Research Paper on Crime: A Global Problem - Stopping it at Any Instance

Introduction

Crime in the United States and around the world is a significant problem at all levels of engagement, causing a high level of concern among authorities and the public alike. The repercussions of crime when they occur cut across the society, causing elevated levels of insecurity and tension not only to those that are directly involved or affected but also to the immediate community and neighbours. Crimes, regardless of their nature and magnitude, have to be stopped at any instance and opportunity possible. This necessity is what prompts the government to invest heavily in security in annual budgets, as well as providing aid to foreign states to help in their security concerns. This is inspired by the realization that such security concerns, especially with the opening up of the world into a single community as I the case today, are not limited to a particular nation but have the potential of affecting far away countries as well.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The United States has seen its fair share of both domestic and international criminal activities over the years. These security threats range from high level international illegal activities such as terrorism to local menaces, including drug-related crimes, domestic terrorism, gang-related criminal activities, homicides, and other domestic crimes. Most of these criminal activities, however, are primarily forgotten among the public over time, except for high-level cases such as the 9/11 instance. One of the most famous incidents that elicit public interest to date, however, was the case of the Unabomber back in the late 1970s.

Case Description

The Unabomber case was an instance involving a lone serial killer, which rocked the American continent starting from 1978 up to the late 1990s. The incident elicited widespread public reaction due to how it occurred, as well as the high profile nature of the involved criminal and the length of time it took to be solved. This specific illegal activity involved a university professor with a high level of skill set and expertise in bomb-making. The case was aptly named the 'Unabomber case' due to the perpetrator's habit of targeting universities and airports in his bombing onslaught. The perpetrator, Theodore Kaczynski, managed to keep his activities under wraps, dazzling investigators and the public for well over two decades before authorities finally managed to catch up with him (FBI files, 1998).

Theodore Kaczynski's case is one of the best examples of the misuse of genius and knowledge in recent decades. A Chemistry professor at the Chicago University, Ted was equipped with the knowledge and skills that enabled him to construct and dispense home-made bombs, leaving no trace for the authorities to track him. His reign of terror resulted in the deaths of three innocent citizens and dozens of injuries before finally coming to an end in 1996, after a seventeen-year hunt by the local authorities. Due to the high level of uncertainty concerning the case, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had to be involved, and who finally tracked Mr Kaczynski to a cabin in Colorado shortly before the arrest was made. Mr Theodore Kaczynski was ultimately found to be delusional with views that puzzled the community after being put to trial. The cause of his rampage, it was discovered, was contempt for the city, which he saw as being unfair to him in life (Marmion, 1998).

Psychosocial Assessment

A psychosocial assessment of the violence perpetrator, Ted Kaczynski, points at a person with psychopathic tendencies that led him to live alone and delusional lifestyle. The mathematical genius had a disparaging view of the society and how it operated, and thus his twisted spree of violence that he saw as being a way to address his grievances. Though the professor was well educated, he felt misunderstood by society since his youth and thus avoided social situations as much as he could. This thought process led him to develop introvertedness, and although he progressed well into adulthood, his thoughts about society never changed, but instead remained perverted and twisted to a point bordering insanity. His contempt for the modern civilisation and technological advances led him to alienate himself from the general population and family, believing that the modern man was incapable of understanding him. Family members and the few friends he made painted Ted as being a severe antisocial with deep-rooted and weird personality traits that rendered him a misfit in the society ("Unabomber Too Ill to Recognize Illness - Treatment Advocacy Center", 2019).

The depth of contempt to the society that the Unabomber had was also consistent with the characteristics of a psychopath. Having alienated himself from the general population and family members, Ted Kaczynski sought to live a life of total isolation and self-sufficiency that would allow him to act as he wished whenever he wanted. Thus he believed that the rules of the society did not apply to him. Instead, the professor saw the community as being a civilisation that needed to be destroyed. In his twisted mind, Kaczynski saw himself as being able to accomplish this mission single-handedly, and thus operating from his isolated cabin in the woods, he considered a set of home-made bombes, mailing them to influential members of the society ("Trump: A Psychosocial Analysis", 2019). His views led him to be incapable of interacting and living among society, which is a characteristic consistent with narcissistic people. Ultimately, Ted ended up destroying innocent lives due to twisted beliefs about the community he lived among.

