Psychology
Why we need better psych profiling for law enforcement.
I have mentioned on a couple of occasions that I believe that our Justice system here in America needs a serious revamp. I have no illusions about the complexity, inherent problems and near impossibility of creating a perfectly just, adequate and equitable legal system in any country. But here in the US, we have so many resources available that there are some things that we have no excuse for not implementing some basics that would seriously help balance out some of the flaws in the justice system and law enforcement, as it stands today. Articles like the ff, where an off-duty Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officer wigged out and went on a jealous killing spree, only cement my opinion:
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy went on a shooting rampage early Sunday at a home where seven young people had gathered for pizza and movies, killing six and critically injuring the other before authorities fatally shot him, officials said. – [Yahoo/AP]
I know police officers are people too, but shouldn’t there be checks and balances? A requirement for a Specific kind of person for these positions? Even the possible motive for the killings makes no sense:
The circumstances of the shooting were hazy Sunday and it wasn’t immediately clear what the gunman’s motive was, but the mother of a 14-year-old victim said the suspect may have been a jealous boyfriend. – [Yahoo/AP]
A jealous boyfriend? Really? He went on a shooting spree out of jealousy? Even though this motive is entirely speculation at this point, it still begs the question, how did someone like this make it into the force? I know many progressive law enforcement offices use psychological profiling in their hiring process, and I don’t know if the Wisconsin Sheriffs dept. is one of them, but I really think it should be a standard practice, not just in progressive law enforcement establishments, but across the board.
I think that along with periodic evaluations and a statistical analysis of officer behaviour in reference to their psych evals over time and as a whole, could help nip these kinds of problems in the bud. In fact any force that is intended to exercise any level of control over the general populace needs to have this kind of testing done. Maybe I’m beating a dead horse into glue. But come on. Isn’t it worth the lives that would be saved, and the prevention of unfair police brutality to implement something like this universally?
Off-duty Wis. deputy sheriff kills 6 – [Yahoo/AP]
What kind of kids are we raising?
I think that America, as a culture, we have started down a long slippery slope towards self imprisonment. We are stripping away from ourselves the very freedoms we hold dear. I see it every day. Even in some of the most innocuous things:
On the playground of a northern Colorado Springs elementary school, tag is not “it.”
The touch-and-run game and any other form of chasing was banned this year at Discovery Canyon Campus’ elementary school by administrators who say it fuels schoolyard disputes.
“It causes a lot of conflict on the playground,” said Assistant Principal Cindy Fesgen. In the first days of school, before tag was banned, she said students would complain to her about being chased or harassed.
Fesgen said she would hear: “Well, I don’t want to be chased, but he won’t stop chasing me, or she won’t stop chasing me.” – [The Colorado Springs Gazette]
Is this what we want our kids to do? How do we expect our kids to learn anything about people and life, if every time they run into a problem we ban it wholesale? How are they going to learn how to deal with each other? Learn how to handle people and their idiosyncracies? When will they understand that not everything is going to go our way, and that not everything is under our control?
And even worse, how do we teach those kids what they can and cannot do? How do we teach kids that you cannot harass someone just because? Banning tag isn’t going to teach that. All this teaches them is if you don’t like it, get it banned. No tolerance, no patience, no understanding. Nothing else will be learned by this action. The playground will have one less game, and the children will have one less avenue to learn about others and themselves.
Nationally, several schools have done away with tag and other games because of the accidents and arguments they can lead to. It’s a trend that has rankled some parents and childhood experts who say games such as tag contribute to children’s social and physical development. – [The Colorado Springs Gazette]
Apparently, even childhood experts can see the flaw in this way of thinking. And yet we have schools, communities, cities, states and even federal legislation that allow exactly the same thing to happen on a national level. What’s the betting that this is all fueled by the same mentality? People don’t seem to be able to see the big picture. It may sound like an unlikely slippery slope, but at the rate we are going, sooner or later, we will legislate ourselves out of our own personal freedoms.
