“ CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY- COMPARITIVE STUDY- U.

S AND INDIA”
MOTIVE BEHIND CHOOSING THE TOPIC

It is often said that a society gets the kind of criminals it deserves. This statement
has been haunting me for a long time.
I pose my self-innumerable questions. Whether it is the society, which shapes a
criminal and the criminal mind or is it the other way round.
What is it that makes a person do what he does? What triggers a criminal mind to
function in a particular way?
The answer to such questions lies in the study of science of mind and body i.e.
Psychology. And to be more precise ‘Criminal Psychology’.
Criminal Psychology, as it sounds, is a very intriguing subject. Since my growing
years I used to wonder, how and why any person reacts in a particular manner?
As far as I’m concerned, what used to baffle me was the modus operandi of any
criminal mind and their unreasonable abnormal thinking. When a crime takes place
the Investigator is pitted against the entire world. The offender leaves no Visiting
Card, in the literal sense of the word, on the scene of crime. Any one on the earth
would have done it? The big question before the Investigator is ‘Whodunit’?
But the fact remains that the offender does leave a Visiting Card at the crime
scene. If one could read it!
I came across an entire study by way of which, looking at the crime scene and the
modus operandi of the offender, the criminologists and psychologists can narrow
down the search of the offender, in a way reducing the burden of the criminal
investigation agencies.
They further help the law enforcement agencies like police and judiciary by
generalizing the criminal behavior, finding patterns of crime and establishing
motives for a crime.
It goes without saying, that as law students, we are taught that we are a link
between the society and judiciary i.e. our prime duty is to seek Justice for those
who deserve, be they the alleged offenders or the victims of crime. In doing this
duty we have also to ensure the due diligence of the principals of law as well. To
make a significant contribution in this regard it is indispensable for us first to
understand the cause of criminal behavior, the psyche of a criminal mind and then
going about it.
 OBJECT AND SCOPE OF THE TOPIC

The object of the topic, “ CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY- COMPARITIVE

STUDY- U.S AND INDIA” is to prove the necessity of the study of criminal
mind, their respective modus operandi so as to reveal the unidentified offenders
and bring them to justice for I believe that these offenders who are under the
influence of mental disorders are in actual not the offenders but victims to
themselves. Infact, criminality is not a permanent trait of a person, it is a disease,
which must be first diagnosed and then weeded out.
As far as the scope of this topic goes, well doctors, psychologists, and
criminologists have struggled with questions like: What makes a criminal mind
tick? Why does one man murder and mutilate while another follows the letter of
the law? Is there such a thing as ‘criminal type’? Is criminal behavior personal or
generalized? Are criminals born, genetically programmed to commit crimes or are
they shaped by circumstances? Etc. etc.

These questions are plaguing the society for centuries. And till date the urge to
understand them continues and shall always will.
Though we may not be able to find a final or definite answer as the human mind
continues to evolve and may open up new dimensions. Still it pays to study this
subject. The comparative study helps us compare the plight of offenders in India,
especially those suffering from mental disorders and also the law with respect to
them to that in U.S.A. There may be certain people branded as ‘criminal’ without
any overt criminality in them.

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