CJ 725 Forensic Behavior Analysis Blog

Cultural Competency and Trauma in Criminal Justice

Cultural competency is an important factor in dealings with any populations with racial, ethnic, or religious considerations. “Cultural and linguistic competencies is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations.” (Rousseau, 2018). Though I cannot speak specifically regarding all cultures, I can speak about the unique cultural considerations of the Indigenous people in the United States and Canada.

Indigenous people in the U.S. and Canada have a long history of abuse and traumatic events but what many people do not realize is that this trauma has impacted all generations. Historical trauma is the “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding across generations, including the lifespan, which emanates from massive group trauma.” (delVecchio, 2015). The trauma is passed down from one generation to the next through storytelling, physical and emotional abuse, and addiction. Many people are aware of some of the more prominent instances of injustices to the indigenous people, including colonialism, the Trail of Tears, and Wounded Knee. However, history books often overlook one of the darkest and most impactful periods in Native history – the residential school era.

Residential schools came about as a way to assimilate indigenous communities to a more European lifestyle. One of the more famous schools was the Carlisle Indian School whose founder, Lt. Richard Pratt, came up with the motto “Kill the Indian to Save the Man” (Pember, 2017). Native children were taken away from their families, usually by force, and housed in the residential schools for most of the year. The long hair of the boys, an important symbol in Native culture, was cut short, the children were forbidden to speak their language, abused physically and sexually, forcefully sterilized, and malnourished. Many children died, their deaths often not being reported to their families until long after, and they were buried in unmarked graves. It is estimated that about 6,000 children died in the residential schools in Canada alone (Pember, 2017). The last of these schools did not close until the early 1990s and the effects of colonialism and assimilation are very present in indigenous communities today.

Today’s Native communities are suffering from domestic violence, mental health issues, high suicide rates, addiction, and poverty. Many people have lost their language, culture, and identity. Michelle Obama put the suffering of the indigenous communities into perfect context. She said “Folks in Indian Country didn’t just wake up one day with addiction problems. Poverty and violence didn’t just randomly happen to this community. These issues are the result of a long history of systematic discrimination and abuse. We began separating children from their families and sending them to boarding schools designed to strip them of all traces of their culture, language and history.” (Pember, 2017). In order to better support indigenous people throughout the criminal justice system, it is vitally important to understand where these problems come from and how to use the positive aspects of the culture, such as traditional medicine, sweat lodges, family support, and traditional teachings, to rehabilitate offenders.

Here is a link to a recent story about how my own community (Akwesasne) is rebuilding the foundations of language after the significant losses from the residential school era (please forgive the reporter’s mispronunciation of Akwesasne):

References:
Rousseau, D. (2018). Module 4: Implementing Psychology in the Criminal Justice System. Retrieved from https://onlinecampus.bu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_50742_ 1&content_id=_6167937_1&framesetWrapped=true

delVecchio, P. (2015). The Impact of Historical and Intergenerational Trauma on American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. Retrieved from: https://blog.samhsa.gov/2015/11/25/the-impact-of-historical- and-intergenerational-trauma-on-american-indian-and-alaska-native-communities

Pember,M.A. (2017). When Will U.S. Apologize for Genocide of Indian Boarding Schools? Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-annette-pember/when-will-us-apologize-fo_b_7641656.html

PTSD… A “Hood Disease”

When folks think of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the first thing that usually comes to mind is veterans. However – there is a very close parallel to the atmosphere of war to the atmosphere of living in the inner city. The things that some individuals who live in urban areas, are exposed to can often be traumatic. From poverty to gang-violence, people in inner cities witness events that do not typically transpire in suburbs. These experiences lead to this notion of a “hood disease” (Cole 2017).

Many studies have been conducted that come to the conclusion that the connection between inner city youth and PTSD can lead to violence. Not only is this a criminal justice issue but a public health one as well. What is being done to address it?

I have seen how PTSD affects both populations – veterans (my father) and inner city youth (my clients). There are many commonalities in their behavior and how it manifests in them. What is also interesting to me is that my father was an inner city kid. Did being in the Vietnam War exacerbate his PTSD? Constantly looking over your shoulder and not being able to sit with your back towards the door are two things that my father and my clients have in common.

Inner city violence “has insidious effects on the psychological health of urban civilians”, whether you are a direct victim or are merely exposed to it (Gilkin et. al. 2016). Imagine walking down the street and on every corner there are lit candles, teddy bears, and empty liquor bottles in memory of a homicide victim. The scene is morbid. The aura is often the same. Constantly hearing that your friends or your neighbors were shot at or killed. Innocent peoples lives being taken in a mistaken identity.

