Further Reading for Victim/Survivors & Facilitators

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Akerstrom, M. Crooks and Squares: Lifestyles of Thieves and Addicts in Comparison to Conventional People, Transaction, 1985.

Crooks and Squares is a study of crime as a way of life. By interviewing drug addicts and property criminals, Malin Ãkerstrom presents a study of the demands, attractions, and drawbacks of criminal lifestyles. She discovers which elements are exciting and which are dull; what the pros and cons are in comparison to a more conventional lifestyle; whether social workers are more trouble than they’re worth; what problems exist for criminals, and their strategies for solving them. This study is valuable not only because it enriches our knowledge of a criminal’s everyday life but because it helps us understand the cause of becoming and remaining criminal.

 

Andrews, D.A., and Bonta, J.The Psychology of Criminal Conduct, Sixth Edition, Routledge, 2016.

The Psychology of Criminal Conduct, Sixth Edition, provides a psychological and evidence-informed perspective of criminal behavior that sets it apart from many criminological and mental health explanations of criminal behavior. Drawing upon the General Personality and Cognitive Social Learning theory, James Bonta and Donald Andrews provide an overview of the theoretical context and major knowledge base of the psychology of criminal conduct, discuss the eight major risk/need factors of criminal conduct, examine the prediction and classification of criminal behavior along with prevention and rehabilitation, and summarize the major issues in understanding criminal conduct. This book also offers the Risk/Need/Responsivity (RNR) model of offender assessment and treatment that has guided developments in the subject throughout the world.  Originally published in 1994.  In this sixth edition, the first since Andrews’ death, Bonta carefully maintains the book’s original contributions while presenting these core concepts succinctly, clearly, and elegantly. Appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students as well as for scholars, researchers, and practitioners, The Psychology of Criminal Conduct, Sixth Edition, further extends and refines the authors’ body of work.

 

Bachman, Ronet. Death and Violence on the Reservation: Homicide, Family Violence, and Suicide in American Indian Populations, Auburn House, 1992.

This volume is the first major attempt to systematically examine the etiology of violence in American Indian communities. Using fieldwork as well as quantitative and qualitative research, Bachman first presents an overview of American Indians from historical and contemporary perspectives, before she focuses specifically on violence and its causes. Homicide, suicide, and family violence are analyzed in depth, and the destructive impacts of alcohol and other addictive substances are documented.  Dr. Bachman effectively uses personal stories and narratives given by American Indians to illustrate the living reality behind the statistics she presents. She concludes with a variety of policy recommendations that will be of interest not only to policymakers, but also to academic researchers and students in criminology, ethnic relations, sociology, and anthropology.

 

Baumeister, Roy F. Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty, W.H. Freeman, 1997.

Why is there evil, and what can scientific research tell us about the origins and persistence of evil behavior’ Considering evil from the unusual perspective of the perpetrator, Baumeister asks, How do ordinary people find themselves beating their wives’ Murdering rival gang members’ Torturing political prisoners’ Betraying their colleagues to the secret police’ Why do cycles of revenge so often escalate’ Baumeister casts new light on these issues as he examines the gap between the victim’s viewpoint and that of the perpetrator, and also the roots of evil behavior, from egotism and revenge to idealism and sadism. A fascinating study of one of humankind’s oldest problems, Evil has profound implications for the way we conduct our lives and govern our society.

 

Bayse, Daniel J. Helping Hands: A Handbook for Volunteers in Prisons and Jails, American Correctional Association, 1993.

This publication is a practical guide for volunteers in correctional settings. Bayse discusses the criminal justice system, security issues, inmate slang and reasons for crime. He also offers suggestions on understanding the criminal personality, communicating with inmates and preventing manipulation. Bayse discusses the criminal justice system, security issues, inmate slang and reasons for crime. He also offers suggestions on understanding the criminal personality, communicating with inmates and preventing manipulation.

 

Beck, Aaron T. Prisoners of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence, HarperCollins, 2000.

World-renowned psychiatrist Dr. Aaron T. Beck, widely hailed as the father of cognitive therapy, presents a revolutionary and eye-opening look at destructive behavior in Prisoners of Hate. He applied his established principles on the relationships between thinking processes and the emotional and behavioral expressions to the dark side of humanity. In fascinating detail, he demonstrates that basic components of destructive behavior-domestic abuse, bigotry, genocide, and war-share common patterns with everyday frustrations in our lives. A book that will radically alter our thinking on violence in all its forms, Prisoners of Hate, provides a solid framework for remedying these crucial problems.

 

Browne, Angela. When Battered Women Kill, Free Press, 1987.

A compassionate look at 42 battered women who felt “locked in with danger and so desperate that they killed a man they loved”; scholarly and compelling.  Drawing on her extensive interviews and an examination of psychological, social, and legal dimensions, Browne presents a unique portrait of the dynamics and development history of conjugal violence.

 

Casarjian, Robin. Houses of Healing: A Prisoner’s Guide to Inner Power and Freedom, Lionheart, 1995.

Through the use of mindfulness-based practices, research driven approaches to behavior change, the inspiration derived from first-hand accounts of other prisoners, and the fostering of a real sense of hopefulness, the Houses of Healing book/curriculum/program has met with great success.  It draws the readers in by speaking clearly and directly to the situations and feelings that almost all incarcerated men and women struggle with. It guides and supports prisoners in confronting issues such as childhood wounding, grieving, managing anger, facing the impact of crime, and taking ultimate responsibility for themselves and their actions.

 

Conover, Ted. New Jack: Guarding Sing Sing, Vintage, 2001.

