Types of Offenders

Classifying the crimes and the criminals.

• Classifying crimes having its origin in
criminal law. The law differentiates
between crimes committed against the
person (that is, crimes of violence, such as
assault, murder, or sexual attacks), those
committed against property (burglary or
robbery), and crimes against the State. The
law thus attempts to classify the criminal
according to his act.
• Offender may fit into 3 categories: he may
kill and commit a burglary, thus committing
crimes against person and property
 Offender
• Offender is one who violates any law,
divine or human; a wrongdoer. Crime is
the breach of rules or laws for which
some governing authority (via
mechanisms such as legal systems) can
ultimately prescribe a conviction.
• A method for classifying offenders has
to be based upon personal or
psychiatric or psychological factors, or
situational environmental factors, or a
combination of both psychological and
situational elements.
Acute Vs Chronic Offender (Based on etiology)
• A person who commits only a
single crime differs in personality
make up from the one who
repeats a criminal act several
times or commits various crimes.
The classification must reflect
this, and the history of the
offender’s antisocial and criminal
behaviour will indicate whether
the person should be labeled an
acute (momentary) or a chronic
(habitual) offender.
• One way of classifying offenders is to divide them according to those
who commit crimes which are primarily directed against society
(manifest criminals, such as gangsters), and those who commit crimes
which primarily express their inner conflicts which are symptomatic
or reactive criminals, such as the kleptomaniac, pyromaniac, sex
offender, and a certain type of murderer. On the whole, individuals
suffering from a neurotic or psychotic condition or from a character
disturbance can also commit crimes which are mainly due to their
mental condition
Lombroso’s Classification
• Lombroso expounded a type of classification based upon different criminal
types. He divided criminals into:
1) The born criminal
2) The epileptic criminal
3) The criminal of irresistible passion
4) The insane and the feeble-minded criminal, including those of border-
line mentality
5) The occasional criminal.
The last group, that is the occasional criminal was subdivided into (i)
pseudocriminal, (ii) the criminaloid, and the (iii) persistent offender of
nonabnormal type.
• Enrico Ferri divided criminals into occasional offenders and
habitual offenders.
To the first group belonged those whose criminal acts were
due to external circumstances and who were driven to commit
crimes because of a special passion.
To the second group belonged those who were obviously
insane or mentally defective, and those mental deviates with inborn
criminal tendencies (the so called psychopaths), and finally the
persistent early offenders whose criminal behaviour was caused by
environmental elements.
Classification of Offenders:
1) Opportunist: An opportunist offender seeks out his victim’s regularly until caught.
2) Experimenter: This type of offenders abuses as a part of sexual exploitation.
3) Inadequate and opportunistic: This type of offender is mentally inadequate or has a
stunned mental development.
4) Pedophile: A pedophile has no sexual interest in adults and is sexually attracted to only
prepubescent children, under the age of thirteen.
5) Ephebophile: An ephebophile is sexually attracted to only post-pubescent children,
adolescents between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.
6) Pederast : This type of offender engages in anal intercourse with boys under the age of
eighteen.
7) Non exclusive: This type of offender is married or in a relationship with another adult
but clearly desires children sexually and uses every opportunity to find situations
where sexual contact with a child can happen.
8) Exclusive offender: This type of offender is attracted only to children.
9) Sex offenders: A sex offender is an individual who is either an ephebophile or a
pedophile.
1. Adult Offenders:
• Adult offenders refer to individuals who have reached the age of legal
adulthood, typically 18 years or older, and are involved in criminal
behavior. They can engage in a wide range of criminal activities,
including property crimes (such as theft, burglary, or fraud), violent
crimes (such as assault or homicide), drug-related offenses, white-
collar crimes, or organized criminal activities. Adult offenders may
have diverse motivations for their criminal behavior, including
financial gain, personal conflicts, substance abuse issues, or societal
and environmental factors.
2. Children in Conflict with the Law
• Children in conflict with the law, also referred to as juvenile offenders or
youthful offenders, are individuals who are below the age of legal
adulthood and engage in criminal behavior.
• Juvenile justice systems recognize the unique needs and developmental
characteristics of young offenders, focusing on rehabilitation rather than
punishment.
• Children in conflict with the law may be involved in various offenses,
ranging from minor delinquency (such as truancy or curfew violations) to
more serious crimes (such as theft, drug offenses, or violent offenses).
• Intervention and support systems aim to address the underlying causes of
their behavior and provide opportunities for rehabilitation, education, and
reintegration into society.
3. Recidivists:
• Recidivists are individuals who have been previously convicted of a crime
and subsequently reoffend, returning to the criminal justice system.
• They represent a particular subgroup of offenders who have a history of
repeated criminal behavior.
• Recidivism rates can vary based on factors such as the nature of the initial
offense, individual characteristics, access to support systems, and
effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts.
• Addressing recidivism often involves targeted interventions, such as
educational programs, vocational training, substance abuse treatment, and
community support to reduce the likelihood of reoffending
YOUNG AND ADULT OFFENDERS
• A young offender or juvenile offender is a person who has been
convicted or cautioned for a criminal offence.
• A Juvenile Delinquent is one who repeatedly commits crime. These
juvenile delinquents sometimes have mental disorders/behavioural
issues such as post traumatic stress disorder or bipolar disorder, and
are sometimes diagnosed with conduct disorder partially as a result
of their delinquent behaviours.
Young offenders may be broadly classified into two groups:

• those with a career of delinquency by the time they become adolescent, which is likely to continue into
adult crime; and
• those whose delinquency is temporary and confined to their adolescence.
Antecedents of antisocial and criminal behaviour
• punitive child-rearing practices and attitudes (including corporal punishment, strict discipline, authoritarian
attitudes);
• lack of love or rejection;
• laxness (poor monitoring, lack of supervision);
• family disruption (separations, divorce, instability, marital conflict);
• deviant parental characteristics (criminality, substance abuse, mental problems).
• Yoshikawa argues, juvenile delinquency is the product of the interaction of a multiplicity of factors occurring
in a number of settings-School, home and community.
• neurological and biological factors;
• the child has low cognitive ability as measured by low IQ or poor educational achievement;
• the child has a history of antisocial behaviour;
• parental substance abuse;
• violent or socially disorganised neighbourhoods;
• media violence.
Other Causative Conditions Leading to
Criminal Behaviour
• Lack of discipline at home and in school;
• Bad communication between parents and teenagers;
• Peer pressure;
• Violence at home;
• Money problems
• Poor housing;
• Instability;
• Low grades at school;
• Availability of drugs and alcohol;
• Bullying and alienation;
• Hyperactivity;
• Learning problems;
• Mental health problems.
Major predictors of antisocial personality at different ages
Continuity of childhood and adult
antisocial behaviour
• large family size;
• low family income;
• poor accommodation;
• criminal parent or siblings;
• poor parenting such as disinterest and inconsistent
discipline.
Social interventions to reduce delinquency

• The intervention should involve the groups of children most at risk of

delinquency/ antisocial behaviour. Children with low birth weight and
those living in low-income families are examples of this category.
• The intervention should take place between the prenatal stage (i.e.
prior to birth) and primary school entry.
• The researchers should study the effects of intervention on juvenile
delinquency or the risk factors for long-term juvenile delinquency.
• Educational programmes focusing on the children involved such provisions as part-time kindergarten or pre-
school of one sort or another. Although not all studies evaluated all possible outcomes, there was consistent
evidence that children receiving the educational intervention were cognitively (intellectually) more
advanced than those who did not.
• Parent-focused family support programmes involved matters such as regular home visits from a professional
in childcare. The results of these studies seem a little more varied and with mixed success. Some find
improvements in the intellectual functioning of children whose parent receives the intervention but others
show little difference. Parenting skills also showed mixed outcomes and there were few differences, if any,
between the children in terms of antisocial behaviour.
• Combined family support and early education. This group of studies showed the most promising outcomes
of all. Cognitive abilities of the children and parenting abilities were all improved. Most significantly in this
context, antisocial behaviour (aggressive and delinquent behaviour in the long term) was reduced by this
mixed intervention.
Young sex offenders
• The young sexual offenders had extensive previous histories of sexually abusing others. For example, young
sexual offenders brought to the attention of the authorities for the first time already had an average of
seven victims.
• Over a quarter of sexual offenders of 12 or more years of age had a previous history of sexually abusive acts.
The predictors of sexual offending included:
• early onset of sexually abusive behaviour;
• male victims;
• multiple victims;
• poor social skills.
• Farrington (1998) suggests that there are four major methods of crime prevention:
• Situational prevention which involves targeting the physical environment in which crime
takes place so as to make it difficult to commit a crime but at the same time making sure that the risks
of getting caught, for example, are maximised.
• The traditional criminal justice approach involving deterrents, incapacitation and
rehabilitation. For example, the prison service in the United Kingdom uses a variety of accredited
offending behaviour programmes. One targeted specifically at young offenders, given their typical
varied offence history, concentrates on factors such as criminal thinking and pro-social interpersonal
skills. Activities would include enhancing socio-moral reasoning, attempting impulsivity reduction,
challenging pro-offending cognitions and helping tackle substance use. Given the aggressiveness
common to this age group, anger management courses appear effective at reducing angry events as
measured from staff checklists by about a third or more (Ireland, 1999).
• The community prevention interventions which are designed to change social conditions
and institutions (e.g. families and parenting as we saw earlier).
• The final category of crime reduction strategy Farrington calls developmental prevention.
This involves tackling the risk factors involved in youthful criminality.
Specific explanations of antisocial behaviour in childhood