Fight or flight. The smartest decision would be flight. But if your family is already experiencing poverty, packing up and leaving is not even an option. So again I ask, what is being done to address it?

Gillikin, C., Habib, L., Evces, M., Bradley, B., Ressler, K. J., & Sanders, J. (2016). Trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms associate with violence in inner city civilians. Journal of psychiatric research, 83, 1-7.

http://chicagopolicyreview.org/2017/06/02/breaking-the-cycle-of-inner-city-violence-with-ptsd-care/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5107154/

https://www.thoughtco.com/hood-disease-is-a-racist-myth-3026666

Is All Psychopathy Bad?

This question arose after an interesting discovery from neuroscientist Dr. James Fallon. Dr. Fallon’s studies involved Alzheimer’s and brain scans of serial killers/psychopaths through Positron Emission Tomography “PET” imaging. The scans of serial killers sparked an interest and led to more studies, this time a control was involved and Dr. Fallon’s brain scan was part of the control. It wasn’t until this that he discovered he is a psychopath.

(Left brain scans are of Dr. Fallon’s son and this is what a normal brain scan looks like. The brain scans on the right belong to Dr. Fallon and you can see that the orbital cortex is dormant. Photo courtesy of James Fallon and NPR's Barbara Hagerty.)

A history of violence was later revealed by Dr. Fallon’s mother that includes descendants like Thomas Cornell (hung for murdering his mother) and the infamous Lizzie Borden (acquitted for the murder of her two parents).

This of course led to further research and most of the studies were conducted on the “12 genes related to aggression and violence.” (Hagerty, 2010). Out of the 12 genes, the MAO-A (monoamine oxidase A) a.k.a. the “warrior gene,” caught his attention “because it regulates serotonin in the brain” which is known as a calming agent that affects one’s mood. (Hagerty, 2010).  “Scientists believe that if you have a certain version of the warrior gene, your brain won’t respond to the calming effects of serotonin.” (Hagerty, 2010). Additional studies conducted by other researchers led to the nature v. nurture effect that suppresses the MAO-A gene. The research determined that children with the warrior gene that were abused and/or experienced significant traumatic moments sparked the warrior gene, but children with the warrior gene that were brought up in a positive environment did not become violent psychopathic killers. An example of this is none other than Dr. Fallon.

Well, the PET scans, PCL-R along with Dr. Fallon’s therapist indicate that he is a true psychopath, but he is not a serial killer – so is all psychopathy bad?

Let’s think about this one with an open mind the way Dr. Fallon did. In one of Dr. Fallon’s live presentations at the World Science Festival that can be viewed through YouTube, he fearlessly explored this inquest.

Dr. Fallon asked his audience a couple of questions: do you really want a surgeon that is too emotional/empathic or do you want someone that is more detached from all the feelings and  more focused on performing the calculative surgery? Do you want a green beret that gets emotional or one that can go in and complete the mission successfully? Do you want a CEO that doesn’t want to win and make the big bucks?

All of this sparked a new way of thinking and that not all psychopaths are monsters or serial killers. A good depiction of this is the film “I Am Fishead,” which revealed the studies from Paul Babiak and Robert Hare which explored the corporate psychopath based on their research and book “Snakes in Suits.” They derived that the corporate psychopath may not be easy to get along with since they lack empathy, they’re charming, egotistical, and they are manipulative to name a few (20 total traits).

(Photos courtesy of pixabay.com)

These corporate psychopaths do not kill (well, at least that we know of), and they may be horrible team players, but they do play a big role in business economy.

All in all, research on the intricacy of psychopathy is still in its infancy and we hope to find more answers as research continues.

Not all bad is bad and not all good is good.

References:

Hagerty, Barbara Bradley. (2010, 29 June). A Neuroscientist Uncovers a Dark Secret. NPR. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127888976

Hare Psychopathy Checklist. The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health. . Retrieved December 01, 2018 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hare-psychopathy-checklist

Vortruba, Mishba, and Dejcmar, Vaclab. (2011, 11 Sep.) I am Fishead. Retrieved November 26, 2018, from http://www.fisheadmovie.com/watch1

World Science Festival. (2014, 21 Oct.) The Moth: Confessions of a Pro-Social Psychopath – James Fallon. YouTube. Retrieved December 8, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzqn6Z_Iss0

ZeitgeistMinds. (2014, 16 Sep.) James Fallon, Neuroscientist - A Scientist's Journey Through Psychopathy. YouTube. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOjykLQAdaE

Separation beyond Borders

Separation beyond Borders

It was September 12, 2011 when I left my home country and settled in another. 7 years have passed and I have never been more thankful to Canada for allowing us to have the life that we have now. At the beginning, I questioned my parent’s decision but every time I ask, they would reply “we did it for you”. It took me while before I could have understood what they meant. Now, I wouldn’t change it for anything.