Acclaimed journalist Conover sets a new standard for reporting when he applies for a job as a prison officer. So begins his odyssey at Sing Sing, once a model prison but now the New York State’s most troubled maximum-security facility. The result of his year there is this remarkable look at one of America’s most dangerous prisons, where drugs, gang wars, and sex are rampant, and where the line between violator and violated is often unclear. As sobering as it is suspenseful, New Jack is an indispensable contribution to the urgent debate about our country’s criminal justice system, and a consistently fascinating read.

 

Dobash, R.E. and R.P. Changing Violent Men, Sage, 2000.

Changing Violent Men is based on the evaluation of British criminal justice responses and treatment programs for men who use violence against a woman partner. Court enforced abuser programs are compared with more traditional sanctions such as fines and probation. And qualitative and quantitative data are used to delineate patterns of personal change. This book allows the men and women involved to speak about their lives and the impact of criminal justice interventions upon them.   Contents:

• • Chapter 1 – Focusing on Men’s Violence and the Process of Change
  • Chapter 2 – Men Talking About Violence
  • Chapter 3 – Intervention for Change: Responding to Violent Men
  • Chapter 4 – Methods for Evaluating Programs for Violent Men
  • Chapter 5 – The Context of Intervention: Violence and Violent Relationships
  • Chapter 6 – Can Violent Men Change?
  • Chapter 7 – Changes in Quality of Life
  • Chapter 8 – Why Men Change
  • Chapter 9 – The Challenge

Dutton, D., and Golant, S. The Batterer: A Psychological Profile, Basic, 1995.

Lenny blamed his girlfriend for “making” him hit her … Robert deeply regretted assaulting Carol and even called the police himself the night he did it … Meyer was able to snap into a calm, controlling mode as soon as the police arrived, and even managed to restrain himself when his son came in and screamed, “Stop hitting Mommy!” What do these men have in common? How are they different from other men? What made them that way? The author draws on his … studies of more than seven hundred abusive men and therapy with hundreds more to answer these questions and to address the most important question of all: Is a cure possible? Dutton draws on his pathbreaking studies of more than 700 abusive men–as well as therapy with hundreds more–to paint a dramatic and surprising portrait of the man who assaults his intimate partner.

 

Edelson, J.L., and Tolman, R.M. Intervention for Men Who Batter: An Ecological Approach, Sage, 1992.

The book is designed to help both practitioners and policymakers design appropriate interventions for violent men. The first chapter defines physical and psychological abuse of women and examines the effects of abuse on victims and families. The second chapter describes an integrated view of how violence develops, is maintained, and may be stopped. Subsequent chapters consider characteristics of abusive men, intervention models, the value of small groups in helping men become nonviolent and respect the human rights of their partners, individual counseling, and controversial issues surrounding the use of couple or family counseling with violent men and their victims. Final chapters address educational, religious, medical, and employment issues associated with preventing abusive behavior and community intervention projects, as well as cognitive and behavioral treatment procedures, the need for interventions at multiple levels of social organization, and the importance of sensitivity to ethnic and cultural differences.

 

Edelstein, Eli L., Nathanson, Donald L., and Stone, Andrew M. Denial: A Clarification of Concepts and Research, Plenum, 1989.

As psychoanalysis approached its second century, some of its language required refinement. The symposium “Denial: A Clarification of Theoretical Issues and Research” was organized by Eli Edelstein for precisely this purpose.  This book is based on the International Symposium on Denial, held Jan. 26-31, 1985, in Jerusalem. Includes sections on: Theoretical issues; Basic and applied notions; Child development; Clinical issues; and Social and political implications. This is a book as much about the skill of denial as it is about denial as a defense. It is based in the psychoanalytic framework.

 

Flowers, R. Barri.  Murder, At the End of the Day and Night:  A Study of Criminal Homicide Offenders, Victims, and Circumstances, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 2002.

This book probes the nature and causes of murder, the relationship between firearms and lethal violence, the criminal justice system and homicide offenders, different types of murders and murderers, antecedents and correlates to homicidal and violent behavior, and a theoretical basis for murder. Part I focuses on the dynamics of murder including its nature; guns, substance abuse, and murder; and murder offending and the criminal justice system. Part II discusses domestic murder such as intimate homicide, infanticide, patricide, and other family involved homicides. Part III explores the aspects of interpersonal and societal murder crimes including workplace homicides, bias-motivated homicides, and terrorism and murder. Part IV examines youth and murder including youth gangs and homicide and school killings. In Part V, categories of killers are examined, including sexual killers, serial killers, mass murderers, and self-killers. Part VI outlines the theories on murder, which include classical, positivistic, biological, psychological, sociological-cultural, and critical.

 

Flora, Rudy. How to Work with Sex Offenders: A Handbook for Criminal Justice, Human Service, and Mental Health Professionals, Haworth, 2001.

How to Work with Sex Offenders is the first complete manual available on the subject for professionals who deal with this very difficult population. This user-friendly, comprehensive resource presents new data that will give you techniques for effectively interviewing sex offenders and outlines innovative treatment options in an understandable way, but that is just part of what makes this book unique. This book walks you through the criminal justice, human services, and mental health systems as applied to sex offenders.

 

Garbarino, James.  Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, The Free Press, 1999.

