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All lecture and seminar notes Advanced Criminology

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Advanced Criminology

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Universiteit Utrecht (UU)

An overview of all my notes of Advanced Criminology.

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AC HC1: Biological and Psychological Theories of Crime
Introduction
There is controversy around biocriminology, because it has been misused in the past. For
example:
- Eugenics movement, where ‘misfit’ women were sterilized.
- Professor Buikhuizen: Professor in Leiden said we should not only study sociological
factors but also psychological and biological factors
Because of things like these, there is anxiety about using biology for criminology.
Three topics today:
1. Is there a crime gene
2. Can we predict who becomes a criminal
3. What do we know about biopsychosocial factors and criminal behaviour

1. Is there a crime gene?
Han Brunner (Dutch criminal geneticist) found the MAOA gene in a bunch of criminal
nephews. Brunner never called this the crime gene, but people started thinking that way.
However people with this gene are hypothesized to have Brunner syndrome: rare genetic
disorder caused by mutation in the MAOA gene, characterized by mild mental retardation,
problematic impulsive behaviour (e.g. arson, hyper sexuality, violence), sleep disorders and
mood swings.
Serial killers have lot of activity in prefrontal cortex: good at planning. Brain of impulsive killer
looks different.
Q1: 3 reasons crime genes don’t exist:
1. Crime = criminal law. Crime is a legal definition, laid down in the law
a. Dynamic
b. Cultural
2. Genes code for proteins, not for behaviours (M. Kruk 1981). There are genes
influencing our behaviours (e.g. banana fly’s mating dance), but they do not code for
behaviour.
3. Genetic influence is always in constant interaction with contextual factors: e.g.
smoking influences development of the foetus, but even identical twins are not the
same people

2. Can we predict who becomes a criminal
Behaviour is both nature and nurture. There a 6 disorders that generate behaviour, like
Huntington’s disease, but these are exceptions. At least half of population of antisocial
behaviours and crime are caused by environmental causes. So it is 50/50, both nature and
nurture.
Pink flamingo: 100% genetic and 100% environmental that they become pink from eating
shrimps. So even if something is 100% genetic, it doesn’t mean that there are no other
factors also playing a part.

,Paramount that everybody who studies criminology/criminals knows there is no such thing as
only one reason that influences somebody’s behaviour. That development is much more
complex. Series/movies influence our thinking about this, and social media doesn’t cover the
most prevalent offenders. Most attention is to the extremes.
That’s why it’s always important to think: what behaviour are we talking about?
- what age group?: age crime curve shows far more offending in adolescence than
adulthood. Explanation: conformity and sensitivity: youth delinquency is a shared
misunderstanding, because impressing friends instead of thinking about it.
- which offence?
- with whom?
- where?
- why?: stealing loaf of bread bc hungry versus domestic violence
Good to look at behaviour from both biological, psychological and sociological perspective at
once, because it helps us understand behaviours better. E.g. stress:
- biological: stress hormone cortisol
- psychological and sociological: how do people respond because of stress, housing situation
etc.
Heterogeneity of antisocial behaviour: antisocial behaviours have a predictive value, but
are not explanatory factors. Because otherwise you would be saying, antisocial behaviour is
predicted by antisocial behaviour at a younger age (e.g. gambling is predicted by lying in
adolescence)  tautological
‘Causes’ of crime throughout the years:
- Before the 60’s: caused by negative context-factors
- Sutherland: caused by contact with delinquent friends
- Hirschi 1969: caused by lack of social bonds. Homo homini lupus: humans are prone
to criminal behaviour, unless they are connected to other people (wolf pack)
o However, ‘wrong’ starting point. Better starting point: people are social beings
- 1990: Book general theory of crime: caused by lack of self-control  individual factor
- 1993: Book ‘crime in the making’: instead of trying to explain who started to do crime,
trying to explain why people stop showing this behaviour. They made Hirschi’s 69’s
social control theory age graded and incorporated life course psychology in their
criminological theory. E.g. becoming a mum is of influence to criminal behaviour when
you are 26 or 36, but not when you are 16.
o So: Hirschi’s social control theory & life-course psychology + childhood
development, turning points in life, timing in lives.
- 1993: Article Moffitt on taxonomy of antisocial behaviour. Turning point: not one but
two pathways that differ in ontology (the way they develop)  Adolescence Limited
and Life Course Persistent. LCP difficult term because sounds like we are able to
predict, but we can only say somebody is LCP in retrospect (Moffitt also
acknowledges this now). But the idea is sounds: in history of criminals, almost all had
difficulty in childhood. However, people with difficulty in childhood, not by a long shot
all of them turn criminal.
Only few actual longitudinal studies, because they have to be large and start early + have to
keep everybody on board. But most relevant people tend to disappear. (series: 7up)

