someone looks good, we assume their personal attributes are good too
what was castellow’s study
castellow investigated whether an attractive defendant is less likely to be seen as guilty
prior to the study, photographs of defendants were rated on their attractiveness from 1-9 by a panel
ps were given the evidence from a sexual harassment case and were then asked if they thought the defendant was guilty
it was found that unattractive defendants were found guilty 77% of the time compared to 56% for attractive defendants
aim of dixon
to examine the effect of regional accent on the attribution of guilt
participants of dixon
119 white undergraduate psychology students
24 men, 95 women
mean age of 25.2 years
procedure of dixon
ps listened to a 2 minute tape recorded conversation based on a real transcript of a police interview that took place in 1995
there were different versions of the tape depending on the condition the p was in. this study used independent measures design
ps listened to a police officer interrogating a young man who was pleading innocent of a crime which he was a suspect of
after listening to one of the tape versions, ps were asked to rate the suspect on a 7 point scale from innocent to guilty
ps also completed a questionnaire called the Speech Evaluation Instrument (SEI) which measured ps evaluations of the lang using 3 dimensions: superiority, attractiveness, and dynamism
what were the IVs of Dixon
brummie accent vs standard accent
black vs white suspect
white collar crime (cheque fraud) vs blue collar crime (armed robbery)
results of dixon
the brummie suspect was rated lower on superiority
the brummie suspect was rated higher on guilt compared to the standard accented suspect
there was a three way interaction of Brummie accent/black suspect/blue collar worker had a significantly higher guilt attributions compared to other combinations
what are the strategies to influence jury decision making
using an expert witness to persuade the jury, eg psychologist or police officer, they will seem more confident which links to penrod and cutler
conceal the characteristics of defendants that could affect jurors. eg defendants could testify behind a screen to hide their appearance. supported by castellow
change or adapt accent, or have a spokesperson for the defendant. dixon.
dress smartly. castellow supports.
who devised defensible space theory and what is it?
oscar newman
he argued that environmental design play a crucial part in increasing or reducing criminality
he wrote a book which contained a study from NY that pointed out crime rates were higher in high rise apartment buildings compared to lower housing projects
he suggested this was because residents in high-rise buildings felt no responsibility for communal areas
what is defensible space?
space that can be perceived to belong to a particular person or group of people, with good visibility
what were the differences between the van dyke building and the brownsville building? (newman)
van dyke= 14 storey, high rise. graffiti and vandalism much higher. overall crime rate was 66% higher in Van Dyke than Brownsville
brownsville= had less repair maintenance than van dyke, better cooperation between residents and police than van dyke. 6 storeys, more defensible space and surveillance opportunities
how does defensible space theory explain crime
suggests opportunities for crime are reduced when the environmental design can be manipulated to create spaces that are less vulnerable to crime by providing residents with more opportunities to control their space and defend if necessary
what is broken windows theory
the term ‘broken windows’ is a metaphor for any visible signs of disorder in an environment.
the theory suggests visible signs of crime create an environment that encourages further crime and disorder
what is zero tolerance policing
emerged from the Broken Windows Theory
also called the ‘quality of life initiative’ or ‘order maintenance policing’
involved cracking down on petty crimes to prevent bigger crimes
william bratton enforced this new style of policing in NYC
what was the evidence that zero-tolerance policing worked at reducing crime in NY?
in 1992 arrests for serious crimes decreased by 25%
between 1990 and 2009, the homicide rate had declined by 82% in NY
what was the Safe and Clean Neighbourhoods Program?
in the 1970s, the state of new jersey had implemented the Safe and Clean Neighbourhoods Program in 28 different NJ cities. The Program was designed to improve the quality of community life in cities
the program also involved changing the way police officers carried out their work. as part of this program, the police were required to move from car patrols and carry out more foot patrols
aim of wilson and kelling?
wilson and kelling investigated the impact of the Safe and Clean Neighbourhoods Program, particularly focussing on foot patrols. they were particularly interested in:
- why people felt safer when crime rates had not decreased (and may have even increased)
- how the police defined ‘order’ and how they maintained public order in Newark, NJ
sample of wilson and kelling
police officers (mostly white) and the public of Newark, NJ (mostly black)
procedure of wilson and kelling
kelling conducted a naturalistic participant observation, and joined some police foot patrols in Newark (one of the 28 cities in NJ).
