Transcript Chapter Ten Violent Crimes

Chapter Ten
Violent Crimes
Criminology 10th edition
Larry J. Siegel
© 2003 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Two Kinds of Violence

INSTRUMENTAL
The kind of violence
that is directed
toward strangers
and is designed to
improve the
financial or social
position of the
criminal.

EXPRESSIVE
The kind of violence
that is designed to
vent rage, anger,
or frustration.
Human instincts
Personal Traits
Substance abuse
Exposure to violence
Peer groups
Firearm availability
Roots
of
Violence
Cultural values
Gangs
Abused children
Ineffective families
Regional Values
National values
INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING
TYPES OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR:

Rape

Assault

Murder

Robbery

Hate Crimes

Workplace
Violence

Stalking
The Subculture of Violence


The subculture’s norms are separate from
society’s central, dominant value system.
A potent theme of violence influences lifestyles,
the socialization process,
 and interpersonal relationships.
Question
Is there a “subculture of violence” in Miami?
If so,
How would you describe its
environment and values?
Characteristics of Victims of
Violent Crime
Race
Victim Offender
Gender
Relationship
Victim
Income
Age
Marital
Status
Employment
Victims and Attribution Theory
Generally, when considering someone else’s actions,
especially behavior that has negative consequences
– we are inclined to believe that others are disposed
to act the way they do.
In other words, we tend to put the onus
for bad outcomes on the person
rather than the environment.
Key Term: Blaming the Victim.
Battered Women/Spousal Abuse
The battered woman syndrome is defined
as a collection of symptoms and reactions by a woman
to a pattern of continued
physical and psychological abuse
inflicted on her by her mate.
These symptoms include:

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Learned helplessness
Lowered self-esteem - trapped
Impaired functioning – restricted activities
Diminished alternatives
Anger or rage- hypervigilant
Battered Women/Spousal Abuse
Characteristics of Batterers:

Lower socioeconomic status.

History of family abuse either as a child or between
parents.

Early experiences with substance abuse.

Early experience with coercive or aggressive
behavior.

Fear of being abandoned by their parents.
Battered Women/Spousal Abuse
Characteristics of Batterers (cont’d)

Poor self-concepts, inferior verbal skills, inferior
problem solvers.

Excessive control.

Extreme jealousy.

Overreact to signs of rejection.

Behavior ranges from rage to desperation toward
their partner.
The Effects of Physical-Sexual
Abuse of Children
Short term effects include: mood and anxiety
disorders among children; inappropriate sexual
behavior; and impaired school performance.
Long term effects include: a greater risk of developing
mental disorders; suffering subsequent revictimization experiences; and engaging in criminal
conduct as adults.
Risk Factors of Abusive Parents

Less knowledge of child development

Unrealistic expectations of child development

Easily annoyed

Aggressive means of resolving conflict

Limited access to social support

Disagreement with partner on child rearing
Rape / Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is non-consenting
sexual contact, i.e., intercourse,
that is obtained by using
force or coercion against the victim.
Forcible Rape

Rape is a violent, coercive act of aggression
against women and not a forceful expression
of sexuality.

Rape may not be reported to the police in as
many as 2/3 of all cases.
Types of Rape
Gang vs. Individual
Rape
Date Rape
Serial Rape
Marital Rape
Acquaintance Rape
Statutory Rape
Causes of Rape

Evolutionary and Biological Factors

Male Socialization

Hypermasculinity

Psychological Abnormalities

Social Learning

Sexual Motivation
Other Causal Factors of Rapists
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Victim-Offender Relationships
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Aggression
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Heightened sexual arousal during aggressive state
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Antisocial personality disorder
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Deviant sexual fantasies
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Attitudes justify aggressiveness

Loss of control of emotions such as anger that are acted out in
sexual aggression.
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Feminist theory (male domination and exploitation), sociallearning theory (observation and imitation), and evolutionary
theory (testosterone).
Rape Trauma Syndrome
3 types of reactions

Emotional responses: fear, guilt, shame, blame
themselves, loss of autonomy, loss of trust, and loss
of control.

Disturbance in functioning: sleep, appetite, and
social withdrawal.

Changes in lifestyle: socioeconomic impact, i.e.,
losing income, divorce, becoming unemployed
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)
PTSD may occur when individuals suffer a severe trauma and,
weeks or months later, continue to experience intense,
fear-related reactions when reminded of the trauma.
Symptoms Include:

Frequent re-experiencing

Persistent avoidance of stimuli

Increased physiological arousal, i.e, startle responses or disrupted
sleeping

Retreatism – the world is a dangerous place

Feeling of helplessness to deal with stressors
Question
Why are women who have been
sexually assaulted in the past or
who were sexually abused as children,
more likely to suffer
a subsequent sexual attack?
Groth’s Typology of Rapists
Anger rape occurs when sexuality becomes a
means of expressing and discharging pent-up
anger and rage.
The sadistic rape involves both sexuality and
aggression. Ritualism, torment and torture
often occur. Intensely exciting to the
sadist.Victims have a characteristic rapist
wants to harm or destroy.
A power rape involves an attacker who does
not want to harm his victim as much as he
wants to possess her sexually.
Rape and the Law
Challenges
for the
Prosecution
The culture of
suspiciousness
of women and a
shift in the
burden of proof
Invasion of women’s privacy when
the case is tried in court
RAPE REFORM

Shield laws, i.e., Michigan v. Lucas (1991).

