Violent Crime

Introduction

• Expressive violence: acts the vent rage, anger, and frustration
• Instrumental violence: acts that improve a financial or social position

The Causes of Violence

• Personal Traits and Makeup
• Neurological impairments
• Low intelligence
• Abnormal personality structures

Figure 10.1 Sources of Violence

The Causes of Violence

• Evolutionary Factors/Human Instinct
• Eros: the life instinct
• Thanatos: the death instinct
• Aggression and violence are inborn instincts
• Violence is committed primarily by males

The Causes of Violence

• Substance Abuse
• Psychopharmacological relationship: between drugs and crime
• Economic Compulsive Behavior: drug ingestion may cause economic compulsive behavior
• Systemic link: occurs when drug dealers turn violent in competition with rival gangs

The Causes of Violence

• Socialization and Upbringing
• Children exposed to violence at home, school, and environment are more likely to use violence themselves
• Parents who fail to set adequate limits reinforce a child’s coercive behavior
• Physical punishment may lead to anger and defiance

The Causes of Violence

• Abused Children
• Abused children are likely to later engage in delinquent behaviors
• Abused children are likely to physically abuse siblings
• Abused children are likely to engage in spousal abuse

The Causes of Violence

• The Brutalization Process
• Lonnie Athens links violence to early child abuse
• Classified people into: nonviolent, violent, and incipiently violent
• Four types of violent attacks: 1) physically defensive, 2) frustrative, 3) malefic, and 4) frustrative-malefic

The Causes of Violence

• Exposure to Violence
• People who are constantly exposed to violence may adopt violent methods themselves
• Girls are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and boys are more likely to participate in fights, stabbings or shootings
• Crusted over: refers to children who do not express their feelings (vulnerable to the lure of delinquent gangs)

The Causes of Violence

• Cultural values/Subculture of Violence
• Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti formulated the concept of a subculture of violence
• Violence is legitimized by norms and customs
• Violence is higher in subculture areas within urban areas

The Causes of Violence

• Peer Group Influences
• Gangs are more likely to own guns and weapons
• Gang violence may be initiated for:
• Display of toughness
• Retaliation for actual or perceived grievances
• Protection of ownership (graffiti)
• Protection of turf

The Causes of Violence

• Regional Values
• Raymond Gastil found a significant relationship between murder rates a residence in the South
• Gastil contends the southern culture promotes violence
• UCRs support the higher rates of murder in the South

The Causes of Violence

• National Values
• National characteristics are predictive of violence:
• social disorganization
• economic stress
• child abuse rates
• violence by government
• political corruption
• inefficient justice systems.

Forcible Rape

• Common law definition: “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will”

Forcible Rape

• History of Rape
• Men staked claim to women by rape
• “Heiress stealing” involved men trying to force wealthy women into marriage
• Peasant women and married women could not be victims of rape until the 16^th century

Forcible Rape

• Rape and the Military
• Rape has been associated with armies and warfare (spoils of war)
• Rape has been used to intentionally impregnate women
• Rape is used as “weapon of war”

CNN Clip - Sexual Assaults In The Military

Forcible Rape

• Incidence of Rape
• 94,000 rapes/attempted rapes were reported in 2003 (UCRs)
• Rape has been in a decade-long decline
• Population density influences rape
• About 46 percent of rape offenders are under 25 years of age
• NCVS estimates rapes in 2003 were about 200,000

Forcible Rape

• Types of Rape and Rapists
• Some rapes are planned and some are spontaneous
• Nicolas Groth suggested every rape encounter contains either anger, power, or sadism
• Power rapist (55 percent)
• Anger rapist (40 percent)
• Sadistic rapist (5 percent)

Forcible Rape

• Gang versus Individual Rape
• Women subjected to rape by multiple offenders are more likely to experience violence such as beatings or the use of weapons
• Gang rape victims are more likely to resist than those attacked by single victims
• Gang rape victims are more likely to report the rape

Forcible Rape

• Serial Rape
• Serial rapists tend to be White males
• Rape may be “blitz” styled or “captured”
• Some use personal or professional relationships to gain access to their targets (I.E. police officers)

Forcible Rape

• Acquaintance Rape
• Date Rape: is estimated to affect 15 to 20 percent of all college women
• Marital Rape: almost every state recognizes marital rape as a crime
• Statutory Rape: sexual relations between underage minor female and an adult male, which an be consensual or forced
• About 50 percent of rape involves acquaintances

