• CrimeConUK – London June 2022
No Result
View All Result
Crime Traveller
 
  • Home
  • Research

    R. Kelly: Aided By A Network of Complicity Enabling His Crimes

    How Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence

    Kathleen Folbigg’s Children Likely Died Of Natural Causes, Not Murder. Here’s The Evidence My Team Found

    Do criminals freely decide to commit offences? How the courts decide

    We might not be able to understand free will with science. Here’s why

    Indian Trafficked Brides: The Stories of Three Women

    Trending Tags

    • Neuroscience
    • Mental Health
    • Criminal Brain
    • Juvenile Crime
  • Psychology
    Image: Shutterstock

    Psychopaths – Born Or Made?

    The Question of Why: Did Ted Bundy have Dissociative Identity Disorder?

    Teenage psychopathy

    What Should We Do With Teenage Psychopaths?

    A Criminal Disorder? Advances in Neurocriminology Are Leading The Way

    Mark Safarik

    An Interview With Former FBI Profiler Mark Safarik on Violent Offending and Criminal Behavioral Analysis

    The Criminal Mind: An Interview With Forensic Psychologist and Author Katherine Ramsland

    Trending Tags

    • Narcissism
    • Psychopathy
    • Profiling
    • Mental Health
    • Psychology
  • Family Violence

    Reckless Speculation about Jeffrey MacDonald

    O. J. Simpson Trial: 26 Years Later

    O. J. Simpson: Murder in the First Degree

    Reasonable Doubt: The Hendricks Family Murders

    Melanie McGuire

    A Convicted Killer, Two Criminologists, and One Podcast: Direct Appeal Investigates ‘Suitcase Killer’ Melanie McGuire Case

    Family Annihilation: The Crimes and Psychology of Familicide

    Trending Tags

    • True Crime
      Who killed Marilyn Sheppard cover image

      Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part Two]

      Who killed Marilyn Sheppard?

      Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part One]

      The JFK Assassination … Case Still Closed

      6 Pros And Cons Of Hiring A Private Criminal Lawyer

      Murder To Movies: ‘I Want To Live’

      Real crime stories of murders that went into movies

      From Murder to Movies

      Trending Tags

      • Unsolved
      • Serial Murder
      • Documentaries
      • Guest Posts
    • Book Reviews
      The Girl I Never Knew - Who Killed Melissa Witt?

      The Girl I Never Knew: Melissa Ann Witt Deserves Justice

      Befriending A Serial Killer: An Interview With Mark Austin

      The Husband Poisoner: Lethal Ladies and Dangerously Tasty Recipes

      Details are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Café Society Murder

      Operation Jacknap: A True Story of Kidnapping, Extortion, Ransom and Rescue

      Stephanie Scott

      United in Grief: The Murder of Stephanie Scott

      Trending Tags

      • Interviews
      • Historical Crime Books
    • Crime Spotlight
      Korean Zodiac Killer case

      A Tale of Two Zodiacs

      5 Tell-Tale Signs Of An Abusive Person

      There Were Two Killers in 10 Rillington Place: An Interview With Peter Thorley

      Has The Zodiac Finally Been Discovered? [Part 1]

      David Wilson and Emilia Fox

      If It Bleeds It Leads: A Q&A With Professor David Wilson

      A Psych For Sore Minds - An Interview with Dr Sohom Das

      A Psych For Sore Minds: An Interview with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das

    No Result
    View All Result
    Crime Traveller
    • Home
    • Research

      R. Kelly: Aided By A Network of Complicity Enabling His Crimes

      How Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence

      Kathleen Folbigg’s Children Likely Died Of Natural Causes, Not Murder. Here’s The Evidence My Team Found

      Do criminals freely decide to commit offences? How the courts decide

      We might not be able to understand free will with science. Here’s why

      Indian Trafficked Brides: The Stories of Three Women

      Trending Tags

      • Neuroscience
      • Mental Health
      • Criminal Brain
      • Juvenile Crime
    • Psychology
      Image: Shutterstock

      Psychopaths – Born Or Made?

      The Question of Why: Did Ted Bundy have Dissociative Identity Disorder?

      Teenage psychopathy

      What Should We Do With Teenage Psychopaths?

      A Criminal Disorder? Advances in Neurocriminology Are Leading The Way

      Mark Safarik

      An Interview With Former FBI Profiler Mark Safarik on Violent Offending and Criminal Behavioral Analysis

      The Criminal Mind: An Interview With Forensic Psychologist and Author Katherine Ramsland

      Trending Tags

      • Narcissism
      • Psychopathy
      • Profiling
      • Mental Health
      • Psychology
    • Family Violence

      Reckless Speculation about Jeffrey MacDonald

      O. J. Simpson Trial: 26 Years Later

      O. J. Simpson: Murder in the First Degree

      Reasonable Doubt: The Hendricks Family Murders

      Melanie McGuire

      A Convicted Killer, Two Criminologists, and One Podcast: Direct Appeal Investigates ‘Suitcase Killer’ Melanie McGuire Case

      Family Annihilation: The Crimes and Psychology of Familicide

      Trending Tags

      • True Crime
        Who killed Marilyn Sheppard cover image

        Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part Two]

        Who killed Marilyn Sheppard?

        Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part One]

        The JFK Assassination … Case Still Closed

        6 Pros And Cons Of Hiring A Private Criminal Lawyer

        Murder To Movies: ‘I Want To Live’

        Real crime stories of murders that went into movies

        From Murder to Movies

        Trending Tags

        • Unsolved
        • Serial Murder
        • Documentaries
        • Guest Posts
      • Book Reviews
        The Girl I Never Knew - Who Killed Melissa Witt?

        The Girl I Never Knew: Melissa Ann Witt Deserves Justice

        Befriending A Serial Killer: An Interview With Mark Austin

        The Husband Poisoner: Lethal Ladies and Dangerously Tasty Recipes

        Details are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Café Society Murder

        Operation Jacknap: A True Story of Kidnapping, Extortion, Ransom and Rescue

        Stephanie Scott

        United in Grief: The Murder of Stephanie Scott

        Trending Tags

        • Interviews
        • Historical Crime Books
      • Crime Spotlight
        Korean Zodiac Killer case

        A Tale of Two Zodiacs

        5 Tell-Tale Signs Of An Abusive Person

        There Were Two Killers in 10 Rillington Place: An Interview With Peter Thorley

        Has The Zodiac Finally Been Discovered? [Part 1]

        David Wilson and Emilia Fox

        If It Bleeds It Leads: A Q&A With Professor David Wilson

        A Psych For Sore Minds - An Interview with Dr Sohom Das

        A Psych For Sore Minds: An Interview with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das

      Crime Traveller
      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • Research
      • Psychology
      • Family Violence
      • True Crime
      • Book Reviews
      • Crime Spotlight

      Home » Crime Research » The Psychological Impact of Gang Violence

      The Psychological Impact of Gang Violence

      by Guest Author
      19 August, 2020
      in Crime Research
      Reading Time: 4 mins read
      A A
      gang violence
      Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare

      This article is by Emmylou Rahtz, Associate Research Fellow, European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter, republished from The Conversation, a collaboration between editors and academics to provide informed news, research, analysis and commentary committed to knowledge-based, ethical and responsible journalism.


      Violent crime can lead to terrible physical injuries and death. But it also has a significant psychological impact, which is often forgotten. People injured through violence are six times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than people injured in accidents, according to our research. They are three times more likely to suffer from depression.

      But it can be hard to engage with the toughened young people admitted to hospital with injuries caused by street violence. One young man, who had been stabbed when a fist fight escalated, told me it was no big deal. The very fact that he remembered the event, he believed, was proof of this. “If it was real trauma,” he reasoned, “my mind would have blocked it”.

      He considered his assailants to be a wannabe gang: five teenagers on his estate in London only a little younger than him. There was a lot of bravado in his words, but with time and compassionate listening, it was eventually possible to get beyond the bluster. Later he admitted:

      “I was scared for my life, not scared of them. The amount of blood that was gushing down – I was gonna die.”

      Violent attacks include knife injuries, kicks and punches, being beaten with a weapon, the use of cars as weapons, and, increasingly, guns. Many youngsters now carry weapons for self-protection, without being explicitly involved in gangs.

      London’s police force has just expanded its specialist knife crime squad after 11 people died from being stabbed in just two weeks. Violence, deprivation and mental health problems operate in a vicious cycle. For example, substance abuse can lead to violence, the psychological trauma of violence leads to worse mental health, and the consequent difficulties with education and work lead to more deprivation. In turn, the odds of further mental health problems, substance abuse and violence increase. This has knock on effects for families, communities and society. It is a cycle which urgently needs to be interrupted.

      Gang-related or otherwise, violence affects certain groups more than others. It is more likely to feature in the lives of young men, especially those from ethnic minority groups, and those who live in deprived urban areas like Tower Hamlets, East London, where we conducted our research and which is one of the most deprived areas in England. In nearby Hackney, a similarly deprived and ethnically mixed neighbourhood, 9% of men report being in a gang, compared with 1% in the rest of the country.

      People injured through violence often have a history of mood disorders like depression and anxiety, and they are likely to live in relative poverty. A violent injury makes you more vulnerable to future mental health problems, and repeated exposure to violence increases the risk of PTSD.

      Ruined. (Shutterstock)

      PTSD is still best known as a psychological problem affecting soldiers and veterans. In fact, it can affect anyone who has experienced, or witnessed, traumatic events such as serious injury, violence, sexual violence or death. It is characterised by disturbing flashbacks, feeling alienated, the need to avoid any reminders of the event, and “hyperarousal” – symptoms like being easily startled or feeling your heart hammering in your chest.

      Perhaps because PTSD is seen as something that affects soldiers, civilians often fail to identify their own symptoms or to recognise that they are experiencing a known illness which can be treated. During World War I, having “shell shock” was seen as a sign of weakness and there remains considerable stigma around PTSD as well as other mental health conditions.

