WJEC Level 3 Applied Certificate & Diploma Criminology sample

AC3.1 ANALYSE SITUATIONS OF CRIMINALITY Relevant theories of criminality – Robert Napper Bowlby’s attachment theory Given the case study information about Napper’s life, there are a number of theories that could be relevant to his criminality. For example, we can consider Bowlby’s (1944) theory of attachment, which supports the proposition that a child needs a stable home environment to develop appropriately. However, it may be argued that the separation experienced in childhood has led to affectionate psychopathy where individuals feel no remorse for their victims or guilt for the crime they have committed. CASE STUDY ROBERT NAPPER Robert Napper was convicted of the brutal murder of Rachel Nickell, and the double murder of Samantha Bisset and her four- year-old daughter Jazimine. He was also thought to be the ‘Green Chain Rapist’, who carried out a series of at least 70 attacks across South London over a four-year period ending in 1993. Background During the early years of his life, Napper witnessed his father’s violence against his mother. He and his siblings were placed in foster homes and Napper, who suffered from a psychiatric and behavioural disorder, became a paranoid schizophrenic who also suffered from Asperger’s syndrome. At the age of 12 he was raped by a family friend, and in school he did not have any friends and was teased by other children. He was found to have had only average intelligence. Napper would bully his brothers and went on to confess to his mother to raping a woman. Robert Napper Paranoid schizophrenic: Someone with an illness of psychosis of varying intensity, which makes them lose touch with reality. Key term See more on this in Unit 3 page 156. 109