Believe it or not. Your choice. But I have seen enough insanity to tell me that it’s possible. I can only hope we either come to our senses, or I’m not around when we finally lock ourselves in and throw away the key…
Springs elementary gives tag a timeout – [Colorado Springs Gazette]
Kids NEED discipline and guidance people…
I frequent a number of social help sites and message boards. I do it to help me understand people better. I do learn a lot, but I am constantly struck by how often people tend to confuse issues. Especially when it comes to raising kids. Like spanking. And discipline. Or never learn important life lessons for themselves.
I am all about letting kids learn to be their own person, but they need somewhere to start. A good framework to base their character on. If you want them to become positive, productive members of society, they need to be taught values/ethics and morals. They cannot learn these things on their own.
I have been quite vocal on this blog about the problems of society in general being the result of a lack of parental child raising discipline. Or, even worse, the parents teaching kids the wrong lessons. The results of this is all around us. And the evidence is equally salient. Here are a couple of examples:
A 12-year-old British boy appeared in court Wednesday charged with assault for throwing a sausage at a pensioner, police said.
Hmm. Odd… Let’s read on…
The youth, who can’t be named, was arrested after a 74-year-old man reported him to police for throwing a stone in Manchester, northern England.
The object turned out to be a cocktail sausage.
“Charging was the only option because the boy had previously been issued with three reprimands on separate occasions,” a Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said.
OK, this kid obviously has issues. What was even more disturbing to me was the way this kids mother responded to all of this:
The boy’s mother described the decision to charge her son as “an absolute joke,”
The boy’s mother said her son was worried he might be sent to prison. – [Yahoo/Reuters]
Now it may just be me, but it sounds like this kids mother is more worried about the penalties her son may face, rather than the fact that on 4 separate occasions (including this latest instance), her son has acted in an undisciplined and inappropriate manner? Didn’t she feel the need to discipline her child for that behavior? How about making him apologize to the pensioner? How about being a parent?
This kid is in court because he is unruly and inconsiderate. Or more likely, his mom has let him become that way. He is NOT in court because he threw a cocktail wiener at an old guy. Perhaps it is extreme to have to go to court for being a rambunctious kid, but if you’ve had the police called on you 4 times already, then obviously something has to be done.
I realize that there are cases where discipline is difficult, and I can only speculate on what is happening in that household, but from what I’ve read, I think MOM should be in court. Much better motivation to discipline her kid. Or not. But at least that way, when she shows up in court, it will be because she made the conscious decision to let her son do whatever he wants, and is willing to bear the consequences of both of their actions.
If I had done that to my Mom, she would have been mortified! She probably would have handed me over to the police herself! The thing is, the very first time I did something like that, I would have been severely disciplined. Regardless of whether it was a spanking, being disallowed to go hang out with my friends, no pocket money that week, whatever, I would have been taught that what I had done was wrong. It doesn’t matter what specific method was used, I would have learned not to do it again.
Instead, this kids mom probably defends everything he does, and he is now in court. He probably still doesn’t truly realize that what he did was wrong. What’s even worse is that he may still get off because he is a juvenile. Saddest of all, is the possibility that he will never learn anything from the experience because his mom will probably tell him that none of this was justified, and that he has been victimized by the authorities.
His antisocial behavior will continue, now with an added hatred for the police, and any/all authority figures. And when he finally grows up and decides to join some criminal organization, and a pursue a life of crime his mom will spend many a sleepless night asking herself where she went wrong raising him… Or not. She may keep cheering him on regardless. And yet we wonder why our kids are so jacked up…
Here’s another example, a worse scenario, with a rather blatant display of parental ignorance:
A mother and father are facing charges they encouraged their 13-year-old daughter to fight another girl. Debra Sue Grubb, 33, is charged in Kanawha County Magistrate Court with misdemeanor battery after allegedly forcing her daughter Gabrielle to fight 14-year-old Megan Willis near the Grubbs’ home on Aug. 15, Trooper J.M. Comer said Wednesday.
Are you kidding me? I could understand a parent telling their kid to stand up for, or defend themselves against bullying, but this?
At one point, Grubb allegedly grabbed her daughter by the arm and used her daughter’s body as a weapon to knock Megan to the ground.
