Name: Inside the Criminal Mind
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9781400046195

Stanton E. Samenow

Long-held myths defining the sources of and cures for crime are shattered in this groundbreaking book--and a chilling profile of today's criminal emerges.

Inside the Criminal Mind

Lauren Lipford

Behavior is a product of thinking, and so it is incumbent upon anyone formulating policy or working with offenders to understand how criminals think. 

Human nature does not change, and thus the criminal mind that I described in earlier editions of this book has not changed. However, a constantly changing society provides new avenues for the criminal mind to express itself.

No matter how much physical, financial, or emotional damage he causes, the criminal believed he is a good person.

Policy makers waste billions of dollars as they naively seek to combat criminal behavior by eradicating its so-called environmental “root causes.”

… it is essential to avoid simplistically dividing all of humanity into good or evil.

Responsible people are not transformed into killers because of what they watch or play for entertainment… Crucial is the psychological makeup of the individuals who watch the television programs, view the movies, or play the games.

Child-rearing is not a one-way street. The child brings up the parent as well as vice versa… psychiatrist William Carey points out that parents “cannot change their child’s basic temperament,” but they can control the way they respond to it.

It is impossible to commit a crime that is out of character… You cannot be other than who you are. A crime that appears out of character can be understood only by discerning what the character of the individual truly is. 

A person’s reaction to adversity depends on his personality.

We may be able to identify individuals who already have a history of making threats or engaging in violence. That does not mean that, under current laws, we have the ability to detain them, much less force them into intensive treatment.

Criminals cannot be forced to change; they must reach a point in life when they are becoming fed up with themselves and, consequently, desire to change.

The change process calls for criminals to acquire moral values that have enabled civilizations to survive.

Inside the Criminal Mind

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