Criminology

The creation of a local sex offender rehabilitation center is complicated by the fact that there are a number of competing explanations for the perpetration of criminal acts and criminal patterns of behavior.  It is important to note that it is becoming an increasingly fashionable trend to rely on psychological explanations in the early twenty-first century.

   This trend, however, has been based more on the development of new technologies for studying the human mind than legitimate empirical research.  The modern type of psychological explanation seeks to combine to a certain extant psychological predispositions that arise through a combination of genetic factors and traumatic events.  These psychological predispositions, in turn, are theorized to manifest themselves in the form of behaviors and actions frequently designated as criminal in social settings. Sociological explanations, in the empirical sense, have long been a more predictable indicator of criminal behavior and criminal patterns than purely psychological explanations.  The clear implication is that the sociological theories and explanations can function to explain both the psychological dissociations that lead to criminal behavior and the particular types of dissociations that lead to specific crimes such as rape and other forms of sexual offending. 


Creating a Local Sex Offender Rehabilitation Center  The Case for Incorporating Sociological Approaches

    The creation of a local sex offender rehabilitation center is complicated by the fact that there are a number of competing explanations for the perpetration of criminal acts and criminal patterns of behavior.  How one chooses to design and implement sex offender policy and rehabilitation programs therefore depends on what type of explanation for criminal behavior is selected.  Generally speaking, these types of explanations are designated as psychological explanations and sociological explanations.  This paper will present an overview of these competing types of analytical explanations and argue that a sociological emphasis should guide policy and program decisions because the psychological explanations have less empirical support when dealing with criminal behaviors such as serial rape and sex offending more generally.  This is not meant to suggest that certain features of psychological frameworks do not establish some causal connections between states of mind and crime, for there is some evidence suggesting that this is the case in very specific situations, but instead to suggest that sociological frameworks and explanations establish deeper causal relationships that illustrate risk factors for sex offending and risk factors for psychological states of mind that might lead to sex offending.  The sociological explanations, in short, provide the most comprehensive framework for studying both psychological states of mind and sex offending in its many different manifestations

As an initial matter, it is important to note that it is becoming an increasingly fashionable trend to rely on psychological explanations in the early twenty-first century.   This trend, however, has been based more on the development of new technologies for studying the human mind than legitimate empirical research indeed, it has been noted that Genetic information, including behavioral genetics, has exploded under the influence of the Human Genome Project. Virtually everyone agrees that genes influence behavior. The result is that developments in genetics have been used to suggest that individuals are born with psychological predispositions and that some of these psychological predispositions include a greater likelihood of engaging in violent acts such as assault, murder, and rape.  The reality, however, is that research derived from the Human Genome Project is in its embryonic stages and there is very little data which firmly establishes criminal orientations or predispositions.  More, the concept is hardly new.  It has been noted in the academic literature, for example, that Freud said there are no accidents and that certain psychological states of mind are brought to fruition and reinforced through traumatic events in childhood.  The modern type of psychological explanation therefore seeks to combine to a certain extant psychological predispositions that arise through a combination of genetic factors and traumatic events.  These psychological predispositions, in turn, are theorized to manifest themselves in the form of behaviors and actions frequently designated as criminal in social settings.  With respect to rape, for instance, the consequent criminal act has often been theoretically linked to some preexisting case or pattern of abuse suffered by the perpetrator.  A typical type of psychological explanation for sexual offending noted in the literature argues, for example, that During early, intense, and repetitive trauma, there is an adaptive disengagement a dissociation from any meaningful assessment of fear, or pain, or horror. Because to be fully present for it- and to process its implications-would quite simply overwhelm the brain. A weak brain, the product of a particular genetic inheritance, is therefore overwhelmed and psychological trauma results in which individuals may commit the same types of abuse, sexual or otherwise, themselves.  This has significant implications in the criminal justice field because it implicates both important issues pertaining to causation and important issues pertaining to criminal responsibility.  With respect to criminal responsibility, as in the case of rape or sexual offending, it has been acknowledged rather consistently in the academic literature that some instances of violence may be related to the state of a persons body or mind, such that aggressors may not have complete control over, or awareness of, their actions, or may be predisposed to behave violently. There are several problems, however, associated with relying on these types of psychological explanations.  First, with respect to genetics, there is a lack of empirical research and it is impossible to rewire an individuals brain at this point in history.  Second, it would seem wiser to try and devise criminal justice policies and programs that prevented psychological trauma leading to rape and sexual offending rather than trying to undo the trauma after it has occurred.  This type of preventative approach is best achieved through policies and programs predicated on sociological theories and explanations.

Sociological explanations, in the empirical sense, have long been a more predictable indicator of criminal behavior and criminal patterns than purely psychological explanations indeed, it has been consistently noted that

The primary demographic characteristics of age, sex, and race are among the most powerful and robust individual-level risk factors for criminal offending and victimization. Evidence consistently indicates that young people, males, and members of disadvantaged minorities are at comparatively high risk of becoming offenders and victims.

    The critical point, which the sociological explanations have hypothesized and confirmed, is that demographic factors lead to people becoming victims as well as offenders.  This is particularly important in the rape and sexually offender contexts because even the psychological explanations assume that preexisting traumas and forms of abuse lead to subsequent criminal behaviors.  The clear implication is that the sociological theories and explanations can function to explain both the psychological dissociations that lead to criminal behavior and the particular types of dissociations that lead to specific crimes such as rape and other forms of sexual offending.  The budget that is requested should therefore be characterized at one which supports a local sex offender prevention and rehabilitation center.  Focusing on rehabilitation alone is an inadequate response because the genetic predispositions have already been triggered, the victimization and trauma have already occurred, and the vicious cycle of sexual offending has already taken root in the community.  It is only by adopting a proactive prevention approach, an approach that can only be implemented through the incorporation of sociological explanations, that the underlying sources of this type of criminal behavior can be identified and eradicated.