The mind behind the crime

“At the time of committing the crime, nothing”, says Dr. Harish Shetty, a social psychiatrist and visiting faculty at the TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences).Criminals can be broadly split into four categories on the basis of their mental make-ups.

Impulsive criminals go amok in a fit of rage but their aggression levels decrease in course of time, allowing themselves to be treated soon. The ones with psychopathic traits carry no feeling of guilt or shame but only a fear of being caught. The third kind are victims of circumstances and thus pushed into crime. They are the ones who undergo a lot of mental turmoil but can be gradually reformed.

The last category, which is that of the instigators and provocators which are the most dangerous and dreaded even by psychiatrists. The “instigators” are the masters of organised crime and are selfish, suffering from low frustration levels. They plan their crimes meticulously and are endowed with leadership skills.

The interesting part is that a criminal’s mind goes absolutely blank when he is in the midst of his act but once he is finished, goes through extreme fear, guilt and shame for his act, says the doctor.

The scene changes when juvenile delinquents come into the picture. Children who take to crime as a result of a marred childhood, abuse by parents or bad company are vulnerable to frighteningly frequent mood changes. “The consequences of doing something very wrong does not sink into the young criminal mind easily” says Reema Shah, a paediatric psychiatrist.

Most children get a thrill out of watching encounters with the police and the like but at the same time are completely saddened by their own state. The toughest part in dealing with such children is their unconditional acceptance of having committed the crime. Once this happens he can change gradually.

But punishing children by putting them behind the bars does not really help. He may repeat his act if he harbours a sense of revenge for the cops, according to Dr Shah. Petty crimes like chain-snatching and purse flicking are often repeated due to this reason.

The cliched point of debate however is whether or not violent film flicks influence crime. “Science is yet to prove a direct link between reel and real violence. Studies have shown that films cannot make a person commit a crime but only the fashion in which it is committed”, asserts Dr Ashish Deshpande, counseller and psychologist. Deshpande also cites certain medical disorders which give impressionable minds a criminal bend. The most common is the “conduct disorder in childhood” which leads children to attempt suicide.

There is also “Piblacto”, an Impulse Control Disorder which hits Eskimos frequently. This disorder, which is caused due to shortage of sunlight, makes the Eskimos go on rampant killing sprees.

Though the conventional forms of treatment like counselling can easily treat criminal patients, a life changing or spiritual experience could metamorphose them as well. Shetty cites the case of a boy who took to crime because he was witness to the murder of his brother. After prolonged interaction with a `nationalistic organisation’, the spiritual experience helped him get back to mainstream. It is for such reasons that Vipassana is being tried out at Tihar Jail. But the worst criminals can be cured by only one medicine- the medicine of age.