kelling spent many hours walking with Newark foot patrol officers. he observed interactions between the police and members of the public
wilson and kelling then developed the Broken Windows Theory and write about their research findings in an article published in a magazine called The Atlantic
what were wilson and kelling’s findings regarding foot patrols?
after a five year review of the safe and clean neighbourhoods programme, it was found that an increase in foot patrols had not reduced crime rates
however, the foot patrols had made residents feel safer. residents thought crime had reduced and were now taking fewer precautions such as not locking their door when at home
police also seemed to have higher morale than patrol car patrol officers.
foot patrol officers got to know the community well
what was kelling’s observation/findings about informal rules and zero-tolerance policing?
kelling observed how the Newark police were attempting to prevent crime through the use of informal rules and zero tolerance policing
this strategy meant that the police were targeting smaller crimes to prevent more serious disorder from occurring
example informal rules included not allowing drunk people to lie down on stoops, but they could sit on them; people could drink on side streets but not on main streets; begging was not allowed. people who did not follow the informal rules were arrested
what were the conclusions of wilson and kelling?
existing beliefs about foot patrols had changed and now more positive, even though statistically they did not seem to catch criminals
informal controls help maintain public order and improve the quality of life in cities
wilson and kelling suggested the broken windows theory. this theory therefore suggests that police should target minor disorder such as graffiti/vandalism, otherwise this can escalate and lead to more serious crime and disorder. by targeting minor crimes, this will show the public that the police do care, and this should help prevent more crime occurring
citizen policing might be a sufficient way to tackle crime and disorder, for example the Guardian Angels
what are situational strategies to prevent crime?
communities should use defensible space and have good environmental design
use a zero tolerance approach by using informal rules– target the smaller crimes/disorder
use foot patrols
target hardening
how could defensible space be used to prevent crime?
design neighbourhoods so there is clear defensible space
eg entrances overlooked, use courtyards, and make areas appear individual and personalised
supported by Newman
how could zero tolerance policing be carried out to prevent crime?
no tolerance for even minor disorder
this will stop it from getting worse (broken windows theory)
supported by bratton– showed that crime rates reduced by 25% the first few years after introduction
how could foot patrols be carried out to help prevent crime
increase police presence in the community and assign offices to ‘walking beats’
can help people feel safer in the community by cleaning up disorder
use of informal rules can help prevent disorder
does not necessarily reduce crime rates, but does make people feel safer and police morale is improved
supported by wilson and kelling
how could target hardening be used to help prevent crime
this involves making it more difficult (or harder) for people to commit crime by making targets more resistant to attack/remove/damage.
eg locking doors and windows or bike locks
eg alarms and high fences
supported by research conducted in liverpool by Newton in 2008, which found target hardening reduced burglaries
what does prison aim to achieve
deterrent
rehabilitation
incapacitation
punishment
how can prison be seen as effective
for the 86,000 people incarcerated in the UK it ensures they are not offending
in addition, as prison takes away a persons freedom it is seen as highly effective way for a criminal to pay for their crime as it provides justice to society and the victim
most prisoners believe they have learned their lesson and are determined that they won’t go back to prison
what was the aim of dooley
to investigate the nature and amount of deaths in prisons in England and Wales between 1972 and 1987
procedure of dooley
content analysis
looked at prison data in England and Wales between 1972 and 1987
results of dooley
442 unnatural deaths were recorded in prisons in England and Wales between 1972 and 1987
300 0f these deaths received a coroner’s verdict of suicide
52 were consciously self-inflicted injury (accidental suicide)
aim of gillis and nafekh
to investigate the effectiveness of a community based employment scheme (a programme where prisoners on parole could be employed before the end of their sentence).
To see if this programme affected the recidivism rates (reoffending rates)
sample of gillis and nafekh
over 20,000 prisoners on conditional release
all Canadian
95% male
procedure of gillis and nafekh
content analysis
condition 1 = some offenders were employed on conditional release
condition 2 = some offenders were unemployed on conditional release
findings of gillis and nafekh
employed offenders were less likely to reoffend than unemployed offenders
70% of those on the scheme successfully completed their conditional release.
