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Psychology and Crime Understanding and Tackling Offending Behaviour Francis Pakes and Jane Winstone

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Psychology and Crime Understanding and Tackling Offending Behaviour Francis Pakes and Jane Winstone PschoCrime2PPCv6.qxd 12/10/08 18:27 Page 1 Psychology Psychology Psychology and Crime Understanding and tackling offending behaviour Francis Pakes and Jane Winstone Society today is fascinated by crime. Crime is a hot topic in the media, so that people are continually exposed to criminal events, portrayals of those who commit them, and the suffering of victims. Yet the reality of crime is often very different from and Psychology and Crime how it is portrayed in the media. Most crime is neither violent nor morbid; most offenders are not psychopaths, and although prison generally does not work, there may well be other, less punitive but more constructive interventions that are actually Crime quite effective. Understanding and tackling This book exposes some of the most prevalent myths about crime and criminal behaviour. In addition it provides the reader with up-to-date knowledge on crime and offending behaviour. It also highlights the ways in which psychological methods offending behaviour of research and psychological knowledge can help us to understand criminal offending behaviour behaviour and the ways that targeted interventions are developed based upon this. Understanding Pakes’ and Winstone’s Psychology and Crime is essential reading for students taking courses in the psychology of crime, criminal and forensic psychology, criminology, and community justice, as well as for other courses where a knowledge of the complex relationship between psychology and crime – and its application in practice – is required. Practitioners and policy-makers will also find it highly informative. The authors and Dr. Francis Pakes is a principal lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. He coordinates a number of MSc programmes at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, tackling including an MSc in criminology and criminal psychology. His other books include Comparative Criminal Justice (Willan 2004), Community Justice (co-edited with Jane Winstone, Willan 2005) and Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice (co-edited with David Carson, Becky Milne, Karen Shalev and Andrew Shawyer, Wiley 2007). Jane Winstone is a principal lecturer at the University of Portsmouth where she also Jane Winstone Pakes Francis coordinates probation training. Her main research interests are in the management of mental health in the criminal justice system and in youth crime. Her recent publications include Community Justice (co-edited with Francis Pakes, Willan 2005) and a co-authored chapter (with Francis Pakes) in Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice (Wiley 2007). and Academic and Professional Francis Pakes and Publisher of the Year 2008 Jane Winstone www.willanpublishing.co.uk Psychology and Crime Psychology and Crime Understanding and tackling offending behaviour Francis Pakes and Jane Winstone Published by Willan Publishing Culmcott House Mill Street, Uffculme Cullompton, Devon EX15 3AT, UK Tel: +44(0)1884 840337 Fax: +44(0)1884 840251 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.willanpublishing.co.uk Published simultaneously in the USA and Canada by Willan Publishing c/o ISBS, 920 NE 58th Ave, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97213-3786, USA Tel: +001(0)503 287 3093 Fax: +001(0)503 280 8832 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.isbs.com © Francis Pakes and Jane Winstone 2007 The rights of Francis Pakes and Jane Winstone to be identified as the authors of this book have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting copying in the UK issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. First published 2007 Hardback ISBN 978-1-84392-260-5 Paperback ISBN 978-1-84392-259-9 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Project managed by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock, Devon Typeset by GCS, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire Printed and bound by T.J. International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Notes on the contributors Francis Pakes To my children Katie Rose and Anna Daisy Pakes Jane Winstone To my mother Rita Watts and my children, Jon, Andrew and Beth v Sex Work Now vi Contents About the authors xi Introduction xiii 1 Why do people offend? psychological and sociological explanations 1 Introduction 1 Understanding causes of crime 2 Biology 4 Personality 7 The family 9 Environmental factors: bonds, gangs and society at large 12 Conclusion 16 2 The criminal mind: understanding criminals from their scene of crime 19 Introduction 19 Offender profiling 20 Criminal profiling at the FBI 22 Organised and disorganised offenders 24 Statistical profiling 28 The success of profilers 29 Psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder 31 Conclusion 33 3 Pathways into crime: understanding juvenile offending 35 Introduction 35 Psychology and Crime Background 36 Youth offending in England and Wales – key statistics 36 Correlates and causes of youth crime 37 Offender profiling and assessment 44 Responses to youth crime 47 Sentencing and legislation: prevention, punishment or net-widening? 