The word evil gets thrown around a lot in the criminal justice world. It’s the label the public uses when behavior is so shocking, so manipulative, or so deliberately cruel that no other word seems to fit.
But in reality? “Evil” is often a shorthand for something far more complex and at times, far more dangerous. Behind many patterns of coercive control, fraud, and violence, it all really boils down to unaddressed personality disorders, untreated trauma, and behavioral patterns so deeply entrenched that accountability becomes a tug-of-war between the courts, mental health professionals, and public safety.
This post is not about sympathy for those who offend. It’s about understanding, because without understanding, we cannot prevent, intervene, or protect survivors from cycles that repeat across families, systems, and generations.
The Misunderstood Spectrum of “Personality Disorders” in Crime
ASPD (Antisocial Personality Disorder)
When people say “evil,” they very often think of ASPD traits:
- chronic lying
- impulsivity
- lack of remorse
- manipulative charm
- willingness to harm without guilt
Not everyone with ASPD becomes criminal, but in the justice system, a disproportionate number of repeat offenders exhibit antisocial traits that directly map onto behaviors like coercion, fraud, and varying levels of violence.
These individuals are often strategic, patient, and deliberate in their harm. And courts are rarely equipped to recognize the pattern until the damage is done.
Narcissistic Abuse and the Justice System
Narcissistic traits show up in criminal patterns way more often than people realize:
- a need for dominance
- entitlement over others
- rage when boundaries are enforced
- a complete inability to accept consequences
- smear campaigns when confronted
The justice system is not designed for this kind of psychological warfare. Actors in the system often assume “relationship drama,” they minimize evidence, and victims get painted as “overreacting” all while the narcissistic offender escalates behind the scenes.
Untreated Trauma: The Wildcard in Offender Behavior
Some offenders are not antisocial or narcissistic. They are trauma-stunted; emotionally frozen, reactive, and dysregulated. Trauma isn’t an excuse, but it is a factor:
- unresolved childhood violence
- lack of secure attachments
- exposure to chaos or instability
- untreated addiction or mental illness
- intergenerational cycles of abuse
These individuals may genuinely not understand why they explode or fixate but that doesn’t make the experience any less dangerous for victims. Trauma can explain behavior; it cannot justify it. It’s not mutually exclusive; both truths can exist at once.
Why This Matters: Systems Respond to “Actions,” Not Patterns
The justice system is built to react:
- One police call at a time.
- One incident at a time.
But personality-disordered offenders operate in patterns:
- offending mixed with charm offensives
- threats mixed with “plausible deniability”
- relentless boundary-testing
- cycles of escalation after every consequence
This mismatch allows dangerous people to slip through the cracks while survivors are left to manage chaos alone.
The Risk Nobody Talks About: The System Is Their Stage
For many offenders with narcissistic or antisocial traits, the courtroom isn’t a deterrent; it’s a performance arena. They use the system to:
- file retaliatory measures
- weaponize custody
- needlessly drag out issues to maintain contact
- distort the narrative
- overwhelm victims
This is why survivors often experience the legal system as another layer of abuse, not a shield.
So How Do We Respond? Nuance Is Not Weakness — It’s Strategy
Understanding the psychology doesn’t mean excusing the behavior. It means preparing for it. It means recognizing that a person with entrenched personality patterns is not going to suddenly become reasonable because a judge yelled at them.
Effective responses require:
1. Better training for police on narcissistic abuse, and digital threats.
Not just “technology crime” but behavioral patterns. Watch for the patterns, record them, don’t fall into traps or planned pitfalls.
2. Trauma-informed approaches that still enforce boundaries.
You can understand someone’s past without allowing them to destroy your present.
3. Systems that track patterns, not isolated incidents.
Behavioral risk assessment is a missing piece of Michigan’s public safety puzzle.
4. PPO processes that recognize personality-driven escalation.
Narcissistic offenders all too often escalate after being told “no.” Data demonstrates this time and time again. As a result, that’s data that officials can rely on to create policies. Courts should anticipate that, not react after harm occurs.
5. Survivor-centered policies.
Because even when the behavior is rooted in personality disorders, the harm lands on real people who deserve safety, dignity, and protection. Families of people who offend are also negatively impacted, and while not at the same intensity of survivors of crime, could also be considered, too.
Survivors Deserve Understanding, Not Minimization
When survivors say:
“They won’t stop.”
“They just switch tactics.”
“The system isn’t taking me seriously.”
It isn’t drama. It’s pattern recognition. And this is where justice fails most often: Systems underestimate the psychological complexity while survivors live with the consequences.
The solution isn’t to call offenders “evil.”
It’s to understand the behavior and respond with strategies that match the threat.