As an immigrant myself, I do know the hardships that come with leaving your home and starting a new life. However, my situation was clearly different from those who are fleeing their countries to save their lives and their families. For a few months now, I have been watching stories about families being separated under the newly imposed Zero Tolerance Immigration Policy of President Trump. Looking at the story from both sides, I could understand the logic between the policy as it aims to protect its border, its laws, and citizens. However, I do feel that the forcible separation of families pose traumatic effects on the development of children and family relationships.

Poverty is one of the biggest factors for immigration. Families are leaving their home countries to seek better lives in thriving countries such as the United States. According to Blair and Raver (2012), “it is well established that the material and psychosocial contexts of poverty adversely affect multiple aspects of development in children” (p. 309-318). Families have risked their lives to ensure a better future for their children but they have experienced the opposite. As reported by The Intercept (2018), “children separated from their parents are at a higher risk of developing long-term health problems from toxic stress”. Aside from health factors, trauma can impact an individual’s mental, emotional, and psychological aspect (Bartol and Bartol, 2016). Traumatic experiences in childhood such as family separation can lead to adverse effects such as violence and delinquency (Thornberry, Smith, Rivera, Huizinga, and Stouthamer-Loeber, 1999).

I have brought up this topic to give my opinion on both sides of the story. To gain entry and residence in another country, one needs to go through the legal process. At the same time, is it justifiable to punish children and parents by separating them? Instead of resorting to unethical means, we should consider a solution that will benefit both sides. Before we do, there should be public discussion regarding the pros and cons of separating families before passing the zero tolerance immigration policies. With that, I do believe that separation goes beyond borders.

Reference

Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2016). Criminal behavior: A psychological approach. 11th Edition. Boston: Pearson.

Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2012). Child development in the context of adversity: Experiential canalization of brain and behavior. American Psychologist, 67, 309–318.

The Intercept (26 Aug 2018). Children separated under Trump’s “Zero Tolerance” Policy say their trauma continues. Retrieved Dec 9, 2018 from https://theintercept.com/2018/08/26/children-separated-under-trumps-zero-tolerance-policy-say-their-trauma-continues/

Thornberry, T. P., Smith, C. A., Rivera, C., Huizinga, D., and Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1999). Family Disruption and Delinquency. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 1-5.

We never leave you on read

Hi, my name is Randi. Thank you for texting in tonight. It takes courage to reach out. Tell me more about what is that has led you to text in. I am here to listen to you and support you in any way that I can.

According to Mental Health America, more than 44 million adults have a mental condition and 1 in 5 reporting that they have unmet needs ("The State of Mental Health in America", 2018). Some are uninsured, some do not have the means to access care such as transportation or lack of services offered within the area. Regardless of the reason, many Americans are suffering daily with approximately 123 committing suicide a day making suicide the 10^th leading cause of death regardless of age in the United States ("Suicide Statistics and Facts – SAVE", 2018). One visionary, Stephanie Shih saw the need for a place to go for those experiencing trauma and mental illness that was quick to respond and listen, be supportive, and point others in the right direction so they can receive the help that they need. Shih, working for a nonprofit DoSomething.org, a group that sends texts to local youth encouraging them to become active volunteers within their community, received a text stating “He won’t stop raping me”, a few hours later another text “R u there?” (Gregory, 2015). There was no protocol for these messages. Shih brought this to her C.E.O. Nancy Lublin and two years later Crisis Text Line became the first and only free national 24/7 crisis-intervention hotline that operates exclusively through text message.  What started in two cities (Chicago and El Paso) quickly spread to reach all 295 area codes within four months with zero marketing and faster growth than when Facebook first launched (Lublin, 2015).

