Teresa Eakes CJC 112-Z290 Classical and Positivist Schools Compare and Contrast Classical and Positivist Schools Cesare Beccaria was an Italian nobleman that firmly believed in the Classical School of Thought. Mr. Beccaria believed people naturally believed that people’s behavior is motivated by getting pleasure and avoiding pain. He believed that crimes occur when pleasure and rewards from illegal acts outweigh the pains of punishment. The Classical School of thought focuses on the offense committed instead of the person that does the crimes. The punishment has to fit the crime and for the punishment to be effective it must be swift, certain, and severe.
They are trying to use different approaches to explain crime by different category of theory, such as psychology, biology and sociology. I am going to introduce four major approaches in criminology that criminologists use to explain crime. There is positivist criminology, classical perspective, sociological criminology, environmental criminology. Positivist criminology was founded in the late 19th century by Italian academic who called Cesare Lombroso. He believes that the positivist scientific method could be applied to the study of crime so as to find out its causes and prevent it.
Assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime The functionalist approach to analysing deviance and the causes of crime looks at society as a whole. It explains crime that the source of criminal behaviour lies in the nature of society itself rather than in psychology or biology. Functionalists such as Durkheim see deviance as an inevitable and necessary part of society and too little is unhealthy. Some also consider crime to have positive aspects for society. In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime.
Theoretical Criminology Name School 1) What is left realism? What are its origins? Left realism criminology is the realistic in its entire appraisal to the crime itself and its causes. It is radical since in a crime, it is often viewed as an endemic product. Crime is not considered to be an abnormality product but is considered to be a normal working of a social disorder.
Right realists such as James Wilson and Richard Herrnstien put forward a biosocial theory of crime. They believe that criminal behaviour is made up of biological and social factors. They believe that people may be biological more attracted to committing crime than others for example, they believe traits such as aggression and risk taking are inborn in the person and this causes them to commit crimes. They also think that the socialisation of the person leads to their tendency towards crime. They believe, like conservatives and new rightist, that the nuclear family is the best form of socialisation and avoiding crime.
• Social Control theories attribute crime and delinquency to family structures, education, peer groups etc. • Theorists share a conviction that deviant behavior is expected. • “Why people obey rules” main thing trying to be proven • Critical component of all social control theories is their attempt to explain factors keeping people from committing crimes. Social Heritage • Cynicism of the United States because of Watergate • Conservatism enhanced popularity of control theories, theories themselves not inheritantly conservative. Intellectual Heritage • Connection with strain theories.
Control Theory Sherrie R. Muasau Department of Criminal Justice April 25, 2011 Introduction Control theories take the opposite approach from other theories in criminology. As their starting point, instead of asking “What drives people to commit crime?” they ask “Why do most people not commit crime?” Social control theories tend to demonstrate a view of human nature that reflects the beliefs of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), a seventeenth-century English philosopher who was convinced that humans are basically evil. In Hobbes best-known work, Leviathan (1651), he argued that the desire for money and fame was part of human nature. The scholars who developed control theories see delinquency as a somewhat normal behavior emerging from unmet wants and needs (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990). Their focus is on the control factors that prevent people from committing criminal or delinquent acts (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Hirschi, 1969; Nye, 1958; Reckless, 1967; Reiss, 1951; and Sykes & Matza, 1957).
Discuss the work of Lombroso considering the critique of his work Cesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso (November 6, 1835 - October 19, 1909) was a born Jewish from Italian. He gained fame as a criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature. Instead, using concepts drawn from physiognomy, early eugenics, psychiatry and Social Darwinism, Lombroso's theory of anthropological criminology essentially stated that criminality was inherited, and that someone "born criminal". In other words he advocates that the criminals are born not made.
Concept of Deterrence Erin Hayter PBS 300 – Introduction to Crime and Deviance Colorado State University – Global Campus Patricia Goforth January 26, 2014 The Concept of Deterrence The concept of deterrence falls under the “Classical Theory” of criminology theories. Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794), along with Jeremy Bentham (1748-1821), were both advocates of the classical theory in viewing an individual acting as a result of “free will” (Hagen, 2013). Beccaria believed that criminal decisions were based on a few simple factors, being that humans have free will; humans are rational creatures and able to weigh prospective outcomes of their actions, seeing which may benefit or detract from the quality of their lives; human decisions are based on the simplest views of man; finally that an organized system of laws and punishment which catered to these human traits is necessary to help keep society compliant (Winfree & Abadinsky, 2003). The main purpose is to maximize pleasure while minimizing pain. These classical ideas laid the foundation for many justice systems, including the United States.
Provide a critical response to the statement that “Criminology is the science of law- making, law- breaking, and law- enforcing” (Sherman, 2013:1) Lawrence Sherman defines criminology as the science of law- making, law- breaking, and law enforcing. This statement holds true to a large extent. A similar definition stressing both the theoretical and applied nature of a science of crime is the one formulated by Edwin H. Sutherland, according to which: “Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the process of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting toward the breaking of laws….the objectivity of criminology is the development of a body of general and verified principled and of other types of knowledge regarding this process of law, crime, and treatment or prevention” (The Florida State University, n.d.) Criminology should be more than law- making, law- breaking, and law enforcing. Criminological studies tend to be gender biased and focus largely on crimes of the powerless (street crimes).