Forensics

Question 1

Crime

Answer 1

Violates the law, usually has a punishment, such as prison. Can be defined as any act that breaks the law and therefore warrants some form of punishment.

Question 2

Official statistics

Answer 2

Government records of the total number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police. This allows the government to develop crime prevention strategies and also direct resources to those areas in need.

Question 3

Victim survey

Answer 3

A questionnaire that asks a random sample of people which crimes have been committed against them over a fixed period of time. Whether or not they’ve been recorded to the police.

Question 4

Offender survey

Answer 4

A self report measure that requires people to record the number and types of crime they have committed over a specific period.

Question 5

Problems in defining crime

Answer 5

Cultural and historical issues.

Question 6

Cultural issues in defining crime

Answer 6

What is considered a crime in one culture may not be one in another. Eg polygamy and forced marriage is illegal in the UK but in other cultures it’s still practiced.

Question 7

Historical issues in defining crime

Answer 7

Definitions of crime change over time. Eg. Homosexuality was considered a crime until 1967.

Question 8

Ways of measuring crime

Answer 8

Official statistics.
Victim surveys.
Offender surveys.

Question 9

Evaluation- official statistics

Answer 9

Unreliable- underestimate the true extent of crime. So many crimes go unreported by victims or unrecorded by police. Meaning that only around 25% of crimes are included in the official statistics.
Farrington and Dowds- police in the borough of Nottinghamshire more likely to record theft under £10. Which explained a spike of crime. This suggests that policing priorities may distort official figures.

Question 10

Evaluation- victim surveys

Answer 10

More accurate, as crimes that may have not been reported to the police are included. However it may have distorted figures from having to remember past crimes over a long duration ‘telescoping’

Question 11

Evaluation- offender surveys

Answer 11

Provide insight into how many people are responsible for certain offences. However it may be unreliable as offenders may want to conceal serious crimes or may over exaggerate for bravado. However the targeted nature of the survey means that certain types of crime such as burglary are over represented, where as middle class crime such as fraud are unlikely to be included.

Question 12

Offender profiling- the top down approach

Answer 12

Offender profiling is an investigative tool employed by the police when solving crimes. The top down approach originated in the US and offender profilers who use this method will match what is known about the crime and the offender to a pre existing template that the FBI developed, then classified in the organised or disorganised.

Question 13

Offender profiling- the top down approach- organised types of offender

Answer 13

Organised offenders- show evidence of having planned the crime in advance, the victim is deliberately targeted. There is little evidence or clues left behind at the scene. They tend to be of above average intelligence, in a skilled professional occupation, They also tend to be married and socially and sexually competent.

Question 14

Offender profiling- the top down approach- disorganised types of offender

Answer 14

Disorganised offenders- show little evidence of planning suggesting it may have been spontaneous. They tend to have a lower than average IQ, be in unskilled work or unemployed. Often have a history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships. Usually live alone and live close to the place of offence.

Question 15

Offender profiling- the top down approach- Constructing an FBI profile

Answer 15

There are 4 main stages in the construction of an FBI profile: Data assimilation (profiler reviews evidence), Crime scene classification (organised or disorganised), Crime reconstruction (hypothesis in terms of sequence of events/behaviour of victim), Profile generation (hypothesis related to the likely offender).

Question 16

Offender profiling - the top down approach- evaluation

Answer 16

Only applies to crime scenes that reveal important details about the suspect, such as rape. However, it doesn’t work for common offences such as burglary because the crime scene reveals very little about the offender.
Based of the assumption that offenders have patterns of behaviour that remain constant across situations and contexts. Not always true.
Canter- analysed data from 100 murders in the US, supported the organised type but not the disorganised type, however its still used and has widespread support.

Question 17

Offender profiling- the bottom up approach.

Answer 17

(UK) Aim to generate a picture of the offender, their likely characteristics, routine behaviour and social background through systematic analysis of evidence at the crime scene. The profile is data driven and more emerges with deeper details.

Question 18

Offender profiling- the bottom up approach- investigative psychology

Answer 18

Aim to establish patterns of behaviour that are likely to occur across crime scenes. This is then made into a database that then acts as baseline for comparison. This helps to see if a series of crimes are done by the same person. The significance of time and place is a key variable and also how they ‘interact’ with the victim. May be sorry or want to humiliate them.