The idea is simple, a texter texts the number 741741 and within minutes a trained crisis counselor will respond through an online platform with a casual greeting and a willingness to help that surprises many texters. There is no judgment, no problem too small. The system has grown drastically since its birth five years ago in August 2013 and has sent out more than 88, 217,385 text messages ("Crisis Trends - Crisis Text Line", 2018). The beautiful thing about a text-based system is that it is private and nobody will hear you talking. The texters identify remains anonymous, texters can talk to a trained crisis counselor in a crowded room and nobody will know, and they receive the immediate help they need. A girl can sit down at lunch and text in about her eating disorder and her friends are none the wiser. A teen can text in their room at night about their father physically abusing them and the father won’t know, but that teen is reminded that the violence isn’t their fault and are given resources to help them fight their way out of a terrible living situation. There are resources for veterans, homelessness, free legal help, mental services, LGBTQ+ based services, bullying, anxiety, depression, grief, substance abuse, the list goes on.

Many of the texters text in saying things like “I don’t want to live anymore,” “I want to die.” The crisis counselor quickly builds rapport with the texter and does a risk assessment to identify how close the texter is to take their own life. According to 2015 TED talk, Nancy stated that on average there are 2.41 active rescues a day, meaning that the texter was in the process of taking their own life or was planning on doing so within the next 24 hours and the crisis counselor could not get the texter to guarantee their safety (Lublin, 2015). Nancy goes on to say “The beautiful thing about Crisis Text Line is that these are strangers counseling other strangers on the most intimate issues, and getting them from hot moments to cold moments…” (Lublin, 2015). These crisis counselors are volunteers that complete a 40-hour training and dedicate a minimum of 200 hours to helping others.  They are trained to bring texters from a hot moment to a cool calm through active listening, and collaborative problem solving (“Crisis Text Line”, 2018). They log in from their own personal computers and handle multiple conversations at one time to make sure that each texter receives all the care and love they need.

Not only is the Crisis Text Line directly impacting individual lives, but the data that is being collected and publicly shared is also making a huge difference in the way we think about and track crisis. The personally identifiable information is scrubbed and the data is shared to assist other professionals to write policy and increase awareness nationally. The data is being used to make the world a better place and using social media platforms to reach as many people as possible. Algorithms in the system take keywords such as “depression” and “suicide” and bump them to the top of the queue so they can reach a crisis counselor faster than a texter who may just be having a bad day and needing an ear to listen. Regardless, each texter will receive a crisis counselor as fast as the counselors can. Many times, it may take time depending on how big of a ‘spike’ the server is seeing. Recently a post on social media went viral: “Did you know that if you text "Home" to 741741 when you are feeling depressed, sad, or going through any kind of emotional crisis, a crisis worker will text you back immediately and continue to text with you? Sometimes it’s best to just talk it out with someone who has no personal bias. Many people, especially younger ones, prefer text to talk on the phone. It's a free service to anyone; teens, adults, etc. who live in the US. Depression is real, you're not alone. 💚 You just have to copy & paste” and the amount of texters has reached a number with 4 December 2018 being the second highest traffic day in the system has ever seen ("Crisis Trends - Crisis Text Line", 2018).

It is good to hear that you are feeling calmer and that you have the confidence to make it through today. Remember, we are here 24/7 if you are ever in crisis again. Take care.

Crisis Trends - Crisis Text Line. (2018). Retrieved from https://crisistrends.org/

Lublin, N. (2015, May). How data from a crisis text line is saving lives

. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_lublin_the_heartbreaking_text_that_inspired_a_crisis_help_line?language=en

Suicide Statistics and Facts – SAVE. (2018). Retrieved from https://save.org/about-suicide/suicide-facts/

The State of Mental Health in America. (2018). Retrieved from

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/state-mental-health-america

