...Betty Waltermire JUS-250 Critical Issues in Criminal Justice March 21, 2014 Biology, Bad Genes: A Relationship for Crime Every hour of every day is the time it takes for two citizens to die due to violence. During the same time 250 citizens will need medical attention for an injury related to violence. With each passing hour the cost mounts, on average over a million dollars for each violent fatality and several tens of thousands for each non-fatal assault. These figures are enormous compared to other health issues of this century (Buckholtz, 2012). There is little effort on the aims of scientist and criminal law that would have them working together and that is treading cautiously. Brain Imaging has come into light in the past decade or two that shows structural and functional deficiencies in the frontal and temporal lobes. These frontal and temporal lobes regulate aggression. Some say there is a gene some call the “warrior gene” which is aggressive. The actual name is MAOA. Some are using this as a defense when a person is being tried for a violent crime. Also research of violent and aggressive psychopathic individuals have proven that several biological markers do exist and these are; lowered heart rate, abnormal EEG, multiple abnormalities in right temporal lobes and greater abnormalities in left temporal lobes. Scientist have also discovered prefrontal damage encourages; risk taking, irresponsibility...
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...STAGE 2 BIOLOGY ASSESSMENT TYPE 1: Investigations Folio Issues Investigation Human Awareness Essay – Source Analysis Should all babies be DNA fingerprinted at birth? Article to be evaluated: Website: Genetics and Public Issues – ELSI (Ethical, Legal and Social Issues) – http://darwin.nmsu.edu/ Reliability: This source is a reliable one as it was developed by Dr. Clay Dillingham and Dr. Susan Root. They are professionals, educated in the technique and knowledgeable about the subject with years of experience as scientists in the field. Therefore it is expected to have some reliability. Bias: This article presents both the advantages and disadvantages of the topic of storing everyone’s DNA sequences and is not biased in either direction. It gives the scientific facts and procedures of DNA fingerprinting and continues to give the good effects and also the issues it would cause in the public. It explains how DNA fingerprinting would benefit us, referring to the solving of criminal offenses, detection of possible future diseases of the subject, clues about possible behavioral traits, and other medical information. This is the positive side. The article also discusses the negative side and questions the accessibility of the DNA fingerprints and the information they hold. The effects on the public if the information was misused are discussed including the impact on individuals in relation to seeking insurance policies...
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...tiny specs of blood spatter are all alone in the back seat of the same car, and a half smoked cigarette rests softly on a freshly mowed lawn next to the driveway. These are clues of a crime scene. Each clue adds up to the story of something terrible. A crime has taken place, and law enforcement is on the scene. Whether it is a detective, county Sheriff or the FBI, the investigators will rely on their forensic teams to link all the pieces of the puzzle that don’t quite fit yet. A Forensic Chemist can make them fit by scientifically analyzing the evidence. Chemistry, biology, materials science, and genetics to analyze clue found at the scene of the crime, on the victims or in the bodies of the bad guys. Forensic Chemists go into a case with many unknow pieces of the crime scene they need to analyze to determine the nature of each sample. Most Forensic Chemists work in a lab. It is rare for private labs to do this kind of work so most of the time these labs are associated with Local, State, or Federal law enforcement agencies. From local Medical Examiner’s labs to state of the art FBI labs, Forensics Chemists often provide the strongest evidence in court against the defendants. They have many different types of test and methods they use to figure out what the samples mean. Each crime scene brings new types of clues and samples so a Forensic Chemist must always be thinking of ways to analyze the evidence. Some of the more common test for optical testing, X-ray spectroscopy...
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...In Heather MacDonald’s article “Distorting the Truth About Crime and Race: The New York Times Is at It Again” she alludes that the New York Times is not keeping the public informed of crime rates. Instead, the Times is more interested with “giving specific racial breakdowns of every aspect of police behavior”(MacDonald). She feels that the New York City Police Department is unable to do their job without having to face allegations of racial disparity. Ms. MacDonald indicates that the reason crime rates are higher amongst minorities than whites is not because of racial prejudices. She says it’s because the vast majority of crimes occur in minority neighborhoods by minority criminals against minority victims. Therefore, this drives police officers to those areas to arrest the individuals committing crimes. In 1994, under the New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the proactive policing revolution began. The idea was to remain visible in so called hot spot areas to help prevent crime from occurring. This gave police officers the authority to question anyone that appeared suspicious. According to MacDonald, due to the implementation of this policy “over 10,000 black and Hispanic males are alive today who would have been dead,” but this type of information does not make front page news. It appears that information concerning the positives associated with proactive policing is another issue Ms. MacDonald feels is not being reported...
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...In Heather MacDonald’s article “Distorting the Truth About Crime and Race: The New York Times Is at It Again” she alludes that the New York Times is not keeping the public informed of crime rates. Instead, the Times is more interested with “giving specific racial breakdowns of every aspect of police behavior”(MacDonald). She feels that the New York City Police Department is unable to do their job without having to face allegations of racial disparity. Ms. MacDonald indicates that the reason crime rates are higher amongst minorities than whites is not because of racial prejudices. She says it’s because the vast majority of crimes occur in minority neighborhoods by minority criminals against minority victims. Therefore, this drives police officers to those areas to arrest the individuals committing crimes. In 1994, under the New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the proactive policing revolution began. The idea was to remain visible in so called hot spot areas to help prevent crime from occurring. This gave police officers the authority to question anyone that appeared suspicious. According to MacDonald, due to the implementation of this policy “over 10,000 black and Hispanic males are alive today who would have been dead,” but this type of information does not make front page news. It appears that information concerning the positives associated with proactive policing is another issue Ms. MacDonald feels is not being reported...