,7 take home messages
1. Use of biology has been immoral/scary in the past
2. Criminal behaviours is only a legal definition
3. Always start looking for answers when reading/thinking about criminal behaviour:
What kind? What age? With whom? Where? Why?  Can all be very different
4. Negative context & negative individual factors: theories from the past
5. There is more than one pathway
a. All those theories (4 and 5) are correct, even though old, but they need to be
integrated to be more correct.
6. Onset and desistance need to be explained
7. Longitudal data changed theoretical thinking (crime in the making and Moffitt I think)
a. Also made the three pathways model possible

Three pathways model: incorporated child psychology.
Overt antisocial behaviour = confrontational behaviour:
children who are aggressive but won’t steel or lie.
Covert antisocial behaviour = non-confrontational
behaviour: lie, thief, deceive, but won’t start a fight.
These two behaviours have a different explanation.

SO: Early stage of onset of antisocial behaviour is the strongest predictor for a long criminal
career 
Q2: Can we predict who becomes a criminal?
The variable that early age of onset of antisocial
behaviours is the strongest predictor for a long
criminal career is always the variable most important
of decision making in risk assessment tools, but no
valid prediction is possible on an individual level. See
the table: a cell never gets 100%.
Why is it impossible to predict that?  our behaviour
is complicated, a mix of causal factors. Genes and
other factors are in constant interaction.

3. What do we know about biopsychosocial factors and criminal behaviour
Biosocial interaction effect: nature x nurture: when a child has low MAOA activity gene +
suffered maltreatment in childhood = significant probability it will show antisocial behaviour at
age 18.
No significance difference when childhood maltreatment is not present, but the absence of it
is not the same as nice/excellent circumstances growing up. Comparison excellent versus
neutral treatment: this time low activity group shows less antisocial behaviour. So in both
extremes it is the low MAOA that shows either the lowest or the highest.
 We think MAOA is a gene that has to do with sensitivity to contextual factors.

, People differ in the way they are sensitive to environmental factors:
- not so sensitive + grow up in disturbing circumstances = lucky you are not too sensitive to it
- grow up in excellent conditions = you are lucky that you are sensitive to it.
Childhood explanatory factors: important factors that we know now. All have (almost) perfect
consistency scores over the studies: low cognitive/affective empathy, being an evening
person, low learning abilities, low verbal IQ, low executive functioning, low ability to
recognize emotions, having few friends, not much guilt/remorse, no future perspective, no
attachment to others, no joy in school, mild-serious depression / suicidal / schizophrenia /
ADHD / Tourette, addiction (gambling, drugs, alcohol)
Q3: Take home messages
 There is no main factor, no simple explanation
 There are different levels to explain
 It is impossible to predict individual criminal behaviour
 Cumulation of factors is the main cause
 Factors vulnerability long term
 Factors short term – offense
 Most knowledge on childhood onset factors
 Different factors contributing to continuity
 Positive protective factors also relevant
Four take home messages: (not discussed in lecture)
 Prevention programs can target low self-control
 Intervention programs  RNR-what works-principles
 Cures can harm!
 Bio-explanations have very unjust persuasive power!

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