This was compared to the 55% of those not on the employment scheme who completed their conditional release
if the employed offenders did reoffend, this was much later (median time 37 months) than the unemployed (median time = 11 months)
aim of zimbardo
to investigate the behavioural and psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard
sample of zimbardo
24 male volunteers
college students
advert in a newspaper offered $15 a day
all judged to be the most stable and mature
what was the prisoners condition in zimbardo
12 prisoners
have to remain in there just like in real prison for 2 weeks
signed a contract that they would have some of their civil rights suspended
what was the guards condition in zimbardo
12 guards
told to maintain ‘reasonable degree of order within the prison’
they were given minimal guidelines
sampling technique of zimbardo
volunteer sampling
how were participants allocated their roles in zimbardo
were randomly allocated their roles of guards or prisoners using a flip of a coin
what were the prisoners uniforms in zimbardo
wore a ‘dress’ with no underclothes
prison number on the front and the back
loosely fitting rubber sandals
wore a cap
chain on their ankle
what were the guards’ uniforms in zimbardo
khaki uniforms
baton
mirrored sunglasses
whistle around their neck
procedure of zimbardo: arresting the prisoners
the local police department ‘unexpectedly’ arrested the prisoners in their homes. The prisoners were handcuffed, thoroughly searched and taken to the police station where they were fingerprinted and ‘booked in’/ they were charged at the police station with suspicion of either burglary or armed robbery
each prisoner was then blindfolded and driven to the mock prison. they were blindfolded to separate the prisoners from the outside world (to help them make the prison feel real)
procedure of zimbardo: prison arrival
prisoners were stripped, sprayed with delousing spray (which was actually deodorant) and made to stand naked in the ‘cell yard’. this part of the procedure was designed to increase the ecological validity of the study and humiliate the prisoners
the prisoners were then put into a cell and ordered by the guards to remain silent. The cell only had beds in them.
Prisoners were referred to by their prison number as opposed to their name to depersonalise them
what were the instructions given to the guards in zimbardo
given limited guidance but were told no physical violence was allowed.
instructed to maintain order in the prison
had to work shifts, manage meals, work and hold recreation programmes for the prisoners
prisoners were lined up for a ‘count’ three times a day
what were the dependent variables in zimbardo
behaviour was measured in several ways such as video and audio recording, personality tests, questionnaires and post experimental interviews
data was mainly qualitative
what happened on day 2 in zimbardo
prisoners began to rebel
guards started to control
prisoners began to break down after 36 hours
what happened on day 3 in zimbardo
some prisoners went on a hunger strike
guards tried to break the prisoners down
what happened on day 6 of zimbardo
the experiment ended
it was stopped after 6 days instead of the planned 14
how was the prison internalised in zimbardo
the prison was internalised by both the prisoners and guards– they started to believe it to be real
both guards and prisoners become increasingly negative and had negative emotions
what was the behaviour of the guards like in zimbardo
started most of the interactions which were mostly commands
became verbally abusive towards the prisoners– ‘pathology of power’
some guards were not happy the study ended prematurely
not all guards resorted to hostility– some were tough but fair
what was prisoner behaviour like in zimbardo
generally passive response
5 prisoners had to be released because of extreme emotional depression, crying, rage and anxiety (pathological prisoner syndrome)
experienced feelings of isolation
some prisoners became excessively obedient and did tolerate the oppressive atmosphere
how was deindividuation present in zimbardo
loss of identity– prisoners even referred to each other by their number
how was learned helplessness present in zimbardo
sense of powerlessness. the prisoners ceased power because they learned they no longer had control
how was dependency present in zimbardo
the prisoners had to depend on the guards for things such as smoking, going to the toilet etc, which emasculated them
conclusions of zimbardo
this research demonstrates the powerful effect roles (and the situation) can have on behaviour
ps were playing the role they thought was expected of a prisoner or a guard
social roles/the situation can influence behaviour– the prison environment can lead to brutal behaviour and have negative psychological and behavioural effects on prisoners
strategies for reducing reoffending: employment schemes
implementing employment schemes on conditional release is an effective way of reducing reoffending bc it promotes community reintergration
supported by gillis and nefekh
could also have something in place where offenders have opportunities to gain qualifications for trades in prison
what is restorative justice (strategy for reducing reoffending)
process through which parties w a stake in a specific offence collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future
can take the form of victim-offender mediation either through direct contact between the offender and victim, or indirect communication involving third parties.
it can also involve restitution or reparation where this is agreed between offenders and their victims
what is a strategy for reducing reoffending regarding community based drug or alcohol treatment
community based drug or alcohol treatment can increase the number of people who do not reoffend in the two years after treatment to 44% (Public Health England and MoJ, 2017)
