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Criminology
Identify key indicators of involvement in a criminal lifestyle and then identify and explain the varied consequences associated with high levels of criminal propensity.
The key indicators of involvement in a criminal lifestyle include underdeveloped conscience, low perceived risk, (Copes & Vieraitis, 2009); development of a criminal identity (Copes, Hochstetler & Williams, 2008); and various biosocial factors (Beaver, n.d.; Wright, Tibbetts & Daigle, 2008). Lack of internal and external constraint is a related issue that can lead to propensity for a criminal lifestyle. Increasingly, the neurological and biological factors that are associated with criminal behavior are being discovered to be reliable predictors of involvement in a criminal lifestyle (Beaver, n.d.). In general, key indicators of involvement in a criminal lifestyle are both related to nature (biological and genetic factors impacting psychological growth and development); and nurture (environmental factors).
The biological and genetic factors impacting psychological growth and development have been studied less than the environmental...
However, recent research reveals a much stronger connection between neurobiological and criminal behavior than was once believed (Beaver, n.d.). This is why it is imperative to study criminal behavior and propensity among youth. The child and especially adolescent mind is mutable; hormonal changes can alter brain structure, brain chemistry, and brain development in ways that can either foster pro-social behavior or prevent the inhibition of anti-social behavior (Beaver, n.d.; Wright, Tibbetts & Daigle, 2008).
Environmental factors that can be considered key indicators of involvement in a criminal lifestyle are complex and varied. Individuals will react differently to the social and environmental stimuli. Opportunity and perceived risk are key factors related to involvement in a criminal lifestyle, as Copes & Vieraitis (2009) show in their study with identity thieves, many of whom report few constraints on their behavior due to its being relatively easy to "get away with." Social learning and social constructivism reveal ways that an individual's core…
References
Beaver, K. (n.d.). Biosocial Criminology, a Primer. Kendall Hunt.
Copes, H., Hochstetler, A. & Williams, J.P. (2008). We weren't like no regular dope fiends: Negotiating hustler and crackhead identities. Social Problems 55(2, May 2008): 254-270
Copes, H. & Vieraitis, L.M. (2009). Bounded rationality of identity thieves: Using offender-based research to inform policy. Criminology and Public Policy 8(2).
Wright, J.P., Tibbetts, S.G. & Daigle, L.E. (2008). Life course criminology. Chapter 1 in Criminals in the Making: Criminality Across the Life Course. Los Angeles: Sage.
Those negative interactions with people result in "hardening antisocial attitudes and behaviors." And moreover, their impairments are often exacerbated by "ineffectual parenting." As for the AL offenders, they have none of the inherent impairments that the LCP offenders do; in fact, they are "basically pro-social," Walsh explains, but they are "temporarily derailed by the biological and social upheavals of adolescence." Then what happens as the AL boy moves along through
The author notes that aggression is linked to temperamental, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Interestingly, pathological aggression that manifests during childhood and tends to be consistent through the individual's youth and childhood tends to be an indicator of future antisocial behavior. Seigel and Victoroff (2009, p. 210), for example, mention "predatory aggression" as a type of aggression that does not relate to others of its kind, since it focuses on
However, for adult criminality, the influence of the genetic factors inherent within the individual's makeup takes on greater significance than the environment. Certain genes may be switched on or off by developmental processes (Wright, Tibbetts, & Daigle 2008: 172). Certain genes also seem to be more strongly influential in predicting criminal behavior in some environments than others. Thus, understanding criminality requires an understanding of genetic factors, not simply epigenetic
There is a great level of disparity and disproportionality in today's criminal justice system and as noted in this work in writing, this is likely the greatest challenge facing professionals in the contemporary criminal justice system and in the criminal justice system in the near future. It is critically important that this disparity and disproportionality be addressed due to the negative and adverse impacts that result from an overzealous
Biological explanations, in contrast to fair and severe punishment as advocated by classical theorists, stress the need for institutionalization and psychological and medical treatment for the 'ill,' but they also offers what seems like a defeatist attitude towards the improvement of the criminal, as the criminal has no rational choice in his or her behavior. The presumption is that irrationally generated behavior cannot be conditioned out of the individual through
Genetic makeup also shapes the talents and interests of individuals (Beaver, Chapter 3: Gene-Environment Interplay Explained, 2009). Genes help to determine what talents and interests an individual develops. At the same time, individuals tend to befriend others with the same talents and interests as a way to relate. Just the same as a football player will befriend other football players, a delinquent will befriend other delinquents as a way to