Question 19

Offender profiling- the bottom up approach- geographical profiling

Answer 19

Uses information to do with the location of linked crime scenes to make inferences about the likely home or base of an offender, known as crime mapping. Their thinking is that serial offenders will restricts their work to areas that they’re familiar with. It may help investigators make educated guesses where the next strike will be.
Canter’s circle theory said that someone who works close to their home base is a marauder and someone who has traveled a distance away is a commuter. It usually creates a circle, from which they can see if it was planned , mode of transport and approximate age.

Question 20

Offender profiling- the bottom up approach- evaluation

Answer 20

Canter conducted a content analysis of 66 sexual assault cases, the programme used identified several characteristics in common. This can lead to an understanding of how an offenders behaviour may change over a series of offences.
Spatial information was key in determining the base of an offender.
More grounded in evidence and psychological theory, also less driven by speculation and hunches compared to the top down approach.

Question 21

Biological explanations- Atavistic form

Answer 21

Lombroso suggested that criminals were genetic throwbacks- biologically different from non criminals. Lombroso saw offenders as lacking evolutionary development, and that their savage and untamed nature meant that they would find it impossible to adjust to the demands of a civilised society and would turn to crime.

Question 22

Biological explanations- Atavistic form characteristics

Answer 22

Narrow sloping brow, a strong prominent jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymmetry, dark skin, extra toes/fingers/nipples.
Murderers have bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears.
Sexual deviation- glinting eyes, swollen fleshy lips and projecting ears.
Fraudsters- thin reedy lips.

Question 23

Biological explanations- Atavistic form- Lombroso’s research

Answer 23

Lombroso examined the facial features of hundreds of Italian convicts, both living and dead. (3839 living and 383 dead). He concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics.

Question 24

Biological explanations- Atavistic form- evaluation

Answer 24

Lombroso shifted emphasis onto evolutionary influences and genetics rather than them being judged as wicked and weak minded.
Scientific racism- Many features that Lombroso identifies are most likely to be found among people of African descent (curly hair, dark skin).
Contradictory evidence- Goring did a similar study between 3000 criminals and 3000 non criminals, found no evidence that they have unusual facial features but found that criminals have lower than average IQ.

Question 25

Biological explanations- Genetic explanations- Lange

Answer 25

Lange- investigated 13 MZ twins and 17 DZ twins where one of the twins in each pair had served time in prison. He found that 10 MZ twins but only 2 DZ twins had a co twin who was also in prison. He concluded that genetic factors must play a prominent part in offending behaviour.
Christiansen also found similar results; MZ twins had a 33% concordance rate and DZ twins had a 12% concordance

Question 26

Biological explanations- Genetic explanations- candidate genes

Answer 26

Candidate genes- Tiihonen found abnormalities on 2 genes that may be associated with violent crimes such as MAOA the warrior gene and CDH13.

Question 27

Biological explanations- Genetic explanations- diathesis stress model

Answer 27

A tendency towards criminal behaviour may come about through the combination of genetic predisposition and biological or psychological trigger. For example, being raised in a dysfunctional environment having criminal role models.

Question 28

Biological explanations- Neural explanations

Answer 28

Evidence suggests there may be neural differences in the brains of criminals and non criminals. Antisocial personality disorder have reduced emotional response and a lack of empathy for the feelings of others.

Question 29

Biological explanations- Neural explanations- Prefrontal cortex

Answer 29

Raine conducted many studies of the APD brain. reporting that there are several dozen brain imaging studies demonstrating that individuals with APD have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex. Also found 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex.

Question 30

Biological explanations- Neural explanations- Mirror neurons

Answer 30

Keysers found that only when criminals were asked to emphasise from a person feeling pain on a film, did their empathy reaction by mirror neurons activate. This suggests that APD individuals are not totally without sympathy but may have a neural switch that can be turned off and on.

Question 31

Biological explanations- Genetic explanations- Evaluation- Twin studies.

Answer 31

Lange’s twin studies were poorly controlled and were identified as MZ or DZ twins by appearance and not genetics. Twin studies also include small sample size which may not be generalizable to the rest of the population. Twins are also raised in the same environment so it is a major confounding variable as concordance rates may be due to shared learning experiences not genetics.

Question 32

Biological explanations- Genetic explanations- evaluation- support for the diathesis stress model

Answer 32

Mednick studied over 13,000 Danish adoptees. The researchers defined criminal behavior by being in possession of at least one court conviction and this was checked amongst each adoptee’s police records. When neither of the adoptees biological or adoptive parents had no convictions. The adoptees that did were 13.5%. This raised to 20% when either of the parents had a conviction and to 24.4% when both parents had convictions.

