An Exploration of Offender Characteristics, Criminal History Information and Specialisation
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Serious Violent Offenders: An Exploration of Offender Characteristics, Criminal History Information and Specialisation Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Rebecca Louise Coleman July, 2016 i ABSTRACT Serious violent crime, including homicide, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, has recently increased in England and Wales, together with the need to identify, and efficiently intervene with, perpetrators at risk of future violent offending. Research has highlighted, in particular, the importance of gathering more information on female serious violent offenders, making comparisons between serious violent male and female perpetrators, and examining different types of serious violent criminals. The overall purpose of this thesis, therefore, was to add to our existing understanding of serious violent offenders, thereby, hopefully, informing current debates and under researched areas, and assisting practitioners within the criminal justice system. Within this context, the main objectives of the thesis were to (i) examine the extent to which subgroups of offenders differ according to offender characteristics (age, gender) and criminal history information (offending frequency, chronicity, crime types); (ii) determine the extent to which serious violent offenders specialise in criminality and how this may differ between subgroups; (iii) explore the relationships between the diversity index, frequency of offending, the age at the first criminal offence, and the age at the serious violent offence; and (iv) assess the variables deemed to significantly predict future serious violent outcomes. A quantitative, retrospective approach was taken using archival data provided by Devon and Cornwall Police Force; this included 10-years of crimes recorded in the borough between April 2001 and March 2011. Descriptive and comparative analyses explored the subgroups of serious violent offenders, and matched- case controls. Serious violent perpetrators had a higher offending frequency and were more likely to have previously committed violent crime; this was also the case for the male and female control comparisons. Furthermore, the male control sample were more likely to have a prior conviction for sexual offences, and female controls were more likely to commit theft and property crime. In addition, serious violent males were statistically more likely to have been previously convicted for violent, and a mixture of non-violent, crimes, compared to serious violent females. Also, attempted murder and homicide offenders were older and more likely to have committed violence, and perpetrators of grievous bodily harm were more likely to have a conviction for burglary or theft offences. No significant findings emerged in terms of the levels of chronicity. Pockets of specialisation were detected within the groups of serious violent perpetrators, yet diversity was significantly more likely to be exhibited amongst serious violent subgroups. Relationships were also found between diversity and a higher offending frequency, age at first offence and age at serious violent crime. Importantly, age at the first serious violent crime and types of offences in the criminal history emerged as significant factors in predictive models of future serious violence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, with recommendations for future research. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank, and express gratitude to, Devon and Cornwall Police Force for providing me with such a valuable set of data, without which this PhD would not have been possible. To Dr Louise Almond; my PhD journey has not been the smoothest at times, but your continued understanding, support, motivation and encouragement has made this achievable. Who’d have thought we’d see the day?! I am eternally grateful for the opportunities you have provided me throughout my MSc and PhD studies, thank you. To my lovely Dr. friends; you have given me continued love, support, guidance and friendship. When I’ve felt the PhD-loneliness, you have been there, gin in hand to talk about how only we truly understand! You have all been a massive help, particularly during my final write-up, replying to all of my panicked, last-minute questions. You beautiful people. To my Dad; I most definitely get my drive for furthering my knowledge, and challenging existing beliefs, from you. Thank you for your continued interest in how I was getting on with my PhD, in addition to your support and encouragement along the way. Thank you for your thoughtfulness in letting me know whenever something violent offender-related was on TV and for being, quite possibly, the proudest Dad ever! To my Mum; the past few years have been challenging for us both, to say the very least. I could not have done this without you and the unparalleled love and support you have given me. I admire your continued strength, compassion and independence, no matter what life has thrown at you. You have put your life on hold, and quite frankly bent over backwards, to ensure I had every opportunity in life and you have been behind me all of the way. You’re always at the other end of the phone or there with cup of tea in hand to provide me with encouragement and positivity! There are no words to iii express my appreciation for having a Mum and best friend like you. Thank you. To my fiancé, Jamie; where do I start?! Thank you for putting up with the moody, snappy ‘me’ during the ‘PhD years’. Thank you for pushing, encouraging and motivating me, especially over the final hurdles. You have gone above and beyond to cheer me up when I hit a mental brick wall. Thank you for rearranging schedules, doing dog duties and cooking dinners, just to make my life easier. Thank you for waking me up with cups of teas and prepping treats to keep me going in the library. Thank you for pretending to have, and expressing genuine (at times… I think!), interest in my PhD, and for allowing me to ramble on about literature and findings to help make sense of them. We’ve been through thick and thin over the past 11 years; thank you for being my ‘one’. Here’s to us both achieving our dreams and to the next few years being ‘our’ years. iv PREFACE Violent Crime Violent crime, within the police force, is defined as “violence against the person”, which includes “homicide, violence with injury and violence without injury” (Flatley, 2016a, p.16). Serious violent (SV) crime has been acknowledged as a public health problem (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002), as it has a high cost to society in relation to its social, psychological and financial impact (Rubin, Gallo, & Coutts, 2008), creating fear amongst the public (Frisell, Pawitan, Langstrom, & Lichtenstein, 2012; Krug et al., 2002). High incidence rates are reported; 1.3 million crimes of violence were recorded in England and Wales, with a 27% increase in ‘violence against the person’, between the years ending December 2014 and 2015 (Flatley, 2016a). Specifically, ‘violence without injury’ rose by 38%, with a 15% increase in ‘violence with injury’, including an escalation in attempted murder (31%), and an 11% rise in homicide (Flatley, 2016a). Furthermore, a 3% increase was reported in perpetrators sentenced for ‘violence against the person’ offences, with this offence group prevailing as the largest proportion of sentenced offenders (Ministry of Justice [MoJ], 2016). In regards to violent criminality, underlying considerations of the criminal justice system include studying the seriousness of the offences (Lulham & Ringland, 2010) and the possible escalation to serious crimes (Liu, Francis, & Soothill, 2011); this stresses the need to develop a thorough understanding of the risk factors to future SV offending and whether the individuals who engage in such criminality differ from one another. How is this Thesis Relevant to Current Research? One means of increasing our understanding of SV offending is through the application of Investigative Psychology. The field of Investigative Psychology aims to further our knowledge of criminality and the investigative process of practitioners (Taylor, Snook, Bennell & Porter, 2015). Through the use of archival data (e.g. police data), and the subsequent empirical findings, this facet of psychology was developed to support practitioners and their v decision-making (Canter, 2000), enabling the development of assumptions about the offending population (Alison, Snook, & Stein, 2001). Roberts, Zgoba and Shahidullah (2007) stated “typologies are created to approximate the reality” (p.506); thus, utilising information such as offending histories enables those within the criminal justice system to make informed and evidence-based decisions regarding the likes of surveillance and sentencing. Maguire, Kemshall, Noakes, Wincup and Sharpe (2001) noted the movement of research towards developing an approach that may prevent such serious offences, in order to protect the public due to the potential harm to victims (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). Systematic investigations into the risk of offenders are advantageous to both researchers and the criminal justice system, as they add to existing empirical findings and aid in enhancing decision-making (Zhang, Roberts, & Farabee, 2014). While research has produced many findings and assessment methods for identifying, and tackling, future offending over the years, continued exploration and development within this field of study is essential, as identifying factors that