Introduction to Criminal Behavior.

Note: this site is not giving legal advice, simply organizing information from various classes and texts. If you need legal advice consult your lawyer.

Text book:
Criminal Investigation

Buy 'The Body in Question: Exploring the Cutting Edge of Forensic Science'

(7th Edition)
by Wayne W. Bennett.

Also see:
notes on
The Body in Question
.

Contents of Criminal Investigation:
  1. Criminal Investigation: An Overview.
  2. Documenting the Scene: Note Taking, Photography and Sketching.
  3. Searches.
  4. Forensics/Physical Evidence.
  5. Obtaining Information.
  6. Identifying and Arresting Suspects.
  7. Death Investigations.
  8. Assault, Domestic Violence, Stalking and Elder Abuse.
  9. Sex Offenses.
  10. Crimes against Children.
  11. Robbery.
  12. Burglary.
  13. Larceny/Theft, Fraud, White Collar Crime and Environmental Crime.
  14. Motor Vehicle Theft.
  15. Arson.
  16. Computer Crime.
  17. Organized Crime, Bias/Hate Crime and Ritualistic Crime.
  18. Gang Related Crime.
  19. Illegal Drugs and Terrorism.
  20. Writing the Reports, Preparing for and Presenting Cases in Court.

Site Meter [Thanks for visiting.]

Notebook by J. Zimmerman on Criminal Behavior Class (Cabrillo College in Spring 2006)

Instructor Scott Phelps

Table of Contents:
  1. Feb 7th, 2006: Orientation to course.
  2. Feb 9th, 2006: Introduction to how and why a person becomes a criminal. Psychopathic personality type.
  3. Feb 14th, 2006: Early theories of criminal causation.
    1. 1. Classical school: Cesare Beccaria.
    2. 2. Positive school: Cesare Lombroso.
  4. Feb 16th, 2006: Positive school.
  5. Feb 21st, 2006. Positive school (continued).
  6. Feb 23rd, 2006: Current-day theories from the positive school.
  7. Feb 28th, 2006: Psychogenic theories: intellectual, emotional, motivational.
  8. March 2nd, 2006: Data.
  9. March 7th, 2006: Importance of first years of life.
  10. March 9th, 2006: Cause and prevention of antisocial behavior.
  11. March 14th, 2006: Lack of child supervision as a major cause of antisocial behavior.
  12. March 16th, 2006: Families and Fatherhood
  13. March 21st, 2006: Need for communication within the family.
  14. March 23rd, 2006: Discipline.
  15. March 28th, 2006: Discipline (continued).
  16. March 30th, 2006: Child abuse.
  17. April 4th, 2006: Child abuse (continued).
  18. April 6th, 2006: Physical abuse, psychological abuse, child neglect.
    1. Physical abuse
    2. Psychological abuse
    3. Child neglect

Feb 7th, 2006: Orientation to course.

[Based on handout and informal verbal info from a couple students.]

  1. Course description.
  2. Grading will be on midterm (1/3), final (1/3), and notebook of notes (on lectures, Criminal Behavior Videos, guest speakers, field trips, and articles).
  3. An extra-credit current-event notebook can be submitted.
  4. Lecture outline has two sections: (i) How and why does a person become a criminal;(ii) Types of criminal behavior.

Feb 9th, 2006: Introduction to how and why a person becomes a criminal.

Deviancy:
  1. Product and process of social interaction.
  2. Occurs only in society: an isolated person along cannot be a deviant.
  3. Varies over time (e.g., Copernicus and Galileo were once thought deviant), between countries (e.g., legal age in USA versus France), between states and counties (e.g. brothels in Nevada).

Extradition (such as for deviancy) occurs only when:

  1. Set out in treaties between countries
  2. Where the crime and resulting penalty are seen as equal in the two countries.

The psychopathic personality type:

  1. Is found in over 85% of people in prison today. (In 1970s only 30% of those in Soledad were psychopaths.)
  2. Shows little remorse; insensitive to others' rights.
  3. A continuum in the amount of hatred in their deeds.
  4. Refuses to take responsibility for behavior. Heartless. Lack of empathy or response.
  5. Some add deliberate hurt to their victims. Hurting others makes them feel good.
  6. Are generated by being raised without affection (physical, verbal).

Psychopath (from psychotic ~ mentally ill): also called sociopath (~society behavior, 1970s) and "anti-social personality disorder" (analytic, 1980s).

Video on Ed Kemper (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

Feb 14th, 2006: Early theories of criminal causation.

1. Classical school: Cesare Beccaria.

2. Positive school: Cesare Lombroso.

Feb 16th, 2006: Positive school.

  1. Biogenic theories. Crime causation theories that focus on physiological factors. e.g. abnormality on brain wave or higher rate of early childhood illnesses (which are correlated with brain damage).
  2. Sociogenic theories. 1950s and 1960s. "Crime is caused by environmental factors." Community, parents, poverty, criminal role models.
  3. Psychogenic theories. "Of the mind." Emotions. Californian inmates have an emotional maturity of 2.5-3 years of age. Under-developed conscience structure (super ego).

1876: Positive school started by Cesare Lombroso:

1913: Charles Goring (physical anthropologist):

1939: Ernest Hooton (Harvard physical anthropologist):

1940: William Sheldon (Harvard):

1985: Richard Hernstein (with James Q. Wilson) published Crime and the Human Mind, repeating Sheldon's link of mesomorphs with crime.

Video: Career Criminals (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

Feb 21st, 2006. Positive school (continued).

1940s: Army study:

1965: Atascadero study for XYY syndrome:

1966: Atascadero follow-up study for XYY syndrome:

Dorothy Otnow Lewis studied 14 of 37 juveniles on Death Row (pre-Supreme Court decision that juveniles could not be executed):

1992: Robert Alton Harris executed (on resumption of executions):

Video: In the Genes (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

Feb 23rd, 2006: Current-day theories from the positive school.

Received Volumes I and II of articles:

  1. Read articles; tests include questions on them.
  2. In notebook, summarize the main points.
  3. Hand in notebook @ midterm for progress report; hand in complete notebook in the week before the final.

Dr. McCord (neurologist):

Biogenetics = biological determinism:

1960s: Sociogenic theories took off (started 1930s):

Feb 28th, 2006: Psychogenic theories: intellectual, emotional, motivational.

External pressures can lead to:

1953: August Aichhorn theory from study of delinquent (and non-delinquent) kids. Delinquents:

Late 1940s, early 1950s: Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck @ Harvard Law School:

March 2nd, 2006: Data.

1940s-1950s, Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck @ Harvard Law School (continued). See Readings Vol. I, #4:

Rustiger, "Why Kids Kill". See Readings Vol. I, #2:

Family values:

"Your child's brain" article:

March 7th, 2006: Importance of first years of life.

March 9th, 2006: Cause and prevention of antisocial behavior

Video: Last Resort (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

March 14th, 2006: Lack of child supervision as a major cause of antisocial behavior.

March 16th, 2006: Families and Fatherhood

Single-parent families:

Fatherhood:

March 21st, 2006: Need for communication within the family

Disciplining of children:

March 23rd, 2006: Discipline.

Video: Failing to learn, learning to fail (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

March 28th, 2006: Discipline (continued).

March 30th, 2006: Child abuse.

Oprah Winfrey Video: Scared Silent (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

April 4th, 2006: Child abuse (continued). Notes based on those of Krystle Corkrean.

Video: Breaking the Silence (see notes on Criminal Behavior Videos).

April 6th, 2006: Physical abuse, psychological abuse, child neglect.

Physical abuse:

Psychological abuse:

Child neglect:

The End