In the first book to help parents truly understand youth violence and stop it before it explodes, national expert Dr. James Garbarino reveals how to identify children who are at risk and offers proven methods to prevent aggressive behavior.  Twenty-five years as a psychologist working in the trenches with such children has convinced James Garbarino that boys everywhere really are angrier and more violent than ever before.  Building on his pioneering work, Garbarino shows why young men and boys have become increasingly vulnerable to violent crime and how lack of adult supervision and support poses a real and growing threat to our children’s basic safety. By outlining the steps parents, teachers, and public officials can take to keep all children safer, Dr. Garbarino holds out hope and solutions for turning our kids away from violence, before it is too late. This is one of the most important and original books ever written about boys.

 

Gilligan, James. Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1996.

As he tells the stories of the men he treated at a hospital for the criminally insane, Dr. Gilligan traces the devastating links between violence and shame. He shows how that deadly emotion drives people to destroy others and even themselves rather than suffer a loss of self-respect.

• • Prologue: Violence as Tragedy
  • Ch. 1. Visits to Hell: Entering the World of the Prison
  • Ch. 2. Dead Souls
  • Ch. 3. Violent Action as Symbolic Language: Myth, Ritual, and Tragedy
  • Ch. 4. How to Think About Violence
  • Ch. 5. Shame: The Emotions and Morality of Violence
  • Ch. 6. The Symbolism of Punishment
  • Ch. 7. How to Increase the Rate of Violence – and Why
  • Ch. 8. The Deadliest Form of Violence Is Poverty
  • Ch. 9. The Biology of Violence
  • Ch. 10. Culture, Gender, and Violence: ‘We Are Not Women’
  • Epilogue: Civilization and Its Malcontents.

 

Gilligan, James. Preventing Violence, Thames & Hudson, 2001.

In this book, Gilligan has concentrated on developing a new way of thinking about preventing violence, rather than simply providing recipes as to how to replicate on program or another tried somewhere already.  He sets out to discover and share some basic principles underlying the causes and prevention of violence, so that stakeholders will be in a better position to originate new ideas and approaches, and to evaluate those that have already been proposed or implemented by others, as well as those that will only exist in the future.

 

Graney, Dawn J., and Arrigo, Bruce A. The Power Serial Rapist: A Criminology-Victimology Typology of Female Victim Selection, Charles C. Thomas, 2002.

The Power Serial Rapist provides an in-depth, comprehensive, and integrated approach to understanding the sexual offender’s victim selection process. Consolidating the criminological research on rape and the victimological literature on victims, this book deepens our knowledge about the offender, his victim, and the sexual crimes this rapist commits. The Power Serial Rapist systematically explores past victimization theories and models, mindful of their relative strengths and limits. Moreover, by selecting out the most salient and useful features of past victim selection typologies, this book.

 

Groth, Nicholas, and Birnbaum, H.J. Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender, Plenum, 1979.

The standard reference on the psychology of rape, Men Who Rape presents a comprehensive clinical profile of sexual offenders with extensive information on counseling, prevention, and psychiatric treatment.    Men Who Rape differentiates patterns of assault among offenders and examines clinical aspects of their rape behavior, such as the selection of the victim, the determination of the sexual act, the offender’s subjective reaction during the assault, the role of alcohol, sexual dysfunction, and other related issues.  Specific categories of sexual assault, such as gang rape, child rape, male rape, and marital rape, are considered, as well as specific categories of offenders, such as the adolescent offender, the offender against elderly victims, and the female offender.  It is written in a non-technical, readable style.

 

Hare, Robert. Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths among Us. Guilford, 1999.

The book presents a compelling portrait of male and female psychopaths, based on 25 years of distinguished scientific research, providing solid information and surprising insights for anyone seeking to understand this devastating condition. Individuals with this personality disorder are fully aware of the consequences of their actions and know the difference between right and wrong, yet they are terrifyingly self-centered, remorseless, and unable to care about the feelings of others.  Presenting a portrait of these dangerous men and women based on 25 years of distinguished scientific research, Dr. Robert D. Hare vividly describes a world of con artists, hustlers, rapists, and other predators who charm, lie, and manipulate their way through life. Are psychopaths mad, or simply bad? How can they be recognized? And how can we protect ourselves? This book provides solid information and surprising insights for anyone seeking to understand this devastating condition.

 

Hazelwood, Roy and Michaud, Stephen G. Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide, and the Criminal Mind, St. Martin’s Press, 2001.

In Dark Dreams, Roy Hazelwood and bestselling author Stephen G. Michaud take readers deep into the minds of his prey, the world’s most dangerous sexual criminals, and reveal the extent to which these individuals permeate our society. Profiler Roy Hazelwood is one of the world’s leading experts on the strangest and most dangerous of all aberrant offenders– the sexual criminal. In Dark Dreams he reveals the twisted motive and thinking that go into the most reprehensible crimes. He also catalogs the innovative and remarkably effective techniques– investigative approaches that he helped pioneer at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit– that allow law enforcement agents to construct psychological profiles of the offenders who commit these crimes.  As gruesome as the crimes are and as unsettling as the odds seem, Hazelwood proves that the right amount of determination and logic can bring even the most cunning and devious criminals to justice.

 

Hearn, Jeff. The Violences of Men: How Men Talk About and How Agencies Respond to Men’s Violence to Women, Sage, 1998.

Jeff Hearn considers the scale of men’s violence against women, and critically reviews the theoretical frameworks that are used to explain this violence. From the perspective of “critical studies of men,” he discusses issues, challenges, and possible research methods for those studying and researching violence, and particularly men’s violence to known women. He then draws on extensive original research to analyze the various ways in which men describe, deny, justify, and excuse their violence, and considers the complex interaction between doing violence and talking about violence. He goes on to examine agencies’ responses to men’s violence, ranging from avoidance to policy and practice innovations and possibilities, before discussing ways that some men may move away from violence.

