Explaining crime in criminal proceedings: Towards a new approach

A. Alimardani

D. Student, University of New South Wales, Australia, a.alimardani@student.unsw.edu.au

In criminal proceedings, factors such as mental disorders (which can result in criminal behaviour) are important as they can influence a court’s decision. This study claims that the nature and interrelation of these factors are complex, and there is no coherent method for guiding judges, juries and lawyers in making reliable interpretations. A unique way to resolve this issue involves examining the ‘Contributing Factors within a Multilayered Network (CFMN)’ method. CFMN is based on theories of causation and as such perceives crime as a consequence of multiple factors including psychology, sociology, genetics and neuroscience – a field that has recently come to the attention of criminologists. Interactions between these factors occupy three categories: first, factors that can help to identify others; second, factors that are merely a combination of other factors in a different form and should not be considered anew; and third, factors the presence/absence of which may influence the outcome of other factors. This study challenges reliance upon the current approach of explaining crime in criminal proceedings and contends that CFMN can help clarify this issue and result in better decisions accordingly.

Keywords

criminal proceeding, court’s decision, causes of crime, CFMN, multiple factors, interaction between factors.

Biography

Armin Alimardani was born in Iran in 1989. His whole life changed when he was accepted in NODET (National Organisation of Developing Exceptional Talents). Following High School, he was accepted into Law, but his passion for science and mathematics led to him studying IT in conjunction with his legal degree. When he became familiar with Criminology, Armin abandoned IT and pursued research in Criminology. In his Masters, he studied Criminal Law and Criminology. His Masters’ thesis resulted in an introductory book titled, “Genetics and Crime”. Armin then applied for a PhD at UNSW to research neuroscience and the criminal law.