Determinism : An Unfortunate Part Of Criminology 's History

Theories of criminology were developed centuries ago so people can go in depth to seek what cause crime and why. In some cases these theories can eve go to the extent to prevent the crimes from happening again. Over the years more theories have been developed and the theories that have already been developed have been added to so they fit a larger spectrum. What cause a person to commit a crime and why would they commit a certain crime over another? These theories that have been developed give us an insight to the answer of these questions. These theories are used so Criminologist can have a better understanding of crime such as the Ferguson, Missouri riots that took place after the August of 2014.

Theories in Criminal Justice Michael Robertson The University of Southern Mississippi Criminology is the study of reason or explanations as to why people choose to either commit a crime or why they do not commit a crime. In criminology there seems to be two broad explanations, natural explanations and spiritual explanations. Spiritual explanations as to why people choose to commit a crime usually come from supernatural concepts or outer worldly figures. For example, people used to believe that if someone was to commit a murder, that the murderer was possessed or forced to commit this crime by supernatural forces.

Criminological theories have come a long way from their origins; in ancient times it was believed that crimes were committed by people who were possessed by the devil, or women who practiced the dark art of witchcraft (Lilly, Cullen, Ball, 2011, pg 18). As the theories progressed into modern times, the theorist behind these criminological theories had only focused on one single cause behind criminality. Thanks to the work done by member of the Chicago School many of the new theories were able to further elaborate on their work. Integrating work done by scholars of the past has allowed criminologist and law enforcement agencies to get better understandings on why criminals choose the life style that they live. Theories that came about as a result of integration are: Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory, Agnew's general strain theory, and lastly Akers social learning theory. The integration of these theories by the theorist helped further elaborate on the work of the original authors and in some cases the new theories were able to fill in missing voids that the previous theorists had not taken into account.

As time continues to progress so does science and from this has come out many criminological perspectives—including feminist, Marxist, and modern biosocial, but what is the purpose of each perspective? And more importantly, how do they benefit traditional criminological theories? Simply put the purpose of each perspective to take a look at something that traditional theories ignored while also explaining why it’s important we take a look at this ideal when considering why crime might occur.

During the mid to late 1800’s Cesare Lombroso based his scientific theories of criminology on Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Charles Darwin suggested that humans evolved from primitive beings and that humans later evolved based on their ability to adapt to their environment. The humans that are unable to adapt to their environment die off or become inferior. Lombroso believed that certain individuals or groups of people were born to commit crime. In terms of

Biological theories are the biological explanations of crime. A famous theorists Cesare Lombroso, founder of the Italian school of Positivist Criminology. His biological explanation of crime, was that criminal behavior were genetic and that individuals who take part in crime, can be recognized by physical abnormalities or defects. One example is that murders have cold, glassy blood shot eyes, long hair and thin lips. He insisted that criminals committed acts that were beyond their control. William Sheldon theory of crime took on a different approach; he associates certain body types with certain behaviors. In his theory, he believed behavior to be inherited. One of Sheldon theory was that there is an association between personality and body type. Below are three basic body types according to Sheldon ▪ Endomorphs-which are heavy, obese; soft, round shaped ▪ Mesomorph- rectangular build, muscular, hard and heavy ▪ Ectomorphs-linear, flat, thin, fragile, and delicate. Another biological explanation of crime relates to certain brain dysfunctions (Sammons, 2015). This can be seen in children and adults who suffer from ADHD, and other hyperactivity

The next interesting theory was in the 20th century called the rational choice theory, which consists of people committing crimes through risk or reward (Cox et al, 2014). This means that they are thinking about the crime, and which route

Now, as far as “Criminological Theories they are “classified by the paradigm they emphasize, and the paradigms are distinctive theoretical models or perspectives” (“An Overview of”, n.d., p.4); like in the case of crime, they tend to vary based largely on differing assumptions of human

For my first theory, I will be discussing the rational choice theory and how it can explain crime. This theory was founded way back in the late 19th century. And for my second theory, I will be discussing the positivist approach to explain crime. Founded by Cesare Lombroso, who is regarded as the father of criminology, back in the late 19th century as well, this school of thought is rather old.

The argument that people who commit criminal activities are physically or mentally ill can only be made where an understanding of crime's magnitude is beyond human cognition. Criminologist in the twenty-first century have advanced the field of criminology and brought about a higher understanding of crimes. The understanding of human behavior does away with the abnormality of criminal actions and logical explanations are made. It is cognizable given the twenty-first century theories of criminology that there are driving forces behind commitment of a criminal action(Siegel, 2007).

There are three major theories of crime that have developed from structural functionalism; strain theory, subcultural theory, and control theory. The first, strain theory, was developed by Robert Merton, strain theory uses Durkheim’s concept of anomie, or normlessness.

Biological theory studies the science of the brain and genetics to identify any links between biological factors and criminal activity. Cherry (2013) states, “One of the best known biological theorists was Hans Eysenck, who linked aspects of personality to biological processes. Eysenck argued that introverts had high cortical arousal, leading them to avoid stimulation. On the other hand, Eysenck believed extroverts had low cortical arousal, causing them to seek out stimulating experiences” (p. 1). An individuals with an introvert personality often shows signs of shyness and lacks confidence, whereas an extrovert is outgoing and confident.

The Classical School of Criminology, established by Cesare Beccaria, promotes the use of reason as the basis of legal authority and is based on the assumption that individuals weigh the consequences of their acts before committing a crime. It was based was based on assumptions that Individuals can “choose legal or illegal means to get what they want, fear of punishment can deter them from committing crime, and society can control behavior by making the pain of punishment greater than the pleasure of the criminal gains” (Adler, Mueller, Laufer, 2013). In other words, crime is caused by the individual exercise of free will.

The classical criminology school is arguably a controversial phenomena; largely based on their neglect to acknowledge human behaviour as a cause of crime (Morrison 1995). This has led some researchers to argue that classical criminology cannot be considered as a science (Garland 1985). Further, researchers have, however, disputed these claims, arguing that the research provided by classical criminologists is useful and has provided a gateway for many criminal justice reforms. In light of this, this essay will outline the classical criminological theory of crime causation, if any, and discuss how this position has impacted contemporary criminal justice practice.

Criminology is the scientific study of crime as an individual and social phenomenon. Criminological research areas include the incidence of crime as well as its causes and consequences. They also include social and governmental regulations and reactions to crime. Nation master.com (2013) highlights that “in criminology the positivist school has attempted to find scientific objectivity for the measurement and quantification of criminal behaviour”. The Positivist School of thought presumes that criminal behaviour is caused by various internal and external factors which are outside of the individual 's control. The scientific method was introduced and applied to the study of human behaviour. Positivism can be broken up into three segments which include biological, psychological and social positivism Nation master (2013)