Criminal Behavior
Theories, Typologies, and Criminal Justice
J.B. Helfgott
Seattle University
CHAPTER 3
Typologies of Crime and Criminals
Typologies of Crime and Criminals
“There are two types of people in this world, good and
bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy
the waking hours much more.”
-- Woody Allen
What is a Typology?
 A systematic grouping of entities that have
characteristics or traits in common to classes
of a particular system.
 An abstract category or class consisting of
characteristics organized around a common
principle relevant to a particular analysis.
Typologies in Everyday Life,
Science, and Policy and Practice
 Typology construction is a fundamental
component of human cognition and scientific
investigation.
Examples of typologies we all use in everyday
life?
Examples of scientific typologies?
How are typologies used at the institutional
level in schools, hospitals, and the criminal
justice system?
Criminological Theories and
Criminal Typologies
A CRIMINAL TYPOLOGY is
criminological theory made manageable
in a way that can be practically applied to
organize, classify, and make sense of a
range of behaviors that violate the law.
Examples?
Examples of Comprehensive
Criminal Typologies
 Clinard, Quinney, & Wildeman’s
(1994)Criminal Behavior Systems
 Dabney’s (2004) Crime Types
 Miethe, McCorkle, & Listwan’s (2006) Crime
Profiles
Mental Disorders and Criminal Behavior
 Mental illness is just one factor that may play a role in
some incidents and types of criminal behavior.
 Mental disorder and criminal behavior are distinct
concepts that sometimes overlap.
 Some mental disorders have been empirically
associated with criminal behavior (antisocial
personality disorder and psychopathy).
Defining “Mental Disorder”
 When people speak of “mental disorder” this
term encompasses an enormous range of
human behavioral symptoms and conditions
ranging from everyday problems in living to
severe psychopathological disturbances.
 “No definition adequately specifies precise
boundaries for the concept of ‘mental
disorder’ (APA, 2000, p. xxx).
Conflicting Goals of the Mental Health
and Criminal Justice Systems
 Conflicting goals of the mental health and
criminal justice systems make it difficult to
understand and respond to mentally ill
offenders and to understand the relationship
between mental illness and crime.
 According to Blackburn (1993, p. 246),
“concerns about the ‘psychiatrisation’ of crime
… have been paralleled by concerns over the
‘criminalisation’ of mental disorder.”
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM)
 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, published since 1952 by the American
Psychiatric Association, is a categorical system for
classification of mental disorders for the purpose of
communication, diagnoses, education, research,
and treatment.
 Editions of the DSM:
-1952/DSM
-1980/DSM III
-1994/DSM-IV
-1968/DSM II
-1987/DSM-III-R
-2000/DSM-IV-TR
DSM Multiaxial System
 The DSM is organized around a multiaxial
system that involves assessment on several
axes:





