Final Project: Aspects of Violent Offender Behavior

 

 

For your Final Project, you will complete a violent offender analysis related to a real-life criminal case of your choosing. You will choose a case from one of the following violent crime categories: 

•        Sex Crime

•        Criminal Paraphilia

•        Intimate Partner Violence

•        Domestic Homicide

•        Mass Shooting

 

In addition to an Introduction section, Outcomes section, and a References section, your Final Project will consist of two content sections, “Offender Factors and Offender Psychological Characteristics,” which will be developed and submitted for grading and Instructor feedback throughout the course. Based on the feedback you receive you will revise each of these sections and submit them as part of your 8- to 12-page Final Project.  

 

Note on licensure: The MS and PhD in Forensic Psychology programs are nonlicensure programs. They do not prepare an individual to become a licensed psychology professional; or to evaluate, do therapy with, or treat individuals in correctional or related settings. In addition, the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Committee on Accreditation (CoA) does not accredit master’s-level programs and only accredits doctoral programs in professional psychology (i.e., clinical, counseling, and school). If you have questions about licensure, please contact: psyclicensure@mail.waldenu.edu.   

  

Disclaimer: Before you begin, a word of caution: This course contains content that may be disturbing and/or triggering. If you find yourself struggling with the content, you may want to reach out to Walden’s Student Assistance Program, which offers students free and confidential counseling on a variety of personal and professional issues that may be affecting the quality of their learning experiences.  

 

To Prepare 

 

•        Select one of the following violent crime categories on which to focus for your Final Project:

o   Sex Crime o Criminal Paraphilia o Intimate Partner Violence o Domestic Homicide o Mass Shooting

•        Identify a real-life, recent (within the past 5 years) violent crime case in the category you selected that was committed by a single offender. 

•        Conduct your own research online and/or in the Walden Library to identify 10 or more credible sources of information/evidence (e.g., court documents, documentaries, journal articles, news reports, etc.) about the case you selected.

•        Use the APA Course Paper Template (APA 7) found in the Learning Resources to complete your Final Project.

 

Assignment: 8–12 pages (not including title and references pages)

  

Address the following in your paper: 

 

•        Introduction (1–2 pages) o Identify the category of violent crime and specific case you selected.

o   Provide a summary of the case, including a description of the violent crime committed by the offender, as well as the following:

▪  Describe any red flags that may have been overlooked or ignored before the crime took place.

▪  Describe if the crime was intentional or not.

▪  Describe the perpetrator’s motivations for committing the crime.

▪  Describe what may have triggered the criminal act (i.e., an impulsive reaction in the moment, a premeditated act of violence).

o   Provide statistical measurement data about similar crimes, including the typical characteristics of offenders of such a crime (e.g., race, age, gender, location of their crime, etc.).

o   Explain how the offender in the case you selected does and/or does not align with the statistically measured offender characteristics you provided.  

 

• Offender Factors (3–4 pages)

Note: This section of your Final Project corresponds to the Offender Factors (Final Project section) Assignment you submitted in Week 3. Your work here should reflect consideration of, and revision based on, the feedback you received from your Instructor.

o   Describe the behaviors related to biological factors that the offender displayed which may have contributed to their criminal behavior.

o   Describe the behaviors related to environmental factors that the offender displayed which may have contributed to their criminal behavior. o Describe the behaviors related to social factors that the offender displayed which may have contributed to their criminal behavior.

 

• Offender Psychological Characteristics (3–4 pages)

Note: This section of your Final Project corresponds to the Offender Psychological Characteristics (Final Project section) Assignment you submitted in Week 5. Your work here should reflect consideration of, and revision based on, the feedback you received from your Instructor. o Describe which characteristics of psychopathy do and do not align with the offender and explain why.

o Describe which characteristics of sociopathy do and do not align with the offender and explain why. o Describe which personality disorder(s) most closely align with the offender and explain why.

Note: More than one personality disorder may align with the offender.

 

•        Outcomes (1–2 pages) o Summarize the outcomes of the violent crime case you selected. Be sure to address:

▪  The outcomes related to the victim(s) of the violent crime

▪  The outcomes related to the offender of the violent crime (e.g., suicide, criminal sentence, reoffending, treatment, etc.)

 

•        References  o Using proper APA format and style, cite a minimum of 10 or more credible sources of information/evidence (e.g., court documents, documentaries, journal articles, news reports, etc.) about the case you selected which you utilized in developing your Final Project paper.

 

Use the course Learning Resources, as well as the 10 or more credible sources of information/evidence (e.g., court documents, documentaries, journal articles, news reports, etc.) about the case you selected to support your Final Project. Use proper APA format and style for all references and citations.