John Wayne Gacy – criminological theories

John Wayne Gacy is one of the most infamous serial killers in American history. During a seven year span of the 1970s, Gacy murdered 33 men. As is the case with many high profile murderers, to the average person, one would have to be insane to commit such acts, which is what Gacy’s defense claimed. … Read more

Is There a Better Alternative to Capital Punishment?

In April 2014, an Oklahoma death row inmate suffered 40 minutes of suffering agony after being injected with a serum that was supposed to cause a quick and painless death.  Instead, Clayton Lockett writhed on the gurney in agony while in front of petrified witnesses and then even gasped and spoke after being pronounced unconscious … Read more

Experience of girls in the justice system

There exist different approaches concerning the judicial response to juvenile delinquency. While girls have historically made up a small percentage of the juvenile justice population, offending by girls is on the rise. Not only is the overall number of juvenile delinquency cases for non-violent crimes on the rise, girls are accounting for a larger proportion … Read more

Lighting improvements to encourage street usage and improve natural security surveillance

Lighting improvements may encourage increased street usage and intensifies natural security surveillance.  The change in routine activity patterns will reduce crime because it increases the flow of potentially guardians who can intervene to prevent crime (Cohen & Felson, 1979).  From the potential criminal’s perspective, the proximity of other pedestrians acts as a deterrent since the … Read more

Causes of Individuals Engaging in Criminal Activity

A Proposal to Research of What the Causes are of Individuals Engaging in Criminal Activity, and Are the Necessary Steps Taken Within the Criminal Justice System to Address the Underlying Issue? Section I. Introduction Section II. Literature Review There are many reasons why people commit crimes whether it’s mental, economical, or even environmental. These factors … Read more

Eysenck’s theory on why criminals chose to commit crimes

Personality is a term used to address a person’s characteristics which controls their consistent thinking, behaviours and thoughts (Pervin, Cervone and John, 2005). Most of what makes a person different to others isn’t by their looks but their fingerprint personality, no two people are the same in the way they think, feel and behave, unless … Read more

How genetics and the environment correlate to a person’s anti-social behavior

Abstract Psychologists have been for the past years interested in establishing the relationship between nature and how people are nurtured. The reason for this interest was to establish whether criminal behavior is determined by a person’s environment or their genetic composition.  Studies have been conducted in regards to this ongoing debate which has given the … Read more

Contemporary Issues in Forensic Investigations

Introduction A Senior Investigating officer (SIO) is the detective in charge of a team of specialist officers and staff that investigate serious crimes, such as homicide, rxxe, and kidnapping. A SIO has a lot more issues than just catching the offender nowadays (Cook & Tattersall 2010). Major investigations have become more challenging with the rise … Read more

Antisocial personality disorders and serial killing

Introduction Anti-social personality disorders are prevalent and believed to be linked to serial killing among other mental problems. However, there are still various debates on anti-social personality disorder as a psychological condition that causes one not to have any regard for wrong. Individuals with this condition are characterized by some traits that involve violence and … Read more