 

Katz, J. Seductions of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions in Doing Evil, Basic, 1998.

Katz explores the criminal mind and tells readers why crimes are committed. Proving the inadequacy of all conventional explanations of criminal behavior, he suggests that criminals are preoccupied with moral questions, sometimes concealing and testing censored desires.  Includes bibliography and the following chapters:

• 1.  Righteous slaughter
  2.  Sneaky thrills
  3.  Ways of the Badass
  4.   Street elites
  5.   Doing stickup
  6.   Action, chaos, and control: persisting with stickup
  7.   Of hardmen and ‘Bad Niggers’: gender and ethnicity in the background of stickup
  8.   Primordial evil: sense and dynamic in cold-blooded, ‘Senseless’ murder
  9.   Seduction and repulsions of crime.

 

Kaufman, Gershen. Shame: The Power of Caring, Schenkman, 1992.

“Shame: The Power of Caring probes a neglected dimension of the human experience. ‘To feel shame is to feel seen in a painfully diminished sense. The self feels exposed both to itself ans to anyone else present. It is this sudden, unexpected feeling of exposure and accompanying self-consciousness that characterizes the essential nature of the effect of shame.’ Contained in the experience of shame is the piercing awareness of ourselves as fundamentally deficient in some vital way as a human being.”

 

Kutash, I., Kutash, S., and Schlesinger, L. (Editors). Violence: Perspective on Murder and Aggression, Jossey-Bass, 1978.

This book offers practitioners in psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and other disciplines a comprehensive overview of the causes, treatment, and prevention of violence. Psychoanalytical, sociological, ethological, and biological theories about the origins of aggressive behavior are reviewed. The causes and consequences of different types of murder–intrafamily murder, murders by women, assassinations, etc.–are examined in light of research findings. Why people become violent and how that violence erupts into family assaults, vandalism in the schools, child abuse, sexual assaults, and other acts are explored. Disposition, treatment, and prevention are addressed in chapters on treatment versus correction and on treatment of sexual offenders, other violent offenders, violent police officers, and the victims of aggression. Society’s role in recognizing, controlling, and preventing violence is also considered. The 26 chapters contain case studies and clinical examples that professionals will find useful in dealing with child abuse, school violence, sexual offenses, and other problems. An index and a 63-page list of references are provided.

 

Levine, Sylvia, and Koenig, Joseph (Editors). Why Men Rape: Interviews with Convicted Rapists, W.H. Allen, U.K., 1982.

A collection of interviews based on the film Why Men Rape by Doug Jackson, National Film Board of Canada.

 

Lewis, Alvin D. (Editor). Cultural Diversity in Sexual Abuser Treatment: Issues and Approaches, Safer Society, 1999.

Abusers of different cultures may not be assessed accurately because they do not make eye contact or express negative emotions in groups or to therapists. Their cultural support systems have rarely been included in treatment sessions or aftercare plans. Lack of attention to cultural issues may foster ineffective treatment, putting some abusers and their communities at risk. Contributors discuss cultural issues regarding assessment and treatment of female sex abusers (as an unrecognized culture), Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Alaska Native groups, Asian Americans, and model approach undertaken with Maoris in New Zealand.

 

Maruna, Shadd. Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives, American Psychological Association, 2001.

Based on the Liverpool Desistance Study, this book compares and contrasts the stories of ex-convicts who are actively involved in criminal behavior with those who are actively involved in criminal behavior with those who are “going straight” or desisting from crime and drug use.  The author’s research shows that criminals who desist from crime have constructed powerful narratives that aided them in making sense of their pasts, finding fulfillment in productive behaviors, and feeling in control of their future. Borrowing from the field of narrative psychology, Maruna argues that to truly understand offenders, we must understand the stories that they tell—and that in turn this story-making process has the capacity to transform lives.

 

Miedzian, Myriam. Boys Will Be Boys: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence, Doubleday, 2002.

This well-researched, straightforward, realistic examination of the problem of male violence exposes the ways in which Americans encourage violence in their sons. Miedzian offers specific, practical suggestions as to what can be done to change this behavior. Originally published in 1991, the 2002 edition has a 50 page introduction updating information presented in the original.  The book’s analyses and recommendations are based on a synthesis of research, not on anecdotal material.

 

Millon, Theodore; Simonsen, Erik, et al (Editors). Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior, Guilford, 1998.

Psychopathy remains one of the least understood personality disorders and one of the most intransigent to therapeutic amelioration. Encompassing all the significant viewpoints regarding the nature of psychopathic personalities, this volume surveys current typologies and treatment approaches.  Sample chapters include:

• • • Psychopathy: An Elusive Concept with Moral Overtones / John Gunn
    • Evil Intent: Violence and Disorders of the Will / Henry Jay Richards
    • Ten Subtypes of Psychopathy / Theodore Millon and Roger D. Davis
    • Psychopaths and Their Nature: Implications for the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Systems / Robert Hare
    • Early Emotional Frustration and Indicators of Organic Dysfunction / Niels P. Rygaard
    • Psychopathy in the Pedophile / Darvin Dorr
    • Sadistic Personality in Murderers / Michael Stone
    • Management of Dangerous Psychopaths in Prison / Jeremy Coid

 

Morrison, Andrew P. Shame: The Underside of Narcissism, Analytic, 1989.

Morrison provides a critical history of analytic and psychiatric attempts to make sense of shame, beginning with Freud and culminating in Kohut’s understanding of shame in terms of narcissistic phenomena. The clinical section of the book clarifies both the theoretical status and treatment implications of shame in relation to narcissistic personality disorder, neurosis and higher-level character pathology, and manic-depressive illness.

