Lombroso's Theory Of Criminology

Since the Enlightenment, there have been many different theories attempting to explain why crime and criminal behaviour occurs in society. Focusing upon Lombroso’s biological positivism and his work on gendered criminology, Feminist criminology and Subcultural theorists, this essay will compare and contrast the three different theories, finding where they overlap and where they differ in their explanations of crime, how they define the typical ‘criminal’ and how they describe the extent of human behaviour and how that links to criminality.

Known as the father of modern criminology, Cesare Lombroso is a fundamental figure in the past, present and future of criminology. His iconic work Criminal Man surfaced five years post Darwin’s theory of

evolution, and this can be seen through Lombroso’s work. Lombroso believed that criminals where born, not created or influenced; the criminal was simply an ‘evolutionary throwback’ (Walsh, 2015 [1941]: 74) to more primitive eras that he called ‘atavism’. Lombroso argued that this atavism could be seen through the individual’s physical appearance; if an individual possessed longer arms in comparison to their legs, generally ape like features, a protruding jaw and ‘a coccyx that resembled the “stump of a tail”’ (Lombroso-Ferrero, 1976 [1911], cited in Walsh, 2015 [1941]:74).
To accompany the atavistic view of the stereotypically male criminal, Lombroso also discusses female criminality, a section of criminology often ignored by many criminologist researchers. Matching his view of the criminal, Lombroso’s view of the female is primitive. Whilst he does present a criminological theory on the subject of female criminality, he simply discusses why women do not commit crime as an extension of his ‘atavistic’ approach. Lombroso argued that women were simply ‘nearer her origin than the male’ (Lombroso and Ferrero, 1895, cited in Smart, 1995: 20) so therefore less criminal than male. This theory became the basis for prosecuting female criminality, along with Cowie, et al. and Pollok, all who undermined the idea of female criminality as an illness or biologically impossible. This was not combatted until the 1970s during the rise of feminist theories. Feminist theories began deconstructing the ideology of women being overlooked and labelled as ‘mentally ill’ (Smart, 1977) and painting women as offenders (mainly liberal feminism) and as victims (mainly radical feminism). Female criminality has also been attempted to be explained using Robert Merton’s strain theory (Broidy and Agnew, 1997:275-306). Merton (1938) adopts the idea of anomie (the feeling of not belonging) that was developed by Durkheim, and expanded it to create strain theory. The concept that the ‘inability to attain resources legitimately generates unhappiness (strain)’ may lead the individual to attempt to gain these resources through illegitimate means. (Walsh, 2015 [1941], 6:111). Other theorists alongside Brody and Andrew have adopted Merton's strain theory. It is often used to attempt an explanation for the formation of subcultures, and has been used by theorists such as Albert Cohen and Cloward and Ohlin.
Albert Cohen’s work Delinquent Boys relates to Merton’s strain theory as Cohen also focuses on the criminogenic pressure that is placed on the American society he studied.

Cohen focuses on criminality and delinquency in lower-class boys, or ‘corner boys’ as he labels them, and the strain that they suffer and how that can lead them to form or join subcultures. The ‘Corner boys’ form their delinquent groups over a mutual feeling of status frustration from their middle-class counter parts and the level of culture that they inhabit. They form the basis of their values on rejecting the middle class culture’s requirements and needs. (Tierney, 2010: 111) However, theorists Cloward and Ohlin take a broader approach to the subject. They argue that there are three different types of subcultures, all based on the concept of status frustration. Cloward and Ohlin outline the three subcultures types as Criminal, Violent and Retreatist (Tierney, 2010: 115). Criminal subcultures are highly represented as ‘mafia’ subcultures, they are deeply rooted in criminal activity; often prostitution, drug dealing and arms trading. Since the members of these subcultures failed in the legitimate system, they had the opportunity due to geographical means to join a criminal subculture where they succeeded. Violent or Conflict subcultures also fail in the legitimate system, however, are not geographically close to a criminal subculture, so for smaller more violent and less organised subcultures, these can be seen in ‘hoodies’ or street gangs. Finally, retreatist gangs failed both in the legitimate and the illegitimate systems and are heavily associated with drug abuse, leading them to commit utilitarian crimes, such as burglary and prostitution to finance their drug

addictions.

Bibliography:
Lombroso-Ferrero, G. (1972) ‘Criminal Man according to the classification of Cesare Lombroso’ in A. Walsh, (2015 [1941]) (ed.) Criminology: The essentials, London: Sage.
Walsh, A. (2015 [1941]) ‘The Early Schools of Criminology’ in A. Walsh, Criminology: The Essentials, London: Sage.
Smart, C (1995) ‘Criminological Theory: Its Ideology and Implications concerning Women’, in Law, Crime and Sexuality: Essays in Feminism, London: Sage.
Smart, C (1977) ‘Women, Crime and Criminology: A Feminist Critique’, London: Routledge.
Merton, R. (1938) ‘Social Structure and Anomie’, American Sociological Review. 3:672-82.
Broidy, L. and