Butterfield told the story of the crime-ridden Bogle family in the lecture "When Crime Runs in the Family: Four Generations of Killers, Thieves and Con Men," held Sunday afternoon in Carpenter Hall.
In his latest book project, "Legacy," Butterfield examines the inter-generational transmission of violence and criminality in American society through his depiction of the Bogles, an Oregon famly. He said he hopes to illustrate one of the "strongest, though least understood findings in criminal justice research: that crime tends to run in the family."
Over four generations, at least 55 members of the Bogle family received jail or prison sentences for crimes ranging from prostitution to drug trafficking to murder, according to Butterfield.
The patriarch of the family Rooster, also known as Dale Vincent regularly brought his sons on trips to burglarize stores and construction facilities and taught them to "hotwire trailers and truckers by age seven or eight", Butterfield said.
Rooster often brought his children to the Oregon State Penitentiary, informing that when they "grow up, this is where you're going to end up," Butterfield said.
"He wasn't trying to scare them," Butterfield said. "It was more of a boast, an initiation into the world of criminality."
Although criminologists often cite poverty, neglect, poor education, drug abuse, poor job prospects or negative surroundings as the source of criminal behavior, Butterfield said inter-generational crime is a "little-appreciated dynamic" that exemplifies the "simple power of example or imitation" that families can provide. The phenomenon is known to social scientists as "modeling," Butterfield said.
"Parents set expectations and norms for children," Butterfield said. "[The Bogle family] is a story of family values, and what happens when they get turned upside down."
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, half of the 2.3 million Americans in jail or prison have a close family member who has previously been incarcerated, Butterfield said. Having a father or mother who has served a jail sentence or is on probation or parole may be "one of the biggest risk factors for going to prison yourself," according to Butterfield.
While crime rates in America have gradually decreased over the past two decades, the number of Americans behind bars has nearly quadrupled, Butterfield said.
"It's a tragically self-perpetuating process," Butterfield said. "The more people we lock up, the more likely we are going to be creating more criminals that we will eventually incarcerate."
Approximately 2.9 million children in America have a parent in jail or prison on any given day, according to Butterfield. Five million more children have parents who are currently on parole or probation, he said.
The American criminal justice system must begin to compile data on family members for future criminal justice research, Butterfield said.
"No part of the criminal justice system makes use of this knowledge," Butterfield said. "We're missing a critical opportunity to intervene and stop the further transmission of crime."
A new study by sociologist Nicholas Christakis and political scientist James Fowler examines how social networks, including families, can influence alcohol consumption. This kind of "social contagion," according to Butterfield, could potentially be applied to crime itself as a "contagious disease" like obesity.
In a discussion section of the lecture, audience members discussed the possible influence of gene transmission or mental illness on inter-generational crime. Butterfield noted that there is an unusually high incidence of mental illnesses in the Bogle family.
"The genetic research available is dicey," Butterfield said. "It's too new. It's hard to target what you're looking for. There's not just one gene for commiting a crime' there might be a different one for burglary, or rape."
Although few Bogles have "broken free" of the criminal life, this year a member of the Bogle family graduated from high school with a 4.0 grade point average and has received a full scholarship to Oregon State University, according to Butterfield.
"But, she became infatuated with her boyfriend, and is now giving up her scholarship," Butterfield said. "It was heart-wrenching. The bad thing' hovering over her family grabbed her."