In clinical terms, Ted Kaczynski's condition fit the characteristics of a psychopath with absolute perfection. One characteristic common among psychopaths is the incapability of forming deep bonds with others. Interviews held with Ted's immediate family members and old acquaintances revealed that as a young boy, he always kept to himself and never really made any effort to connect with his peers. The inability to form deep bonds as displayed by psychopaths could be occasioned by past traumatic experiences experienced by the psychopath. Harsh treatment experienced by Ted during his childhood and early adulthood might have driven him to act as he did, based on this explanation. An example is seen in an incident where he swore to never see his family again due to disagreements with his brother who had fired him from his job due to what was considered to be inappropriate behaviour towards another female employee.

In Kaczynski's attacks against society, he made constant reference to the work 'wood'. Two victims of his bombing spree were said to be named Wood for instance. His bombs were also primarily constructed and delivered in wooden containers, pointing to an obsession with wood. This apparent fixation could be related to their compulsive behaviour that is a common trait with psychopaths ("Unabomber Too Ill to Recognize Illness - Treatment Advocacy Center", 2019).

Ted Kaczynski's absolute lack of remorse for his actions and the innocent victims whose lives he destroyed also speaks volumes on his mental status. The lack of remorse and empathy has long been associated with psychopathic tendencies, and often go hand in hand with antisocial behaviour. Ted would, therefore, fit perfectly into this category, as he was incapable of developing emotional connections with any other human apart from himself.

Ericson's Psychosocial Stages of Development

Ted Kaczynski's condition could be explained to some degree using Ericson's stage development theory. His mental problems might have arisen from a tender age as a result of failure to master some of the essential stages of development as proposed by Ericson. First and foremost, the Unabomber was undoubtedly haunted by feelings of inadequacy at all levels. He had a deep mistrust for the society he lived in, leading to his self-alienation ("Erikson's 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development | Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner", 2019). The deep-rooted mistrust could have resulted from having caregivers who were insensitive to his needs as an infant, thus leading to his inability to trust those around him. His distrust indeed manifested to the extent of seeing psychological manipulation everywhere, which ultimately led him to commit the crimes he did.

In a past interview, Kaczynski revealed that he had been insecure about his gender since childhood, describing an incident in which he sought to change his gender to a woman. This would have occurred as a result of being denied a chance to resolve the issue of autonomy vs shame and doubt by having his independence limited at the age of 1-3. In regards to industry and inferiority, Kaczynski seems to have accomplished this stage given his strong academic capabilities. Also, he never seemed to consider himself inferior to others, but instead considered others inferior to him.

Kaczynski doesn't seem to fit in the category of a person with role confusion, as he recognised his identity amongst the general population. This would suggest that he completed his adolescence stage where identity crisis is prevailing without any problems. Intimacy and isolation, however, was a significant problem in Kaczynski's case. This stage is typically accomplished from age 20 to 40 according to Ericsons. This suggests that Kaczynski could not develop a positive self-concept in adolescence, which led him to commit himself to isolation throughout his adulthood. Ted Kaczynski was in this age range when he started committing his crimes. This would suggest that childhood manifestations had progressed to the highest levels at the moment.

Generativity vs stagnation, according to Ericsons, occurs at the age of 40 up to the 60s. At this stage, most people would have found their life's work and begin making contributions towards the development of others in society. Ted's case was different; however, in that he failed to establish his life's purpose during that stage, and instead intensified his attacks against the community.

Maslows Hierarchy of Need

According to Marslows needs hierarchy, people undergo a myriad of changes in their lives according to their need for satisfaction. In Kaczynski's case, the bombing perpetrator had an urging need to satisfy his desire to be an essential part of history. As such, he undertook to fulfil his psychological needs by seeking self sufficiency. This led him to isolation in a farmhouse where he cultivated food as well as produced his basic needs without having to rely on the outside world. His safety needs were also addressed by acquiring a personal property as opposed to renting, and employing himself in his farm as opposed to paid employment in the university he once taught. Kaczynski avoided friendship, intimacy and family and thus had his love and belonging needs neglected. Additionally, his esteem needs were unaccomplished, leading him to seek attention from authorities through his bombing outrage. The need for respect, status and recognition led the Unabomber to resort to terrorising the society to feel satisfied. Finally, Kaczynski's need for self-actualization led him to convince himself that he was more critical to humanity than he was.

Verdict

TED Kaczynski seems to have undergone severe mental problems stretching back from his childhood days, as seen in the discussion. As seen in Ericson's development stages, he appeared to have lacked in fulfilling some of the crucial steps necessary for an upright lifestyle in adulthood. His experiences in adolescence also led to the worsening of his problems as he could not accomplish essential needs such as intimacy and other skills necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, his tendency to convince himself that the humanity needed him to commit the crimes he committed suggest that he was suffering from severe menta...