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...Research Proposal Topic : Sections and services of crime laboratory Date : 2016.01.13 Table of contents Contents page 1. Introduction………………………………………………………3 2. History and background ….……………………………………...3 3. Aim and Objective……………………………………………….4 4. The role of crime laboratories……………………………………4 5. Research tools * Budget…………………………………………..…………5 * Data collection and analysis……………………….……...5 * Work plan………………………………………….……...5 6. Limitations and Conclusion………………………………..…….6 7. Reference……………………………………………..………….6 1. Introduction Crime laboratory is one of the most valuable tool for a crime investigator. It is a scientific lab using primarily forensic sciences for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases. It provides answers to some or all the questions asked such as how the crime was committed, who committed it, and can also determine whether a crime has been committed or not. The crime laboratory seek answers for the questions mentioned above through scientific analysis of physical material collected primarily from the scene of a crime, suspect or the person affected. It provides an even more integrated approach to the analysis of exhibits and the presentation of expert evidence. Generally the aim of the crime laboratory is to effectively prevent and combat crime. 2. History and background of crime laboratory The Forensic Science Laboratory of the South African Police...
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...“Crime is the result of individual behaviour, rather than the product of a socialisation process” Discuss. For decades sociologists from around the world have been debating what factors lead people to commit crime. Some have deduced that individual behaviour is the primary factor while others have concluded that crime is more the product of a socialisation process. In order to understand this contentious issue it is necessary to consider the credibility of a number of theories: physiological, psychological, right realism, Marxism, subculturalism, and left realism. Through the analysis of these theories, a conclusion will then be arrived at as to whether individual behaviour, rather than the socialisation process, is the main cause of crime. Physiological theories focus on the relationship between a person’s biology and crime. Therefore, this theoretical area of study clearly links the individual to crime. Today, a number of criminologists continue to support physiological explanations, even though, historically, many of theories linked to physiology have been disproved. Anne Moir and David Jessel are two such theorists who have proposed a link between biology and crime. They have suggested that a low IQ (which can be inherited) leads to impulsive behaviour, which may in turn lead a person to be more likely to commit crime. Moir and Jessel also claim that there is a link between crime and hormonal differences which make males more aggressive than females and therefore...
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...Criminal Justice System Lori Labrecque CJA/204 February 9, 2015 Robert Bradley The criminal justice system has goals that it tries to achieve. The criminal justice system is to respond in the name of society when there is a crime that has been committed. Crime is a harmful act or omission against the public, which the State wishes to prevent and, upon conviction, is punishable by fine, imprisonment, and/or death. (Burton, 2007) No conduct constitutes a crime unless it is declared criminal in the laws of the country. Some crimes (such as theft or criminal damage) may also be civil wrongs for which the victims may claim damages in compensation. (Burton, 2007) Laws are defined as a set of rules, regulations and principles that follow how society runs. Crime cannot be prevented, laws are meant to create order; order is necessary so that individuals in society know what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior socially and morally. Individuals know that if they do not stay in the bounds of acceptable behavior that there will be consequences of varying severity in response to their actions. These consequences act as deterrents but are meant to further remind us not to repeat that action or behavior. These consequences also reinforce others on what would happen to them should they engage in criminal acts. The two most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal are the consensus model and the conflict model. The consensus model consists of the agencies...
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...DNA in Forensic Science DNA is the carrier of genetic information in humans and other living organisms. It has become a very useful tool in forensic science since it was discovered. In forensic science, DNA testing is used to compare the genetic structure of two individuals to establish whether there is a genetic relationship between them. One example of the use of DNA in forensic science that is important in biology today is comparing a suspect’s DNA profile to DNA that was discovered at a crime scene. This can be done by DNA fingerprinting or by collection of body fluids, such as saliva, semen, urine, blood, skin and hair, found at the scene. Secondly, DNA testing can rule out possible suspects as well. DNA testing can be used to free individuals...
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...As a crime scene investigator, there are many different specializations you can branch off into. For example, one person in this job field could specialize in photography and their job would be to take pictures of the crime scene and of the evidence, and another person could specialize in computer science and they would try to collect data based on factual information. The focus of this essay is someone specializing in science. This person would collect and analyze evidence, prepare reports, interview suspects and witnesses after examining the crime scene and more along these lines. Some skills that are necessary to complete these tasks are attention to detail, great oral and written communication skills, knowledgeable, strong stomach, problem...
