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Classical criminology theory
The enlightenment criminology essay
Classical criminology theory
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Classical Criminology is “narrowly concerned with the administration of justice, rather than… exploring the causes of crime and criminal motivations” (Classical Criminology, pg. 44). Classical criminology was developed in the eighteen century, and was well associated with the Enlightenment. By that time, enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Hobbes laid a great stress on human equality, to create a social foundation (Classical Criminology, pg. 43). On the other hand Beccaria who was a classical criminology figure, acknowledged that while human rights was important, it was also important and necessary to have justice, social order and rules. Beccaria aid to the creation of a law, which the people would have to follow, and if those laws were to be broken, then there would be a certain punishment. Beccaria believed that punishment “should have one purpose- to deter …show more content…
people from breaking the law and if it is to be effective, then it must be swift and certain” (Classical Criminology, pg. 46). Punishment was meant to be used only to discourage individuals from breaking the law, and it would not be used in an excessive degree, such as “revenge or retribution”. Classical criminologists like Beccaria, focus on ways to prevent crime and how to use punishment to lower that crime rates. Till this day our law is reflected on Beccarias idea of punishment.
We break the law and we receive a certain punishment, which depends on the degree of the crime that was committed. A good example was found in the Chicago Tribute online newspaper, which described the situation of Shetara J.P. Beene. The article stated, “A 29-year-old woman who allegedly evaded police for two years is in custody and facing trial on charges of defrauding five area bank branch offices, three of them in Naperville… Bail has been set at $150,000 for Shetara J.P. Beene” (Bill Bird). Before Shetara J.P. Beene was charged with bank fraud she was also charged in 2006 with forgery. “She printed a counterfeit check for $650 made out in her name and issued by Loretto Hospital in Chicago, then tried to cash at a TCF Bank branch in Lisle, according to records” (Bill Bird). By having a history of related crime, Shetara is facing jail time with a $150,000 set bail. Her punishment was balanced with the crime she committed. My question now is what happened after a person gets punished many times and still keeps breaking the
law? Bird, Bill. "Woman jailed in Naperville bank fraud case." Chicago Tribute 19 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2015. .
The collateral consequences of criminal convictions rather than the direct result are known as “invisible punishments”. In his article “Invisible Punishment”, Travis discusses the unintended consequences that punishes an individual beyond the formal sentence. Criminals are not only punished once for their crimes, they are punished twice, and these invisible punishments follow them throughout their lifetime. Travis explains that these punishments are a form of “Social exclusion”, not purposely designed but merely due to operation of law.
1. There are a couple of differences and similarities between the classical and biological theories of criminology. The biological theories of crime support the idea that an individual commits a crime due to their biological make-up and had criminal tendencies because of certain abnormalities that an individual may have had and not because the offender in their right mind chose to commit the crime. The classical theory has the belief that every individual has their own right in the way in which they act upon, so they commit a crime because they choose to do so, not because it is in their biological make-up.
Criminological theories interpret the competing paradigms of Human Nature, Social Order, Definition of Crime, Extent and Distribution of Crime, Causes of Crime, and Policy, differently. Even though these theories have added to societies understanding of criminal behaviour, all have been unable to explain why punishment or treatment of offenders is unable to prevent deviancy, and thus are ineffective methods of control. The new penology is a contemporary response that favours the management of criminals by predicting future harm on society. However, all criminological theories are linked as they are a product of the historical time and place, and because of their contextual history, they will continue to reappear depending on the current state of the world, and may even be reinvented.
In the book On Crimes and Punishments; the author; Cesare Beccaria talks about the justice system and the changes that he believes will make society better for all the citizens. In many of Cesare Beccaria’s statements he argues that to lower crimes, all citizens should be treated equally to have society properly function. Despite the changes that Cesare Beccaria made on equality, there is still a lot of hard work to be done to attain equality worldwide even to this day. Beccaria believes that certain aspects of the law have to change so that everyone could be treated the same even if they are of a different class divisions as well as if they have been accused of a given crime.
... commit the same crime and based on each of the individuals characters, or how remorseful they are after the fact, explains why one may be sentenced more harsh than the other, this is definitely why first offenders usually get what we call a slap on the wrist.
The three eras that have characterized the field of criminology over the past 100 years are the “Golden Age of Research,” the “Golden Age of Theory,” and an unnamed era that was “’characterized by extensive theory testing of the dominant theories, using largely empirical methods’” (28). The “Golden Age of Research” era spanned from 1900 to 1930 according to John H. Laub. This era is identified as focusing heavily on the collection of data surrounding crime and the criminal. This data was assessed without “any particular ideational framework” (28). The second era, the “Golden Age of Theory,” spanned from 1930 to 1960, also according to Laub. This era is also rather self-explanatory, it is described by the development of theories; however, Laub
Critical criminology, also known as radical criminology dates back to the concepts of Marxism. Despite the fact that Fredric Engels and Karl Marx were the founders of contemporary radical criminology, none of them gave explicit focus to crime. William Bonger (1876-1940), a Dutch criminologist was a more direct founder of this concept. It gained popularity during the early 1970s when it tried to explain the causes of contemporary social mayhem. He used economic explanations were used by critical criminology to analyze social behavior by arguing that social and economic inequalities were the main reason behind criminal behavior (Henry & Lainer, 1998). This view reduces the focus on individual criminals and elaborates that the existing crime is as a result of the capitalist system. Just like the conflict school of thought, it asserts that law is biased since it favors the ruling or the upper class and that the legal system that governs the state is meant to maintain the status quo of the ruling class. Critical criminologist are of the view that political, corporate and environmental crime are not only underreported but also inadequately punished by the existing criminal legal system.