Psychology of Terrorists

While conducting research on the Unabomber, along with the final week’s readings on terrorism. The psychology of terrorism, and those who are able to carry out such acts intrigued me for further research. It is an interesting debate that various researchers make different claims for their opinion in the mind behind terrorism.
The first expert Martha Crenshaw, in 1981 published her research on terrorism paired with certain psychological factors underlying it at its core. Crenshaw (1981) asks why, “ the individual takes the first step and choses to engage in terrorism.” To this she claims that, “terrorism is the result of a gradual growth of commitment and opposition, a group development that depends on government action. The psychological relationships within the group- the interplay of commitment, risk, solidarity, loyalty, guilt, revenge, and isolation- discourage terrorists from changing the direction they have taken (Crenshaw p.397, 1981).” This article thinks of terrorism mainly as a group. Where Crenshaw utilizes ideas like groupthink and group dynamics as a factor in terrorist psychology. This was definitely a major factor when watching recruiting videos in ISIS and similar groups. People are responding to the call to become something larger. While Crenshaw’s statements remain true today, the shift in terrorism seems to have moved away from large groups operating under a single name towards one cause.
In Kruglansky’s article The Psychology of Terrorism he discusses many risk factors that, in part, cause individuals to join terrorist groups. He clearly distinguishes that there is no one overarching personality type that all people who join terrorist groups fit under. The personality types he mentions he considers to be a “contributing factor” instead of a “root cause” for why individuals resort to terrorism (Kruglansky, 2006). First, he mentions relative deprivation or a desire for what an individual perceives to have. Relative deprivation, or the discontent with ones self relative to others does not need to be present in every case, however it does demonstrate a level of desire for achieving a goal and, in their mind, the best way to attain that goal was through terrorism (Kruglansky, 2006). Kruglansky (2006) also states that those in favor of right-wing authoritarianism are another common theme for individuals willing to join terrorist groups.  These results reflect a study on Lebanese individuals who reacted in favor of aggression towards the US. Simultaneously, their results also reflected a subsequently in high support of right-wing authoritarianism.
Mortality salience is the final factor that Kruglansky (2006) identifies as another contributing factor for an individual being drawn to terrorism. Mortality salience is defined as anxiety over ones demise. Humans try to make themselves immortal by leaving a legacy. Humans are aware of their death, unlike other animals. In a study Kruglansky cites, Iranian students, who on average are exposed to more death, are reminded more of their own death and thus demonstrate higher levels of support for suicide bombings (Kruglansky, 2006).
Other authors, armed with extensive research create their own models of traits that may push or pull individuals towards joining terrorism. Haslam mentions emotion as a pushing factor (Haslam, 2006).He believes that dehumanization effects individuals, as their mistreatment builds resent over time. This is trait is also accompanied by degradation and humiliation that would drive an individual away from society into a terrorist group.
Other authors continue to find trends building an extensive profile of risk factors. Victoroff’s argument shares many of the previously stated characteristics but adds a couple such as  narcissism, often coupled with a lack of empathy is also noted to be personality traits that could push individuals who are at risk into joining a cult but also possibly a terrorist group (Victoroff, 2005).  He also recognizes other broad psychological theories that could push individuals like apocalyptic theory, or expectation of ones imminent demise. Paranoia theory, claims that individuals with political grievances use terrorism against persons who may not actually be a threat. Other factors addressed by authors are alienation, which can occur at an individual level as well as in a group setting. An individual can remove himself from society, as can a group (Victoroff, 2005). The separation of ones self from all others and society has cultivated thought to join extremist groups or become a lone wolf.
In Great Expectations and Hard Times by Brockoff, Kreiger, and Meierrieks, they connect education as a risk factor to terrorism. Some of their findings show that education makes terrorism less likely by teaching the population to combat the propaganda. However, there is also concern that education is creating high-level operatives capable of higher capacity operations (Brockoff, Krieger, Meierrieks, 2015). The article concludes by mentioning that sole strengthening of education in less developed countries will not necessarily help stop terrorism. Instead, the promotion of education, coupled with efforts to improve poor socioeconomic and demographic conditions will attempt to mitigate the risk of individuals joining terrorist groups.
Similarly to many mental health cases and crime, there is no one root cause, but instead multiple risk factors that cause a push towards a certain behavior or action. However, through these risk factors researchers are able to identify those at risk and hopefully mitigate future terror attacks and threats.
References:
Brockhoff, Sarah, Krieger, Tim and Meierrieks, Daniel. 2015. Great expectations and hard times. 59 (7): 1186-215.

Crenshaw, Martha. 1981. The causes of terrorism. Comparative Politics 13 : 379-99.

Haslam, Nick. 2006. Dehumanization: An integrative review. Vol. 10.

Kruglansky, Arie W. & Fishman, Shira (2006) The Psychology of Terrorism: “Syndrome” Versus “Tool” Perspectives, Terrorism and Political Violence, 18:2, 193-215

Victoroff, Jeff. 2005. The mind of the terrorist: A review and critique of psychological approaches. Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (1): 3-42.

Incompetency to stand trial

One topic which I found most interesting throughout this course was that of incompetency to stand trial. Incompetency is a mental state which makes one present in the body, but not the mind. The standard in which someone is deemed competent to stand trial is if "they have sufficient present ability to consult with their lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.. and a rational as well as functional understanding of the proceedings" (Bartol, 2016, pg. 221). Anyone who is considered incompetent will not be tried.

