Violent Offenses Articles

• Why People Become Violent (Part 1)
• Why People Become Violent (Part 2)
• Ritualistic Violence
• Responding To Media Reports of Violence
• Extreme Violence
• Workplace Violence
• Why Are Homicide Rates Up In America?
• Street Robberies
• Hopelessness & Violence
• Sexual Value Systems & Violence

All Criminology Articles

What Are Violent Crimes?

Violent crimes such as assault and battery, rape/sexual assault, and homicide, tend to be those offenses that both individuals and the Criminal Justice System (CJS) take more seriously, as they involve psychological, emotional, and physical harm against the person, unlike most property crimes etc. Violent crimes are often categorized as being either proactive, asocial, and premeditated acts or reactive, social and spontaneous acts. In the former category, proactive and premeditated violence is that where there is a level and degree of pre-planning and preparation i.e., those incidents where a predatory individual comes to a situation, or orchestrates, deliberately manipulates, it in order to use violence or the threat of violence etc., whereas the latter classification (spontaneous violence) refers to those events where an individual becomes aggressive in response to something that has happened to them. An example of a premeditated/proactive act of violence would be that of a street robbery where an offender deliberately targets and approaches somebody with the goal of victimizing them. An example of a spontaneous act of violence would be one, where an individual becomes angry after somebody spills a drink over them. The CJS, tends to deal with premeditated violent offenses more harshly than spontaneous ones, even when the actual crime committed is the same e.g., a partner who finds their partner in bed with another person and shoots them in the moment (a crime of “passion”), tends to be dealt with more leniently than one who plans and prepares to kill their partner’s lover over a period of time, before shooting them i.e., they are proactive rather than reactive.

Premeditated acts of violence may also be sub-categorized as being instrumental or expressive. Instrumental Violence is used to accomplish a goal, such as a street-robber using the threat of physical force to acquire money or goods from those they victimize. Expressive aggression and violence, lacks a tangible goal, and is used to satisfy a personal desire or frustration e.g., A serial killer, such as Ted Bundy, didn’t kill in order to obtain money from his victims, instead he was motivated by desire/need to kill, that allowed him to express his sexual urges, rage, and need for power and control etc. In one regard this makes all violence “instrumental” to some degree, as although Ted Bundy didn’t materially benefit from killing his victims, the killings did meet and achieve certain needs and desires he had i.e., the violence was instrumental.

By and large it is impossible to predict spontaneous/reactive acts of violence, as they occur without planning, however there may be locations such as certain bars and pubs, where people who are predisposed to using violence may spend their time, and so avoiding such places may reduce the risk of saying or doing something which may result in an individual’s responding violently to. Or, inadvertently, wearing a certain sport team’s top/shirt at a bar where a large number of a rival team’s supporters drink etc. may also increase an individual’s chance of being involved in a spontaneous act of violence etc. Most spontaneous acts of violence are dealt with using de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques etc. However, premeditated acts of violence are unlikely to be successfully dealt with using these methods/tactics as they have predetermined outcomes and goals e.g., a mugger has decided that they will walk away with their victim’s wallet and is not going to be talked out of it. Premeditated violence is best avoided through identification, prediction, and avoidance.

References

Felson, R. B. (2006). ‘Violence as Instrumental Behavior’ in: E. K. Kelloway, J. Barling, & J. J. Hurrell, Jr. (eds) Handbook of workplace violence: 7–28

Raine, A., Dodge, K., Loeber, R., Gatzke‐Kopp, L., Lynam, D., Reynolds, C., Stouthamer‐Loeber, M., & Liu, J. (2006). The reactive–proactive aggression questionnaire: differential correlates of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent boys. Aggressive Behavior 32(2): 159-171.

van den Haag E., & Conrad J.P. (1983). ‘Crimes of Passion’ In: van den Haag E., & Conrad J.P. (eds) The Death Penalty. Springer, Boston, MA