Criminal Behavior

The second edition of Criminal Behavior is an update of the original collaboration between Elaine Cassel and Douglas Bernstein. Cassel is a criminal defense attorney who teaches at Lord Fairfax Community College and Nova Southeastern University. Bernstein is a clinical psychologist who holds titles at the University of Illinois, the University of South Florida, and Southampton University. The authors have designed a book that, they say, is intended to serve as a textbook for advanced courses in criminal behavior, developmental psychopathology, and the interface between psychology and the law.

The authors use the first chapter to define crime and to examine it from sociological, political, and moral viewpoints. This chapter neatly transitions into an overview of the criminal justice systems for both adults and juveniles. The two systems are compared and contrasted. Special attention is paid to dilemmas associated with adjudicating juveniles as adults in criminal courts.

Next, the authors trace the roots of crime to three sources: biological, psychological, and social/environmental. The chapter that surveys the biological origins of crime explores the history of biological theories of criminal behavior from phrenology to recent research on brain structure, neurotransmitters, hormones, and drugs of abuse. Psychological theories and their relationship to crime are also described in this section, which ends with a review of the effects that the media, social factors, and environmental variables and settings have had on crime.

Developmental theory also is used by the authors to introduce the evolution of criminal behavior. They describe the interplay of biological factors, psychiatric disorders, and environment in children who have shown early evidence of criminal behavior. They also examine how the development of adolescent criminal behavior is affected by gender, psychiatric disorders, gang affiliation, family, and schooling. In addition, they dedicate a chapter to the association between mental illness and crime, in which they summarize major psychiatric disorders and offer a brief discussion of the insanity defense.

Crimes against persons and against property are reviewed in the book. The authors examine economic crimes and include a discussion about crimes within corporations and syndicated crime. They then shift the spotlight to victims of crime. Victims are covered in the other chapters, but this section takes a closer look at the roles and status of victims in the criminal justice system and general society.

The chapter entitled, “The Punishment of Crime, and the Crime of Punishment,” is aptly named. It begins by exploring sentencing, incarceration, and alternatives to incarceration. In the second half of the chapter, the authors take a hard look at the effects of incarceration on individuals and the criminal activity that occurs behind bars. They also illuminate concerns that arise when two special populations are incarcerated: female offenders and offenders with mental illness.

Cassel and Bernstein examine crime and the death penalty before they conclude the book with comments about the future of crime, including risk factors for crime and its prevention.

Each chapter has organizational features that are worth mentioning. The authors include a gavel icon in the margin of the text when they cite relevant legal cases. Each chapter ends with a summary, a list of key terms, and review questions. Key terms are also defined in a glossary at the end of the text. In addition, each chapter features a list of useful Web sites under the heading, “Track it Down.”

Although the book contains 386 pages, the text itself is 290 pages. The last quarter of the book contains a glossary, references, an author index, and a subject index. The length of this section is hardly surprising, given the breadth of material that the authors have covered and cited.

The opinions of the authors are clearly expressed throughout the book, as they reflect on trends and research. Some readers will find that this commentary adds perspective, while others may find it biased or distracting. Numerous anecdotes are sprinkled throughout the text, adding color and depth. The vignettes come from the authors’ personal experiences and help to illustrate key points.

The text is useful as a well-referenced overview of criminal behavior and associated topics. Forensic psychiatrists may use the book as a reference for the origins, types, characteristics, and ramifications of criminal behavior within society.

The authors succeed in their goal of providing a broad overview of criminal behavior in an engaging and informative manner. However, the book's breadth means that it offers a survey of topics in the vast field of criminal behavior. Readers searching for greater depth of knowledge should use different texts that delve into their specific fields of interest.

• American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law