Unclear Criminal Warning Signs

In “The Psychopath Inside”, James Fallon tells his story about finding out he has the brain of a psychopath. This disturbing, but also very interesting story about his findings shines a light on genetic pre-disposition to certain personality disorders. Although Fallon did find that some of his personality traits over the years corresponded to those of a psychopath, he lived a normal life and had never committed any violent crimes. However, in recent years, the amount of shootings and crimes committed by very disturbed individuals have seemed to be more prevalent. Although people that lived among these gunmen and criminals said they saw warning signs of their actions, can these warning signs be universal to all people? Can we say that someone who has an antisocial personality and somewhat violent thoughts is going to hurt the people around them?

The New York Times article, “Warning Signs of Violent Acts Often Unclear,” brings up that the warning signs of violent behavior cannot be black and white. The article talks about legislature that was trying to be passed in New York and Washington stating that all doctors have to “report any person who ‘is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others.”’ These warning signs could range from simply unpleasant thoughts to someone who has been involuntarily hospitalized for a mental disorder. I believe ‘The Psychopath Inside’ shows us that not everyone with pre-dispositions to violence, like James Fallon, are going to seriously endanger anyone. These violent acts are often done by people that have both mental disorders and have gone through a traumatic event in their life. Although I understand the states’ concerns with keeping their residents safe, there would be a lot of reported individuals that will never commit any violent crimes. The New York Times article states, “people with serious mental disorders, while more likely to commit aggressive acts than the average person, account for only about 4 percent of violent crimes over all.” That means that people like Fallon would be on a sort-of watch list, when they won’t be of any danger to the people around them.

Fallon, J. (2013). The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain. New York: Penguin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/health/breaking-link-of-violence-and-mental-illness.html?_r=0