Chapter 7: Violent Crimes
Culpable
multicide spree, serial, mass
homicide
Murder Murder assassinations
Subtypes Muti-related killings
Intimate-partner
Common assault
femicide
Assault with
Violent crime categories Assault Murder of police officials
intent to do GBH
Sub-types school violence
Common robbery
Robbery with
Robbery aggrivating
circumstances
home invasions
Subtypes
business robbery
,VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION
• Aggression and violence are part of human existence
• Violence was once necessary for survival
• Aggression is not synonymous with violence (not all aggressive people
are violent people)
o predicting violent behaviour/dangerousness/aggression is
unreliable
Problems with prediction
• Difficult to predict future behaviour
o Impacts different levels of justice system
▪ Parole
• Dangerousness is not a psychiatric diagnosis
• ‘risk’ preferred over ‘dangerous’
• Defining dangerousness is challenging
• Dangerous behaviour=S
DILEMMA OF PROBABLE FUTURE VIOLENCE
• Therapists consult daily with dangerous individuals to discuss their anger
and violent thoughts
• Therapists are allowed to break confidentiality when:
o Instructed by court of law
o Justified in public interest
• Declaration of an individual as a dangerous offender
o Offender poses a threat to physical and mental health of citizens
of a society and require protection
o Once declared a dangerous criminal, parole is not an option
,MacArthur risk assessment study
• USA study
• Main finding: More people would end up in the official judicial system if
prediction was the only factor used to determine violent behaviour
o Many people who are predicted to be violent are not actually
violent
• Clinicians are likely to over-predict a person’s level of dangerousness
• Assesses risk in terms of violence and aggression
Risk Factors
These factors are used to predict violent behaviour.
Historical Disposistional Contextual
Clinical factors
variables factors variables
• employment • age • access to • psychiatric
history • mental weapons state
• criminal capability • general living • use of
record • personality arrangments narcotics
Varieties of human aggression
What violence and aggression entails
Passive aggressive behaviour generally irrelevant to violent crime
, hitting/punching WITHOUT
Direct
consent (not boxing)
Physical
practical joke, booby trap
Active
Indirect
example: pulling
someone's chair out in
class
direct insulting, swearing
Verbal
malicious gossip, spreading
indirect
rumours
obstruction of passage
to block others
Direct
e.g. sit ins during
Physical strikes
Passive
refusing to perform a
Indirect
necessry task
refusing to speak to
Direct
'punish' someone
Verbal refusing consent, vocal
or written
Indirect
e.g. husband refuses
to sign divorce papers
Culpable
multicide spree, serial, mass
homicide
Murder Murder assassinations
Subtypes Muti-related killings
Intimate-partner
Common assault
femicide
Assault with
Violent crime categories Assault Murder of police officials
intent to do GBH
Sub-types school violence
Common robbery
Robbery with
Robbery aggrivating
circumstances
home invasions
Subtypes
business robbery
,VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION
• Aggression and violence are part of human existence
• Violence was once necessary for survival
• Aggression is not synonymous with violence (not all aggressive people
are violent people)
o predicting violent behaviour/dangerousness/aggression is
unreliable
Problems with prediction
• Difficult to predict future behaviour
o Impacts different levels of justice system
▪ Parole
• Dangerousness is not a psychiatric diagnosis
• ‘risk’ preferred over ‘dangerous’
• Defining dangerousness is challenging
• Dangerous behaviour=S
DILEMMA OF PROBABLE FUTURE VIOLENCE
• Therapists consult daily with dangerous individuals to discuss their anger
and violent thoughts
• Therapists are allowed to break confidentiality when:
o Instructed by court of law
o Justified in public interest
• Declaration of an individual as a dangerous offender
o Offender poses a threat to physical and mental health of citizens
of a society and require protection
o Once declared a dangerous criminal, parole is not an option
,MacArthur risk assessment study
• USA study
• Main finding: More people would end up in the official judicial system if
prediction was the only factor used to determine violent behaviour
o Many people who are predicted to be violent are not actually
violent
• Clinicians are likely to over-predict a person’s level of dangerousness
• Assesses risk in terms of violence and aggression
Risk Factors
These factors are used to predict violent behaviour.
Historical Disposistional Contextual
Clinical factors
variables factors variables
• employment • age • access to • psychiatric
history • mental weapons state
• criminal capability • general living • use of
record • personality arrangments narcotics
Varieties of human aggression
What violence and aggression entails
Passive aggressive behaviour generally irrelevant to violent crime
, hitting/punching WITHOUT
Direct
consent (not boxing)
Physical
practical joke, booby trap
Active
Indirect
example: pulling
someone's chair out in
class
direct insulting, swearing
Verbal
malicious gossip, spreading
indirect
rumours
obstruction of passage
to block others
Direct
e.g. sit ins during
Physical strikes
Passive
refusing to perform a
Indirect
necessry task
refusing to speak to
Direct
'punish' someone
Verbal refusing consent, vocal
or written
Indirect
e.g. husband refuses
to sign divorce papers