 

Murphy, Mike. Confessions of the South Side Rapist: 25 Years of Terror in the Gateway City, Booksurge, 2005.

Confessions of the South Side Rapist is a true crime tale about the life, the crimes, and the motivations behind the crimes of Dennis Rabbitt, one of the most prolific rapists in American history. It relies on hundreds of pages of police reports and exhaustive interviews, especially from Dennis Rabbitt, to tell his story. The book gives detailed and sometimes grisly accounts of the crimes of the South Side Rapist but also gives the motivations and explanations behind these crimes from the perspective of Rabbitt, law enforcement, the forensic psychologist, and the author.

 

Nathanson, Donald L. (Editor) The Many Faces of Shame, Guilford, 1987.

For almost a century the concept of guilt, as embedded in drive theory, has dominated psychoanalytic thought. Increasingly, however, investigators are focusing on shame as a key aspect of human behavior. This volume captures a range of compelling viewpoints on the role of shame in psychological development, psychopathology, and the therapeutic process. Donald Nathanson has assembled internationally prominent authorities, engaging them in extensive dialogue about their areas of expertise. Concise introductions to each chapter place the authors both historically and theoretically, and outline their emphases and contributions to our understanding of shame. Including many illustrative clinical examples, the book covers such topics as the relationship between shame and narcissism, shame’s central place in affect theory, psychosis and shame, and shame in the literature of French psychoanalysis and philosophy.

 

Newburn, T., and Stanko, E.A. (Editors). Just Boys Doing Business? Men, Masculinities, and Crime, Routledge, U.K. 1994.

What is it about crime that makes it “men’s work”?  Can we imagine masculinity without crime? This is the first book of its kind to bring contributors from three continents together to examine the relationship between masculinity and crime. Covering such areas as policing, prisons, violence against women, homicide, white-collar crime, and male victimization, this book will force us to rethink many aspects of masculinity and crime.

• • Introduction : men, masculinities and crime /​ Tim Newburn and Elizabeth A. Stanko
  • Theorising masculine subjectivity /​ Tony Jefferson
  • Challenging the problem of men’s individual violence /​ Elizabeth A. Stanko
  • Cop canteen culture /​ Nigel Fielding
  • Young black males : marginality, masculinity and criminality /​ Jewelle Taylor Gibbs and Joseph R. Merighi
  • Schooling, masculinities and youth crime by white boys /​ James W. Messerschmidt
  • Tougher than the rest? Men in prison /​ Joe Sim
  • Mannish boys : Danny, Chris, crime, masculinity and business /​ Dick Hobbs
  • What’s the big deal? We are men and they are women /​ Alberto Godenzi
  • When men are victims : the failure of victimology /​ Tim Newburn and Elizabeth A. Stanko
  • Masculinity, honour and confrontational homicide /​ Kenneth Polk
  • Masculinities, violence and communitarian control /​ John Braithwaite and Kathleen Daly
  • Boys keep swinging : masculinity and football culture in England /​ John Williams and Rogan Taylor
  • Masculinities and white-collar crime /​ Michael Levi.

 

Pence, E., and Paymar, M. Power and Control: The Tactics of Men Who Batter, Domestic Abuse Intervention Project of Duluth, Minnesota, 1986.  VHS/DVD

This curriculum uses an educational approach to working with men on ending their violence. Its strength is its usefulmess to men of all education levels, races, and economic classes. The accompanying videotaped scenes provide a focal point for the groups to analyze the intent, effect, and power of abusive behaviors.

 

Pryor, Douglas W. Unspeakable Acts: Why Men Sexually Abuse Children, New York University, 1996.

The sexual abuse of children is one of the most morally unsettling and emotionally inflammatory issues in American society today. It has been estimated that roughly one out of every four girls and one in ten boys experience some form of unwanted sexual attention either inside or outside the family before they reach adulthood. An alarmingly common occurrence, sexual abuse is traumatic and life-altering for children in its impact. How should society deal with the sexual victimization of children? Should known offenders be released back into our communities? If so, where, and with what rights, should they be allowed to live? In Unspeakable Acts, Douglas W. Pryor argues that much of this debate, designed to deal with abusers after they have offended, ignores the important issue of why men cross these forbidden sexual boundaries to molest children in the first place and how the behavior can possibly be prevented before it starts. Based on in-depth interviews with thirty men who molested their own children or the children of people they knew, Pryor provides a unique glimpse of those who become offenders. His analysis explores how the lives of offenders prior to their offending led up to and contributed to what they did, the ways that initial interest in sex with children began, the tactics offenders employed to molest their victims over time, how they felt about and reacted to their behavior between offending episodes, and how and why they stopped abusing.

 

Raine, Adrian, Sanmartin, José, (Editors). Violence and Psychopathy. Kluwer/Plenum, 2001.

The problems that psychopathic and violent offenders create for society are not restricted to North America. Instead, these offenders create havoc throughout the world, including Europe. In recognition of this fact, Queen Sophia of Spain has promoted a Center for the Study of Violence which recognizes both biological and social contributions to the cause of violence. In November 1999, the Queen Sofia Center for the Study of Violence held its IV International Meeting on the Biology and Sociology of Violence. This fourth Meeting, which was under the Honorary Presidency of H. M. The Queen of Spain, examined the biological, psychological and social aspects of the psychopath, the violent offender, and the serial killer. This book presents some of the key contributions made at that conference and which were first published in Spanish in 2000 by Ariel Press. A key thrust of this book, and a stance shared by all of its contributors, is the notion that violence and psychopathy simply cannot be understood solely, or even fundamentally, in terms of social and environmental forces and influences. Nor do biological factors offer an exclusive explanation.

