What are the different types of data on crime?
Official Statistics- In the UK, the home office publishes official data on crime. This is done annually and contains both crimes that are reported and crimes witnessed/discovered by police.
Victim Surveys- Another way of acquiring crime data is to rely on victims to identify if a crime was committed against them such as in the Crime Survey . This completed annually and now involves a sample of 50,000 household’s - each member of the household is interviewed. The interviews aim to uncover the amount of crime that has occurred as well as people’s attitudes to crime in the UK during that year.
Offender Surveys- a third way to gather data is to question offenders, longitudinally and non- longitudinally. For example, this was done in Britain from 2003to 2006 annually.
What are the characteristics of criminal behaviour? (Farr and Gibbons 1990)
Farr and Gibbons (1990) suggested the following categories for types of crime:
Property predatory crime- persons are involved in attempting to or actually taking the personal property of others with permission e.g burglary, robbery and car theft.
Property fraudalent crime- persons are involved in car theft deceit or manipulation with the purpose of converting property or services of others to their own use e.g embezzlement, fraud or bribery
Interpersonal violence general- persons are involved in actions that threaten or cause actual personal harm e.g murder, assault and kidnapping
Interpersonal violence sexual- persons are involved in actions that threaten or cause actual personal harm and contain a sexual element. eg rape, sexual abuse and incest.
Transactional vice- persons are involved in victimless offences where there is a willing exchange of goods or services e.g protitution, illegal gambling, and drug sales
order distruption - persons are involved on actions where there is no direct victim, but concern is raised about potential victims e.g resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, loitering or rioting.
folk/mundane crime - a broad category ehereby persons are involved in actions that can arrange from minor rule violations e.g fishing without a license, to more serious violations eg load regulations on commercial vehicles
How can a mutation of the genetic component MAOA cause criminal behaviour?
It is an enzyme that is involves in regulating neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine (focus on this and link it to violent crime). Research has found that inheriting a low activity (meaning its not working well enough, therefore they have too much dopamine and need more extreme thrills such as sexually violent crimes, organised assault, rioting etc) MAOA gene is linked to criminal behaviour. This is referred to as MAOA-L the ‘warrior gene’ and only affects a minority of the population.
How could an absence of regulating the neurotransmitter dopamine increase the likelihood of criminal behaviour?
This is because its responsible for emotions ,motivation, attention, responsible for impulse control and an excess of this can cause irrational/dangerous behaviour since the dopamine receptors fire more often, therefore mundane things don’t give them a pleasure boost, invoking them to resort to extremes
Give an example of research that supports the MAOA-L gene mutation as an explanation for criminal behaviour
Brunner et al (1993) researched 3 males and females of one Dutch family. The males in the family had histories of mental retardation and crime such as attempted rape, violent outbursts and arson. Brunner et al hypothesised that it would be a depletion in MAOA activity that was linked to this behaviour so studied the MAOA activity in these members and compared it to the MAOA activity of a control group. They did this by conducting an analysis of 24 hour urine samples on the ppts to find any selective deficencys of enzymic activity of MAOA.
They found that the MAOA activity of the 3 females was what would be considered normal (between 80 and 90%) their activity closely matched that of a control group . However the males had significantly lower MAOA activity and, as a result abnormal levels of dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.
How does the CDH13 gene link to criminality?
CDH13 s a member of the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules and has been identified as a risk gene for ADHD depression, substance abuse, autism spectrum disorder and violent behaviour.
Give an example of research that supports the CDH13 gene as an explanation for criminal behaviour?
Tihonen et al (2015) compared CD13 and MAOA activity in violent criminals in Finland and compared to these non-violent criminals. Results revealed that a a MAOA low activity genotype as well as the CDH13 gene are associated with extremely violent (at least 10 committed homicides or batteries). No substantial signal was observed for either MAOA or CD13 among non-violent offenders, indicating that findings were specific for violent offending. These results indicate both low monoamine metabolism and neuronal membrane dysfunction as factors in extreme criminal violent behaviour.
Tihonen et al went on to conclude that at least 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the aforementioned MAOA and CD13 genotypes
‘Christopher is a convicted criminal. His mother wants to understand more about his criminality and understand if his upbringing is to blame for his behaviour. A psychologist informed her about biological explanations of criminality.’
Describe one biological explanation of criminal behaviour, making reference to Christopher in your response. (15 marks
One biological explanation of criminal behaviour is the genetic explanation, which argues that criminality can be inherited and that certain individuals may be biologically predisposed to antisocial or violent behaviour. According to this view, genes influence personality traits such as aggression, impulsivity and risk-taking — characteristics often linked to criminal acts.
A key gene associated with aggression and criminality is the MAOA gene, which codes for the enzyme monoamine oxidase A. This enzyme breaks down neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. When an individual possesses a low-activity variant of this gene (known as MAOA-L), their brain produces less of the enzyme, leading to higher levels of these neurotransmitters. This imbalance can make a person more prone to aggressive or impulsive reactions, which may increase the risk of criminal behaviour.
Brunner et al. (1993) provided early evidence for this explanation when studying a Dutch family in which several male members displayed violent and criminal behaviour, including arson and attempted rape. All affected men shared a mutation in the MAOA gene, resulting in extremely low MAOA activity. This suggests that their violent tendencies had a genetic origin.
More recently, Tiihonen et al. (2015) conducted a large-scale study of over 900 offenders in Finland and found that violent criminals were significantly more likely to carry the low-activity MAOA gene and another genetic variant affecting CDH13, a gene associated with impulse control and neural connectivity. The researchers estimated that these two genes together could explain around 5–10% of all severe violent crimes. This provides strong modern evidence for a genetic predisposition to criminality, showing that certain gene combinations can increase the likelihood of violent or antisocial behaviour.
However, genes do not determine behaviour entirely. Many researchers argue that genes interact with the environment in what is known as the diathesis-stress model. This means that a person may have a genetic vulnerability to aggression or criminality, but this will only be expressed if triggered by certain environmental stressors such as childhood abuse, neglect or social deprivation.
Applying this to Christopher, the psychologist might suggest that his criminal behaviour could be partly due to an inherited predisposition, such as carrying the low-activity MAOA gene. This could make him more impulsive, aggressive, or unable to control his emotions, leading to criminal acts. Although his mother believes his upbringing is to blame, the genetic explanation implies that biological factors may also have contributed to his behaviour. For instance, if Christopher experienced stressful or violent situations while growing up, these environmental factors could have interacted with his genetic vulnerability, triggering his criminal behaviour.
