Exploring the Biological and Psychological Characteristics of Criminals

The purpose of this assignment is to examine the biological and psychological explanations of crime. It will primarily focus on Cesare Lombroso’s theory in that he believed that criminals could be determined and identified by their physical appearance and attributes. It will cover Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation and how childhood violence and trauma can affect a person’s behaviour and personality. It will further explain the strengths and weaknesses and how criminals are perceived in contemporary Britain today.

Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist born in Venice, Italy in 1836. He went on to become a university professor who became renowned worldwide for his studies and theories. Lombroso worked in the field of Characterology, which meant he studied the difference between mental and physical characteristics. Lombroso was also a physician, psychiatrist and a coroner he worked at various mental institutions therefore allowing him the opportunity to examine people from all aspects of life, he knew that by doing so he would be able to collect the relevant information that was needed and which would be essential to base his research on (www.Britannica.com).

Lombroso carried out investigations on the post mortem bodies of criminals, when opened up it went on to reveal that they were physically different from non criminals. He maintained that criminals have stigmata (signs) and that these stigmata’s consisted of abnormal dimensions of the skull and jaw, asymmetries in the face and other parts of the body, he even claimed that different criminals have different physical characteristics which he could distinguish (www.brocku.com).

Lombroso argued that criminality is inherited, his theory was biological determini...

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...nd genetic findings are now unquestionable the evidence is too strong to ignore this new breakthrough has new implications towards crime prevention. The next decade will reveal new discoveries regarding specific genes that cause violent behaviour. These findings could result in new drugs being used to correct the neurotransmitter brain abnormalities that cause violence. (www.news.bbc.co.uk). The theories that Lombroso and Bowlby concluded in what makes a criminal still stand in the 21st century. Having looked at the case study above it can give an insight into criminals looking and acting alike, although they may not have all the characteristics of Lombroso’s theory, they do have some of the attributes as Lombroso suggests. In society today it is thought that children who are not close to their mothers do tend to go out and commit crimes (Williams, S, K 2008).