52 Conclusion 55 4 Aggression and violence 57 Introduction 57 Frustration and aggression 59 Testosterone, brain injury and a genetic defect 61 Social learning 63 Television and video games 65 Alcohol 68 The general aggression model 71 Conclusion 73 5 Sexual violence: from theory into practice 74 Introduction 74 Settings, scenarios and issues of consent 75 Profile of sex offending in England and Wales 76 Recent legislation 78 Sexual violence and typology 80 Typology of child molesters 83 Integrated theory and the sexual cycle of offending 84 Biological and evolutionary explanations of sexual aggression 88 Interventions and effectiveness 88 Risk prediction and management 92 Conclusion 94 6 Insanity, mental health and the criminal justice system 95 Introduction 95 Types of mental disorder 96 Personality disorder 97 Psychosis – a break with reality 102 Neurosis disorders 105 viii Contents Mood disorders 105 Exploding the myth of mad, bad and dangerous 106 Treatment or punishment? 109 Conclusion 114 7 Stalkers and their victims 115 Introduction 115 What is stalking? 116 How common is stalking? 119 Stalkers and victim characteristics 121 Attachment, power and delusion 122 Antistalking legislation 126 Conclusion 129 8 The psychology of addiction – are there more questions than answers? 131 Introduction 131 The assumptions of treatment approaches 134 Is there a whiff of ‘nothing works’ in the air? 135 The trans-theoretical model of change (TTM) 137 The strengths of the TTM 138 Weaknesses of the TTM 142 The way forward 144 Complex self-organising systems 144 Conclusion 147 9 Date rape and drugs 149 Introduction 149 Stranger rape, date rape and acquaintance rape 150 Prevalence of date rape 151 Who is at risk? Victims and offenders 153 Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) 157 Date rape drugs 158 Conclusion 161 10 Can prison ever work? 165 Introduction 165 The prison population 166 The psychology of prison 169 When things go wrong – the prison officer role 169 When things go wrong – the detainee role 172 ix Psychology and Crime Rehabilitation and the prison experience 174 Rehabilitation and prison – the alternatives 178 Conclusion 180 11 Victims and fear of crime 182 Introduction 182 Who is afraid? 184 Fear of crime and the media 187 Deconstructing fear of crime 189 Getting to the causes 191 Defensible space 192 Conclusion 196 References 197 Index 227 x About the authors Francis Pakes is a principal lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. He studied psychology at the University of Groningen in his native Netherlands. His PhD (from Leiden University) was on the decision making by Dutch public prosecutors in criminal cases. He moved to the UK in 1998, where he has lectured at the University of Portsmouth ever since. Francis coordinates a number of MSc programmes at the Institute for Criminal Justice Studies, including an MSc in criminology and criminal psychology. His other books include Comparative Criminal Justice (Willan 2004), Community Justice (co-edited with Jane Winstone; Willan 2005), and Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice (Wiley 2007), co-edited with David Carson, Becky Milne, Karen Shalev and Andrea Shawyer. Jane Winstone is a principal lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. She studied social science and then psychology with the Open University and qualified as a probation officer before joining the University of Portsmouth, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, in 1998, to coordinate the new training arrangements for probation officers. Jane’s main research interests are in the management of mental health in the criminal justice system and in youth crime. She is currently completing her PhD in youth penology, and her latest publications include Community Justice (co-edited with Francis Pakes; Willan 2005) and a co-authored chapter (with Francis Pakes) in Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice (Wiley 2007). xi Psychology and Crime Aaron Pycroft (responsible for Chapter 8, ‘The Psychology of Addiction’) is a senior lecturer at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth. Prior to taking up this post he worked for 15 years in the non-statutory sector as a practitioner, and operational and senior manager within the field of substance abuse. He has worked extensively with Drug Action Teams, Primary Care Trusts, housing associations, criminal justice agencies and local authorities in developing and providing services. His main research interests are alcohol and drug issues, multiple needs and multiagency working. xii Introduction Today’s society is fascinated by crime. Crime and deviance have taken on a cultural significance they never previously had. As a result, crime is a hot topic in the media and one that leads people to be continually exposed to criminal events, portrayals of those who commit them, and the suffering of victims.
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