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...14 December 2014 Blood and Guns The world of Forensic Scientist is an amazing and fascinating place. There are so many aspects that go into forensic science but in this paper we are only covering bloodstain spatter patterns. Bloodstain spatter patterns are not solely used to solve crimes but I do feel it is one of the most important. Bloodstains never lie. A bullet is traveling at its fastest speed when it leaves the barrel of the gun. Bullets traveling after firing is said to be using kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy the bullet has due to its motion from the firing pin striking the gun powder causing an explosion that forced the bullet to discharge from the barrel. Now this bullet possess kinetic energy and will do harm to anything lying within its targeted path. (Kinetic Energy website) The kinetic energy given to bullets fried from rifles will be a higher velocity then that of a pistol or shot gun. Rifles barrels are longer and constructed to with stand more pressure and thus leading to a greater velocity of kinetic energy on a bullet (Warlow 67). Death can occur from firing a bullet straight up in the air. When the bullet is returning to the earth due to the gravitational pull it will pick up velocity. However the bullet can return either base or head side up (89). Powders also have different burning rates for different guns. When you have a longer barrel your burning rate of powder will be longer but if your barrel is shorter then you will have a faster...
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...able to distinguish between individuals due to the presence of specific sequences within the non-coding region of the genome known as satellite DNA. This satellite DNA consists of long stretches of DNA made up of repeating base sequences known as short tandem repeats (STR). These STRs considerably vary in length between individuals, particularly between unrelated individuals, allowing exact individuals to be identified. One major use of DNA fingerprinting is in crime scene investigations in order to identify suspects or also victims based on DNA samples from blood or hair present in the crime scene. Another use is in paternity testing that compares the DNA of the mother and offspring to the potential fathers in order to identify the father. The first step in DNA fingerprinting involves isolating DNA from a tissue sample such as blood or hair. Very often, particularly when tissue samples are obtained from crime scenes, the amount of DNA available for DNA fingerprinting is extremely small. Fortunately, a molecular biology technique known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) allows the DNA sample to be amplified considerably. In essence, this technique is an artificial version of DNA replication. The DNA sample is firstly added to a mixture of DNA nucleotides and DNA polymerase that is then heated 95°C. This high temperature breaks the hydrogen bonds holding the two strands of DNA together. The sample DNA is now single stranded. Short sequences of DNA known as primers are then added...
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...They typically research the following questions when evaluating violence: what causes a person to have violent outbursts? Is being violent a mental impairment, illness, or disorder? Are we predisposed to criminality by some trait or gene? Is there something subconsciously inside of humanity that makes an individual violent? Do we live in a world where we can control the antisocial behavior of our children by taking care of our bodies when pregnant? Alternatively, is the environment a place where individuals learn to be violent? In 1977, George Engel wrote an essay advocating a new model of crime identified as the biopsychosocial model (Nordstrom, 2011). This model integrates “the biological view of the subject, their psychological state of mind, and the social background in which they occur” (Nordstrom, 2011). One single element does not cause violence, but a combination of biology, psychology, and sociology serve as precursors to potential violence (Nordstrom, 2011). Many criminologists speculate the reasons of personal and...
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...1. Describe the different models/eras of the Juvenile Justice System and which model to you agree with and why? The Juvenile Justice System has been marked by many shifts in thinking concerning how to treat juveniles. Before the twentieth century, Juveniles were considered property and were treated the same as adults in the criminal justice system. The move away from viewing children just as property to viewing them as those in need of protection happened during Europe’s Renaissance period. The Industrial Revolution brought early child labor laws and programs designed to alleviate the ill of urbanization are precursors to the juvenile justice system of today. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century the concept of rehabilitation began in puritan America. In 1823, houses of refuge were created to take in all children who were neglected, abused, or delinquent. The concepts of parens patriae and in loco parentis served as the foundation for interventions such as houses of refuge. Into the late 1800’s and early 1900’s a call for reform led to the creation of the juvenile justice system in the United States by the child savers. The early Juvenile Justice system was founded on the belief that the state could and should as in loco parentis under parens patriae. In the late nineteenth century the juvenile justice system’s purpose was to determine cause, diagnose illness, and prescribe treatment. The Juvenile Justice system became part of the United States legal system with the passage...
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...Are Humans Biologically Predisposed to be Violent? Name Institution Are Humans Biologically Predisposed to be Violent? Introduction Violence has become a serious concern in this century. Close to 1.6 million people die from violence-related crimes. Thus, prevention of cruelty has prompted serious attention (Krug et al., 2002). Psychologists aimed at finding the causes and methods of intervention have carried several researches. These studies have shown different results. While some have associated violence with genetic makeup, others have dissociated the role of genes. Studies were disputing the role of genes with violence hold that cruelty is prompted by social factors such as child abuse, poverty, and unemployment. This paper holds that humans are biologically predisposed to be violent. Two natural constants support that violence is a predisposition of biology. First, men have been found to be most likely to be violent than women. For instance, men commit 85% of all violent-related crimes in the US. Secondly, young people are more predisposed than aged people are. The effects of biological makeup in stimulating violence have been conducted in animals and human beings (Miczek et al., 1994). Consequently, four theories have revealed that humans are biologically predisposed to be violent. These include the evolution theory, biosocial theory, and the intensity of hormones. Moreover, brain functioning or dysfunction is a biological cause of aggression. All these...
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