Characterisitcs of criminal behaviour

• The specific characteristics of ‘criminal behaviour’ are difficult to define, as there are many different types of crime and criminal behaviour which are bound to the laws of each society. 
• These laws and definitions also change over time.
• One thing that all criminal behaviours have in common is that the behaviour has a detrimental or harmful effect (physical, psychological, financial etc) on a victim, and the person committing the crime (the perpetrator) knows that what they are doing is wrong or illegal.
• Unlike disorders such as schizophrenia, which have specific diagnostic criteria to exemplify the characteristics, the characteristics of criminal behaviour have tended to be identified and linked to specific criminal acts; many of which are abhorrent even to just read about.
•  Most research relating to the characteristics of the people who have displayed criminal behaviour has investigated the shared characteristics of people who have committed similar crimes. Not surprisingly, psychological research in this field has been directed mostly to the most heinous of criminal acts, such as serial murder and rape.
• General Crime

  Farr and Gibbons (1990) identified 7 types of crime:

  Property predatory crime

  Property fraudulent crime

  Interpersonal violence general

  Interpersonal violence sexual

  Transactional vice

  Order disruption

  Folk/mundane crime
• Property predatory crime

  Persons involved in attempting to or actually taking the personal property of others without permission e.g. robbery
• Property fraudulent crime

  Persons involved in deceit/manipulation with purpose of converting property or services of others to their own e.g. fraud, bribery.
• Interpersonal violence general

  Persons are involved in actions that threaten or cause actual personal harm e.g. murder, assault
• Interpersonal violence sexual

  Persons involved in actions that threaten or cause actual personal harm and contain a sexual element e.g. rape, incest
• Transactional vice

  Persons involved in actions in 'victimless' offences where there is a willing exchange of goods/services e.g. prostitution, drug sales
• Order disruption

  Persons involved in actions with no direct victim but concern 

  is raised about potential victims e.g loitering, rioting
• Folk/mundane crime

  Persons involved in actions ranging from minor violations e.g unlicensed fishing, to more serious e.g. load restrictions, commercial vehicles
• Robert Ressler, an investigator based in the F.B.I.’s Behavioral Science Unit, coined the term ‘serial murder’ in the 1970s. Although the depiction of serial killers is common in the media, serial killings are thought to account for less than 2% of all actual murder cases.
• Holmes and Holmes (2002) reported that many serial killers shared the characteristics of being white, male and between the ages of 25-34. They also tended to be intelligent or at least ‘street smart’ and were considered to be ‘charming and charismatic’.
• They also noted there were different subtypes of serial killer, these are; the visionary killer, the missionary killer, the hedonistic killer and the power control killer
• Visionary serial killers are motivated to kill by voices or visions. These individuals can be both lucid and then on occasion also lose touch with reality. They frequently report that their actions are due to orders from God or the Devil. During the commission of their crime, they usually kill quickly and don’t engage in ‘staging’ at crime scenes. They are usually declared insane or incompetent to stand trial. For example, the Son of Sam
• Mission serial killers believe they have a calling to eliminate a certain group of people. This sort of killer is in touch with reality apart from their self-imposed need to eradicate certain groups. In the commission of their crimes, the mission serial killer may stalk a potential victim and generally display an organised typology. For example the Unabomber
• Hedonistic serial killers have two subtypes, lust/thrill and comfort orientated. For the lust/thrill killer, there is an established link between sexual gratification and violence, for them murder is erotic. The lust/thrill killer tends to have a distinct process that they follow, and the crimes are protracted. The comfort-orientated killer kills for personal gain, such as property or money. They are the only type of serial killer where the perpetrator is more likely to be female. They tend to be geographically mobile, and hence hard to catch. An example of a lust killer is Jeffery Dahmer
• Power-control serial killers derive sexual gratification from dominating and controlling the life of another. They may be a sociopath and they choose to live by their own rules, but they are aware of the norms and values of the society in which they live. This serial killer tries to derive the most gratification by prolonging their crimes and although they may use weapons, they often experience a strong compulsion to strangle their victims. An example of this type of killer is Ted Bundy
• Characteristics of serial killers are far from definitive, and there is evidence of contradictory characteristics.

  For example, Holmes and Holmes note that serial killers are ‘intelligent or street smart’. On the other hand, other researchers such as Aamodt (2012) noted that the mean IQ of serial killers was recorded at 95.1 (just below average), but there was also a range from 57 to 165. This suggests that the IQ distribution of serial murderers can be just as dispersed as the general population.
• There is no generic profile of a serial murderer
• Traits common to some serial murderers

  • Sensation seeking
  • Consistent with the psychopathic personality disorder
• Psychopathy


  A personality disorder manifested in people who use a mixture of charm, manipulation, intimidation, and occasionally violence to control others, to satisfy their own selfish needs
• All psychopaths do not become serial murderers
• In a report of the Serial Murder Symposium held in 2005, Robert Morton (Eds) noted that:

  Attendees … agreed that there is no generic profile of a serial murderer. Serial killers differ in many ways, including their motivations for killing and their behaviour at the crime scene. However, attendees did identify certain traits common to some serial murderers, including sensation seeking,These traits and behaviours are consistent with the psychopathic personality disorder…
• In a report of the Serial Murder Symposium held in 2005, Robert Morton (Eds) noted that:

  Psychopathy is a personality disorder manifested in people who use a mixture of charm, manipulation, intimidation, and occasionally violence to control others, in order to satisfy their own selfish needs…All psychopaths do not become serial murderers. Rather, serial murderers may possess some or many of the traits consistent with psychopathy. Psychopaths who commit serial murder do not value human life and are extremely callous in their interactions with their victims.’