Criminology

Question 1

Key research Raine (brain activity of NGRI)

Answer 1

• 2 groups, matched on age gender
• control group were schizophrenic
• experimental group criminals who found not guilty for reasons of insanity-schizophrenia (6) or organic brain injury (23)
• injected with radioactive glucose tracer
• completed a continuous performance task, indicate every time saw 0, as numbers visually degraded required more effort of pre frontal cortex
• 32 min long
• then had PET scan-show radioactive glucose
• NGRI murders showed less activity in pre frontal cortex, less activity in left side of amygdala, more activity in occipital areas
• reduced activity in pre frontal cortex can explain impulsive behaviour and lack of self control
• less activity of amygdala, violence due lack of fear and unusual emiotnal responses

Question 2

Raine (intervention scheme for children)

Answer 2

• low resting heart rates, what prevents children becoming criminals
• experimental group 100 children given 3 part intervention scheme
• control group matched no intervention
• 3 part intervention involved nutrition physical exercise and cognitive stimulation
• balanced diet and one cooked meal a day, gym sessions and games, curriculum of arts and crafts and drama
• at age 11 intervention group had better concentration more mature brains
• age 17 significant lower levels of conduct disorder, less cruel and less likely to start fights
• raine states “intervention does not eradicate chance of crime”

Question 3

omega 3 supplements

Answer 3

Lower levels of aggression
Resulted in lower levels of delinquency, attention problems
Raine concluded that omega 3 could reverse brain functions that pre dispose children to be criminals

Question 4

Brunner (MAOA)

Answer 4

• large group of males from one family committed violent crimes eg rape, arson
• urine was analysed
• very little MAOA
• genetic mutation reduced amount of MAOA produced, less seratonin absorbed
• physiological explanation of why men turn to crime

Question 5

Jahoda (Ashanti tribe)

Answer 5

Ashanti tribe
boys born on Wednesday are called Kwaku
Kwaku more aggressive and violent 
Boys born on Monday called kwadwo
Kwadwo more calm

Jahodo examined soul names of criminals, 6.9% kwadwo 22% Kwaku

Question 6

smoking during pregnancy

Answer 6

• Smoking cigarettes during pregnancy can lead to higher pre natal levels of testosterone
• being exposed to higher levels of testosterone in womb is linked to higher levels of aggression, sensation seeking behaviour and impulsivity, all associated with anti social behaviour and lack of empathy

Question 7

Key research Hall and player (finger print MET police)

Answer 7

• 70 finger print experts from MET police
• two groups of 45
• low emotion group, told finger print of note was from someone trying to buy goods with forged note
• high emotion group, told finger print belonged to someone suspected of firing 2 gun shots
• offered a crime scene report but didn’t have to read it
• after analysing the report had choose an option (1-fingers matched, 2-didn’t match, 3-not enough detail to analyse, 4-some agreement not enough to match)
• completed questionnaire on how got their decision and if crime report affected analysis
• no sig diff between high emotion and low emotion
• emotional context does not reduce a finger print experts ability to make final decision
• many chose not to read report, they analysed finger in objective manner

Question 8

Dror (top down technique)

Answer 8

• bottom up:examination of ridges and patterns of finger print to identify unique features
• top down:expert use previous knowledge and experience to make assumption on identity of finger print
• top down open to biases
• observer/expectancy bias:expert anticipates outcome, preconceived expectations
• selective attention:prior expectation lead to filtering out of ambiguous elements (ignores anything that does support expectation)
• conformity effect:expert asked to validate decision of peer, unconscious bias to agree with orig decision if aware of it
• need determination : bias from desire to solve particular crime (just make decision even if not fully supported)
• overconfidence bias:believe they are always right even when contradicted with evidence

Question 9

Dror et al (students fingerprint)

Answer 9

• 27 students given 96 pairs of finger prints
• had to match up finger prints
• half finger prints clear half were ambiguous
• some crimes low emotion some high emotion
• subliminal message flash up “guilty” on high emotion cases
• had to indicate if match or not
• more likely to find a match in high emotion cases 58% than low emotion cases 49%
• with subliminal message rose to 66%
• suggests emotional context influences fingerprint analysis

Question 10

Miller (6 pack approach)

Answer 10

6 pack approach-6 hairs, 1 from crime scene, 1 from suspect and 4 random
Two groups told only one matches the crime scene hair
One group uses 1v1 hair analysis
One group uses 6 pack approach
Group using 6 pack made less false positives when matching the hairs