In competency is interesting because it's not only based on mental or emotional characteristics. It can also be utilized if someone has a lack of understanding of the court process, such as personal rights, or functions of members of the court proceedings. This to me is an interesting point based on the fact that so many people can claim incompetency off of this alone. Evaluations are necessary to ultimately decide who can stand trial, and who may not be able to. In some cases, multiple hearings may be held to determine competency... One fact that stood out to me was "nationwide, only four out of every five (80%) of the evaluated defendants are found competent" (Bartol, 2016, pg. 222). (Retrieved from my original discussion post)

I found this particularly interesting because I have a rape case pending trial, and the defense attorney is pushing incompetency since the defendant is a senior citizen and has some mental health issues. As promised, in my first post, I said I would update the class on the status of the, pending the rapidness of the court case. As I assumed, the defense attorney’s first action was to plead incompetency due to age induced mental illness, as well as pre-existing conditions which was the reason the offender was in the halfway house to begin with. I was browsing through some of the defense lawyer’s paperwork which he submitted, and one area in which he stated the defendant suffered from is PTSD.

Without being too specific, my offender is a senior citizen who served in the Vietnam War. His mental history suffered drastically upon his return from the war. Since a young age, he battled PTSD from being involved in such a life changing event. This then toppled into his excessive use of drugs, inability to keep a steady income, homelessness, and eventually criminal activity which led to him being court ordered to a group home in our town. He has an extensive history involving hospitalizations for his PTSD which was actually coupled with psychosis. The trauma in which he endured followed him throughout his adulthood, and ultimately plays a factor in how his court proceedings will continue. It’s a viable defense for incompetency, and will certainly be taken into consideration as it moves forward in the judiciary system.

In this case, mens rea, or the state of mind of the offender, is being taken into the question. “Most U.S. jurisdictions allow mental health expert testimony to refute mens rea, whereas some jurisdictions restrict such testimony to the insanity defense” (Berger). In Rhode Island, this is a feasible thing for them to use as defense. The lawyer wants to argue that the offender lacked the state of mind to realize what he was doing due to his long term PTSD. This has been interesting to follow, especially after medical records came back proving that some sort of penetration had occurred. In the victim maintaining that it was not consensual, and the defendant does not plead guilty, it will be interesting to watch this develop further!

Source:

Bartol, C. R. & Bartol, A.M. (2016).  Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach.  11th edition.

Berger, Omri, et al. PTSD as a Criminal Defense: A Review of Case Law. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 1 Dec. 2012, jaapl.org/content/40/4/509.

Punishment. The New Rehabilitation

The prison systems in the United States are one of the most unsuccessful systems in the world. For an institution to be up and running even though it consistently fails the people and what it stands for is blasphemy. The whole concept of prison is to not punish, not to destroy families, not to cause mental health issues or even make money. The purpose of prison systems is to rehabilitate those who have bad habits, issues, or make mistakes. If criminals are put in jail to be punished, the government and the criminal justice system needs to state that and make that rule rather than just having this unwritten rule that causes criminals to suffer.
American prisons are filled with millions of people across the country. The prison systems are not organized and actually cause more harm than good. Once an offender enters the prison he or she joins rapist, murders, thieves, and many other types of criminals, which leads to another issue. Should a person who goes to prison for selling drugs be in the same institution as a murderer? Should a person who has known nothing but to fight to solve social problems be arrested and sent to prison with a rapist? Does not matter the level of the crime a person commits, they are going to be sent to an institution where even the biggest and baddest are taken down. This low-level criminal is going to have to fend for themselves and most likely become worse than how they were before entering. Prisons should organize their inmates according to the crime committed, I feel like this approach would be better fitting than just throwing a person where ever there is room.
Inside of prisons, the correctional officers have a reputation for being mean and manipulative for self-gain. Correctional officers do have a tough job and they must protect themselves physically and mentally, but there have to be better ways that correctional officers maintain order and are apart of the rehabilitation process. They are very important and have a huge effect on inmates because these people are the only ones dealing with the inmates on a day-to-day basis. Bettering correctional officers would be another step for rehabbing inmates since that is the “purpose” of prison.
Not expecting all of the prison system to be fixed, but there are little things that are possible to change to make the rehabilitation process more efficient. There are too many offenders who serve time, are released, and end up back in prison. For a lot of individuals, prison has become a home, a lifestyle, or even a habit because of an immense amount of time spent there. These individuals are not released feeling better about themselves or willing to change. Most of them know they will go out, continue the lifestyle they lived before prison, make the same mistake and end up back in prison.
Overall, there needs to be change, some type of change in the way the system rehabilitates people, or the system could change the rule from rehabilitation to punishment. That way at least the people will understand, it does not seem like the people are being lied to, and the system does not appear to be doing whatever it wants. There are too many people in these institutions for the institution to be failing. Maybe we should try a different type of institution for criminal rehab. If there were any other institutions with these failures, it would be shut down almost instantly. The prison institution should be held to the same standard.

