INHERITED CRIMINALITY AO3

• SUPPORT FOR THE INHERITED CRIMINALITY

  Inherited gene argument that proposes that one or more genes predisposes individuals to criminal behaviour
• Brunner (1993) study


  • Found the shortened version of the MAOA gene in the men of a family in the Netherlands
  • All the male family members had this genetic defect
  • Their behaviour was aggressive when they were under threat, frightened, angry, or frustrated
  • They demonstrated behaviours such as impulsive aggression, arson, attempted etc.
• Dysfunction of the MAOA gene

  Aggressive behaviour
• MAOA gene


  Predisposes an individual to criminal behaviour due to more aggressive and delinquent tendencies
• Lack of MAOA gene


  Excessive neurotransmitters which results in violent tendencies
• The Brunner (1993) study may not be as reliable due to a small sample size (5 men) making it difficult to apply this study to the general population
• AGAINST INHERITED CRIMINALITY


  (Refutes H.G. Brunner 1993) The MAOA gene can only attempt to explain aggression in those individuals who possess the shortened version of the gene. This is thought to be one third of the men in Western populations. This means that aggression in two thirds of men and most women cannot be accounted for in this way.
• methodological issue


  One methodological issue of this explanation is that it is very difficult to separate out the influence of nature vs. nurture. This is a criticism as it is very difficult to establish cause and effect with nature based arguments. Environmental factors will always contribute to levels of criminality. For example, working-class people tend to commit crimes such as robbery, theft. This is probably because of poverty factors rather than genetic predispositions.
• Criminal behaviour includes theft, fraud, drug use, bigamy-all non-violent
• Most crimes committed are non-violent (theft being the most common crime)
• Genetic explanations have limited value on our understanding of criminal behaviour
• Genetic explanations are only applicable to a very small proportion of criminals
• We must be cautious and not over estimate the importance of genetic explanations for criminal behaviour
• Genetic explanations are presented as if the genes a person is born with determine later behaviour and that individuals have no free will
• Criminality cannot be 100% explained in terms of genetics
• Tihonen et al (2015) found


  Those with the defective gene were 13 times more likely to have a history of repeated violent behaviour, but this means that not everyone with the gene had become a criminal
• Determinism poses a problem as this could be used as a defensive argument for people's behaviour which could have implications for the legal system
• Genetic explanations reduce the complex nature of criminal behaviour to simplistic neurological factors and only focus on violent crimes so cannot explain more common crimes, such as theft
• According to a survey, 80% of crimes were recorded in the most deprived areas in London (March 2020-February 2021)
• Poverty could be a significant explanation for criminal behaviour which criticises the biological explanation