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Pre- classical theory of criminology
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Criminology is a very broad and complex speciality, which can be easily involved in various areas, it can simply say that this area of study has been studied for over a thousand years since Plato and Aristotle had demonstrated how to define the standard of crime and punishment (Criminology: Intellectual History, 2017: no page number). Despite their theories had been justified after a few centuries. To say it another way, Newburn noted that criminology is a study of wrongdoing, how are the criminals be trailed or judged and find out who will normally be breaking the law (Newburn, 2017: 6). It is also a branch of sociology. To figure out why people commit crime are the core issue in criminology. Many scholars have developed several theories to explain why people would like to take the risk. And in this essay, it will mainly focus on studies of people to break the law and commit a crime, why people are encouraged to commit a crime, and how should offenders be punished to prevent crime.
To start off, there are already studies concerning people who committed crime centuries ago, to say
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The classical school of criminology is based on the Philosophy of the Enlightenment. People are generally considering what they can benefit after they have committed a crime, they have their free will to choose to commit or not, after balancing the chance of being caught, individuals will decide on to commit or not. Delinquency is an immoral form of behaviour which will weaken the society. To prevent crime, Taylor, Walton and Young (1973) highlighted the following to punish the criminals, they say the punishment is act as deterrent by encouraging the individual to follow the law, punishment must be proportional to the interest violated by crime itself, and certainty and swiftness of punishment is measured to be an effective punishment comparing to the severity of the
Criminology is the scientific study of the causes and prevention of crimes. Criminology also uses a vast amount of theories to explain peoples’ actions, mental state, and their drive for committing crimes. Some crimes have monetary benefits, while other crime are committed in revenge or in spite of another, which would be called crimes of passion. Because it can be sometime difficult to understand why certain crime are committed, the only thing we can do is use theories to better decipher thoughts, morals, and reasons behind committing crimes.
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.
Therefore, those who study and carry out its theories are considered scientists. The theories and practices within the subject help criminologists determine the cause and consequence of criminal behavior; also why criminology is so highly regarded among law enforcement and the legal world. Socioeconomic status, psychological behaviors and of course, the legal aspect are just a few factors criminologists analyze when determining criminal behavior. The next few paragraphs will provide an explanation of rational choice theory and the various factors that are studied to determine how criminologists categorize crime and criminal behavior. Along with an explanation of the theory, this will be an example of how that theory is utilized in the justice system.
There are various theories as to why crime occurs. For as long as Crime has come about, there have been repercussions for those actions. Due to the occurrence of Crime, questions have surfaced. Such as; why crime occurs or why individuals commit crimes? The best theory to answer each question would be the Classical Theory of crime. The Classical Theory simply states that any individual who breaks the law does so in free will while understanding the effects. Classical theorists believed "the more swift, and certain the punishment, the more effective it would be." Classical Theorists aided in the influence and shaping of the United States Criminal Justice system. Many classical school philosophers based their arguments around the theory. One argument states that punishment would dissuade people from crime because the punishment is a lot worse. The classical theory is best at explaining crime, because it can also define characterize many other types of crime; explanations are as followed.
Criminology is the study of crime and criminals; a branch of sociology. More accurately, it is the study of crime as a social trend, and its overall origins, its many manifestations and its impact upon society as a whole. That makes it more a form of sociology than a law enforcement tool. But the trends it studies have a huge impact on the way the police do their jobs, the way society treats its criminals, and the way a given community goes about maintaining law and order. The writer will describe and give examples of the three perspectives of viewing crimes. The perspectives that will be highlighted are the consensus view, the conflict view or the interactionist view. Each perspective maintain its own interpretation of what constitutes criminal activities and what causes people to engage in criminal behaviors (Siegel, p.12).
The statement suggests that those with no history of violence within their family and/or those who had a good upbringing will most likely not go on to commit violent crimes. At first this does seem like a reasonable suggestion to make. However, once we look deeper into this topic we uncover more complex explanations that are used to understand the phenomenon that is violent crime. Psychological perspectives are widely used throughout the world of criminology in order to help comprehend why crime is committed and the patterns that occur between the type of offender and type of crime. There perspectives are broken down into four main areas within psychology; Biological/Evolutionary, Social/Learning theory, Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic and finally
Based upon prior criminological research, criminologists have long since tried to explain why criminals commit crime. Their research produced numerous theories and perspectives in an attempt to answer why crime is committed and in the process created new knowledge in criminology research as more data was acquired. The information learned has become a valuable tool for the criminal justice system because they ultimately have the responsibility to punish the law breakers. Deterrence research, in particular has been used to support additional punishments when sentencing criminals (Schmalleger, 2012).
Criminology has evolved over history into becoming a discipline all its own, along the way it grew and developed from a multiple sources of disciplines to become an integration of various theories. Reasons that seek to explain crime and deviant behaviors has mirrored the time in which research was being conducted and as time continues to change it is to be expected more theories will arise to incorporate past theories to become ever more inclusive. It is important to understand this development from the formulation of theories, the evolution of, the determining factors in testing, particular process such as social learning that are upheld as strong empirically sound theories in order for scholars to continue to advance further studies. But it is unlikely crime will ever be solved completely, for in some instances it is a necessary evil, yet it can be hoped that with the knowledge obtained thus far and that to be discovered crime and deviance might be reduced, prevented and controlled in the future to come.
It is believed that genes may be playing a role in criminal behavior. There are beginning to have arguments whether if people are destined for a life of a crime. Scientists in the Netherlands after studying a particular family identified a specific gene mutation that resulted in a chemical imbalance in the brains of some of the males in the family, with this being said it could explain why the same men were prone to violent outbursts (Connor).
Crime is considered commonplace in contemporary Britain; furthermore, many members of society may become a victim of crime at some point in their lives. Durkheim (1938) even suggested that crime is a normal function; it sets boundaries to the rest of society. Many experts have expressed their fascination with crime and their need to understand criminal behaviour; thus, the science of criminology was born. Criminology is fundamental in understanding criminal behaviour and the effect it has on the law and the society in which we live (Williams, 2012). Moreover, the theoretical approaches of criminology play an essential ingredient in the understanding of offending and criminal behaviour. Therefore, this essay will focus on describing two
In this essay I will be covering the aspects of how the criminology can help prevent future crime. In addition I will be discussing, and analyzing one aspect of how the study of criminology can be a useful endeavor to benefit society and to prevent crimes. I will be talking on how to prevent future crimes with cognitive behavioral therapy.
Since the early time of man there has been crime. From petty theft to rape, murder and the like, it has always been a part of our society. Criminology seeks to prevent criminal behavior both on individual and social levels. Criminology consists of many theories that attempt to explain why criminal acts are committed and break them down into parts that can be understood. A major Criminological theory that exists today is that known as the Classical Theory. The Classical Theory is very
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
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
Criminology centers its attention on the criminal as a person, his behavior, and what has led him or her to a life of crime. Criminology seeks to understand the criminals' genetic makeup, to learn whether there is an inherited tendency to crime. It also takes into consideration such issues as the individuals socioeconomic background, family background, educational opportunities, and childhood associations.