 

Raine, Adrian. The Anatomy of Violence: the Biological Roots of Crime, Pantheon, 2013.

A leading criminologist who specializes in the neuroscience behind criminal behavior, Adrian Raine introduces a wide range of new scientific research into the origins and nature of violence and criminal behavior. He explains how impairments to areas of the brain that control our ability to experience fear, make decisions, and feel empathy can make us more likely to engage in criminal behavior. He applies this new understanding of the criminal mind to some of the most well-known criminals in history. And he clearly delineates the pressing considerations this research demands: What are its implications for our criminal justice system? Should we condemn and punish individuals who have little to no control over their behavior? Should we act preemptively with people who exhibit strong biological predispositions to becoming dangerous criminals?

 

Ramsland, Katherine, and McGrain, Patrick. Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators, Praeger, 2010.

They are among the most frightening of all criminals, yet few have attempted to document the complex mindset of the sexual predator through intimate case details. Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators reexamines this intentional criminal behavior, describing the different types of sexual predators and explaining why they choose to commit their specific type of predatory acts. Each chapter of the book addresses a different category of predator or a specific, complex issue related to predatory behavior. Distinctions are drawn between types of offenders, from the casual offender to the depraved rapist and serial lust killer, and the variables that play a part in an individual’s sexual predation are explored. Like Ramsland’s Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers, this book is essential reading for professionals in law enforcement and psychology, as well as for everyone seeking to go beyond the headlines to understand this difficult and controversial topic.

 

Ressler, Robert, Burgess, Ann, Douglas, John. Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives, The Free Press, 1992.

Who are the men committing the rising number of serial homicides in the U.S. — and why do they kill? The increase in these violent crimes over the past decade has created an urgent need for more and better information about these men: their crime scene patterns, violent acts, and above all, their motivations for committing these shocking and repetitive murders. This authoritative book represents the data, findings, and implications of a long-term F.B.I.-sponsored study of serial sex killers. Specially trained F.B.I. agents examined thirty-six convicted, incarcerated sexual murderers to build a valuable new bank of information which reveals the world of the serial sexual killer in both quantitative and qualitative detail. Data was obtained from official psychiatric and criminal records, court transcripts, and prison reports, as well as from extensive interviews with the offenders themselves. Featured in this book is detailed information on the F.B.I.’s recently developed Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) and a sample of an actual VICAP Crime Analysis Report Form.

 

Ressler, Robert, Schactman, Tom. Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI, St. Martin’s, 1992.

Face-to-face with some of America’s most terrifying killers, FBI veteran and ex-Army CID colonel Robert Ressler learned form then how to identify the unknown monsters who walk among us–and put them behind bars. Now the man who coined the phrase “serial killer”  shows how is able to track down some of today’s most brutal murderers. Ressler shows how he used the evidence at a crime scene to put together a psychological profile of the killers.  From the victims they choose, to the way they kill, to the often grotesque souvenirs they take with them–Ressler unlocks the identities of these vicious killers to the police to capture.  With his discovery that serial killers share certain violent behaviors, Ressler’s gone behind prison walls to hear the first-hand stories countless convicted murderers.  Getting inside the mind of a killer to understand how and why he kills, is one of the FBI’s most effective ways of helping police bring in killers who are still at large.   Ressler takes you on the hunt for toady’s most dangerous psychopaths.

 

Ressler, Robert, Schactman, Tom. I Have Lived in the Monster: Inside the Minds of the World’s most Notorious Serial Killers, St. Martin’s, 1997.

In his successful Whoever Fights Monsters, Robert K. Ressler examined his brilliant twenty-year career hunting down killers for the FBI.  Now, delving deeper than ever before into the criminal mind, Ressler recounts his years since leaving the FBI, working as an independent criminal profiler on some of the most famous serial murder cases of our day.  Ingeniously piecing together clues from crime scenes, along with killing patterns and methods, Ressler explains his role in assisting the investigations of such perplexing international cases as England’s Wimbledon Common killing, the ABC Murders in South Africa, and the deadly gassing of Japan’s subway. We’re also witness to Ressler’s  in-depth interviews with John Wayne Gacy, the first and last one America’s most prolific serial killer would ever grant, plus a candid discussion with “cannibal killer” Jeffrey Dahmer.  Daring to understand the minds of serial killers, Robert K. Ressler returns from the deepest abyss with an unforgettable account.

 

Rideau, Wilbert, and Wikberg, Ron. Life Sentences: Rage and Survival Behind Bars, Times Books, 1992.

Drawing on their award-winning reporting for the Louisiana State Penitentiary’s uncensored newsmagazine, The Angolite, Wilbert Rideau and Ron Wikberg present the stark reality of life behind bars and the human, political, and fiscal costs of our long-running war on crime.   Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-322), index, and the following  articles originally published in the Angolite. The Farrar Legacy; The Legend of Leadbelly; Angola’s History; Phelps: Five Years Later; Conversations with the Dead; The Sexual Jungle;  The Escape of Nigger Joe;  The Dynamics of Parole;  The Fiscal Crunch;  Dying in Prison; Maggio Retires;  The Wall of Reality; Butler’s Park;  The Pelican Protector;  A Labor of Love;  The Long-termers;  Hollywood comes to Angola;  The Omen;  Prisonomics; House of the Damned;  The Deadliest Prosecutor;  The Horror Show;  The Deathmen and more.

 

 

Ritchie, Beth. Compelled to Crime: The Gender Entrapment of Battered Black Women, Routledge, 1996.