Thomas Leon Grubb, 35, is charged with misdemeanor assault. Comer said Grubb is accused of threatening to harm two boys who were with Megan if they tried to break up the fight.
“It turned into a mess,” Comer said. “The two parents allowed this to happen when it should have been handled by the parents.”
- [Yahoo/AP]
You know, I almost don’t even know what to say about this. Obviously these parents never learned that violence is not the solution for everything. In fact it sounds like the kids may have been better off without their involvement. Much like the irate cussing YouTube parent I talked about before, the problem here is that even the parents don’t know any better. The only thing that might save the kids is if they end up being more intelligent than their parents, and figure this out on their own.
Then I run across parents on the message boards I was taking about earlier asking how to get their kids to do things like chores, dishes, cleaning, homework, even their own freakin’ laundry… It amazes me… Parents, your kids need discipline. The whole spanking /non-spanking issue is stupid. It’s in your head. Spanking is only abuse if you use it to vent your frustration. When used correctly, it is a tool, just like any other. And there are many of them. Use your head. Use what you know will work. Try a bunch of different things.
Just use them correctly. You can still psychologically abuse a child if you misuse a non-physical punishment. Do not punish out of anger, or out of frustration, or out of weariness or fear. Use these tools for discipline. To teach important life lessons. To teach them to be considerate of others. To be good human beings. Kids need this in order to become healthy adults. Do not deny them that opportunity.
Boy in court for throwing sausage – [Yahoo/Reuters]
Parents accused of encouraging fight – [Yahoo/AP]
Apologetic Felons…
Yet another case of a contrite robber… With double to fun…
During the first robbery, on Aug. 13, the robber apologized to the clerk, saying, “Sorry, I have to do this,” and taking $600, police said.
A week later, he returned and ordered a clerk to empty the cash register. Then he thanked the clerk and again said he was sorry before fleeing. – [Yahoo/AP]
Stories like these make me think about what really makes a person a criminal. Sure robbing someone at gunpoint is wrong, but does that automatically make you a bad person? This guy was obviously quite conflicted. Does robbing a bank out of necessity make you a “robber”? Or a “criminal”.
I know it does in eyes of the law, but the law is blind. Why would you ever let a blind lady with and old fashioned scale drive your car? So I generally look at things from a more moralistic view. But I don’t really subscribe to the idea of intention based morality, so can’t argue that this guy really didn’t want to hurt anyone, and is therefore not a “robber”. But I think it bears a little deeper examination.
To use another more well defined (on the surface at least) example, what makes a person a killer. When someone says: “Be careful with that guy, he’s a killer!” what exactly does that mean? People kill for lots of different reasons. You can’t very well lump the scared house wife that kills the rapist who broke into her house with her husbands snub nose .38 in the same category as the guy who shoots another because he “looked at me funny”.
There is obviously a big difference. Here’s what I think. A killer, or criminal, is a person who’s first solution for everything is to resort to criminal activity. They are unwilling or unable to see alternatives. It’s kind of like Abraham Maslows’ famous saying: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
I think a killer kills because to them it is the best solution they have for many of their problems. A felon steals or robs because to them, it is the only solution they know to implement successfully. If you look at it this way, then these people are all suffering from one problem. Either an absolutely uncompromising level of ignorance, or a debilitatingly severe lack of imagination… Are you bored yet? 
Man sorry but robs store anyway- twice – [Yahoo/AP]
War is waged both externally and internally.
A military report stated statistics that soldier suicides are the highest they have ever been for 26 years:
The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time of the Persian Gulf War.
The suicide rate for the Army has fluctuated over the past 26 years, from last year’s high of 17.3 per 100,000 to a low of 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001.
Last year, “Iraq was the most common deployment location for both (suicides) and attempts,” the report said. – [Yahoo/AP]
I always find it sad that we even have to have an army. I realize that humans being the creatures we are, it is sometimes necessary to use force to defend against force. But in this case, I don’t believe it was warranted, and the kinds of mental trauma we put our faithful troops through is really not a just payment for their service.
It is really a crying shame.
