- Posts tagged Crime
- Explore Crime on posterous
What Constitutes "Closure" and Is It Useful?
One of the strangest ideas I've encountered in my many years on this planet is that of "closure." We hear and read about it all the time, usually in connection with a crime and with the apprehension, trial and punishment of the crime's perpetrator. Families are often characterized as wanting or needing closure before they can move on with their lives after the loss of a loved one.
Information about the "need for closure" that I've been able to glean from online sources indicates that the concept is pretty fuzzy psychologically even though there is an instrument called a Need for Closure Survey (NFCS) psychologists can use to characterize those who feel a strong need for closure and other aspects of their beliefs. (It turns out, e.g., that there is a fairly strong correlation between NFCS scores and political beliefs with conservatism and the need for closure aligning nicely.) But everyone agrees that, "[t]he need for closure varies across individuals, situations, and cultures." Which is another way of saying, it's not very meaningful or scientific or particularly measurable, actually.
But my concern is that the idea of closure is often used as a pretext for overzealous prosecution and for punishing beyond what would seem to "fit the crime" (another weird phrase for me to encounter).
In a story today, the police in Santa Barbara, CA, are using closure as a reason (excuse?) to dig up an old highway construction site where a seven-year-old girl's body may be buried. I can see the need for that kind of police work, but in this case the crime was committed more than 50 years ago, the most likely suspect and the girl's parents are all dead, and her sister, now 62, has left the area. But a police spokesman insisted that pursuing this possible lead is important because ""We would like to have some closure and know what happened." Note that in that sentence, the "We" is the police, i.e., the government, i.e., allegedly, the citizens. Really? Is this worth spending time and money on? Particularly when governments are being hit with major cutbacks? What new crimes will go undetected or be allowed to be committed while law enforcement people and money are being spent trying to find a 50-year-old skeleton?
Information about the "need for closure" that I've been able to glean from online sources indicates that the concept is pretty fuzzy psychologically even though there is an instrument called a Need for Closure Survey (NFCS) psychologists can use to characterize those who feel a strong need for closure and other aspects of their beliefs. (It turns out, e.g., that there is a fairly strong correlation between NFCS scores and political beliefs with conservatism and the need for closure aligning nicely.) But everyone agrees that, "[t]he need for closure varies across individuals, situations, and cultures." Which is another way of saying, it's not very meaningful or scientific or particularly measurable, actually.
But my concern is that the idea of closure is often used as a pretext for overzealous prosecution and for punishing beyond what would seem to "fit the crime" (another weird phrase for me to encounter).
In a story today, the police in Santa Barbara, CA, are using closure as a reason (excuse?) to dig up an old highway construction site where a seven-year-old girl's body may be buried. I can see the need for that kind of police work, but in this case the crime was committed more than 50 years ago, the most likely suspect and the girl's parents are all dead, and her sister, now 62, has left the area. But a police spokesman insisted that pursuing this possible lead is important because ""We would like to have some closure and know what happened." Note that in that sentence, the "We" is the police, i.e., the government, i.e., allegedly, the citizens. Really? Is this worth spending time and money on? Particularly when governments are being hit with major cutbacks? What new crimes will go undetected or be allowed to be committed while law enforcement people and money are being spent trying to find a 50-year-old skeleton?
I don't get it. But I'm certainly not saying that fact should be substituted for the judgment of experts when it comes to the "need for closure" in any given situation or family. I am, however, suggesting that closure is not a good reason by itself to conduct cold case investigations of this nature.
