Features Of Classical Criminology

Beccaria: I have a different theory regarding crime and delinquency. In my opinion, all individuals possess freewill and rational manner, which means that they make rational choices based on that freewill (Lombroso 2002, pp.272-273). Rational manner is the explanation of the relationship between laws and crime as it means that individuals rationally look out for their own best interest and personal satisfaction. However achieving satisfaction may lead individuals into activities considered as crime by the society. This clashes with the interest of society to preserve the social contract and stop criminal behaviour through punishment (Greek 2005).

The crime-control implications for this perspective are basically based upon creating effective punishment to eliminate crime. These measures must be humane and adhere to human rights to successfully keep criminals from committing the

Criminology is the definition of our crime today, it defines many aspects and elements that challenge our common sense understanding of crime. The term ‘Criminology’ was first introduced into the English language in Garland 1988 by a criminologist Havelock Ellis (jones, 2013, pp. 2-3). However criminology was present in the 1860’s as Henry Maudsley a medic that worked in the prison systems to study insane and feeble - minded criminals (jones, 2013, pp. 2.) Criminology gives an understanding to those that seek justice although some victims may prevent crime or encourage it to gain the same significance. The reasoning of crime has changed considerably over the past 40 years, some say it was the change of the criminal justice system abolishing Capital punishment in 1965, or just the development in different legislations. Making punishment more psychological rather than physical punishment may have increased the velocity of the crime rate today as some may argue it is less harsh. Criminology is one to justify these changes to prevent criminal offences. Criminology is enforced to understand and analyse the extent of offences and how legislation is formed and put into practice. Development in crime in our

Cesare Beccaria is the “Father of Classical Criminology” and justified punishment on the principle of utility. Beccaria focused on reforming the Criminal Justice System and believed that punishment should be for the better good for society, as well as the individual, and deter others from committing crime and prevent criminals from recommitting crime. He believes effective punishment must certain, swift, and severe to get the desired effect on society and the offender (Robert, Cullen, and Ball 2015). He is also the author of his book Of Crime and Punishment, which discussed his philosophy on the purposes

Classical school of criminology is testing and designing a system of punishment that would result in the minimum occurrence of crime. The Classical school also represents the development and application to thinking about crime and the ideas. In general, the will is free, there were no limitations. Hobbes conceived that fear was an elemental drive causing men to form societies and accept the necessary restraints (1958, p. 9.) Apparently upon Hobbes’s thought, fear affected the will of an individual action to commit a crime. In addition, fear of punishment would perhaps prevent crime from occurring. Punishment was a principal method of operating to create fear, and it was necessary to influence the will and to control behavior.

Classical Criminology The classical school of criminology was around in the eighteenth century. It came abount in a time when the previous dominent spiritual look at defining crime and criminal behaviour was being challenged by a newer naturalistic approach of the social contract theorists. The classical school was the established ideas of monarchs, fedual lords and the fathers of the church.

1). Criminology arose from the social scientific community over the year and has since come into its own discipline, it examines the entire process of lawmaking, law breaking, and law enforcing” (as cited in Akers, & Sellers, 2013). Criminology seeks to discover the depth of crime at both the micro and macro levels, from the individual’s natural biological and psychological characteristics, the nurturing of social and structural institutions, to policy, prevention and control.

When it comes to the issue of crime prevention, Beccaria did not believe that the best way to reduce crime was to increase laws or increase the severity of punishment, since doing so would merely create new crimes and “embolden men to commit the very wrongs it is supposed to prevent” (Becarria [1764] 1963).