“Crimes of sexual assault” – a gender-neutral definition now
applied to federal and some state statutes.

Changing the language from use of force to threat of force.

Prosecutor’s still influenced by the circumstances of the crime.

Perception’s of the victim’s character is still a critical factor
when determining “real” rape and who are “real” rape victims.
Murder

Common law defines murder as “the unlawful killing
of a human being with malice aforethought.”

Murderer and the victim may be influenced by
relationships and interpersonal interactions, i.e.,
spousal, personal, and student relations.

Strangers?
Rate doubled
from mid 60s
to late 90s
Began rising in
late 1980s &
early 1990s to
9.8/100,00
in 1991
Extent
of
Murder
Peaked in 1980
at 10.2 per
100,000
then declined
Since then the
rate has
declined –
at 5.5 per
100,000
In 2006
Most victims knew
or were acquainted
with attacker
Most involved
firearms (70%);
majority handguns
MURDER PATTERNS
Females more
likely to be killed
by boyfriend or
husband
Environmental
patterns are
similar to rapes
Types of Murders

Thrill killing - impulsive violence motivated as an act
of daring or recklessness.

Gang killing - violence is part of the group activity.

Cult killing - occur when members of religious cults
are ordered to kill by their leaders.

Serial murder - murders who perpetrate over a period
of time.

Mass murder - multiple victims during a single,
violent outburst.
Mass Murder
The mass murderer kills four or more victims in one
location during a period of time that lasts anywhere
from a few minutes to several hours (Wrightsman).
A special type of mass murderer is the spree killer.
The spree killer kills victims at two or more different
locations with no “cooling-off” interval between the
murders. The killing constitutes a single event
(Wrightsman).
Typology of Mass Murders
Profit
killers
Revenge
killers
Terrorist
killers
Lover
killers
Serial Killers
Serial murderers kill four or more victims, each on
separate occasions. Serial killers usually select a
certain type of victim who fulfills a role in the killer’s
fantasies (Wrightsman).
There is no single distinct type of serial killer.
Subtypes include: the visionary, the mission-oriented,
the hedonistic, the power-oriented (Holmes).
Serial Killers
Hedonistic
killer
Power
/
Mission-oriented killers
Thrill-seeking
murders
who get
control
oriented
killers
Killers
motivated to rid
the world of a
VISIONARY
KILLERS
their excitement and sometimes
particular
type
of
undesirable
person,
Murders
that
enjoy
having
Response
to some
inner from
voice or vision
sexual
pleasure
such
as that
acontrol
prostitute.
complete
over
that demands
some
person or
their acts.
victims. be killed.
categorytheir
of persons
Assault

Patterns are quite similar to murder except the victim
survives.

The NCVS indicates that only about half of all serious
assaults are reported to the police. Victimization is
down more than 50% in the last decade (UCR 25%).

Typical offender is young, male, and white; although
African Americans are disproportionate offenders’
compared to their representation in the population
(34%).
Assault in the Home

Sexual abuse

Child abuse

Spousal abuse

Elderly/parental abuse
Robbery

Common law defines robbery as “the taking
or attempting to take anything of value from
the care, custody or control of a person by
force or threat of force or violence and/or by
putting the person in fear.”

Typical offender is disproportionately young,
male minority group members.
Questions
What would motivate an
acquaintance robbery?
Is robbery
a rational act?
Conklin’s Typology of Robbers
PROFESSIONAL
ADDICT
OPPORTUNIST
ALCOLOLIC
Hate Crimes or Bias Crimes
Violent acts directed toward a particular person
or members of a group
merely because the targets share a discernible
racial, ethnic, religious, or gender characteristic.
Typology of Hate Crimes
THRILL-SEEKING
MISSION
REACTIVE
Factors That Produce
Hate Crime

Poor or uncertain economic conditions.

Racial stereotypes in films and T.V.

Hate-filled discourse on talk shows or in political
advertisements.

Use of racial code language such as “welfare mothers” and
“inner city thugs.”

An individual’s personal experiences with members of
particular minority groups.

“Scapegoating,” which is blaming of a minority group for the
misfortunes of society as a whole.
Bias-Motivated Offenses
Race (60%)
Religion (14%)
60%
Sexual orientation
(13%)
30%
Ethnicity (11%)
Disability (1%)
10%
Multiple Bias (1%)
Question
Is hate a more heinous motivation than revenge?
If so,
Should hate crimes be punished more severely
than crimes motivated by revenge?
Workplace Violence

Third leading cause of occupational injury or death.

The most common type of victimization is assault.

Retail sales workers are at the greatest risk.

Causal factors: economic structuring (layoffs),
leadership styles, sexual harassment, and poor
service.
Stalking
Stalking is a course of conduct directed
at a specific person
that involves repeated physical or visual proximity,
nonconsensual communication,
or verbal, written, or implied threats
sufficient to cause fear in a reasonable person.
Questions
How big a problem is stalking?
What are some characteristics of stalkers?
Who is most likely to be stalked and why?