Psychology and Crime: Understanding and Tackling Offending Behaviour

• NCJ Number: 222397
• Author(s): Francis Pakes; Jane Winston
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 252 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Overview Text
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Designed as a textbook for courses concerned with the link between psychology and criminal behavior, this book presents up-to-date knowledge on the psychological dynamics of criminal behavior and psychological research methods that can assist in understanding criminal behavior and interventions designed to prevent and counter it.

Abstract

The first chapter reviews the interaction of the psychological responses/conditioning of individuals and their socioeconomic milieus as domains in which criminal behavior emerges. Chapter 2 examines how offender profilers use crime-scene information in developing a portrait of an offender's personality, background, and life circumstances. This is followed by a chapter on juvenile offending that identifies the circumstances that place juveniles at risk for becoming delinquent. Chapter 4 focuses on factors that facilitate and inhibit aggression and violence, and chapter 5 explores typologies of sexual offending in England and Wales. Insanity, mental health, and the link between mental disorders and criminal behavior are examined in chapter 6. Chapter 7 debunks the myth that stalking victimizes only celebrities, as it notes that young college women are at high risk of being stalked, which can escalate to violence against the victim. Chapter 8 explores addictive behavior that violates laws, followed by a chapter that dispels various misconceptions of "date rape." Attention is given to the role of "date-rape drugs" and alcohol in date-rape scenarios. Chapter 10 focuses on the psychological impact of prison on inmates and why imprisonment most often either fails to prevent or actually fuels reoffending upon release. The concluding chapter examines the multifaceted characteristics of crime victims and how these characteristics may place them at risk of becoming victims. Also considered in this chapter is the fear of crime and how it can be related more to a person's characteristics than his/her actual risk of becoming a victim. 532 references and a subject index