Recent Book: And in Another Form …: Shadows of a Violent Mind
| Date | 01 January 1980 |
| Author | J. Hilton |
| Published date | 01 January 1980 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8005300132 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
Some sections of the book have little
direct relevance for police officers -
those on aerial reconnaissance and
navigation. for example - but others on
human behaviour under stress or on
cultural differences can help illuminate
aspects of police duty. One series of
experiments showed that psychological
information may help "to change
relationships between soldiers
...
and in
the process change certain traditional
aspects of military affairs. such as rank,
discipline and the concept of bravery."
Sadly there is only the briefest of
chapters (6 pages) on a more obviously
relevant topic - "Psychological Aspects
of Population Control" - described by
the author as "a huge area of study inits
own right." Some of the methods
described under "Counter-Insurgency"
and for fightingthe "Psy-war" are also of
interest.
Unfortunately some of the research is
of very poor quality. Peter WATSON
suggests that this is in part because it is
conducted insecrecy and is therefore not
exposed to the rigorous criticism of
academic 'psychologists. Nonetheless
although the resultsare suspect the range
of topics investigated is an exciting
indication of the imaginative uses to
which psychology might be put, and
many of the problems explored are
analogous to those encountered by the
police service. J. HILTON
rebellious. hateful, organised, emotion-
ally immature young thief is more
dangerous than the experienced robber,"
and describes punk rock bands -
"Performers wear ripped and bloody
clothing, burn themselves with cigar-
ettes, poke safety pins through their
nostrils
...
hang bicyclechains and ropes
around their bodies
...
wear dog collars
and barbed wire vests." The author's
style is vivid and readable, but I found
the constant allusions to Genet, Sartre,
Beckett. Fry and Oscar Wilde a pre-
tentious demonstration of his literary
awareness.
He does intersperse his descriptive
passages with scattered pleas for more
humane prison regimes, for enlightened
residential care and greater facihties for
'treatment', but he uses the term
psychopath as though it had explanatory
force and distorts the language of
existentialism to describe therapeutic
methods in a manner which would be
unrecognisable to Sartre. J. HILTON
AND IN ANOTHER FORM
...
DR.
GUY
RICHMOND:
Shadows
of
a Violent Mind
Antonson Publishing $6.95
Since the author of this book served as
a doctor with the Prison Servicefor most
of his adult life both in England and in
Canada, and was attached for a time to
the Children's Department of the Home
Office, I had hoped that he would
provide some analytical insights into the
root causes of criminal violence, and
suggestions for remedies.
Disappointingly it consists of
anecdotal accounts of some violent
offenders he has known combined with
descriptions of the notorious and blood-
stained careers of such monsters as
Heath, Haigh and Charles Manson -
feeding the horrified fascination of most
of us for the pornography of violence. He
also describes in sickening detail the
behaviour of groups such as terrorists,
concentration camp guards and sadistic
torturers.
This catalogue of brutality is described
in highly coloured language with an
excessiveuse of adjectives. He makes, for
example. the familiar distinction be-
tween the amateur and professional
criminal thus - "The highly unstable,
WHEREAS AT THE START
...
MICHAEL
E.
LAMB:
Social and Personality Development.
Holt, Rinehart £9.25.
This is a comprehensive survey of this provides a greater depth of perspective.
particular area of social psychology. There are three main sections; a
Each chapter however has been written chronological series of seven chapters
by separate authors under the guidance describing development from infancy to
and co-ordinating influence of the editor adulthood, a second edition of two
who himselfcontributes the Introduction chapters - one on gender identity and
and Conclusion and other chapters ofthe one on moral development, and a third
book. rather miscellaneous section presenting
This method of compilation leads to an anthropological perspective, another
some unevenness of style and content, chapter divided from the indefatigable
and some repetition, but permits a researches of Stephen J. Suomi and
variety of angles of perception which Harry F. Harlow on the effects of
Police Journal January 1980 98
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