Army suicides highest in 26 years – [Yahoo/AP]
A good boss is worth more than gold… Mostly…
I just read an article that confirmed something that I have believed strongly all along:
More than a third of respondents to a survey conducted by communications group BT rated working for a caring and responsible employer as more important than the size of their salary.
Nearly half (44 percent) of respondents said they would discount an employer that had a bad reputation, while nearly half said corporate social responsibility policies should be compulsory.
Ben Booth, global technology officer for market research group Ipsos, agreed CSR policies help retain, as well as recruit, good IT staff although pay remained important, he believed.
More than a third of respondents to a survey conducted by communications group BT rated working for a caring and responsible employer as more important than the size of their salary.
Nearly half (44 percent) of respondents said they would discount an employer that had a bad reputation, while nearly half said corporate social responsibility policies should be compulsory.
As I pointed out in a previous post, many businesses today tend to go after employees that are strong producers, regardless of how they get there, and end up hiring crass, inconsiderate, insensitive, uncaring and emotionally irresponsible managers. I believe this is what happens when you hire someone whose only motivation is the bottom line.
Employers need to realize that there is a whole lot more to running a profitable business than having cutthroat employees. Having happy employees generally means more productivity, and a good manager can leverage that to make money, just like a mean manager might, except without the back stabbing, high employee turnover, and passive aggressive undercutting that often occurs in a high stress work environment.
It’s makes all kinds of sense. Dollars and Cents… OK that was bad… I apologize… 
Good Boss: Better Than Big Bucks? – [Yahoo/PCWorld]
The often hidden psychological effects of war…
I just read a very sad story about the brutal assault of an civilian Iraqi family in their own home.
A military jury on Friday found a soldier guilty of rape and murder in the slayings of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family.
Jurors deliberated much of Friday evening before convicting Army Pfc. Jesse Spielman, 22, of conspiracy to commit rape, rape, housebreaking with intent to commit rape and four counts of felony murder.
Military prosecutors did not say Spielman took part in the rape or murders, but alleged he went to the house knowing what the others intended to do and served as a lookout. Spielman had pleaded guilty on Monday to lesser charges of conspiracy to obstructing justice, arson, wrongfully touching a corpse and drinking.
Spielman’s sister, Paige Gerlach, screamed: “I hate the government. You people put him (in Iraq) and now, this happened.” [Yahoo/AP]
It is hard to know exactly what was going on in this soldiers head while all of this was going on, but we know for sure that at the end of the incident, an Iraqi girl had been raped, and her family murdered in cold blood. The most important point about this incident is not that the brutality and heartlessness of the crime is unusual, but rather the opposite. The ability to kill without hesitation is a requirement in order to be a good soldier. In times of war this is a necessary ability. In a theater where your combatants are just as likely to be women and children, as men, you learn to kill each with the same level of efficiency. The problem however, lies in the other less salient side effects that occur as a result of this kind of conditioning.
What happens when you reach the point where you can look at someone, a race, or a demographic, and no longer see a human being? Just a soft target? Well, in war, it makes you a better soldier. But once you learn to kill people without guilt, what else might you be capable of? And will you have to moral fiber to discern the right from the wrong and act on it? We may never know the reasons Pfc. Spielman went along with all of this. But I can understand Paige Gerlachs’ hatred of the government. She and her family will be forever emotionally scarred by this incident.
But the sad fact is, though the government may have put them in Iraq and trained them to kill Iraqi men, women and children without guilt, it was not the government who made them murder that family. They were not ordered to do so. The did this of their own free will. And I’m sure they are not the only ones to have committed such war crimes. But the actions of few such out-of-control soldiers, if any, will ever be publicized, even if they are caught. And yet they will return to our soil, with this black mark upon their psyche. And that is the ultimate problem with war.
At the end of any war, you will have not only damaged your enemies population, but your own as well, both physically and psychologically. A war of any kind comes at great cost. To both sides. And unfortunately the rewards are sometimes not worth the sacrifices. It is not something to be entered easily or lightly, no matter how strong you may think you are.
Soldier found guilty of rape, murder – [Yahoo/AP]
A robber with… Class?
