Natalia Wentink
PhD student
The Centre for Investigative Psychology
http://www.i-psy.com
These characteristics are embedded in the Maltese Cross, a symbol worn by fire-fighters, specifically in the United States. Fire-fighters hold a particular status and earn respect because they demonstrate these characteristics each day protecting the community. In some places these men and women are under attack.
As an American living in Britain, it is a striking contrast to see fire-fighters treated as targets of youth anti-social behaviour. Across the country, these attacks occur as fire-fighters respond to an accidental fire call or to an incident in which youths have deliberately set a fire; this creates an ambush situation for fire-fighters. Attacks often involve youths throwing stones at fire-fighters and the fire engine, shouting verbal abuse, spitting, and stealing tools from the fire engine. Severe incidents such as directly targeting fire crews with air rifles and fireworks have reported as well. Attacks of one form or another occur several times each day in some areas.
Youth attacks on a target traditionally related to bravery and courage; the phenomenon of attacks on fire-fighters is not simple irony. There is also the image of the fire-fighter as an anonymous person in a uniform; this may be a contributing factor as to why they are targets for abuse. Research on youth anti-social behaviour frequently cites gaining status amongst peers as a motivating force behind such actions. Some youths engage in risk taking activities and choose to defy authority figures in efforts to gain recognition and status, and an image of “bravery”. Interviews with youths who have attacked fire-fighters confirm this underlies their actions. The image of a fire-fighter may represent an anonymous authority figure which places them as a target for abuse.
Research has found that the nature of the target (or victim) relative to the perpetrator may have an impact on behaviour. For example, it is believed youths are less likely to offend against family and friends. This could be linked to a higher likelihood of getting caught, however, such a view ignores the popular view of adolescence as a time in which youths challenge authority and engage in risk-taking activities. These characteristics are exemplified in attacks on fire-fighters.
At the Centre for Investigative Psychology at the University of Liverpool we conducted the first academic study examining the extent of this problem, its affects on fire crews, and possible reasons as to why youths engage in such behaviour.
Investigative Psychology, a field founded by Professor David Canter in 1990, is the application of psychological principles to all aspects of analysis, investigation, and prosecution of crime. Goals of this field rest on empirically based research to develop theories, models, and tools for solving ‘real world’ problems. This field contributes to areas such as arson, rape, fraud, and murder. Some examples of work use behavioural actions to distinguish between types of offenders, such as in rape and murder.
Just as not all murders and murderers are the same, not all anti-social behaviour is the same. A psychological understanding of anti-social behaviour cannot take all behaviours, targets, and offenders and haphazardly assume they are one in the same. Effective intervention and prevention strategies necessitate a clear understanding on the various behaviours which make up anti-social behaviour and the kinds of youths who engage in them.
One trend in Britain is to use Restorative Justice programms to deal with young offenders. This practice brings the victim (target) and offender together to try and repair the harm via community service and other forms of reparation. A key notion is that this event also breaks down boundaries between victim and offender. By having the victim and offender meet and talk face to face, anonymity is theoretically replaced with a form of familiarity. On the whole such practices lack empirically based theoretical models of change. Clearly, such interesting practices are worthy of further study and investigation. There are 2 central question underlying this process: 1. What is the strength of the role of target in anti-social social behaviour? 2. Does a change in target status relative to the perpetrator have an influence on future offending?
Research into anti-social behaviour needs to look the kinds of behaviour and the targets of behaviour youths engage in. It is possible that different youths may consistently have different targets. Differentiating between types of offences and types of offender has a number of academic and practical implications. Not only does this approach allow for a greater understanding of the problem, but can reveal the underlying processes of offence behaviour. This information is useful in identification of offenders and treatment. More specifically, with youth anti-social behaviour, such knowledge can inform prevention and intervention strategies in a variety of settings such schools, youth clubs, juvenile detention centres.
The 8th International Investigative Psychology Conference
Perpetrators, Profiling, Policing: Theory & Practice.
London 15-16th December, 2005
For information about the conference and more information on Investigative Psychology please go to the website:
The Centre for Investigative Psychology
http://www.i-psy.com