There are many different aspects of criminal justice policy. One in particular is the different theories of crime and how they affect the criminal justice system. The Classical School of criminology is a theory about evolving from a capital punishment type of view to more humane ways of punishing people. Positivist criminology is maintaining the control of human behavior and criminal behavior. They did this through three different categories of Biological studies, which are five methodologies of crime that were mainly focused on biological theories, Psychological theories, which contains four separate theories, and the Sociological theories, which also includes four different methods of explaining why crime exists. The last theory is about Critical criminology. Their goal was to transform society in a way that would liberate and empower subordinate groups of individuals.
The classical theory is one that believes that human beings were believed to act in terms of their own self-interest, but also to be capable of considering which course of action was really in their self-interest(Classical 1). Also the classical theorists believed that people were free willed, making them completely responsible for their actions(Bohm 12). The state would then construct laws and punishments in such a way that people would understand peaceful and non-criminal actions to be in their self-interest through strategies of punishment based on deterrence(Classical 1). When it came to punishing individuals, Beccaria believed that the only purpose for punishment was for deterrence to make sure that that individual or anyone else who knew of the crime did not also commit the same crime(Bohm 14).
Beccaria published one essay, On Crimes and Punishments, in this essay, he wrote that criminal behavior could be minimized using the basics of human nature. He argued that the current barbaric system of punishing criminals needed to be reformed into a less harsh, yet more effective one. He states the essence of his ideas, “In order for punishment not to be, in every instance, an act of violence of one or of many against a private citizen, it must be essentially public, prompt, necessary, the least possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crime, dictated by the laws” (Constituation
Punishing the unlawful, undesirable and deviant members of society is an aspect of criminal justice that has experienced a variety of transformations throughout history. Although the concept of retribution has remained a constant (the idea that the law breaker must somehow pay his/her debt to society), the methods used to enforce and achieve that retribution has changed a great deal. The growth and development of society, along with an underlying, perpetual fear of crime, are heavily linked to the use of vastly different forms of punishment that have ranged from public executions, forced labor, penal welfare and popular punitivism over the course of only a few hundred years. Crime constructs us as a society whilst society, simultaneously determines what is criminal. Since society is always changing, how we see crime and criminal behavior is changing, thus the way in which we punish those criminal behaviors changes.
Classical ideas about crime and punishment can be found in the works of a number of different writers. The writings of Cesare Beccaria (1738–94) and Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), however, were especially influential. According to the emerging view of the social contract, humans originally lived in a state of nature, grace, or innocence and their escape from this state resulted from the application of reason. It was argued that there was an in...
The Classical School of Criminology generally refers to the work of social contract and utilitarian philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the enlightenment in the 18th century. The contributions of these philosophers regarding punishment still influence modern corrections today. The Classical School of Criminology advocated for better methods of punishment and the reform of criminal behaviour. The belief was that for a criminal justice system to be effective, punishment must be certain, swift and in proportion to the crime committed. The focus was on the crime itself and not the individual criminal (Cullen & Wilcox, 2010). This essay will look at the key principles of the Classical School of Criminology, in particular
...hool of criminology is one of the oldest and most influential principles in the history of criminology. It finally got people to view criminals in a scientific way as opposed to some of the other, less effective methods which had been used previously. While Cesare Lombroso was the first to apply positivism to criminology, it was made possible by the efforts of Auguste Comte, who was the first person to suggest trying to solve problems using scientific reasoning (Adler et al 2012). Also the work of Charles Darwin was able to make society more receptive to the idea of science being an acceptable way to answer questions and solve problems in society. Those three men were able to make criminology a more legitimate and respected field.
Punishment has been in existence since the early colonial period and has continued throughout history as a method used to deter criminals from committing criminal acts. Philosophers believe that punishment is a necessity in today’s modern society as it is a worldwide response to crime and violence. Friedrich Nietzche’s book “Punishment and Rehabilitation” reiterates that “punishment makes us into who we are; it creates in us a sense of responsibility and the ability to take and release our social obligations” (Blue, Naden, 2001). Immanuel Kant believes that if an individual commits a crime then punishment should be inflicted upon that individual for the crime committed. Cesare Beccaria, also believes that if there is a breach of the law by individuals then that individual should be punished accordingly.