Question 33

Biological explanations- Genetic explanations- evaluation- biological reductionism

Answer 33

Criminality is complex, reducing it to genetic or neural level may be inappropriate and overly simplistic. Whilst there is differences between concordance rates between MZ and DZ twins, but MZ twins don’t show 100% concordance.

Question 34

Psychological explanations- Eysenck’s theory- general personality theory

Answer 34

Eysenck proposed that behavior could be represented along 2 dimensions; introversion/extraversion and neuroticism/stability. The two combine to form a variety of personality characteristics/traits. He later added a third, psychoticism.

Question 35

Psychological explanations- Eysenck’s theory- Biological basis

Answer 35

Eysenck believed our personality traits are biological in origin and come about through the type of nervous system we inherit. So all personality types have an innate biological basis. Extraverts have an underactive nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and risk taking behaviours. They don’t learn from mistakes. Neurotic individuals tend to be jumpy, nervous, over anxious meaning they are difficult to predict.

Question 36

Psychological explanations- Eysenck’s theory- The criminal personality

Answer 36

Neurotic-extravert. The typical offender will also score highly on measures of psychoticism (cold, unemotional, prone to aggression).

Question 37

Psychological explanations- Eysenck’s theory- The role of socialisation

Answer 37

Eysenck saw criminal behavior as developmentally immature in that it’s selfish. He believed that people with high extraversion and neuroticism scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition. As a result they are more likely to act antisocially.

Question 38

Psychological explanations- Eysenck’s theory- Measuring the criminal personality

Answer 38

Eysenck developed the Eysenck Personality Inventory, a form of psychological test which locates respondents along the Extraversion and Neuroticism dimensions to determine their personality type. A later scale was introduced to measure psychoticism.

Question 39

Psychological explanations- Eyesenck’s theory- evaluation

Answer 39

Eysenck compared 2070 male prisoners on the EPI with 2422 male controls. Prisoners recorded higher scores than controls. However Farrington found that prisoners score high on Psychotisism measures but not for Extraversion and Neuroticism. It’s too simplistic, Moffitt proposed several types of male offender. Personality may not be reducible to a single score and not a stable entity.

Question 40

Psychological explanations- Cognitive explanations- level of moral reasoning

Answer 40

Kohlberg proposed that peoples decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral development. The higher the stage, the more sophisticated the reasoning. Many studies have suggested that criminals tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non criminals.

Question 41

Cognitive explanations- Kohlbergs stages of moral reasoning- Level 1

Answer 41

Preconventional morality- Stage 1- punishment orientation (rules are obeyed to avoid punishment)
Stage 2- instrumental orientation or personal gain (rules are obeyed for personal gain).

Question 42

Cognitive explanations- Kohlbergs stages of moral reasoning- Level 2

Answer 42

Conventional morality- Stage 3- Good boy or good girl orientation (rules are obeyed for approval)
Stage 4- Maintenance of the social order (rules are obeyed to maintain the social order)

Question 43

Cognitive explanations- Kohlbergs stages of moral reasoning- Level 3

Answer 43

Postconventional morality- Stage 5- Morality of contract and individual rights (rules are obeyed if they are impartial; democratic rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others).
Stage 6- Morality of conscious (the individual establishes his or her own rules in accordance with a personal set of ethical principles).

Question 44

Cognitive explanations- Kohlberg’s model and criminality

Answer 44

Criminal offenders are more likely to be classified at the preconventional level of Kohlberg’s model (Stage 1 and 2). It is associated with less mature, childlike reasoning. This assumption is supported by studies which suggest that offenders are often more egocentric and display poorer social perspective taking skills (lying, no generosity and violence).

Question 45

Cognitive explanations- cognitive distortions

Answer 45

Errors or biases in people’s information processing system characterised by faulty thinking. Research has linked this to the way in which criminals interpret other people’s behaviour and justify their own actions. Two examples are hostile attribution bias and minimalisation.

Question 46

Cognitive explanations- cognitive distortions- hostile attribution bias

Answer 46

Offenders may misread non aggressive cues such as being looked at and this may trigger a disproportionate, often violent response. Justye presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotional facial expression, when compared to a non aggressive control group, the violent

Question 47

Cognitive explanations- cognitive distortions- minimalisation

Answer 47

The attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence. Eg. a burglar may describe themselves as supporting their family. Barbaree found among 26 rapists that 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and 40% minimised the harm they had caused their victim.

