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Montgomery County MD Police Chief Misunderstands Criminal Mind

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Media Link - Dallas Morning News
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Tuesday, 08 October 2002 00:00
"We implore [the killers] to surrender, stop this madness," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose is quoted as saying at a news conference. Clearly, the police chief does not understand the psychology of criminals. Or, if he does, he doesn't want to admit it. Criminals don't respond to reason. Like all psychotherapists, I sometimes deal with criminals in my work. Vicious, terrorizing killers are doing what they're doing because they get something out of it. Most likely, what they get out of it is a sense of power. They can't gain this power any other way, because they refuse to pursue rational values in their lives -- career, relationships, children -- like the rest of us. The better way to handle them would be to frighten and manipulate them. Because criminals necessarily must live their lives on the run, and because they are so obviously irrational, it's not difficult to prey upon their weak points. A new television series "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" at times brilliantly demonstrates how this can be done, played out in plot lines where the lead detective uses psychology to turn criminals against themselves. It's preposterous to expect a criminal to listen to reason. The police chief must know this, but nevertheless feels compelled to perpetuate the myth all the same. The people involved in these killings are terrorists, just as the people who slam planes into buildings are terrorists. They know no reason, and they will never know it. Pretending otherwise does not instill confidence in those who are seeking safety from the police, but it undoubtedly fuels the twisted motives of the killers seeking this kind of attention in the first place.
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