Sarnoff Mednick and Jan Volavka in 1980 in the University of Chicago Press publi

Question

Sarnoff Mednick and Jan Volavka in 1980 in the University of Chicago Press publication Crime andJustice: Biology and Crime, Volume 2, noted that research into biological factors in the etiology of crime has long been out of favor in the United States. Yet all human behavior is partly the result of physiological causes, and it is a reasonable hypothesis that both nature and nurture influence antisocial behavior. Recent research has tested that hypothesis and results seem to confirm it. A growing body of research has consistently found that identical twins are likelier both to have criminal records than are fraternal twins.

Adoption studies have found that, controlling for the criminality of the adoptive parents, adopted children whose biological parents had criminal records are likelier themselves to have criminal records than are adopted children of noncriminal biological parents. Psychophysiological studies of the autonomic nervous system, primarily using skin conductance measures, suggest that repetitively antisocial people tend to have low arousal levels and slow skin conductance recovery. These factors may play a role in learning to avoid antisocial behavior. The consensus of neurophysiological research findings is that criminals' electroencephalograms (EEG) are more often abnormal than are those of noncriminals and that there is some slowing of EEG frequency in habitual offenders. Research into the relations among epilepsy, EEG, and aggression has produced no clear consensus. There are similarities in the skin conductance and EEG research: both slow alpha frequencies and diminished skin conductance responsiveness are associated with low arousal states.

There is no question that biochemical and pharmacological factors contribute to antisocial behavior, but the extent of their contribution, relative to social and other environmental factors, is unclear. Drugs and other endogenous materials are not intrinsically criminogenic but elicit antisocial behavior under particular cultural, social, and personal circumstances. Taken together, research into the relation between biology and crime leaves no doubt that social and biological variables, and their interactions, are important to our understanding of the origins of antisocial behavior.

It is now 2015. Based your readings, should more attention be given to researching the biological aspect of crime causation? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

Given the exisiitng research strongly indicating the role of biological factors in criminal behavior, definitely the biological aspects of crime should be studied. The justification for this is even stronger becuase it is 2015 and we exisit in an era of genetic engineering that offer the potential for enabling us to modify genes of live individuals. And the medical science and technology is achieving newer and higher milestones at a very fast pace. More refined knowledge of various biological and physiological factors may soon be controlled and modifiable thus reducing the increasing menace of criminal behavior.

More extensive and fine knowledge of biological factors may help identify potential criminals in the early phases of their life. this in turn would make it easier to start the intervention (biological as well as psycholocial) intervention at earlier point of time thus increasing the efficacy of treatment.

Intractable criminals may benefit by more sophiticated and comprehensive treatment including medical plus psychosocial interventions thus increasing the chances of imporvement

Increasing our overall competence, as a society, in handling crime becomes very important today in the light of increasing sophiticaiton of weapons and instruments of crime and the scope of social damage that a criminal can cause to our society and institution. Increasing connectedness of world due to internet may pose a great threat of larger crimes (incuding financial crimes) challenges of controlling the crime on the part of nations.

Therefore more research into understanding the biological aspects of criminal behavior could significanltly add to our means to control crime effectively.

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