Tells the stories of battered African American women incarcerated in a New York City correctional facility and explores what happens when the criminal justice system is introduced as a repressive force in their lives. Details the ways in which African American women are hemmed into the corners of U.S. society by virtue of their vulnerability to men’s violence, and penalized for behaviors that are proscribed by societal mores of appropriate gender roles.

 

Salter, Anna. Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders: Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We can Protect Ourselves and Our Children. Basic, 2003.

World-renowned psychologist Anna Salter has been studying sexual offenders and their victims for more than twenty years. Now, for the first time, she uses her expertise to dispel the myths surrounding sexual offenders – how they think, how they deceive their victims, and how they elude the law.” “Sexual crimes are more prevalent than most people would ever imagine: Recent research shows that one in four girls and one in six boys will have sexual contact with an adult. Even more alarming is the fact that fewer than five percent of sex offenders are ever apprehended. One man admitted to victimizing more than 1,000 children before he was incarcerated.” “Why is sexual abuse so common, and how do predators cover their tracks? After countless hours of interviews with sexual offenders – from respected community leaders and clergymen to trusted family friends and relatives – Anna Salter argues that it is our misconceptions about predators that make us so vulnerable to them. Drawing on the stories of abusers, told in their own words, Salter sheds light on the surprising motives behind sexual abuse.

 

Samenow, Stanton E. Inside the Criminal Mind. Random House, 1984.

In 1984, this groundbreaking book offered readers an illuminating window into the workings of the criminal mind and a revolutionary approach to “habilitation”. In 2004, armed with twenty years of additional knowledge and insight, Samenow explored the subject anew, using his expertise to explain the thought patterns of those who commit the crimes we were most concerned with in the new millennium, such as domestic violence, Internet victimization, and terrorism. The fields of criminal behavior have expanded, demanding another updated version, which includes an exploration of computers as a vehicle for criminal conduct; new drugs and pharmaceutical influences, exposure to the rawest forms of violence in video games, films, and television broadcasts; social media as an arena for illicit activities; and updated genetic and biological research into whether some people are “wired” to become criminals. Throughout, we learn from Samenow’s four decades of experience how truly vital it is to know who the criminal is and how he or she thinks differently. Only once equipped with that crucial understanding can we reach reasonable, compassionate, and effective solutions.

 

Samenow, Stanton E. Straight Talk about Criminals: Understanding and Treating Antisocial Individuals. Jason Aronson, 2002.

Is there a genetic predisposition to crime? Should mental illness be taken into account? Do family and social environments have a role? Do people become abusers because they have been abused? How can people who do terrible things consider themselves good people? What should someone involved in a relationship with a criminal know?” “Stanton Samenow, co-author of the widely respected three-volume study of The Criminal Personality, has collected the questions posed by audiences during his speaking engagements of the past twenty-eight years about causes, characteristics, and treatments of antisocial behavior. Now he draws on his research and clinical experience with hundreds of men, women, and children to offer no-frills answers that embody his informed perspectives on some of the toughest policy issues facing individuals, institutions, and governments today.

 

Scully, Diana. Understanding Sexual Violence: A Study of Convicted Rapists, HarperCollins, U.K., 1990.

This book examines the structural supports for rape in sexually violent cultures and dispels a number of myths about sexual violence – for example, that childhood abuse, alcohol, and drugs are direct causes of rape. Scully argues that the currently held view of rape solely as a crime of violence unrelated to sex is simply wrong: for some men, rape is sex, and indeed, “Sex is Rape.”  She concludes with a discussion of what the rapists themselves had to say about rape avoidance.

 

Sereny, Gita. Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell, Metropolitan, 1998.

Twenty-seven years after her conviction, Mary Bell agreed to talk to the author about her childhood, the murders she committed 9 weeks apart, her public trial, and her 12 years of imprisonment. She had no psychiatric care during her imprisonment but did come to respect the prison headmaster. Later, she was transferred from this setting to a maximum-security women’s prison and was removed from the emotional security and academic structure to which she had responded earlier. She discusses her early childhood and sexual abuse with the author, as well her adolescent life in prison and the influence of her mother who directed the sexual abuse to which she was subjected. The author believes that Mary Bell’s childhood experiences were very influential in the murders she committed in 1968. An appendix contains writings and drawings of Mary Bell.

 

Stevens, Dennis J. Inside the Mind of a Serial Rapist, Authors Choice, 2000.

Based on interviews of 61 convicted rapists, the book concludes that rape is more a sexual crime than a violent or power crime. The study exclusively examined serial rape, let serial rapists speak for themselves rather than asking victims or reviewing records and obtained data through convicted felons trained as interviewers. Ideas about rape motivation, target selection and violence emerged from the offenders, who also proposed solutions to curb serial rape. The book discusses the typical victim of serial rape, the number of predatory rape attacks and why victims do not report predatory rape; suggests ways to control predatory rape; explains serial rape motivation through the categories of control/anger rape, supremacy rape and fantasy rape; discusses victim selection techniques and how to avoid rape; clarifies a serial rapist’s use of physical force; explains why some offenders use excessive force, commit necrophilia and cannibalism; offers a narrative about the daily life of a serial rapist; and offers a conclusion and recommendations, including the use of drugs to chemically castrate sexual offenders as one method of dealing with sexual addiction.

 

Swindle, Howard. Trespasses: Portrait of a Serial Rapist, Viking, 1996.

