Chapter Summary

• The study of crime engages a range of academic disciplines of which Psychology is but one among many.
• Psychology has a long history, dating back to Sigmund Freud and psychoanalytic theory, of concern with criminal behaviour.
• A precise definition of ‘crime’ is hard to find. An appreciation of the concept of crime relies on how a society, which constructs its own rules and criminal justice system, is understood. We now take it that a crime has two elements: actus reus, the guilty act; and means rea, the guilty mind.
• The exceptions to the means rea requirement are to be found in the age of criminal responsibility, a child below the age at which we becomes responsible for our actions cannot commit a crime; and in mental health law, when a disturbance of the mind casts doubt over an individual’s fitness to stand trial.
• The methods used to determine the guilt or innocence of a person accused of crime have varied over the centuries, including trial by ordeal and trial by combat, and invariably harsh punishments were bestowed on the guilty. We are now more familiar with a trial by jury and a legal system in which punishment fits the crime.

Reading List

Carrabine, E., Iganski, P., Lee, M., Plummer, K., & South, N. (2004). Criminology: A sociological introduction. London: Routledge.

Colman, A. M. (Ed.). (1994). Companion encyclopedia of psychology, Vols I & II. London: Routledge.

Eysenck, M. W. (2000). Psychology: A student’s handbook. Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press.

Hale, C., Hayward, K., Wahidin A., & Wincup E. (2009). Criminology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lilley, R. J., Cullen, F. T., & Ball, R. A. (2007). Criminological theory: Context and consequences (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

McLaughlin, E. & Muncie J. (Eds.). (2013). The Sage dictionary of criminology (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Weblinks

American Psychological Society Division 41: http://www.apa.org/about/division/div41.aspx

American Psychology-Law Society: http://www.ap-ls.org/

British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology: http://dfp.bps.org.uk/

European Association of Psychology and Law: http://eapl.eu/

Resources: http://crimepsychblog.com/

Study Questions

Open Questions

How many academic disciplines contribute to the study of crime?

Can all psychological functioning be explained by neuroscience?

Can it be a crime not to act when action may be expected?

What is judicium dei?

Why is the Chicago School important in the development of theories of crime?