Body Talk: Genetic Screening as a Device of Crime Regulation

Considerable controversy has accompanied the emergence of human genetics and its offshoot, behaviour genetics, over recent decades. The tendency in some quarters to engage a form of genetic reductionism—i.e., attributing human behaviour mainly or entirely to genetic ‘‘make-up,’’ ‘‘markers,’’ ‘‘triggers,’’ or ‘‘traits’’—has raised concerns over the possible implications of this way of thinking about human affairs. Violence, aggression, impulsivity, and hyperactivity have been linked variously to genetic factors. While few if any geneticists would be brazen or foolhardy enough to talk about a ‘‘crime gene,’’ it has nonetheless become clear that certain genetic markers have been linked with certain problematic and aberrant conduct—markers that may be screened for in a future, arguably dystopian society.