Question 11

ACE-V

Answer 11

Scientific method of analysis
1-analysis:assess if print suitable for comparison
2-comparison:investigator analyses characteristics and attributes of finger print identify conformity es between found and known latent prints
3-evaluation:examiner answer questions conclude if identified or individualised, not identified or excluded or inconclusive
4-verification:conclusion verified by peer review of examiner to confirm results

Question 12

Kassin et al (analysis of finger prints are crime scene)

Answer 12

1-analyse crime scene finger print on its own, record unique features
2-analyse suspects finger print on its own, record unique features
3-compare notes of analysis and determine if prints match

Question 13

Reid (9 step interrogation)

Answer 13

Interrogation
1-direct positive confrontation (tell suspect they guilty)
2-theme development (shift blame onto other circumstances)
3-handling denials (cut off or suppress denial)
4-over coming objections
5-procurement and retention of attention (invade personal space and eye contact)
6-handling suspects passive mood (developing theme)
7-presenting alternative question (two options both say guilty)
8-verbal details of offence
9-written confession

Question 14

key research Memon and Higham (cognitive interview review)

Answer 14

• effectiveness of training:2 days by police sergeants not academics, only train those with potential
• review effectiveness of each component: context reinstatement most effective, recall in diff order and perspective confuse witness
• comparison with other studies: standard interview can’t compare due to being done differently by each officer, guided memory interview only uses context reinstatement, structured interview builds rapport but not cog element
• cog interview appear more successful as witness make statements containing anything and everything-not always accurate or useful

Question 15

Fisher and Geisleman (witness recall)

Answer 15

For witnesses

• report everything even if irrelevant
• recall in different temporal orders
• context reinstatement (mentally imagine being at scene, smells,sounds)
• recall from diff perspectives

Question 16

Fisher and Geiselman 2.0 (witness interview)

Answer 16

• Establish rapport with eyewitness make them feel at ease aids memory recall
• interview with comparable questioning (officers match questions to what witness is recalling)

Question 17

Mann (lie detection)

Answer 17

• 99 officers from Kent judged truthfulness
• 14 clips showing head and torso, clips backed with evidence which established lie or truth
• officers had to say if lie or truth and cues they used to detect
• more experienced officers better at detecting lies

Question 18

Key research Dixon (effect of accent on conviction)

Answer 18

• 2 by 2 by 2 factorial design
• Brummie / standard accent
• black / white
• blue collar / white collar crime
• participants from Uni of Worcester, 119 white undergraduates, 95 female, excluded any brummies as a control
• listened to a 2 min clip of man being interrogated who pleads innocent, rate on a 7 point bipolar scale innocent to guilty
• sig effect of accent on attribution of guilt by participants
• 3 way interaction between accent, race and crime, if Brummie accent, black and did a blue collar crime there is significantly higher ratings of guilty than other conditions

Question 19

Penrod and Culter (confidence)

Answer 19

mock trials
jury made up of students and experienced jurers
watched witness give evidence about a suspect of robbery
2 conditions: ‘‘i am 100% confident’’ or “i am 80% confident’’ when identifying the suspect
results: 80% gained 60% guilty verdicts, 100% gained 67% guilty verdicts

Question 20

Pennington and Hastie (witness order presentation)

Answer 20

witness order-present best witnesses at start and last of trial
story order-present witnesses in chronological order
-mock murder trial
-Defence/prosecution/verdict
-story/story/59% guilty
-witness/witness/63% guilty
-story/witness/31% guilty
-witness/story/78%
-story order more persuasive than witness order

Question 21

Castellow (attractiveness)

Answer 21

halo effect-people tend to think those who are more attractive have more positive qualities

• mock case: 23 yr old female receptionist claims male employer sexually harassed-sexual jokes, trying to touch her
• jury shown photo of plaintiff and defendant
• plaintiff/defendant/verdict
• attractive/attractive/71% guilty
• attractive/unattractive/83& guilty
• unattractive/unattractive/69% guilty
• unattractive/attractive/41% guilty

Question 22

Broeder (inadmissable evidence)

Answer 22

mock trial students shown tapes on a case about women who was hit by car driven by careless male driver had to decide amount money victim gets

• group A were told male had insurance
• group B were told male had no insurance
• group C told male had insurance but judge said to disregard info as inadmissible
  results: group A $37,000, group B $33,000, group C $46,000
• reactant theory stronger attempt to change Juror thinking the stronger they resist the idea

Question 23

Key research Wilson and Kelling (foot police patrol)

