|
|
Mission Statement
The Pacific Institute for the Study of Conflict and Aggression, a non-profit organization founded
in 1994 for scientific and educational purposes, has a three-fold mission:
- Distribute violence-related material published by the Pacific Institute to the professional
community. The Pacific Institute has to date been
instrumental in the publication of ten books on violence prediction, individual and
collective violence, infanticide, detecting malingering and deception, criminal-forensic and
civil-forensic
neuropsychology, and destructive and constructive
mentalities.
- Train practitioners, researchers, community agency staff, university faculty and students, and
government
personnel on violence etiology, prediction, prevention, and intervention. Previous workshops have been
held in
the United States, The People's Republic of China, Poland, and North
Ireland.
- Implement demonstration projects and applied
research. Ongoing projects include the application
of violence risk analysis to collectivities and
groups such as terrorist organizations, integrating
the deception
analysis into violence prediction, and
investigating the link between methamphetamine
abuse and violence.
This website focuses on empirically based violence prediction systems.
Evaluators should consider the below assault cycle, amplified by person-specific
patterns of violence gleaned from the database for each individual, in every risk
analysis.
The violence sequence is comprised of a temporal process of events for the perpetrator, victim, and
context in which it occurs. No matter what type of violence was perpetrated, or why the evaluator is studying
the event, it is essential to describe the evolution of the violence over time. In this matter, we can better
understand the relative contributions of deception, inhibitions, self-control, weapons, if any, and other
behaviors shown by the perpetrator and victim. A temporal description of the killing act makes comparison to
other violent events in the life of the perpetrator easier. As depicted in the above graph, any kind of
violence can be described in its temporal stages.
From the vantage point of the perpetrator, Stage 1(green) includes history, then proceeds to the
acceleration stage prior to the violence (Stage 2 - yellow). The act is then perpetrated (Stage 3 - red),
followed by a recovery period (Stage 4 - orange), and eventually return to typical ways of behaving
(Stage 5 - brown). the following sections review the sequence for the perpetrator of violence.
Baseline Characteristics
Stage 1 of the lethal sequence – the baseline period – covers the entire
history of the individual, including his or her biological makeup, early development, and attitudes
formed before the violence. Societal and cultural contributions need to be taken into account to place
the violence into proper perspective. The actual history of violence for the perpetrator should
be scrutinized because, almost always, future violence will bear some resemblances to past violence, if
not in lethality, then in form and function.
The Escalation Stage
The escalation stage (Stage 2) consists of behaviors and events in close temporal proximity to the
actual violence, including death threats, triggers, opportunity factors, and inhibitions. The behavior
of the eventual victim and the context of the violence in interaction with the perpetrator
should be closely scrutinized. Criminal courts tend to pay particular attention to events that occurred
during the escalation stage.
Time of Violence
Following the escalation stage, violence is expressed.
Usually, the violence itself is short-lived, but may be
prolonged in certain types of aggression (e.g.,
poisoning, torture, weaponless assaults). At this stage,
the characteristics of the perpetrator, victim, and
context should be examined. Important parameters are
duration, type of weapons utilized, wounds received,
defensive behaviors on the part of the perpetrator and
victim, contextual features, such as lighting and escape
routes, and the behavior of third parties. As with all of the stages and for each perpetrator who is evaluated,
the examiner should construct a moment-by-moment timeline of events.
Recovery Period Behaviors
Following the attack, the victim of a homicide is usually immobilized through shock
or death. At this point, no victim self-control or choice is possible. The context itself may begin
to exert an influence, as the enormity of the deed begins to dawn on the perpetrator. Confusion by
the perpetrator and bystanders is often shown, and conflicting stories concerning what happened are
the rule rather than the exception.
The perpetrator may show behaviors which can be analyzed for signs of self-control. An obvious
indication of self-control is an organized escape from the scene of the
crime. Other self-controlling
behaviors for the recovery period include: (a) attempting to dispose of the
victim's body, clothing,
or the weapon used in the offense; (b) making verbal statements of crime recall (e.g., spontaneous
statements to bystanders, police); (c) making non-verbal gestures indicating knowledge of what just
happened (e.g., pointing to the victim's body); (d) prevaricating incompatible behavior (e.g., making
up a verifiably false story); (e) cleaning one's own body or clothes in an attempt to get rid of
incriminating evidence.
Return to Baseline
The final step in the violence sequence (Stage 5) is a return to typical behavior after
the violence has taken place. The perpetrator's baseline is then changed by the violence, as well as
the baselines of other involved parties. Unless a perpetrator has a significant history of violence,
or is a psychopath, violence changes the person forever in his or her thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors with regard to himself or herself and the world.
Model of Violence
|
