Deviance.

"Any definition of virtue rests on an opposing idea of vice: There can be no good without evil and no justice without crime." - Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

I’ve just sent my UCAS application off for my criminology courses. I’m excited, yet understandably anxious. I’m looking forward to hearing back from the universities. I spent a long time researching the courses I picked. During that time, I noticed there is a familiar subject that is included as a module in all of them, which I didn’t have a full understanding of, so I've decided to write a brief post on it. Deviance.

Deviance is a term used to describe actions and behaviors that violate society’s ‘normality’ and structured guidance that the majority of citizens follow or are absent from.

Deviance varies from culture to culture. For example, in Britain the age of consent is 16, whereas in Japan it is 13. So if a 13 year old had sexual intercourse, it would be seen as wrong and possibly punishable in Britain, but would be considered perfectly normal and acceptable in Japan.

The word deviance is actually a sociological term, but is also used by psychologists and criminologists. (Any study of people, society and cultures)

Emile Durkheim (French philosopher, 1858-1917) believed deviance plays a major part of a functioning society; without deviance, we would not learn to appreciate the good. 

After reading Durkheim's beliefs on deviance, I was left thinking long and hard on the subject. I find it incredibly fascinating that we, as a normal, functioning society, deem deviance as wrong and a menace to our safe and structured lives, yet if deviance didn’t exist, what state would are norms and values be in? 

Would we find another behavioral trait to counter-act the goodness of the world? Would good even exist? Or would society turn into a ‘neutral’ state, with no fear or hate, thus resulting in no love or joy?

“The impact that violent acts have on society at large is powerful not only because they produce fear but also, and perhaps more importantly, because they produce disorientation. In this relation, Clive Bloom has suggested that the “legendary power” of the violence of a figure like Jack the Ripper “acts as a gaping maw into which perception of order and rightness are sucked” (135-36). One way of dealing with this uncertainty is to affirm that mass murderers and serial killers are neither civilized nor really human—i.e., to stress their monstrosity so as to perceive them as belonging to the realm of the other.”

-	Joseph Grixti, Consuming cannibals: Psychopathic killers as archetypes and cultural icons

Ian Watkins.

Upon starting my blog, I brainstormed things I could write my posts on. I realised that everyday when I check the news, I am guaranteed to find at least one article discussing something crime related. Although seemingly negative, I decided to keep my blog updated with current events. At this current time (December 2013) the Ian Watkins trial is fresh and still being talked about, with his sentencing set to take place this Wednesday.

Ian Watkins was a member of Welsh rock band, Lostprophets. They were formed in 1997, with their peak successful time being from 2003 to 2007. They had major success with songs such as ‘Last Train Home’ and ‘Rooftops.’ 

Watkins was arrested in December 2012 for allegations of conspiracy to rape a baby, a large number of child pornographic images on his computer and an image of extreme bestiality. In November 2013, at the start of what would have been a long and very distressing trial, (one prosecutor claimed that some of the video evidence was by far the worst he’s ever seen and would have been unable to show it even in court), he admitted to the charges. 

Lostprophets music mostly appealed to young teenagers, which also happened to coincide with the ‘emo’ scene that was just starting to become popular with them. The ‘emo’ phase was a generation of young teenagers who listened to music that mainly focused about the woes and worries of adolescence and first relationships, which gained controversy since some of the lyrics aimed at these children seemed to encourage and promote self-harm and suicide. (See bands such as Hawthorne Heights, From First To Last, My Chemical Romance) Personally, I believe these lyrics were metaphors to emphasize the dramatic experience of heart-ache when you are at that age, but since the majority of people who latched on to this music were emotionally immature, it created a very ‘attention-seeking’ and confused scene. 

Considering the type of young girls who would be listening to his music, Ian Watkins found a very convenient way of grooming. He knew that some of the girls listening to his music would be young and vulnerable, unaware of the signs of a grooming paedophile. These girls absolutely idolised him, viewing him as a complete ‘Rock God’. Not only was he attractive, he was successful and imitated an aura of power thanks to his fame and lifestyle. These vulnerable girls probably couldn’t believe their luck when approached by Watkins on internet forums.

What is incredibly chilling, is that whilst I have been researching the case, I stumbled across a forum with posts dating back to three years ago.(Unfortunately, I will not be posting the name of the forum, due to the fact that it names the two girls who have been charged along with Watkins and it is illegal to disclose their names.) On this site there were numerous girls discussing and arguing with each other over Ian, as if they were his property. They all mentioned how he would ‘one day get caught’ and that they had ‘seen what he wanted to do the children’ regarding drug use. They spat bitter insults at each other, and named the two girls who were arrested with Ian as being ‘obsessed’ with Ian.
Here is an example of some of the quotes I found:

"true he does need to be arrested before he infects any one else.You said the truth will come out but hes got away with it for this long how much longer before he caught."

"idk how long hes had h i v (or if he has H I V, im not the same person as the A I D S and pregnant commenter) but i do know in 09 a girl whose name i wont mention for her privacy found info on his computer on how to drug children. he told her he was thinking of giving kids drugs and you know what else. he probably started around that time.”