There are multiple strengths and weaknesses that stem from classical criminological theory. To understand these more clearly, one must also understand the system of law and order that was present in society when Beccaria constructed this theory. The leading theory on the causality of crime at the time was demonic possession; punishments included public executions and torture (Cullen et al The Origins of Modern Criminology 21). Kings were judge and jury in society, arbitrarily handing out punishments to crimes on an inconsistent basis. Knowing this, the strengths and weaknesses of the classical criminological theory become clearer. Determining personal responsibility and accountability to offenders was a serious strength versus the idea of demonic possession. Having laws in a society that are known and certain is another strength in light of inconsistent rulings by kings. Adequately severe punishments can also be considered a strength versus the torture and executions faced by criminals for any crime that could be committed. Along with these strengths are multiple weaknesses. The idea that all crime is committed to increase pleasure is a serious weakness that does not account for the realm of possible circumstances offenders face. Classical criminological theory does not account for any societal or biological factors that can come into play or influence potential offenders. Another weakness is the idea that deterrence

Before we embark on description and analysis of a General Strain Theory of criminology, it is important to, first of all, understand the meaning of the term "criminology". Criminology, as defined by the two social theorists, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham of Italy and England respectively in their classical school of criminology, is the scientific study of crime, its causes, law enforcement as well as prevention measures taken to curb and control the crime in this case. Despite the fact that criminology has lots of fields including sociology, economics, psychology, biology, psychiatry, statistics and even anthropology, the term also has various theories explaining the real concepts surrounding crime, criminal and criminologist. The reason as to why these theories are many is that criminologists are trying as much as possible to seek the best solutions for reducing the levels and types of crimes. In this regards, the specific theory of criminology that will be described and analyzed in this paper is the General Strain Theory.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the meaning and validity of the label criminology has as a ‘rendezvous discipline’. To do this, this essay illuminates where criminology originates from and what its primary focus is. The Chicago School, Lombrosian Theory, Positivist and Classical criminology, are discussed. Other disciplines namely Sociology, Psychology, and the Criminal Justice Sector are examined and applied to the broad subject of criminology, to show the network of how this subject came to be recognised as such a discipline. Exposed are main issues that occur for the likes of criminologists and other

This essay is going to explain the extent to which classicism and positivist criminology conflict with each other and whether they share one another. Also, this essay going to show examples how these theories affect our modern criminal justice system. These theories begin with the human nature of criminals, the definition of crime, the focus of analysis, the causes of crime, the response to crime, the operation of crime prevention and criminal justice systems.

Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) is probably most well known as the founding father of the school of classical criminology. He protested against the current legal system and pushed for those in power to see that individuals are rational beings and deserve rational repercussions. In his most popular work; Essay on Crimes and Punishments, he protested against the cruel punishments and suggested that they must only be equal to that of the crime itself and revolutionised the criminal justice system with his ideals on how to make the most effective punishment, without maximum damage of the individual. He believed that “Punishment is only justified to the extent that the offender has infringed the rights of others or injured the public good.” (Newburn, 2013) Although Beccaria viewed crime as an act of free-will and rational choice he did see that some individuals were pre-rational (meaning they were unable to be rational), for example children and also that there are sub-rational people (individuals with some rationality but not a full rational mind), this for example can be people with mental afflictions or diseases. Moreover he did not see that there can be a cause for crime which is due to situational problems, i.e. a big change in a person’s life which can cause them to commit crime, like death, financial problems, and birth of a child, family altercations and much more. Although Beccaria was not always right with his beliefs he was the

For critical criminology, the thought process of criminological thinking is believed to be traced back to as early as

As a part of this relationship individuals gave up some of their liberties in the interest of the common good, with the purpose of the law being to ensure that these common interests were met. For Beccaria, this meant that the law should be limited and written down so that people could make decisions on how to behave. More importantly, punishment was to fit the crime not the individual and was to be certain and swift (Williams & McShane, 2010). Offenders were to be seen as reasonable people with the same capacity for resisting offending behavior as non-offenders. The guiding principle of the criminal justice process was the presumption of innocence; and in this general framework punishment was to be seen as a deterrent to criminal behavior. The central concern of the law and the criminal justice process was therefore the prevention of crime through this deterrent function.