Axis I: Major clinical syndromes
Axis II: Personality disorders
Axis III: Physical disorders
Axis IV: Psychosocial stressors
Axis V: Global level of functioning
The Macarthur Study of Mental
Disorder and Violence
 The Macarthur
Study of Mental Disorder and Violence
(Monahan et al, 2001) has been described as the best designed
study ever done on violence risk assessment involving over 1000
psychiatric patients examining the relationship between 134
potential risk factors and subsequent violence.
 The study concluded that, “… the propensity for violence is the
result of the accumulation of risk factors, no one of which is either
necessary or sufficient for a person to behave aggressively toward
others. People will be violent by virtue of the presence or absence
of different sets of risk factors. There is no single path in a
person’s life that leads to an act of violence” (p. 142).
Criminal Typologies:
Theory and Purpose
 Criminal typologies are necessary to
understand, identify, and respond to crime.
 The criminal justice system cannot respond to crime with a “one
size fits all” approach. Sanctions, management strategies,
treatment approaches, and public safety policies and practices
are highly dependent on differentiation of types of crimes and
criminals.
 The question, “What type of person are we dealing with?” is of
central importance at every stage in the criminal justice process.
Types of Criminal Typologies
 TYPES
 Legalistic
 Sociological
 Psychological
 Biological
 Multi-trait
 PURPOSES
 Sanctions
 Management
 Treatment
 Understanding
Scientific Typologies
 Classifying events or people into types is a necessary function of
science, theory development, and professional practice.
 Some typologies are rooted in stereotypes, not science (e.g. racial
profiling).
 Scientific typologies originated with the Linnaen classification of
plants.
 In the social sciences individuals are grouped into types based on
shared characteristics
How are Typologies Constructed?
 Typologies are constructed in two general
ways.
1)
2)
IDEAL TYPES are inductively constructed
based on a subjective clinical impression
(“armchair” theorizing).
EMPIRICAL TYPES are deductively
constructed describing patterns that exist in
the real world through multivariate statistical
methods
Categorical v Dimensional Models
 Human types may be more appropriately
viewed along a continuum or dimension
rather than as a discrete category or taxon.
 Categories or types that are not inherently
taxonomic (no clear boundaries) are often
formed by empirically grouping those who
share features on several dimensions using
statistical methods such as cluster analysis
Knight & Prentky (1990) Typology of
Sexual Offenders: An Example
 One of the most sophisticated and complex
typologies of sex offenders developed to date
used in criminal justice decisionmaking in
treatment and management of sex offenders.
 Empirical typology of rapists and child
molesters based on inductive and deductive
research strategies now in its 3rd version
(MTC:R3 and MTC:CM3).
J.B. Helfgott, PhD Department of Criminal Justice
Seattle University CRJS 515 Typologies of Crime
& Criminal Behavior
J.B. Helfgott, PhD Department of Criminal Justice
Seattle University CRJS 515 Typologies of Crime
& Criminal Behavior
J.B. Helfgott, PhD Department of Criminal Justice
Seattle University CRJS 515 Typologies of Crime
& Criminal Behavior
J.B. Helfgott, PhD Department of Criminal Justice
Seattle University CRJS 515 Typologies of Crime
& Criminal Behavior
Stages of Knight and Prentky’s Rapist and
Child Molester Typology Development
 STAGE 1 - THEORY FORMULATION
Comparison of available typologies to determine whether consensus exists
regarding specific types of sex offenders.
 STAGE 2 – IMPLEMENTATION
Definition of types/dimensions, assessment of interrater reliability, and
determination of coverage/degree to which typology is exhaustive.
 STAGE 3 – VALIDATION
Look to research literature to determine whether the constructed types
could be shown to have distinctive and theoretically coherent
developmental roots
 STAGE 4 – INTEGRATION
Responding to the analyses of construct validity to determine which
dimensions of the typologies needed modification
Evaluating Typologies
 A criminal typology is only useful to the extent that it describes
homogeneous categories of offending, is comprehensive/exhaustive with
respect to the stated purpose, contains categories that are mutually
exclusive, is complex enough to have explanatory value, and simple
enough to be applied in criminal justice policy and practice.
 In evaluating offender typologies, it is important to ask the following
questions:

Is the typology and the categories it includes homogeneous?

Is the typology and the categories it includes heterogeneous?

Is the typology and the categories it includes exhaustive?

Are the categories included in the typology mutually exclusive?

Is the typology too simple?

Is the typology too complex?
Evaluating Typologies
 Homogeneity/Heterogeneity
 Exhaustiveness/Exclusiveness
 Simplicity/Complexity
The Use of Typologies in the
Criminal Justice System
Meloy’s Sexual Homicide Typology
Meloy, J.R. (2000). The nature and dynamics of sexual homicide: An integrative review.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 1-22.
COMPULSIVE
CATATHYMIC
Nature of sexual
homicide
Organized
Disorganized
Axis I diagnosis
Sexual sadism
Mood disorder
Axis II diagnosis
APD/NPD
Various traits & PDs
Psychopathy
Severe (primary)
Mild-moderate
Attachment pathology
Chronically detached
Attachment hunger
ANS
Hyporeactive
Hyperreactive
Early Trauma
J.B. Helfgott, PhD Department of Criminal Justice
Seattle University
Often absent
Often present
Summary
 Typology construction is a fundamental component of human cognition and
scientific investigation. One way to think of a typology is that it is theory
made manageable.
 Typologies differ with respect to theoretical foundation and purpose.
 Typologies of crime and criminals provide information with which to make
decisions, policies, practices, and laws. Typologies are used at all stages
of the criminal justice process.
 A criminal typology is only useful to the extent that it describes
homogeneous categories of offending, is comprehensive/exhaustive with
respect to the stated purpose, its categories are mutually exclusive, is
complex enough to have explanatory value, and simple enough to be
applied in criminal justice policy and practice.