For five years, respected Dallas businessman Gilbert Escobedo disguised himself with a ski mask and may have raped as many as one hundred women. Now Howard Swindle, an award-winning Dallas Morning News editor, offers a taut and sensitive account of Escobedo’s crimes and the police investigation that led to his arrest. Candid and heart wrenching insights from many of Escobedo’s victims reinforce this compelling portrait of a power rapist, an account that uncovers the real faces behind the act and the aftermath of this most heinous of crimes. Written with the same fast-paced narrative that brought wide acclaim to Deliberate Indifference, Trespasses is illuminated by the latest research on sex crimes as well as two years of conversations with Escobedo in a Mexico and the United States, all of which develop the themes of the title essay and extend his penetrating commentary to the United States and Latin America.

 

Turney, Bob. I’m Still Standing [offender’s story], Waterside, U.K., 1997.

Bob Turney gave up crime to study for a degree at Reading University and was rehabilitating himself by way of voluntary work. Three years on, Bob is a probation officer working in a Youth Justice Team. This book charts his progress from down-and-out ‘ex-con’ to a respected citizen in his life story up until 1997.

 

Toews, Barb. The Little Book of Restorative Justice for People in Prison. Good Books, 2006.

The Little Book of Restorative Justice for People in Prison is one of a series of short books designed to provide readers with quick, easy to understand discussions of issues related to restorative justice and peacemaking. In this 91 page volume, Barb Toews discusses restorative justice from the point of view of someone working with incarcerated people. She discusses restorative justice theory and practices, meeting the justice needs of all those affected by crime, and the place of restorative justice in the prison setting.

 

van Wormer, Katherine. Counseling Female Offenders and Victims: A Strengths-Restorative Approach. Springer, 2001.

This books considers the many aspects of how the criminal justice system can be reshaped to address the needs of victims of violence and offenders who themselves are often the victims of abuse. It presents a new model that offers an integrated framework to combine tenets of social work’s strengths framework with the restorative justice model. It looks at the restorative justice of female crime victims and the treatment of women in prison in the context of human rights issues. The book can be used as a text to help prepare students for jobs doing direct practice with offenders and victims. Chapter 1 provides the theoretical and historical overview of a gendered analysis of women’s experience in the legal justice system. Chapter 2 delves into the fundamentals of establishing a treatment relationship as preparation for practice of strengths-based therapy with victims and offenders. Chapter 3 looks at the topic of victimization and Chapter 4 presents interventions. Chapter 5 considers the nature of women’s crimes. Chapter 6 presents the results of a survey of 74 federal and state prison facilities in the U.S. that incarcerate women. Chapter 7 discusses counseling the female offender. (Contains over 650 references.)

 

Vronsky, Peter. Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters, Berkley, 2004.

In this unique book, Peter Vronsky documents the psychological, investigative, and cultural aspects of serial murder, beginning with its first recorded instance in ancient Rome, through fifteenth-century France, up to such notorious contemporary cases as cannibal/necrophile Ed Kemper, Henry Lee Lucas, Ted Bundy, and the emergence of what he classifies as “the serial rampage killer” such as Andrew Cunanan. Exhaustively researched with transcripts of interviews with killers, and featuring up-to-date information on the apprehension and conviction of the Green River Killer and the Beltway Snipers, Vronsky’s one-of-a-kind book covers every conceivable aspect of an endlessly riveting true-crime phenomenon.

 

Vronsky, Peter. Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters, Berkley, 2007.

Society is conditioned to think of murderers and predators as men, but Peter Vronsky exposes and investigates the phenomenon of women who kill, and the political, economic, social, and sexual implications. From history’s earliest recorded cases of homicidal females to Irma Grese, the Nazi Beast of Belsen, from Britain’s notorious child-slayer Myra Hindley to “Honeymoon Killer” Martha Beck, from the sensational murder-spree of Aileen Wournos, to cult killers, homicidal missionaries and the sexy femme fatale, Vronsky challenges the ordinary standards of good and evil and defies the accepted perceptions of gender role and identity.

 

Walker, Lenore E. Terrifying Love: Why Battered Women Kill and How Society Responds, HarperCollins, 1989.

Lenore Walker tells the dramatic story of battered women who kill in self-defense and of her own courageous efforts to secure their justice in our courts and in our society. Lenore Walker – author of The Battered Woman and nationally recognized expert on domestic violence – recounts her efforts as an expert witness in a series of precedent-setting court cases and brings home to us the terror, violence, and misguided love that shape the battered woman’s experience. Walker explains how women become trapped in abusive relationships and how, pushed to the edge out of fear for their own or their children’s lives, these women find the strength to defend themselves. She offers a piercing look at the plight of battered women in the courts, in prison, and in local law-enforcement agencies, and she gives voice not only to these women but to every woman who has experienced the silencing of her needs, her anger, her call for justice, her own truth.

 

Zehr, Howard. Doing Life: Reflections of Men and Women Serving Life Sentences, Good Books, 1996.

The author interviewed and photographed 70 men and women who are imprisoned for life, with little or no possibility of ever returning to society. All were convicted of homicide or being an accomplice to homicide. He offers some of their experiences and perspectives, in their own words, in an effort to present them as individuals rather than stereotypes. One of the themes that emerged during the interview sessions was the search for meaning, individuals’ desire to make some good come out of the bad. Many of the people interviewed were involved in programs to assist others and to help young people avoid destructive situations. Others expressed a need to make each day count, to consciously work to do something worthwhile each day. Finding hope in an apparently hopeless situation drove many of them. So, too, did concern for their victims. While not all lifers are like those presented in this book, many do mature into thoughtful, responsible adults who are remorseful for what they have done and who seek ways to contribute to society.

 

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