This document provides an overview of early general theories on the causes of crime, including:
1) Demonological theory, which viewed crime as the result of demonic or supernatural influences.
2) Positivist theory, developed by Cesare Lombroso, linked criminality to physical traits and characteristics.
3) Neoclassical theory continued the traditions of classical theory while considering additional factors like age, gender, and social class.
4) Classical theory, developed by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, viewed humans as rational actors weighing costs and benefits of criminal acts and proposed punishment should be certain, swift, and proportionate.
5) Conflict theory, based on
This document provides an overview of early general theories on the causes of crime, including:
1) Demonological theory, which viewed crime as the result of demonic or supernatural influences.
2) Positivist theory, developed by Cesare Lombroso, linked criminality to physical traits and characteristics.
3) Neoclassical theory continued the traditions of classical theory while considering additional factors like age, gender, and social class.
4) Classical theory, developed by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, viewed humans as rational actors weighing costs and benefits of criminal acts and proposed punishment should be certain, swift, and proportionate.
5) Conflict theory, based on
This document provides an overview of early general theories on the causes of crime, including:
1) Demonological theory, which viewed crime as the result of demonic or supernatural influences.
2) Positivist theory, developed by Cesare Lombroso, linked criminality to physical traits and characteristics.
3) Neoclassical theory continued the traditions of classical theory while considering additional factors like age, gender, and social class.
4) Classical theory, developed by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, viewed humans as rational actors weighing costs and benefits of criminal acts and proposed punishment should be certain, swift, and proportionate.
5) Conflict theory, based on
Crime Prepared By: Ms. Nanies A. Malabana COS Instructor Introduction
▪ Understanding criminology requires the use of a broad range of
approaches since it deals with the broad subject matters. This is because in the study of crime, several approaches are used in the explanation of crime causation and its prevention.
▪ In order to know about the existence of criminology as a
discipline, one must know the historical development. The origin of criminology is usually located in the late eighteenth century writings in Europe of those who sought to reform criminal justice and penal system that they perceived as cruel, inhumane and arbitrary. These old systems applied the law unequally, were subject to great corruption, and often used torture and death penalty indiscriminately, as a result, protest against the abuse of judges, prosecutors, and jailers in the treatments of offenders evolves into the different theories on the causes of crimes. Early General Theories on the Causes of Crimes 1. DEMONOLOGICAL THEORY
Demonology is the study of demons or beliefs about demons,
especially the methods used to summon and control them. Demons, when regarded as spirits, may belong to either of the classes of spirits recognized by primitive animism. That is to say, they may be human or non-human, separable soul, or discarnate spirits which never inhabited a body. Demonology is one of the earliest theories in criminology. In the ancient times, people believed that evil spirits or demons entered human body to commit sins. This was the earliest explanation gives regarding crime and criminal behavior. Terms like demons, witches and wendigo were used for people who turned criminals. The society thought that it happened due to evil influence. Supernatural powers were considered the best explanation behind crime and sin. It was believed that a person did not commit crimes of his own free will but under evil influence. Demonological School of Criminology - the first school of criminology The word demonology is from Greek Saiuwv, daimon, “divinity, divine power, god”; and -logia. 2. POSITIVIST THEORY
❖Theories which existed before positivist theory of crime
were phrenology and physiognomy theories.
Phrenology – the study of the conformation of the skull
based on the belief that it is indicative of mental faculties and character.
Physiognomy – the appearance of a person’s face; a
person’s facial features Johann Lavater - the physiognomist, thought that the shape of the skull and some facial features had an impact on a human behavior and actions. Later, positivist theorist of crime Cesare Lombroso took Lavater’s idea and began exploring other physical traits of a body.
Cesare Lombroso - the criminal anthropologist, not only researched the
facial features and the shape of the skull, but social conditions of individual like unemployment and medical history of illnesses. He compared a large number of criminals and non-criminals using human physical traits like; ear size, hair length and others. Goring, the main critics of Lombroso, conducted the research on crime heredity, but didn’t find any differences in facial features or others human physical traits between prison inmates, asylums inhabitants and non-criminals. The only physical difference Goring found between an experiment and control group was the significant dissimilarity in weight and stature.
Dr. Charles Goring – an English statistician, who studied the
case of 2,000 convicts and found that heredity is more influential as determiner of criminal behavior than environment. In the early 1800s, public executions used to be commonplace. The idea was that society would be afraid of the public punishment that came with wrongdoing and adjust their actions. This reasoning for punishment aligns with a view known as utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism - is a theory that one is motivated by pleasure and fear
the pain, so punishment can be used as a deterrent to commit crimes. 3. NEOCLASSICAL CRIME THEORY Classical crime theory is represented by the theoretical study of Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccarria.
Jeremy Bentham - was a founder of English utilitarianism. He
thought that human beings are hedonistic and act only in their own self-interest.