Answer 23

• crime in neighbourhood is called disorder physical and social (graffiti and drugs)
• New Jersey foot police patrol
• five years later it was reviewed
• benefit of patrol: residents felt safer and more likely to challenge criminal behaviour
• officers set up informal rules : drunks SIT in stoops not lie, drinking allowed in side streets not main roads, talking to or begging to those at bus stops not allowed, strangers moved on if couldn’t explain what they are doing
• informal rules allowed police to maintain order
• the patrol didn’t decrease crime, but there was no increase either
• wilson stated: ‘‘police should focus on maintaining order rather than fighting crimes once they have happened
• fear disorder: people keep off the streets and stay inside, more crime to occur, when report to police they say they are short handed therefore people don’t report crimes anymore and crime spirals

Question 24

Newman (defensible space preventing crime)

Answer 24

New York two buildings: Van Dyke (high rise flats with high crime rates) Brownsville (separate buildings with communal courtyards with less crime rates)
-4 factors create defensible space: zone of territorial influence eg hedges to indicate private, opportunities for surveillance eg people entering communal area are easily spotted, image eg personalising housing, milieu eg less open spaces so not attract crime

Question 25

Brown (CTV)

Answer 25

data from 3 cities analysed

• newcastle burglary crimes reduced by 56% and criminal damage crimes dropped by 38% due to having CCTV
• CCTV most effective in areas where people congregate
• Burrows suggested that CCTV displaces crime to other areas
• CCTV in 4 underground stations crime fell by 70%, in the closest 15 stations crime fell by 15% suggesting people move elsewhere for crime

Question 26

Ernest Jones (eyes on posters)

Answer 26

• eyes on posters lead to people being more co-operative
• posters featuring flowers and eyes put up in uni cafe, some had clear verbal messages about littering
• eye posters lead to 50% reduction in littering regardless if verbal message was included

Question 27

Zero tolerance policy

Answer 27

• Bratton subway police
• 8-10 officers sent into subway arrested 10-20 people each for fare dodging
• sent message easy crimes are focus
• widened policy to whole of new york
• 7000 extra officers conducted sweeps arresting people for minor offences such as public drinking
• serious crime fell by 22%
• Bratton policy taken up by other countries, crime fell for 5 years in row
• may be other explanations: other policies introduced, increase in resources, however zero tolerance led to resentment

Question 28

Key Reseach Haney (mock prison)

Answer 28

Mock prison

• 75 potentials completed questionnaire on mental/physical health and interview, only 24 chosen
• all were students in Standford, volunteered, strangers
• guards wore khaki shirts and trousers, reflective glasses, had whistle and night stick
• prisoners wore smock, chain on ankle and stocking on head, had a number ID, only called by number
• prisoners adopt ‘female’ posture, emasculated and deindividualised
• prisoners arrested at home taken to prison where they were stripped naked and given uniform
• guards were debriefed when arrived at prison and told to maintain order and not use physical punishment
• study stopped at day 6 due to aggressiveness of guards and anxiety of prisoners
• not all guards or prisoners exerted violence-individual differences
• social roles (situational) influence behaviour: normal men turned aggressive to fit in with role-pathology of behaviour
• deterioration of prisoners due to-loss of identity, emasculation and control exerted by guards

Question 29

Gillis and Nafekh (employment schemes)

Answer 29

analysed effect of employment schemes in prisons

• 2 groups of offenders, one have employment scheme other didn’t
• quasi experiment-IV is if on programme, participants matched on variables such as sentence length
• 23,525 participants 95% male
• results: if on scheme less likely to re-offend or return to custody during period of conditional release
• 70% of prisoners on scheme successfuly completed conditional release
• 55% not on scheme successfully completed conditional release

Question 30

restorative justice

Answer 30

• to help victim, conference with the criminal, tell them the impact of crime has had on their life, both parties must agree to it
• sherman and strong:
• internet research, comparison of cases using RJ and those not
• suggested RJ works with property and violent crimes as there is a victim who can attend the conference
• RJ reduces PTSD in victims and reduces repeat offending when used instead of prison sentence

Question 31

anger management programmes

Answer 31

• assumption anger causes violence
• based on cognitive behavioural model of treatment
• stage 1: cognitive preparation; offender learn triggers of anger, taught to be mindful of internal cues eg increase HR or irrational thoughts
• stage 2: skills acquisition; relaxation techniques used when identified trigger of anger eg count to 10, social training in negotiating and assertiveness used to solve conflict without violence
• stage 3: application to practice; role play allow offender to apply techniques in controlled environment

Question 32

probation and community service

Answer 32

probation: individual is under control of court and supervised by probation officer while they live at home
community service: compulsory unpaid work in community
-UK longitudinal study called ‘Surveying prisoner crime reduction’ shown probation supervision more effective in reducing re-offending rates than custodial sentence of less than 1 year
-those with community orders tend to have lower re-offending rates than those with prison sentences