Evaluating the Role of Trauma: Case of Cyntoia Brown

       In recent news celebrities such as Rihanna and Kim Kardashian have reignited a case that was sentenced on August 25, 2006. This is the case of Cyntoia Brown. 16-year-old Cyntoia was tried as an adult and found guilty of first-degree murder, felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery and was subsequently sentenced to life. But does this case warrant it's newfound attention and outrage? In 2004, she murdered 43-year-old Johnny Allen in his home after he had solicited her for sex. She described his narcissistic attitude and the jump from how one moment she felt comfortable and in the next innate fear. Throughout the night he bragged about being a sharpshooter in the army and showed her his gun collection. She states he went to grab something, she perceived it to be a gun and she preemptively shot him. It is undeniable that she committed this offense but there’s something about this case that is unsettling, to say the least. The following analysis is based on the documentary, “Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story” produced, filmed and directed by Daniel H. Birman; adapted and produced for BBC by Tony Lazzerini.

        Dr. William Bennet, a forensic psychiatrist from Villanova University, conducted an evaluation that assessed Cyntoia from pre-birth to age 16. His evaluation uncovered a severe history of sexual trauma coupled with early development issues as well fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, induced by her mother drinking “a fifth” every day while she was pregnant. In her earliest years between the ages of 6 months and 3, she lived with reportedly seven or eight caretakers and was kidnapped by a family member. Attachment theory seemingly applies here. She was never able to form a healthy attachment to any mother form, even her adopted mother. She was adopted at the age of two as her mother was unable to successfully care for her attempting to balance working, attending beauty school and caring for an infant. She is quoted in the documentary as stating that she “didn’t even know how to make a bottle.” Her adopted mother had children of her own who Cyntoia reports being compared to. Her husband was apparently abusive towards Cyntoia where she states, “That’s what he’d say when he hit me because I like it.” In terms of familial history, her biological grandmother became pregnant with her mother after being raped by a man hired by her husband in retaliation for leaving him. Cyntoia’s mother testified in court that she suffers from bipolar personality disorder, suicidal manic depressive disorder as well homicidal thoughts after she was raped. She has attempted suicide several times and reported her biological mother shot herself in front of her when she was young as well as the inclusion that her aunt and grandfather had also shot themselves. Prior to Cyntoia meeting Johnny Allen, she describes a man named Garion, with whom she engaged in some sort of relationship. He kept her with him bouncing from hotel to motel and sexually and physically abused her, threatening her with a gun if she left. He eventually graduated to selling her on the street and forcing her to engage in prostitution. During her evaluation, she shows the psychiatrist her “sex list”. this list contains 36 men that the 16-year-old has had sexual encounters with. She describes a list of 36 men where: 21 were forced and counters, 22 she did not know, 3 were relatives, 28 were associated with the bad experience, 4 were for prostitution and finally only 9 of the 36 encounters used protection.

       The culmination of all of these repeated and exacerbated traumas led to a manipulative, possessive, paranoid, unstable 16-year-old girl. Dr. Bennet describes that the effect these traumas had on her caused her paranoia and an “affect of instability” wherein she was unable to process the situation where she perceived intense fear and acted on it. Cumulative risk model would define this level of trauma with the limited protective features as severely debilitating to a healthy or normative developmental trajectory. Her abandonment and trust issues along with her mistrust with men and relationships are defined by a personality disorder according to Dr. Bennet. He never defines which disorder, but her traumas affected her view of the world, how it relates to her and how she relates to her world. She discussed her view of men in the documentary stating she believes they’re “selfish and justify their behavior because they’re men.. no they just want to be admired and accepted, and whys that my problem that is my problem, for 18 years I’ve wanted to be accepted.”

       Based on her history and her genetic, environmental and psychological traumas, Cyntoia seemingly never had a chance. All of this in conjunction with the way her case was handled is infuriating. Detectives Mirandized her and questioned her while she was under the influence and her confession was admissible in court after she stated she didn’t know she had the right to remain silent or against self-incrimination. (Which also brings up the question of her competency.)