I read through the comments and although I can only assume, all the girls seemed so young, yet seemed to know Watkins or knew what he was up to. This is horrifying and chilling. Personally I believe Watkins knew exactly what he was doing. I can imagine he knew to target these young girls, as they would succumb to him and act out his fantasies for recognition and gain from such a massively famous rock star. He clearly manipulated these girls and used his fame as a way to change his extreme fantasies into reality.

Additionally, what can only be described as horrifying and somewhat bizarre, there is a video clip of a Myspace question and answer session with Lostprophets, in which you can just barely hear Watkins mutter under his breath a remark about his pedophilia interests. He gets propositioned a question by a user named ‘babygal’, who asks ‘what are your guilty pleasures?’ Ian replies under his breath, ‘you just answered your own question. I wonder what people would think if they heard me say that?’ His band mates seem to not hear or are innocently unaware of the seriousness of that answer. What chills me the most about that video clip is how blasé he is when talking so openly and publicly about his interests in young children, even bursting into laughter after he mumbles the crude comment. It’s as if he is proud and almost daring the public to cotton on to his evil deeds.

The Ian Watkins trial is something that I feel personally effected by. Of course, I have no similarities or relations with any of the victims or anybody involved, but I, like many others, listened to lostprophets as an adolescent. I remember listening to their album, ‘Start Something’, copious amounts of times with my friends and it was the beginning of my journey through rock music.

Although Ian has been caught, I believe only a snippet of the crimes he has committed have become public knowledge. Who knows how many other vulnerable girls he prayed on in an attempt to get closer to very young children. It’s a vile thought, but I hope the police and justice system are working very hard to unravel what could be a very long line of crimes. We shall soon see.

"Psychopath"

"Genetics, accidents of birth or events in early childhood have left criminals’ brains and bodies with measurable flaws predisposing them to committing assault, murder and other antisocial acts. …. 

Many offenders also have impairments in their autonomic nervous system, the system responsible for the edgy, nervous feeling that can come with emotional arousal. This leads to a fearless, risk-taking personality, perhaps to compensate for chronic under-arousal. 

Many convicted criminals, like the Unabomber, have slow heartbeats. 

It also gives them lower heart rates, which explains why heart rate is such a good predictor of criminal tendencies. The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, for example, had a resting heart rate of just 54 beats per minute, which put him in the bottom 3 per cent of the population.” 
― Adrian Raine, http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/criminology

I found this quote on Google whilst searching for top criminologist sayings and I found it incredibly interesting. There were many to choose from, but this quote stuck out further than the others to me. 

It is something that has always fascinated me about criminals; the courage they have to commit the atrocious crimes that they do. I am a seriously empathetic person, that’s why I’m incredibly into animal rights and charities, and I cannot comprehend how someone can kill, rape and thieve off other human beings for pleasure or gain. If not for the fact that they are taking something from these people that they have no right too, but also the anticipation and anxiety of getting caught and punished.

If I was to break into somebodies house and steal their laptop, I can only imagine how I’d be feeling. I would be sweating, my heart beating a million times an hour, whilst any slight, small sound would send me into a frenzied panic. The thought of being caught, publicly shamed in the media and locked away for decades would be consistently pacing through my mind. Furthermore, the image of my family and friend’s faces as they are told I am a criminal would scar me for life. The thought of their lives being effected by my disgusting wrong-doings already sends a chill down my spine.

Now, that is how I automatically feel when even imagining committing a crime like that. Whether that is from instinct, or I have been systematically trained to think like that is another issue entirely. But what astounds me is these criminals, whether they receive these same warning signals or not, continue carrying out the crime. They either ignore these feelings of guilt, shame and anxiety, or they do not feel them. 

Certain situations can occur where a person is, for want of a better word, forced to commit these crimes. If a man has no money, no job, no family, no home and is hungry, can he still be blamed for trying anything he can to attain some cash? Does he still experience those horrid feelings of shame and guilt yet he is so desperate he ignores them? Or is he so angry at the world, the corporations and lack of family and care around him that he is now forcibly numb to those feelings?

Introduction post.

I’d like to welcome you to my blog. This is my first post regarding my criminology research. The reason I have decided to create this blog and begin writing, is firstly for preparation for my university studies. I am hoping to study criminology at university next year, eventually pursuing a career in the police force, prison services or some sort of psychology. This is the perfect place for me to practice writing about crime and getting into the right frame of mind regarding my future. I am currently studying humanities and social science at college, which is incredible, but not directly linked to criminology (although some subjects are similar!) Whilst my current course is ongoing, I’ve decided to begin my own research into criminology.

Also, criminology is one of my biggest passions! It’s something I find incredibly interesting and I love to talk about it at any given opportunity. There are copious amounts of stories appearing in the press EVERYDAY which I discuss with my partner and inside my mind. Why not write these down? It’s something to enjoy and look back on. Who knows, in a few years, my initial opinions may have changed! 

Furthermore, blogging is a great tool to network and discuss topics with people. I’d love to have like-minded people and students read my writings and engage in debates and discussions with me. So please, feel free to comment and leave your website links too, I’d love to read more criminology based blogs.

As far as introductions go, I feel I've covered all the essentials. I hope you enjoy my blog and thank you for taking the time to read it. I’m looking forward to posting my first piece of writing!