Biological Positivist Theory

Criminal behaviour has always been part of human history and criminologists have developed different theories to explain causes of crime. One must keep in mind that criminology is an interdisciplinary science and many theorists developed a variety of explanations. Scientists like Cesare Lombroso and William Sheldon developed biological positivism with the understanding that a human is committing crimes because of factors that lie beyond their own control, namely physical make up or mental ability. Instrumental Marxist criminology sees criminal law and the justice system as an instrument of those with power to control the lower class and was developed in the 1970s. Key advocates were the American sociologists Richard Quinney and William Chambliss.

89). Important factors were phrenology (shape of the skull) as well as physiognomy (shape of the face) whereas the main idea was that the shape of the skull mirrors the shape of the brain, therefore indicating the mental capability of a person (O’Brien, 2008, p. 10). Lombroso dissected brains, took measurements and discovered the following “stigmata” of criminals: asymmetric brain and face, flat forehead, strong cheekbones, extraordinary small or big ears, abnormal teeth, chinless, wild hair and more fingers or toes (Gibson, 2002, p. 22). In later works, he categorised three classes of criminals: (1) the born criminal, an atavistic devolution of the homo sapiens, (2) the mentally ill criminal, eg. a person who suffers from paranoia, depression, dementia or is addicted to substances; (3) the criminaloid, a seemingly normal person without any special physical feature whose personality makes them a criminal (Gibson, 2002, p. 24). Lombroso’s studies have influenced many other theorists, including Emil Kraepelin, a psychiatrist in the German empire who developed the degeneration theory, stating that criminals are ill and genetically impaired deviators of the norm and that their genetics are the reason for their criminal behaviour (Brueckner, 2010, p. 106). Scientists and doctors of the Third Reich

Per Lombroso’s atavistic approach, crime, or in this case assault, happens when an offender has an “evolutionary setback” (O’Brien, 2008, p. 10). They act on primitive instincts, like animals who resume to threatening behaviour when another animal comes into their territory. Humans have evolved from that behaviour, however Lombroso’s homo delinquens has not reached that stage of evolution. Their instincts are stronger than their rational thought (Tierney, 2009, p. 114). Compared to other crimes, violent crimes like assault are crimes where the perpetrator does not necessarily need a high level of intelligence but strength and muscles (Tierney, 2009, p. 118), all of which a characteristics of Sheldon’s mesomorph person. However, Niehoff (Henry, 2006, p. 81) stated that “biology is not destiny” and even Lombroso revised his earlier works, which were solely based on biological factors, to add social as well as psychological factors. Therefore, biological positivism can primarily be used to explain assault if mental illness is present since the key principle of positivism is that individuals act beyond their own