Forcible Rape

• The Causes of Rape
• Evolutionary, biological factors: rape is instinctual
• Male socialization: men socialized to “no means yes” (virility mystique)
• Hypermasculinity: expression of male anger toward women
• Psychological abnormality: narcissistic personality disorder
• Social learning: learned through interaction with peers (Nicholas Groth)
• Sexual motivation: Notion that rapists prefer younger victims. (most criminologist reject this view)

Forcible Rape

• Rape and the Law
• Sexist treatment by the legal system
• Police may be hesitant when no obvious signs of violence has occurred
• Aggravated rapes are prosecuted more frequently

Forcible Rape

• Proving Rape
• Jurors are often swayed by the notion the rape was victim precipitated
• Prosecutors must establish the act was forced and violent
• The victims demeanor is crucial to successful prosecution
• Consent: essential to prove the act was involuntary
• Rape Shield Laws: protect women from being questioned about sexual history
• Violence Against Women Act in 1994: allows women to sue in federal court (civil rights violations)

Murder and Homicide

• Definition of Murder: “the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.”

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• Degrees of Murder
• First-degree murder
• Premeditation
• Deliberation
• Second-degree murder
• Wanton disregard
• Manslaughter
• Voluntary (heat of passion)
• Involuntary (negligent)
• Born and alive
• Feticide

Murder and Homicide

• The Nature and Extent of Murder
• About 16,300 people killed in 2003
• Almost one-quarter of homicides occur in cities with populations of more than 1 million
• Murder victims (75 percent) and offenders (90 percent) tend to be male
• About 49 percent of all victims are African Americans
• Infanticide (about 500 per year)
• Eldercide (less than 5 percent per year)

Murder and Homicide

• Weblink:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/elders.htm

Murder and Homicide

• Murderous Relations
• Stranger homicides typically occur during commission of a felony
• Acquaintance homicides are more common involving family and friends

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• Spousal Relations
• Men may kill spouses or partners for fear of losing control and power
• Most females murder after suffering repeated violent attacks
• Some people kill mates out of jealousy (love triangles)

Murder and Homicide

• Personal Relations
• Most murder occurs between people who are acquainted
• David Lukenbill suggested murder follows a sequential pattern after the victim makes what is considered an offensive move

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• Stranger Relations
• Stranger homicides occur most frequently during rapes, robberies and burglaries
• Impact of habitual criminal statutes

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• Student Relations
• 90 percent of schools with 1000 or more students experience violence each year
• Many offenders have history of being abused or bullied

Figure 10.2 Murder Transactions

Murder and Homicide

• Serial Murder
• There are more than one type of serial killer
• Thrill killers: sexual sadism or dominance (most common)
• Mission killers: to reform the world
• Expedience killers: for profit or protection

Murder and Homicide

• Serial Murderers and their Motivations
• Violence begins in childhood
• Mental illness, sexual frustration, neurological damage, child abuse, and neglect
• Most experts view serial killers as sociopaths

Murder and Homicide

• Female Serial Killers
• 10-15 % of serial killers are women
• Males are more likely to use violence than women
• Females are most likely to poison the victims
• Education levels are below average and they are likely in low status positions, if employed

Assault and Battery

• Definition of battery: requires offensive touching (i.e slapping, hitting, or punching)

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• Definition of assault: requires no actual touching, but involves wither attempted battery or intentionally frightening the victim by word or deed.

Assault and Battery

• Nature and Extent of Assault
• Road rage
• 857,000 assaults reported in 2003
• Most arrests are young White males (80 percent)
• Assault rates highest in urban areas during the summer in the South and the West
• Most common weapons are blunt instruments

Assault and Battery

• Assault in the home
• Women face the greatest risk of assault

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• Child Abuse
• Child Abuse (85 percent of fatalities were younger than six years of age)
• Neglect (59 percent)
• Physical abuse (19 percent)
• Sexual abuse (10 percent)
• Emotional abuse (7 percent)

Figure 10.3 Child Maltreatment Rates 1990-2002

Assault and Battery

• Causes of Child Abuse
• Family violence is perpetuated
• Abusive parents were abused themselves
• Blended families
• Parents isolated from friends, neighbors, or relatives

Assault and Battery

• Sexual Abuse
• Women suffer some form of sexual violence (1 in 5)
• Recent studies suggest incidence of sexual abuse is in decline:
• Effectiveness of prevention
• Overlooked cases
• Children who have been abused experience life-long symptoms

Assault and Battery

• Parental Abuse
• The younger the child the higher the rate of Child-to-parent violence
• Children are more violent to mothers
• Boys hit parents more than girls do

Assault and Battery

• Spousal Abuse
• Occurred throughout recorded history

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• Nature and Extent of Spousal Abuse
• Observers suggest 16 percent of families experienced husband-wife assaults
• Factors associated with spousal abuse include: alcohol, hostility, excessive brooding, social approval, socioeconomic factors, flashes of anger, military service, having been battered as a child, and unpredictableness

