Criminology

General overview of the syllabus

Theoretical criminology
 Classical criminology
 Positivist criminology
 Background of theoretical (before classical

era) criminology
 spiritual, cultural and religious definitions

and concepts
Continue:
 The theology of st. thomas acquinas: believed
that there is a God given natural law and that
the people have a natural tendency to do
good rather than evil.
 Secondly, people who commit a crime are not

just violating the natural law and hurting

other, but they also hurt their own innate
humanness
Cont..
 Two victims
 These spiritual definitions were used and

followed across europ beck then and the

state acted on behalf of God on earth: very
severe punishment and strict dealing of the
crimes
The era of classical criminology
 It emerged out of the criticism of spiritual
definitions of crime
 Rejected religious and spiritual and moral

policing
 Society and research based theoretical

standing, against strict and brutal laws

Cont..
 Classical criminology emphasized that
intelligence and rationality drive human
behavior.
 That there is a free human choice and

behaviors are the products of free choice

along with socities role
Cont..
 A person using his free choice assesses the
benefits and costs of committing a crime
 Strictly legal definition of crimes and

criminality

 Thomas Hobbes and contractual society:

absolute freedom and the idea of self
benefits
Beccarria: the father of classical cri
 On the contractual society and the need of
punishment
 On the function of legislature
 On the function of judges
 On the seriousness of crime and its

measurement
 On proportionate measurement
Cont.
 On the severity of punishment
 On the promptness of conviction
 On the certainty of punishment
 On preventing crimes
 Noclassical school
Positivist school
 Emerged out of criticism and failure of
classical theory
 Annual crimes statistics, new ideas and

recidivism
 Rejection of only rationality and free will as

being deciders of criminality

Cont..
 Guerry and Quitelet findings: ecological
maps, proverty-crime disconnection and the
idea of opportunities
 Ceasar lombroso and evolutionary atavist.
 Born criminals (atavists), insane criminals and

criminaloids
The positivist ideation
 Cause is important
 First ever cause predicted
 Biological explanation of crimes:
 Physiognomists: facial features and

correlations
 Phrenologists: skull features
cont,..
 Theory of somatotypes: the embryonic stage
makeup of cells, and temperaments and
different body types: endomorphs,
ectomorphs, mesomosrphs
 Sex hormones: testosterone in males,

estrogen
Cont..
 Brain structure: serotonin inhibits
aggression , impulsivity, explosiveness
 Dopamine, nor-epinephrine
 Biological defects
 Neurological impairments
Cont..

 Attention deficit hyperactive disorder ADHD:

attention dysfunction, hyperactivity and
acting without thinking
 Learning disabilities
 Dyslexia: speaking, reading and writing
 Dysphasia :understanding language
 Dyscalculia
Cont..
 Genetics: Identical twins
Psychological theories
 Basic idea.
 Intelligence and crime
 Inability to understand, comprehend, the

consequences of committing any crime.

 Intelligence quotient (IQ) tests.

(understanding biases and prejudice in it)

Cont..
 The bell Curve: Hernnestine and Charless
Muray maintained that IQ has a direct linkage
with delinquency and deviant behavior.
 Trial experience and their IQ
 No trial and IQ
 Conviction and IQ
Cont..
 Personality Characteristics:
 Aggressiveness
 Self control
 Peace loving
 Friendly and helping
 Language abilities and control
Cont..
 Personality inventories: Minnesota
multiphasic Personality inventory is test that
examines people through MCQS and true falls
and grade them in three scales:
 Psychopath deviate scale: conflicts with

authorities, shallow personality

 Schizophrenia scale: bizarre thoughts and

ideas
 Hypomaniac scale: hyperactive, unproductive,
impulsive
 Case study: children who kill:
 Psychomotor dysfunction
 Toxic parents
 Psychiatric problems
Murderer’s psychology
 Non- empathic murderers
 Sexual identity conflict murderers
 Rapists muderes: compensatory rapists, and

displaced anger rapists

Cont..
 Anti social personality disorder
 Schizophrenia: delusions, day dreaming,

auditory hallucinations
 Mood disorders
Strain theories( Robert k. Merton)
 Society’s failure to fulfill the appetites of
individual. It may include facilities, education,
health, employment and opportunities and
protection, justice etc
 Case study: the american goal, cultural means

and institutional means.

 Greater strain on lower class.
Continue
 Mertons response mechanism:
 Conformity
 Innovation
 Ritualism
 Retreatism
 rebellion
Albert cohen and strain theory
 The non utilitarian approach to strain
 Beyond economics and utility oriented crimes
 Crimes which have immaterial and abstract

motivations
Cont..
 Achieved status Vs. Ascribed status
 Linking the philosophy of “stakes in

conformity”
 Cloward and ohlin: bridging merton and

cohen.
continue
 Strain in society: social norms, values,
structures, ideas which create strain
 Individuals strain: personal feelings and

experiences which later become a strain

Continue:
 Agnews General strain theory:
 The idea of negative relations. This may

include relations with people close to a

person who fail to provide for the individual
or prevent him from achieving something.
 This leads to negative emotions which may

translate into suicides, alcoholism, anger

displacement, and other addictions
Control theories
 Basic idea.
 Some controlling factors:
 Parenting
 Schooling
 Law and order
 Moral upbringing
 Social censure: “the LOG KIA KAHENGAY”

philosophy
Continue.
 Religion
 Stakes in conformity
 Personal expectations
 Parental expectation
Continue:
 Albert J. Reisse: the case of probation
revocation and personal control
 Ivan Nye: family is the most strong

controlling factor
 The system of reward and punishment
 Matza’s delinquency drift
Hirschi’s social control theory
 Elements of social control
 Attachment
 Commitment
 Involvement
 belief