I read about a fairly strange robbery group hug at gunpoint today:
Police on Capitol Hill are baffled by an attempted robbery that began with a handgun put to the head of a teenager and ended in a group hug. – [Yahoo-AP]
From the article, the robber apparently has a fairly good tongue for wine and cheese. And likes hugs. What I thought was interesting was the fact that the off-the-cuff de-escalation tactic of inviting him to a glass of wine had the effect it did. It could easily have back-fired though. A hard core thug would hardly be interested in a glass of wine, no matter how good it is. And forget about sampling the cheese. Maybe she recognized something about him. This guy probably had a good background, was just having some problems, and made a few wrong decisions. He probably just needed a hug to begin with.
I mean it’s not the first time I’ve read about repentant robbers, but a group hug? It could also be possible that this guy was on something. And if that is the case, I’d like to have some of it. Whatever it is. Just pass it down here…
Attempted robbery ends in group hug – [yahoo/AP]
Hi! I’m Troglodyte. Folks call me Trog…
I read an interesting article that kinda attempts to explain the source of a few of the common “politically incorrect” stereotypes of human nature:
“our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are produced not only by our individual experiences and environment in our own lifetime but also by what happened to our ancestors millions of years ago. ” – [Slashdot/Psychology Today]
Ok. So in essence we are basically all still cave people. How interesting. Anyhoo, much of the article deals with stereotypes. I’m not one to stereotype, however there is a big difference between predicting the behavior of the average member of a culture or race based on statistics, and attempting to predict the behavior of an individual member of the demographic in question by applying the statistics to that specific individual.
You can’t. But it’s a mistake I see people make daily. Anyone can tell you that any fairly symmetrical coin, if tossed in the air 100 times, should statistically land 50 times tails up and 50 times heads up. However nobody can guarantee which side will come up on the 50th toss. Or for any toss for that matter. It’s impossible. Stereotypes are the same.
Stereotypes are not pointless. A stereotype can actually be statistically accurate, and may be useful for situations where a gross generalization is needed. However it is a mistake to attempt to apply such generalizations at an individual level, since an individuals behavior can vary widely from the general parameters upon which the stereotype is based. So don’t do it.
All that aside, I found myself agreeing with most of what the article says, and though I found some if it rather surprising, it still made sense in a weird, instinctual way… Perhaps my inner caveman was nodding his head vigorously and going “Uh Huh! True Dat!”. Either way, take a gander, it’s a pretty good read, and it makes a lot of sense if you think about it objectively, even if some of it ostensibly flies in the face of “political correctness”.
Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature – [Slashdot/Psychology Today]
Drive-by Fisticuffs…
I Just read in an article that a PA man punched a fast food drive through clerk in the face for not saying “Please” or “Thank You”.
A man who thought the clerk at a fast-food drive-through was rude for not saying “please” and “thank you” punched her in the face, police said. Duane L. Williams, angered by what he felt was the clerk’s rudeness, walked into the store to complain just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton said Friday.
Before the manager could meet with Williams, he walked back outside, pushed open the drive-through window and punched the 19-year-old woman in the face. The clerk was bruised, but not badly hurt, Burton said. – [Yahoo/AP]
OK. Can anyone say “amygdalic amygdala hijacking“?
I’ve seen my share of rude drive-through clerks. Believe me. And they did a whole lot more than opt to not say “Please” or “Thank You” in order to make that particular grade of anti-service. And while there has, in fact been at least one instance where I felt that a few knuckles in, or around, the grill area might have done wonders for a bad attitude, I consider myself fortunate to have never actually succumbed to the temptation to see if a fist will grow when planted about the nose area of a rude drive-through clerks face.
At least he realizes he has a problem. Anger management therapy anyone?
Man punches ‘rude’ drive-thru clerk – [Yahoo/AP]
N.B.
Incidentally, while looking for better reference material about Amygdala Hijacking, I found the excellent articles below. Just thought I’d share… : )
The Amygdala Hijack – [Hay Group UK Newsletter]
How’s Your Emotional Intelligence? – [Womens Media.com]
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