NCJ Number
71010
Editor(s)
C R Jeffery
Date Published
1979
Length
160 pages
Annotation
For criminology students and professionals, this text contains essays concerning biology and crime written by scholars from various disciplines.
Abstract
The potential for controlling violence through such physiological techniques as brain lesions, brain stimulation, hormonal control, and pharmaceutical control will probably be ineffective against the nonemotional motivations of enemies in wartime, although such techniques have shown some success with individual offenders. The results of a study on the criminal careers of sociopaths over a 10-year period offer evidence that typologies of persistently antisocial individuals can be constructed and implemented. Whether their problems can be linked to biological abnormalities must wait for further studies. More research is also needed to determine whether learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency can be linked. Evidence correlating these two phenomena cannot be ignored; however, as previous studies have shown that maladaptive behavior patterns start early in the educational careers of young students with learning disabilities. Other articles discuss the effect of social causes on the internal biochemical environment, the psychobiology of punishment and deterrence, the interface between biology and politics, and the future of psychiatric criminology. References complement each chapter along with occasional tables and diagrams.