Question 48

Cognitive explanations- evaluation

Answer 48

Palmer and Hollin compared moral reasoning between 210 female non offenders, 122 male non offenders and 126 convicted offenders. The delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning.
Has been beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour, learn to accept what they have done ie. helps with minimalisation.

Question 49

Psychological explanations- Differential association theory

Answer 49

Sutherland proposes that individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour through association and interaction with different people.

Question 50

Differential association theory- Crime as a learned behaviour

Answer 50

Offending behaviour may be learned through interactions with significant others that they associate with, such as family or peer group. It arises from 2 factors- learned attitudes towards crime and the learning of specific criminal acts.

Question 51

Differential association theory- Pro-criminal attitudes

Answer 51

When a person is socialised into a group, they will be exposed to values and attitudes towards the law. Some will be pro crime and others anti crime. Sutherland argues that if the pro crime outweighs the anti crime, they will go on to offend. It suggests that it should be mathematically predictable to know how likely someone will commit a crime.

Question 52

Differential association theory- Learning criminal acts

Answer 52

A would be offender may learn particular techniques for committing crime. This theory can also explain why offenders may reoffend by learning different techniques whilst in prison.

Question 53

Differential association theory- evaluation

Answer 53

It can explain lower class crimes such as burglary and higher class crimes such as fraud.
Brings focus to the fact that dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame for criminality than dysfunctional people, meaning it gives a more realistic solution to the problem of crime.
Difficult to measure how many pro crime attitudes or anti crime attitudes an individual has socialised with. But not everyone who has been exposed to pro crime goes on to commit crime.

Question 54

Psychological explanations- psychodynamic explanations- the inadequate superego

Answer 54

Blackburn- if the superego is somehow inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free rein and not properly controlled. 3 Types have been proposed: The weak superego, the deviant superego, the over harsh superego.

Question 55

Psychodynamic explanations- the inadequate superego- the weak superego

Answer 55

If the same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child can’t internalise a fully formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification. This would make immoral of criminal behaviour more likely.

Question 56

Psychodynamic explanations- the inadequate superego- the deviant superego

Answer 56

If the superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values, this would lead to offending behaviour. E.g. a boy that is raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing.

Question 57

Psychodynamic explanations- the inadequate superego- the over harsh superego

Answer 57

A healthy superego is like a kind but firm internal parent; it has rules, but is also forgiving of transgressions. In contrast, an excessively punitive or overly harsh superego means the individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety. This may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need for punishment.

Question 58

Psychodynamic explanations- the maternal deprivation theory

Answer 58

Bowlby argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon the child forming a warm continuous relationship with a mother figure. If this is not established, they can develop a particular personality type known as affectionless psychopathy, characterised by a lack of guilt, empathy and feeling for others.

Question 59

Psychodynamic explanations- maternal deprivation- 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 59

Bowlby found through interviews with the 44 thieves and their families that 14 of the sample he studied showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classed as affectionless psychopathy. Out of these 14, 12 had had prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy.

Question 60

Psychodynamic explanations- evaluation

Answer 60

Gender bia’s- Freud’s theory suggests that females should be more prone to criminal behaviour than males (because they develop weaker superegos than males according to Freud). But evidence doesn’t support this.
Lacks falsification as there are too many unconscious concepts.
There is little evidence that children raised without a same sex parent are less law abiding as adults, which contradicts Blackburns weak superego argument. Also if a child copys an offender parent it could be genetic. And people don’t want to be punished for crimes.

Question 61

Dealing with offending behaviour- custodial sentencing aims

Answer 61

Involves a convicted offender spending time in prison or another closed institution. There are 4 main reasons for doing this. Deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation.

Question 62

Dealing with offending behaviour- custodial sentencing aims- Deterrence

Answer 62

The unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off the individual from engaging in offending behaviour.

Question 63

Dealing with offending behaviour- custodial sentencing aims- Incapacitation

Answer 63

The offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending as a means of protecting the public.

Question 64

Dealing with offending behaviour- custodial sentencing aims- Retribution

Answer 64

Society is enacting revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer and the level of suffering should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.