       Even barring these traumas, children are incapable of making decisions the way we normally expect an adult would. Trying her as an adult further this young woman's trauma and victimization, ensuring she will never be rehabilitated.  this case a pitta mise is so many sexual trauma victims that go unnoticed by society until it’s too late. There needs to be some other way to protect children that get exposed to this level of risk. It isn’t their fault and treating them as though it creates more problems and adds to the existing issues. Until our justice initiative evolves to rehabilitative focuses, there will be many more disenfranchised children that fall victim to a broken and cruel system.

So, does this case warrant it's newfound attention and outrage?

Birman, D. H. (Producer, Director)(2010) Me facing life: Cyntoia's story [Documentary]. United States: Daniel H. Birman Productions, Inc.

Trauma and Self Care

Imagine every day you wake up and put on a shiny badge that not only represents the safety you will bring to your community, but also represents the sacrifice you are willing to make for the citizens you protect day in and day out. In my own personal opinion, there is nothing more rewarding than taking pride in yourself, in the work that you do/your career, and for the family you have raised and protected. It seems as though that when entering law enforcement, you have a strong urge to make a difference in the lives of those who may be less fortunate, or are maybe just having a really crappy day. Unfortunately, as time progresses, police officers/law enforcement officials have been painted in a bad light due to all of the controversy over police officer on civilian shootings. Through all of this tragedy, I think some individuals forget just how difficult it is to be a police officer. Who are we to comment on what they do to protect themselves in a situation we have no idea about? An experience such as this can be considered a incidence of trauma. Police officers/law enforcement officials are presented with trauma on a regular basis whether it is responding to crime scenes, car accidents, assaults, child abuse cases, disputes, domestics, being subjected to physical confrontations, internal investigations, or anything that can be considered a traumatic experience (Renteria, 2009). Renteria (2009) encapsulates perfectly why it is so important for law enforcement to engage in self care by stating: "Police work is a physically and emotionally draining job. Repeated exposure to negative images and interactions affect the overall physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well being of police officers spilling over in to their personal lives drastically impacting their families". 

I believe that far too often, police officers are unaware of the impact trauma can have on their own lives until it is far too late. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2017), "almost 1 in 4 police officers has thoughts of suicide at some point in their life. And in the smallest departments, the suicide rate of officers is almost four times the national average" (NAMI, 2017). This means that almost 25% of all police officers have contemplated suicide, which is astounding in the worst way. As if that was not frightening enough, NAMI (2017) stated that "more police die by suicide than by homicide: the number of police suicides is 2.3 times that of homicides". Clearly, there needs to be something implemented to decrease these statistics significantly. 

With the help of NAMI, the road to recovery for police officers is finally being paved. In order to help our brothers/sisters in blue that are in need, we as citizens need to be informed far more on trauma, vicarious trauma, and ways that PTSD and other mental health issues that result from trauma can be prevented in law enforcement. Within police departments, there is also much work that can be done to recognize trauma, and also how to deal with that trauma. As a male dominated job, self care and being in touch with your emotions is greatly frowned upon because men are supposed to be tough and not let anything get to them - newflash people...ITS 2017 AND ALMOST 2018! Gone are the days that someone should be ashamed of what they feel and why they feel it. Men have emotions too, and its time that they are taken care of, especially in law enforcement. In order to do so, I believe that each police department/law enforcement agency should have an onsite therapist that specializes in law enforcement trauma and PTSD, and how to manage/cope with these aspects. They will help implement mental health awareness/wellness programs, and also serve as the mental health incident commander in instances that could potentially involve someone with a mental illness, or some form of trauma (NAMI, 2017).

If we want law enforcement officers to protect and serve for us, their mental health needs to be a first priority. f you can admit that you need help, that is the first step in your journey to recovery, whether you suffer from PTSD or alcoholism. No matter how much money someone may have, how cool their job is, or what color their hair is, every person is a work-in-progress. There is always room for improvement, even in law enforcement. In a nutshell, every person on this earth needs a helping hand at some point in their lives. "Once we can understand this concept, we can accept our weaknesses, learn from them, move forward, and open ourselves up to positive changes. Embracing change allows us to be more willing to seek out the resources that can help improve our self awareness. It is never too late to make changes that positively impact our lives, as well as the lives of those who are closest to us" (NAMI, 2017). 

NAMI. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2017, from https://www.nami.org/Law-Enforcement-and-Mental-Health/Strengthening-Officer-Resilience

Renteria, L. (2009, March 31). Law Enforcement Personnel and Family Life. Retrieved December 15, 2017, from http://www.lawenforcementfamilysupport.org/family-resources.php