Scripted Interview

          A large portion of my research was focused on connecting childhood trauma and criminality. I explored answers to whether or not traumatic childhoods played a factor in the victim’s likelihood of exhibiting deviant behavior later on in life. For this part of my research, I decided to interview my Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System professor: Keith Ross. He was the perfect person to interview due to his experience as a former police officer on Rikers Island and his knowledge on criminality. I utilized his experiences and knowledge to reinforce the claim that childhood trauma in fact does have a link to criminality.

 

Question 1: What kinds of childhood experiences are the most likely to increase the risk of later antisocial behavior?

Answer: Broken family structures, exposure to criminality by family members.

 

Question 2: From your experience/knowledge, about what percentage of criminals you’ve encountered have experienced child neglect/abuse earlier during their lives?

Answer: A high percentage

 

Question 3: Why does childhood play such an important factor in someone’s later behaviors and

habits?

Answer: The experiences/attitudes/behaviors we learn in our formative years form who

we are and what we will become.

 

Question 4: Would you say the infamous serial killers we know about (Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, etc.) were driven to kill by their unfortunate past circumstances?

Answer: In cases like this, I believe it is both nature (biological/hereditary) and environmental factors.

 

Question 5: What are some other factors, besides childhood trauma, that can contribute to criminal behavior later on in life?

Answer: Untreated mental illness.

 

Question 6: Besides criminality rates, how else can childhood trauma affect somebody’s later

behaviors?

Answer: Behavioral aberrations, non appropriate responses to typical life issues.

 

Question 7: Is it true that the type of childhood abuse faced by serial killers has correlation to their killing style?

Answer: In some cases.

 

Question 8: What kind of measures are taken by agencies like ACS to regulate and prevent cases of child abuse/child neglect?

Answer: These agencies tend to fix the immediate problem however there are issues with follow up, treatments services, etc.

 

Question 9: What would you say is the number one factor you would say most criminals have in

common from their background?

Answer: No one factor can explain the majority of criminality.

 

Question 10: Why would childhood trauma cause someone to lash out and become more violent in the future?

Answer: Trauma causes a warped version of reality and the response to it.