Cesare Beccaria – an Italian writer who sought to change the
excessive and cruel punishment by applying the rationalist, social contract ideas to crime and criminal justice. NEOCLASSICAL CRIME THEORY It is a continuation of classical crime theory tradition. Development of neoclassical crime theory will continue in 1980 with a forming of a new sociological theories, i.e. differential association and identification.
Exemption from the law:
❖Children under seven (7) years of age ❖Person with mental disease Gabriel Tarde - published the book “Penal Philosophy” and also the representative of neoclassical criminology theory. He was a French sociologist and founder of neoclassical school. He criticizes classical and positivist criminology and take the best from both criminology. Neoclassical criminology theory considers age, gender and social class of the perpetrators. 4. CLASSICAL THEORY Classical theory in criminology has its roots in the theories of the 18th century Italian nobleman and economics, Cesare Beccaria and the English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham (Hollin, 2004, 2).
Jeremy Bentham - was a founder of English utilitarianism. He thought that
human beings are hedonistic and act only in their own self- interest. Cesare Beccaria – an Italian writer who sought to change the excessive and cruel punishment by applying the rationalist, social contract ideas to crime and criminal justice. This was a time in history when punishment for crime was severe in the extreme, and both men proffered the theory of utility. Beccaria did not develop a completely new theory of criminology, but rather sought a way to make the punishment for committing a crime more rational. He published an historic piece, “An Essay on Crimes and Punishment”, in 1764. He advocated a proposition that punishment should be swift, certain and proportional to the crime. He also advocated the abolition of both corporal and capital punishment, a revolutionary idea in his time. MAIN PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY ❖Crime is a rational choice, and most people are capable to commits crimes.
❖People will commit a crime after they have compared
potential costs and benefits of such actions.
❖Most of the people fear punishment, and the certainty,
severity and speed of punishment will have an impact on the level of crime. MAIN PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY
❖Punishment needs to fit a crime and individual differences of
perpetrators shouldn’t have an influence on the punishment.
❖The criminal justice system needs to be predictable, while
laws and punishment must be known to public. lex talionis or law of retaliation - The first model of proportionality in applying punishment 5. CONFLICT THEORY
Conflict theory holds that crime results from the
conflict society among the different social classes, and the laws actually arise from necessity as a result of conflict rather than a general consensus. The fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society. The criminal justice system and criminal law are thought to be operating on the behalf of rich and powerful social elites, with resulting policies aimed at controlling the poor. The criminal justice establishment aims at imposing standards of morality and good behavior created by the powerful from the have-nots who would steal from others and protecting themselves from physical attacks. In the process the legal rights of poor folks might be ignored. The middle class are also co-opted; they side with the elites rather the poor, thinking they might themselves rise to the top by supporting the status quo. Karl Marx - a German philosopher; a political economist and some think he was also a revolutionary. Although he did not write extensively about crime he was credited with coming up with the basis for social conflict theory. Those that have studied his writings and his work and that have sided with him are often called Marxist criminologist or sometimes are simply referred as radical criminologist or critical criminologist. (2) primary classes of Marx’s conflict theory ❖ Bourgeoisie - represents the member of the society who hold the majority of the wealth and means.
❖Proletariat - includes those considered working
class or poor. (4) PRIMARY ASSUMPTIONS OF MODERN CONFLICT THEORY ❖Competition. Competition over scarce resources (money, leisure, sexual partner, and so on) is at the heart of all social relationships. Competition rather than consensus is characteristic of human relationships. ❖Structural inequality. Inequalities in power and reward are built into all social structures. Individuals and groups that benefits from any particular structure strive to see it maintained. ❖Revolution. Change occurs as a result of conflict between social class competing interest rather than through adaptation. It is often abrupt and revolutionary rather than evolutionary. ❖War. Even war is a unifier of the societies involved, as well as war may set an end to whole societies. 6. CRITICAL THEORY
Critical theory upholds the belief that a small
few, the elite of the society, decide laws and the definition of crime; those who commit crimes disagree with the laws that were created to keep control of them. THE CORE CONCEPTS OF CRITICAL THEORY ❖That critical social theory should be directed at the totality of the society in its historical specificity (i.e., how it came to be configured at a specific point in time)
❖That critical theory should improve understanding
of society by integrating all the major social sciences, including geography, economic, sociology, history, political science, anthropology and psychology. A “critical theory” has a distinctive aim: to unmask the ideology falsely justifying some form of social or economic oppression-reveal it as ideology-and, in so doing, to contribute to the task of ending that oppression. And so, a critical theory aims to provide a kind of enlightenment about social and economic life that is itself emancipator: persons come to recognize the oppression they are suffering as oppression and are thereby partly freed from it. Critical theory was first defined by Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School of sociology in his 1937 essay Traditional and Critical Theory: Critical theory is a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to understanding or explaining it. REFERENCES: