What makes a person commit a crime? Have you ever committed a crime for which you could have been arrested but you were not caught? Why did you commit the crime?
Topic: Week 1 Discussion
Paper details:
What makes a person commit a crime? Have you ever committed a crime for which you could have been arrested but you were not caught? Why did you commit the crime? Or, why did you decide against committing the crime?
Some crimes are committed primarily for practical reasons usually involving money. These are considered instrumental crimes. For example, someone decides to sell drugs to buy a luxury car, or another person steals a credit card to buy his girlfriend expensive gifts. Other crimes are threaded with emotionality such as anger, frustration, or jealousy. Intimate partner violence and sexual assault are some examples of expressive crimes.
For this Discussion, you will choose a case study and attempt to “think like an offender.” Consider where a person comes from and what experiences that person may have undergone. What drives a person to commit a crime?
To prepare
Examine the Uniform Crime Reports and Bureau of Justice statistics looking at types of crimes committed in certain areas.
Note: If you are an international student, you may find data for your country at United Nations Offices on Drugs and Crime (http://www.unodc.org). You may also select a state/city/community within the United States to analyze using the data from the references in the Learning Resources.
Consider the reading from the course text. What can you learn about criminality?
Review the reading on sexual predators and murder, and consider how a sex crime could be expressive.
Review the case studies provided, and select one to address.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on “Submit,” you cannot delete or edit your own posts. You also cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!
Identify the case that you selected and give a brief summary. Would the crime described in your case study be categorized as expressive or instrumental or a dichotomy of the two. Explain your reasoning. What influencing factors may have contributed to the subject’s crime or criminal behavior? How might the subject have rationalized his or her behavior? Explain what may lead one person to commit a crime while another person with a similar background does not. Would you have behaved in a similar way? Why, or why not? Support your responses with evidence from the Learning Resources.
Reading material from the learning resource.
Miller, L. (2012). Criminal psychology: Nature, nurture, culture. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Chapter 1, “Psychology in the Criminal Justice System” (pp. 5–34)
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.-c). Uniform crime report. Retrieved June 8, 2016, from https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (n.d.-b). Total correctional population. Retrieved June 8, 2016, from http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=11
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2016, from http://www.unodc.org/
Document: Week 1 Case Studies (Word Document)
Document: Final Project Case Studies (Word Document)
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