Criminal Genius: A Portrait of High-IQ Offenders, James C. Oleson

Authors

Allen Copenhaver, Lindsey Wilson College

Abstract

Criminology has a long history of attempting to discover and explain what some researchers claim are links between biological characteristics and criminal behavior. More specifically, some criminologists have explored the potential linkages between IQ and criminal behavior (i.e. see the work of Lombroso, Beaver, and Hirschi, among others). James C. Oleson continues this line of research with his 2016 book Criminal Genius: A Portrait of High-IQ Offenders. Oleson’s work is unique in that it is the first attempt to systematically examine the potential links between individuals with high IQs and criminal behavior. To accomplish this, Oleson uses a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative methods in the form of surveys of highly intelligent individuals as to their criminal activity and qualitative interviews designed to tease out more detailed information on such criminal activity. This review will provide a chapter-by-chapter overview to highlight the most important sections of the book, will then provide a limitations section on the research, and will then provide a discussion of the overall worth of the text. But first, however, Oleson’s text must be discussed regarding the ontological underpinnings from which he presents his argument; as such an understanding is key to understanding the purpose and direction of the book.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Copenhaver, Allen (2018) "Criminal Genius: A Portrait of High-IQ Offenders, James C. Oleson," Qualitative Criminology (QC): Vol. 6: No. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/qc/vol6/iss1/7