Violent Offenders- Module 1 review

How does low self-control impact violent offending and victimization?

Offenders act on impulse, get involved in risky situations, commit violence, become victims of violence, and living in that moment instead of worrying about future consequences

What is CRIMINALITY, and how does it impact everyone?

Is the “raw material” or natural potential to commit a crime. It is a “global characteristic”; it shapes their entire personality, how they handle emotions, and how they handle everyday life

What are executive functions?

Are brain processes that control your behaviors and personality, specifically your ability to pay attention, stay calm, and think before you act

What is the difference between organized and disorganized sexual homicide?

Organized sexual homicide is planned by highly controlled sexual sadists, who typically have antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders. Disorganized killers on sudden, explosive, and unplanned impulses. These people usually have avoidant, emotionally isolated, and suffer from mood disorders

What are the risks associated with psychopathy?

it is marked by callous-unemotional traits

What are the two types of offenders according to Terrie Moffitt's theory?

Adolescent-Limited and Life-Course Persistent

How can you improve impoverished neighborhoods to reduce the likelihood for failure, misbehavior, and criminal activity?

Improve physical living standards to eliminate geographic excuses, build police legitimacy, and employ respected local citizens as mediators.

What circumstances allow criminals to get close to their potential victims?

Heavy traffic and the anonymity of impoverished neighborhoods.

Why is there a distrust among residents to call police? How does this impact the street hustler and the risk they take?

Residents are highly suspicious of the means police use to enforce the law and the fairness of procedures and risk decreases because the hustler knows victims are unlikely to report.

What happens when violence is considered normal in a neighborhood?

Residents develop a subcultural norm where backing down is rejected, and minor disputes escalate into retaliatory violence and victim precipitation

Who are most at risk in impoverished neighborhoods? Who are the most common targets and victims?

Young, unemployed, unmarried minority males; robbers specifically target open-air drug dealers and wealthy-looking strangers.

How does economic dislocation and social marginalization impact violent crime rates?

It systematically cuts off minority groups from mainstream opportunities, creating high concentrations of community-level violence

Why do cultural and structural factors affect crime rates in some communities and not in others?

Structural and cultural factors interact; severe poverty decimates social institutions, allowing a violent survival culture to emerge

What are the two dimensions in the local communities?

The normative dimension (shared norms and values) and the interactional dimension (how norms are actively used and modified in daily life).

What are the limitations of structural features in communities?

They are incomplete; macro-level factors like poverty do not capture how physical environments shape individual psychology and convenient excuses.

Why is there a distrust among residents to call police? How does this impact the street hustler and the risk they take?

Residents distrust police over procedural unfairness (misconduct/harassment) rather than the outcomes. This drives 'self-help' violence, making street hustlers legally vulnerable and highly attractive targets.

Martin Wolfgang:

1958, Studied 588 Philadelphia homicides; developed victim precipitation

Jane Addams:

1909, The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets; victims portrayed mainly as passive

The Gluecks:

1940, Began suggesting a connection between victimization and offending

Clifford Shaw:

1930, The Jack-Roller; victims viewed as passive subjects of persistent criminals

Hans von Hentig:

1948,Victim and perpetrator categories can merge; victim can become a determinant

Hindelang et al.:

1978, Routine activities/lifestyles; victimization isn't randomly distributed

Gottfredson:

1981, Combined social control + routine activities

Sparks:

1982, Victim proneness/risk heterogeneity

Katz:

1988, Reputation for violence can protect offenders from becoming secondary victims

Gottfredson and Hirschi:

1990, Low self-control predicts offending AND victimization