Robbery

• Definition of robbery: “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.”
• In 2003, the FBI recorded 413,000 robberies compared to 554, 000 by the NCVS
• Northeastern states have the highest rates
• There has been a decade-long drop in rates

Robbery

• The Armed Robber
• Unlikely to be a professional rather opportunistic
• Robberies seem to peak during the winter months
• Choose vulnerable victims

Robbery

• Acquaintance Robbery
• Victims are often reluctant to report acquaintance robbery
• Some robbers are motivated by street justice
• Because the robber knows the person, they will have inside information
• Acquaintance robbers frequently target people in close proximity because of the convenience

Robbery

• Rational Robbery
• Most robbers are opportunistic
• Patterns of robbery suggest it is not a random act
• Robbers choose vulnerable victims and times
• Women robbers may feign sexual interests to lure a victim

Emerging Forms of Interpersonal Violence

• Hate Crimes are violent acts directed toward a particular person or members of a group merely because the targets share certain racial, ethnic, religious, or gender characteristics
• Thrill-seeking hate crimes (sadistic thrills)
• Reactive hate crimes (defensive stand)
• Mission hate crimes (duty bound)
• Retaliatory hate crimes are committed in response to hate crime whether real or percieved

Emerging Forms of Interpersonal Violence

• The Nature and Extent of Hate Crime
• During 2003, 9,100 offenses were reported
• Racial bias accounts for nearly 49 percent
• Religious bias accounts for 17 percent
• Ethnicity or national origin bias accounts for 14 percent
• Bias against physical or mental disability accounts for 0.5 percent

Emerging Forms of Interpersonal Violence

• Controlling Hate Crimes
• Most state have enacted some form of legislation to combat hate crime
• 39 states have laws against bias motivated violence
• 19 states have mandates regarding the collection of hate crime data
• Some suggest bias crimes should be punished more severely due to the likely chance of violence

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• Legal Controls
• Virginia v. Black (2003) upheld by the Supreme Court prohibiting cross burning as intimidation

Emerging Forms of Interpersonal Violence

• Workplace Violence
• Considered the third leading cause of occupational injury or death
• More than 2 million people are victimized each year

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• Creating Workplace Violence
• Factors include: management style, romantic relationships, and irate clients and customers

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• The Extent of Workplace Violence
• 18 percent of all violent crime
• Assaults are the most common (1.3 million)
• Police officer are the greatest risk, along with correctional officers, taxi drivers, and bartenders

Emerging Forms of Interpersonal Violence

• Stalking
• Affects 1.4 million victims annually
• Most stalking stops within one to two years
• Most victims know their stalker
• Women are most likely to be stalked by an intimate partner, whereas men are stalked by strangers or casual acquaintances

Terrorism

• What is Terrorism?
• International terrorism involves citizens or territory of more than one country
• Typically involves a type of political crime to promote change
• Some terrorists seek to bring about economic or social reforms (labor or wearing fur disputes)
• Terrorist and Guerilla terms used interchangeably but they are different (terrorists have urban focus)

Terrorism

• A Brief History of Terrorism
• Assassination of Caesar considered terrorism
• Became popular during the French Revolution (1700s)
• The Irish Republican Army (1916)
• Resistance to German troops during WW II

Terrorism

• Contemporary Forms of Terrorism
• Revolutionary Terrorism: Use violence in an attempt to replace the existing government
• Political Terrorism: Is directed shaping political or religious ideology
• Nationalist Terrorism: Ethnic or religious groups wanting its own independent homeland
• Cause-Based Terrorism: Use violence to impose their social or religious code on the world
• Environmental Terrorism: Is directed at slowing down developers believed to be threatening the environment
• State-Sponsored Terrorism: Repressive government regime forces its people into oppression and stifles political dissent
• Criminal Terrorism: Incorporates crimes such as drug dealing, kidnapping, and selling of nuclear materials

Terrorism

• What Motivates Terrorists?
• Socialization to violence
• Extreme ideological beliefs
• Feelings of alienation and failure (psychological disturbances)

Terrorism

• Responses to Terrorism
• Increased intelligence gathering (globally)
• 1994 Violent Crime Act (authorized death penalty for terrorists)
• USA Patriot Act ( investigation tactics)
• The Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force (2001)

Terrorism

• Law Enforcement Responses
• FBI and creation of the Cyber Division
• Homeland Security
• BTS (Borders and Transportation Security)
• EPR (Emergency Preparedness and Response)
• S&T (Research and development of WMD)
• IAIP (Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection)