Schools of Thought Throughout History Chapter 3 Schools of Thought Throughout History

Historical Context Prior to the French Revolution of 1789, there was no discernable criminal justice system in Europe. Due process did not exist Many laws were not codified

Punishments included branding, burning, flogging, mutilating, drowning, banishing, and beheading Public Punishments were popular events

There are two basic schools of thought in criminology The Classical School The positivist School Ruthless oppression of those beneath it became the norm. The growing educated classes began to see the inconsistency in these policies

Classical Criminology Cesare Beccaria Founding Father of Modern Criminology Wrote On Crimes and Punishment Enlightened criminal justice system that would serve the people rather than the monarchy

According to Beccaria the crime problem could be traced to bad laws, not bad people. Beccaria assumed that crime is a rational choice and individuals are responsible for the consequences of their behavior His plan included the following elements:

Beccaria’s Principles Laws should be used to maintain the social contract Only legislators should create laws Judges should impose punishment only in accordance with the law Judges should not interpret the laws Punishment should be based on the pleasure/pain principle Punishment should be based on the act, not on the actor

Beccaria’s Principles Continued The punishment should be determined by the crime Punishment should be prompt and effective All people should be treated equally Capital punishment should be abolished The use of torture to fain confessions should be abolished It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them

Beccaria’s book had a huge impact in the field of criminology. Beccaria’s plan was used as the foundation for many penal codes in Europe, Russia and the United States Beccaria’s work influenced the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution (the Bill of Rights).

Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism Bentham’s work was governed by the utilitarian principles Utilitarianism assumes all human actions are calculated in accordance with their likelihood of bringing happiness (pleasure) or unhappiness (pain)

Bentham proposed the “felicific calculus” According to this reasoning, individuals are “human calculators” who put all the factors into an equation in order to decide whether or not a particular crime is worth committing. Bentham hypothesized that the certainty of punishment outweighs severity as a deterrent against crime.

Both Beccaria and Bentham advocated a new philosophy and a new system of legal and penal reform. They believed the punishment should not be inflicted for vengeance; rather, punishment should be for the reduction or deterrence of crime.

Weaknesses in the Classical School There was no need to ask why people behave as they do, to seek a motive, or to ask about the specific circumstances surrounding criminal acts. Factors beyond their control were not taken into account when explaining criminal behavior.

Positivist Criminology During the last half of the nineteenth century, scholars began to challenge the ideas of the classical school. Positivism argues that people do not choose freely to commit crime, rather factors beyond their control are responsible for the criminal behavior

Positivism is composed of three types Biological Determinism Psychological Determinism Sociological Determinism

Auguste Comte Comte argued that there could be no real knowledge of social phenomena unless it was based on a positivist (scientific) approach. Darwin’s Origin of Species revolutionized our understanding of human behavior Old ideas that demos and animal spirits could explain human behavior were replaced by knowledge based on new scientific principles.

Biological Determinism Physiognomy – the study of facial features and their relation to human behavior Giambattisti della Porta – founded the school of human physiognomy Phrenology – posited that bumps on the head were indications of psychological propensities Franz Joseph Gall

Phrenology

Cesare Lombroso Theory of the born criminal States that criminals are a lower form of life nearer to their ape-like ancestors than non-criminals in traits and dispositions Born criminals have atavistic stigmata, physical features of creatures at an earlier stage of development before they become fully human

Cesare Lombroso Continued Insane Criminal or not criminal from birth; they become criminal as a result of some change in their brain which interferes with their ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Criminoloids make up an ambiguous group that includes habitual criminals, criminals by passion, and other diverse types.

Enrico Ferri Best known of Lombroso’s associates Attacked the classical doctrine of free-will Was more interested in controlling crime through preventive measures: state control of the manufacture of weapons, inexpensive housing, and better street lighting Argued that crime was caused by social, economic, and political determinants

Raffaele Garofalo Traced the roots of criminal behavior to psychological features which he called “moral anomalies” Natural crimes are those that offend the basic moral sentiments of probity (respect for the property of others) and piety (revulsion against the infliction of suffering on others) Supported the death penalty to rid society of its maladapted members

Charles Goring Offered the major challenge to Lombrosian theory Studied 3,000 convicts and compared them to Oxford and Cambridge University students, hospital patients, and soldiers His research assistant was Karl Pearson Successfully disputed Lombroso’s claim of a born criminal

Somatotype School The somatotype school of criminology related body build to behavior. - William Sheldon published a book on Somatology which assumes that people’s body types affect their personalities

William Sheldon’s Somatotypes Endomorph – heavy with short arms and legs. Relatively non-criminal. Mesomorph – athletic and muscular tend to be aggressive and apt to commit violent crimes Ectomorph – thin, introverted, overly sensitive Sheldon argued that mesomorphs tended, more than others, to be involved in illegal behavior

Richard Dougdale Inherited Criminality Studied the Jukes family Ada Jukes, “mother of criminals” Of the 1,000 descendants Dougdale found 280 paupers, 60 thieves, 7 murderers, 40 other criminals, 40 persons with venereal disease, and 50 prostitutes Dougdale argued that they were transmitting a degenerate trait to the next generation

Psychological Determinism Isaac Ray (1807-1881) Ray wrote The Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity He defended the concept of moral insanity.

Sociological Determinism Argues that society, not the decisions of individual offenders are responsible for criminal behavior By focusing on groups rather than individuals, Adolph Quetelet found that behavior is predictable, regular, and understandable.

Sociological Determinism (Cont,) Gabriel Tarde believed that criminals learned crime just as non-criminals learned legitimate trades The laws of imitation state that individuals imitate others in proportion to the intensity and frequency of contact. Inferiors imitate superiors

Emile Durkheim Crime as a normal part of society Crime creates social solidarity Crime creates social change Anomie: Normlessness, a breakdown of social order as a result of a loss of standards and values