Title

Epidemiological Criminology And Violence Prevention: Addressing The Co-Occurrence Of Criminal Violence And Poor Health Outcomes

Abstract

The Epidemiological Criminology (‘Epi-Crim’) framework works from the fundamental hypothesis that criminal behaviours and poor health behaviours share an underlying aetiological dimension. That is, the factors that underlie individuals’ engagement in behaviours that are defined as criminal are likely to be the same factors that promote poor health outcomes among those same individuals. We hypothesize this to be one of the reasons we find so much poor health among those who are processed through the criminal justice systems. In the context of violence prevention, Epi-Crim proposes ways of linking knowledge about the aetiology and epidemiology of violent behaviour gained from criminology with the emphasis on the prevention of injury outcomes favoured by public health. Epi-Crim posits that there are structural and organizational factors that get translated into individual behaviours through a process of socialization that allows individuals to engage in violent behaviour to achieve desired ends. These socialization processes not only allow, and sometimes encourage, the use of violence, but are the same processes that lead to poor decision-making and risk-taking in regard to other health behaviours. By understanding the common aetiological domains that underlie criminal behaviours we can also understand the development of poor health-related behaviours such as substance use and risky sexual behaviours.

Publication Date

1-1-2011

Publication Title

Criminal Law, Philosophy and Public Health Practice

Number of Pages

171-191

Document Type

Article; Book Chapter

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139137065.009

Socpus ID

84923402060 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84923402060

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