Corrections Community

I am trying to develop a basic 4-8 hour course on the general aspects of the criminal mind and behaviors, designed to educate new correctional staff on the fact that the typical criminal does think differently than "normal" people. I have been referencing Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton Samenow, but was hoping for a variety of perspectives and accumulated research. I have only been able to find information on "changing criminal thinking." I want more information on the criminal in current standing, prior to going through cognitive treatment. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 Tracy

An excellent resource for your project would be "Psychology of Criminal Conduct" by D.A. Andrews and James Bonta. Use any search engine to locate availability and price.

Thanks! I will give it a try!!

Paul Cromwell has been editing a book called "In Their Own Words" for several editions now that sounds like what you might want.  Ethnographic studies of offenders, mostly "in their own words."  Pretty sure it's still in print, but you could probably get plenty of copies of the last edition online.

Thanks. This would be very valuable information. I will see if I can find it. Thanks for your input!

Tracy

I am a former correctiosn psychologist and have taught a similar seminar on a couple of occasions, which I developed around the Samenow & Yocholsen thinking errors. If you would ike to contact me at Lindenwood University, 636-949-4689, I can share some of the materials I've developed for use. I did 1-2 day seminars for P & P officers, corrections staff, community mental health providers, child protective service workers, judges, and prosecutors on this topic.

Also, I am trying to develop a course on the criminal mind for CJ students. This will be a full 3-hour course offered though my university's criminal justice dept. I am trying to avoid making this a forensic psych course, as that is already offered through our school's psych department. I am also trying to avoid focusing heavily on profiling, because, while this is immensely popular with our students, I do not regard it as a very useful skill or relevant to most careers in the field.

So -- I am looking for ideas on course topics that will be relevant for such a course. So far, the only text readings I have determined I will use is Samenow's Criminal Mind. I will have 3 lectures devoted to that topic but need many more ideas to fill a summer course!

Tracy,

You may want to try the book titled, "The Are of the Con" written by Gary F. Cornelius.  Another and one of my favorites is titled "Games Criminals Play" by Bud Allen and Diana Bosta.  One other is titled "Behind Prison Walls: The Real World of Working in Today's Prisons."  Good luck!