Inside the Criminal Mind: Revised and Updated Edition
By:
Stanton Samenow
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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Description:
In 1984, this groundbreaking book presented a chilling profile of the criminal mind that shattered long-held myths about the sources of and cures for crime. Now, with the benefit of twenty years' worth of additional knowledge and insight, Stanton Samenow offers a completely updated edition of his classic work, including fresh perceptions into crimes in the spotlight today, from stalking and domestic violence to white-collar crime and political terrorism.
Dr. Samenow's three decades of working with criminals have reaffirmed his argument that factors such as poverty, divorce, and media violence do not cause criminality. Rather, as Samenow documents here, all criminals share a particular mind-set--often evident in childhood--that is disturbingly different from that of a responsible citizen.
While new types of crime have grown more prevalent, or at least more visible to the public eye--from spousal abuse to school shootings--little has changed in terms of our approach to dealing with crime. Rehabilitation programs based on the assumption that society is more to blame for crime than the criminal, an assumption for which a causal link has yet to be established, have proved to be grossly inadequate. Crime continues to invade every aspect of our lives, criminal court dockets and prisons are oppressively overcrowded and expensive, and recidivism rates continue to escalate.
To embark on a truly corrective program, we must begin with the clear understanding that the criminal chooses crime; he chooses to reject society long before society rejects him. The criminal values people only to the extent that he can use them for his own self-serving ends; he does not justify his actions to himself. Only by "habilitating" the criminal, so that he sees himself realistically and develops responsible patterns of thought, can we change his behavior.
It is vital that we know who the criminal is and how and why he acts differently from responsible citizens. From that understanding can come reasonable, compassionate, and effective solutions.
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: 2004-03-30
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Good For General Consumption - I have worked in correctional education and counseling for almost 20 years. I first read the works of Yochelson and Samenow in 1990, and have seen its validity illustrated thousands of times. "Inside the Criminal Mind" is not a work of research, but a general work for a broad audience; in other words, it was written for the lay person. If you want to read the research, find "The Criminal Personality, vol. I, II, & III" (1986). "Inside the Criminal Mind" seems to be a work that is accepted or absolutely hated, and that deals with the reviewers' personal biases more than Samenow's work. Some key facts to remember are: (1) not everyone in prison has a criminal personality, even if a convicted felon, (2) while most criminals are drug users, not all drug users have a criminal personality, and (3)personality disorders, such as the anti-social personality disorder, are all learned, and as such, can be unlearned. The borderline personality disorder, in many ways, is much more 'dangerous' than the anti-social personality disorder, and other mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, are not even addressed. People commit crimes for many reasons, but the key factors to consider when dealing with them is to look at the pattern of behavior over time and if there are increases in that behaviors frequency and intensity/severity. This book is only one tool in understanding a very broad and complex field. And for at least two reviewers, I would like to say, buy a new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-IV came out in 1990, and the DSM-IV-TR in 2000; with the DSM-V scheduled for release within in the next five years. To reference the DSM-III is sad, and to claim to be a mental health professional and use the DSM-II is just plain scary.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Helpful but not complete - This book will give you some insight into how criminals think. It basically comes down to "criminal commit crimes because they want to." If you work with offenders or ex-offenders, this book is helpful but incomplete. Read some of the work by Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Amazing Insight - Dr. Samenow will enlighten you with the manner in which he approaches this topic. He is honest in his approach and will leave you with a profound understanding of how a criminal behaves and why. I found this book to be fascinating and a must read for those interested in this topic
Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Please don't be impressed by titles.... judge by the writing. - I honestly believe that the glowing reviews of this book have a great deal to do with the fact that the author has credentials that SHOULD lead to good research and good thinking. Please don't be overly impressed by the fact that this author went to Harvard, and blah, blah, blah. This kind of writing has to stand or fall on its own terms. I really can't believe how utterly fact-free all of the arguments are. There are virtually never any studies cited, not even single-case studies. Instead, there are only personal anecdotes about this, that, and the other criminal, and whatever was supposedly going through their heads.
The reason this book even deserves one star (well, aside from the fact that you can't do a zero star review here) is that it does indeed do a decent job of decribing people who really do have antisocial personality disorder. I work at a large mental health provider, and I've worked with ASPD folks. This DSM-IV-TR diagnosis is not meant to absolve the person in question from any responsibility for his/her behavior, either. It's not something that can be used as an insanity defense. I've also worked with people who were judged not guilty by reason on insanity at the time of their crimes. I can tell y'all that when it's properly used in the context of severely mentally ill people who had no contact whatsoever with reality when they committed a crime, it's a correct diagnosis, and a correct judicial ruling. However, psychosis is not the same thing as ASPD. If Samenow left his arguments at that, it might be okay, but he doesn't. And the leap in logic that Samenow indulges in here is really almost impossible to believe.
Yes, these ASPD-type characteristics do apply to certain criminals, but who *are* these criminals? How do we define them? How do we diagnose them? Is Samenow honestly trying to say that *anyone* who commits *any* type of crime is this kind of criminal? How on earth can he say that anyone who could ever be defined as a criminal actually has this kind of personality? This argument is so incredibly silly that it falls apart on its own when we actually look at it.
In summary, Samenow comes across as the kind of researcher who would have been, and was, a Reagan darling. To give him credit, he doesn't foam at the mouth to nearly the degree he'd have to in order to get chummy with Bush-type neocons. But he just doesn't do good research, and it shows in his writing. There is just no reason to be impressed here.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A classic on the criminal mind - Great summery on criminal thinking. Much easier to read then original case studies were, but less information if researching for serious project.
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