• Moral reasoning development

• This is the basis of Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1963, 1984). This theory extended
Piaget’s theory of cognitive stages in thinking (Piaget, 1970). Kohlberg argued that moral reasoning develops
in similar, relatively discrete stages. The stages differ – not in terms of what the moral decision is but the
reasons for that decision whatever the decision is. The earliest stage of moral development is known as the
‘preconventional level’. It is driven by external rewards and punishment and subdivided into two stages.
These follow, together with the remaining four stages:
• Stage 1 at which the moral task simply involves rule following and avoidance of punishment.
• Stage 2 involves reward gaining and exercising one’s own self-interest. The second stage is known
as the ‘conventional level’. The expectations of significant social groups and the values of others basically
govern this moral stage.
• Stage 3 is about obtaining social approval and good relations with other people.
• Stage 4 involves demonstrating respect for authority and doing one’s duty. The third level is known
as the ‘postconventional level’ as morality is governed not from the outside but by thought-out values and
beliefs.
• Stage 5 is based on social contracts that provide the principles on which communities can flourish.
• Stage 6 involves much more abstract principles.
• Numerous studies have demonstrated that delinquents tend to reason at lower levels than non-delinquents
do. It seems well established that there is a relationship between moral reasoning development delay and
delinquency (Blasi, 1980; Gibbs, 2003; Palmer, 2003). Those youngsters with less developed moral reasoning
are more likely to commit crimes.
Psychological model of aggression according to
Haapasalo and Tremblay (1994)
Five different types of offending career
Theft and other crimes against
property
• Property crime is the most common sort of crime but has been largely neglected in forensic
and criminal psychology perhaps because it is so common that it is, in a sense, normal
hence needing no special explanation. Two in every five males admit committing a property
crime such as theft, burglary and criminal damage at some time in their lives. Mostly the
crimes were thefts.
• One of the earliest psychological explanations of crime was the concept of kleptomania. It is
an impulse to steal without there being a need for the property or money and is said to be
associated with some form of positive emotion when committing the offence. However,
researchers have failed to find evidence of kleptomania in shoplifters. For example,
substantial numbers of shoplifting offences involve pairs or groups of individuals working
together. These could not be explained on the basis of kleptomania.
• Shoplifters tend to give different reasons for shoplifting than non-shoplifters use to explain
the crime. Non-shoplifters might suggest that shoplifters cannot afford to pay for the goods
whereas shoplifters actually are more likely to say that they do not want to pay. It has been
suggested that cultural factors may be involved in shoplifting.
• Burglary has a strong connection with drug use. There is a range of explanations of these
links such as drug users may associate with criminals so are more likely to get involved in
crime. However, the need for finance seems to be an important motive. There is evidence
that property offences are more common when supplies of drugs are scarce and they are
more expensive as a consequence. There is also evidence that being on methadone support
therapy, which helps heroin addicts come off of the drug, is associated with a reduction in
property crime.
Violent offenders