Question 65

Dealing with offending behaviour- custodial sentencing aims- Rehabilitation

Answer 65

Help reform the offender, by providing opportunities to develop skills and training as well as give the offender the chance to reflect on the crime.

Question 66

The psychological effects of custodial sentencing

Answer 66

Stress and depression, institutionalisation and prisonisation.

Question 67

The psychological effects of custodial sentencing- Stress and depression

Answer 67

Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison. The stress of the prison experience also increases the risk of psychological disturbance following the release.

Question 68

The psychological effects of custodial sentencing- Institutionalisation

Answer 68

Having adapted to the norms and routines of prison life, inmates may become so accustomed to these that they are no longer to function on the outside.

Question 69

The psychological effects of custodial sentencing- Prisonisation

Answer 69

Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside the walls of the institution by adopting an inmate code.

Question 70

Custodial sentencing- the problem of recidivism

Answer 70

Recidivism refers to reoffending. Suggests that 57% of UK offenders will reoffend within a year of release. The UK has one of the highest recidivism rates of the world and norway has one of the lowest rates but many say they offer a soft option with little punishment.

Question 71

Custodial sentencing- evaluation

Answer 71

Many prisons lack the resources to provide programmes. And it would seem that the oppressive prison regime may trigger psychological disorders in those who are vulnerable. However prisons have different regimes so it can’t be assumed all offenders will react in the same way. As they also have different lengths of sentences.

Question 72

Dealing with offending behaviour- behaviour modification

Answer 72

Application of the behaviourist approach to treatment, eg. token economy

Question 73

Dealing with offending behaviour- behaviour modification- Token economy

Answer 73

Based on operant conditioning, it involves reinforcing desirable behaviour with a token that can be exchanged for reward such as avoiding conflict and following prison rules may be exchanged for a phone call to a loved one or extra cigarettes or food.

Question 74

Dealing with offending behaviour- behaviour modification- research example

Answer 74

Hobbs and Holt introduced a token economy programme with groups of young delinquents across 3 units. They observed a significant difference in positive behaviour compared to the non token economy group. A similar effect was found with offenders in an adult prison.

Question 75

Behaviour modification- evaluation

Answer 75

Token economy systems are cost effective and easy to follow. However for it to work staff would need to be consistent. And although it may work inside the prison, it may be quickly lost after release as law abiding behaviour is not always reinforced.
Can be ethically questionable removing phone calls from loved ones if they break a rule.

Question 76

Dealing with offending behaviour- Anger management

Answer 76

Cognitive behaviour treatment- Novaco suggests that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal which generally precedes aggressive acts, becoming angry is reinforced by the individuals feeling of control in that situation. So CBT teaches them how to recognise when they are losing control, and then encouraged to develop techniques which bring about conflict resolution without violence.

Question 77

Anger management- CBT- 1st stage

Answer 77

Cognitive preparation- requires the offender to reflect on past experience and consider the typical pattern of their anger, making the offender realise the event as irrational.

Question 78

Anger management- CBT- 2nd stage

Answer 78

Skill acquisition- offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with anger provoking situations more rationally and effectively. Including positive self talk to encourage calmness.

Question 79

Anger management- CBT- 3rd stage

Answer 79

Application practice- offenders are given the opportunity to practice their skills within a carefully monitored environment. Such as role play, the offender must take part as if it was real and bravery from the therapist ‘winding up the offender’.

Question 80

Dealing with offending behaviour- Anger management evaluation

Answer 80

Uses cognitive preparation, applies behavioural perspective and finally a social approach, this multidisciplinary approach acknowledges that offending is complex. Focuses on thought processes that underlie offending behaviour unlike behaviour modification where it focuses on the surface. Could mean it provides longer term effectiveness.

Question 81

Dealing with offending behaviour- restorative justice

Answer 81

Is a process of managed collaboration between offender and victim. A supervised meeting attended by a trained mediator, in which the victim is given the chance to confront the offender and explain how the incident affected them and the offender can see the consequences of their actions.

Question 82

Restorative justice- variations of the process

Answer 82

May not always involve face to face encounters. They may make some offenders make some financial restitution to the victim which may reflect the psychological damage done.

Question 83

Restorative justice- evaluation

Answer 83

There is a degree of flexibility to adapt and tailor the needs of an individual situation unlike custodial sentencing.
It relies on the offender showing remorse, some may sign up to restorative justice to avoid prison/reduced sentence. Victims may also want to seek revenge so it may not always lead to positive outcomes.