      Mending lives

      Most people working in trauma care are aware of these issues but they are working in an overstretched system which needs reform. Parity of esteem for mental healthcare needs to start with better allocation of resources. The trauma care environment is often too fraught to allow the sort of personal attention that many healthcare professionals want to give. There is also a risk that stereotyped attitudes can affect the quality of care, with some staff believing that people are to blame for their violent injuries and that they do not deserve psychological support.

      A grieving family protests. (PA)

      But being admitted to hospital is a significant event for any of us. It offers a moment to pause and reflect. There are precious few opportunities to engage with these young people: they have as little as possible to do with education systems, social care and healthcare. Hospital admission offers a unique opportunity to intervene by seizing the “teachable moment”. One man who had been shot told me: “I feel like I’ve been given a second chance.”

      Violence is exacerbated by a failing system. With cuts to policing and the NHS, there are ever fewer opportunities to break the vicious cycle.

      Charities like Red Thread and Key4Life do amazing work to intervene, both to prevent violence and reduce reoffending. Schemes like these rely on tailored, personal and ongoing support for young people. They need resources to do this, but the costs are easily offset if they prevent reoffending, and if people are empowered and enabled to choose a different future.


      Emmylou Rahtz, Associate Research Fellow, European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

      Tags: Guest PostsJuvenile CrimeMental HealthPsychology
      Share48Tweet21Pin8
      Previous Post

      Charleston’s Most Inhospitable Hosts: The Story of John and Lavinia Fisher

      Next Post

      Behind the Yellow Tape: Case Files from a Forensic Photographer

      Related Posts

      R. Kelly: Aided By A Network of Complicity Enabling His Crimes

      23 January, 2022

      Researchers have found patterns revealed in R Kelly's abuse trial to be classic examples of how unethical, even criminal, conduct can persist in organizations for...

      Read more

      How Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence

      23 January, 2022

      Social media isn’t just mirroring conflicts happening in schools it’s triggering new conflicts and for young people this dynamic can be deadly.

      Read more

      Kathleen Folbigg’s Children Likely Died Of Natural Causes, Not Murder. Here’s The Evidence My Team Found

      23 January, 2022

      Some 90 prominent scientists are calling for convicted child murderer Kathleen Folbigg to be pardoned and released from jail.

      Read more
      Load More
      Next Post
      The Forensic Photographer

      Behind the Yellow Tape: Case Files from a Forensic Photographer

      The History of Austin: Music Paradise Once Controlled by Gangsters

      Mental illness in prison

      New Approach To Keep People With Mental Illness Out Of Prison

      CrimeCon UK

      What's New?

      Korean Zodiac Killer case
      Crime Spotlight

      A Tale of Two Zodiacs

      13 May, 2022
      Who killed Marilyn Sheppard cover image
      True Crime & Justice

      Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part Two]

      22 May, 2022
      Who killed Marilyn Sheppard?
      True Crime & Justice

      Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part One]

      22 May, 2022
      Load More

      Stay Connected

      Search

      No Result
      View All Result

      Categories

      You Might Also Like

      Family Violence & Homicide

      From Double Murder to Death Row: Scott Peterson

      7 July, 2018
      Crime Research

      Indian Trafficked Brides: The Stories of Three Women

      5 November, 2020
      True Crime & Justice

      Las Vegas Mass Shooting Deadliest In America’s History

      30 June, 2018
      Psychology of Murder

      What Makes A Serial Killer? Common Traits and Characteristics

      7 July, 2018

      RECENT

      The Girl I Never Knew - Who Killed Melissa Witt?

      The Girl I Never Knew: Melissa Ann Witt Deserves Justice

      22 May, 2022

      A Tale of Two Zodiacs

      13 May, 2022

      Who Killed Marilyn Sheppard? Ohio’s Most Enduring Murder Mystery [Part Two]

      22 May, 2022

      POPULAR

      From Double Murder to Death Row: Scott Peterson

      Indian Trafficked Brides: The Stories of Three Women

      Las Vegas Mass Shooting Deadliest In America’s History

      What Makes A Serial Killer? Common Traits and Characteristics

      Site Links

      • About Crime Traveller
      • Contact Page
      • Request A Book Review
      • True Crime & Justice
      • CrimeCon UK: June 2022, London
      No Result
      View All Result
      • Terms
      • Privacy
      • Disclaimers
      • Cookies
      • DMCA
      • Newsletter

      Copyright © 2016 - 2022 Crime Traveller, a website owned and operated by Alythium | All Rights Reserved.

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • About
      • Contact
      • Crime Research
      • Psychology of Murder
      • Family Violence & Homicide
      • True Crime & Justice
      • Crime Spotlight
      • Book Reviews
      • Request A Book Review
      • Newsletter

      Copyright © 2016 - 2022 Crime Traveller, a website owned and operated by Alythium | All Rights Reserved.

      This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.