Biological Theories of Crime

Biological Theories Biological theories tended towards seeing crime as a form of illness, caused by pathological factors specific to certain classes of individuals “bad” behaviour vs “sick” behaviour How can we blame someone for being sick?

Biological Theories The criminal is radically different from the non-criminal We can assume that some people are "born criminals“ Punishment is inapplicable

Character and physical appearance We frequently make inferences about another person’s character based on his/her appearance Ancient Greeks and Romans believed in “physiognomy” (physical features can reveal a person’s natural disposition) “Do not trust beardless men and bearded women”

Physiognomy as Practiced in Europe A choleric person has a "hot" temperament, is irritable and easily roused to anger A melancolic person is sensive and tends to feel sad A phlegmatic person is not easily aroused to excitement and lacks emotion expression A sanguine person is confident and optimistic

Criminal “Type” Most defense attorneys coach their clients on how they should dress and groom themselves for court so jurors will get the impression they are not the “type” of a person who would commit a crime

The Underlying Logic Defective genes Atavism Mental and Physical Inferiority Criminal Behavior Inability to Learn and Follow legal rules

Cesare Lombroso (1835 –1909) Italian Criminologist Lombroso in 1876 argued that the criminal is a separate species, a species that is between modern and primitive humans. He argued that the physical shape of the head and face determined the "born criminal".

Lombroso’s Theory Bodily constitution indicates whether a person is a “born criminal” “Born criminal” violates the laws “born criminal” is an “atavism” (throwback to an earlier stage of human evolution) Physical makeup, mental capabilities, and instincts of primitive man

Lombroso’s Theory Observed the physical characteristics of Italian prisoners and compared them to Italian soldiers Concluded that criminals were physically different Lombroso presented a long list of physical characteristics used to identify criminals

Cesare Lombroso ( ) Asymmetry of the face or head, large monkey-like ears, large lips, twisted nose, excessive cheek bones, long arms, excessive skin wrinkles The male with five or more of these physical anomalies is marked as a born criminal Female criminals are also born criminals, but they may be identified with as few as three anomalies

Tattoos Were significant to Lombroso Most of the “born criminals” had them Obscene nature of their depictions and messages Tattoos stood as evidence of both insensitive to physical pain and immorality

Criminal Women Official records, according to which women had a far lower crime rate than men, can be misleading Women are less evolved: naturally vengeful and jealous, their moral sensibilities are deficient, less sensitive to pain than men

The Female Offender (1897) Co-authored with William Ferrero Natural selection is the reason for existence of a greater number of male than female born criminals Men are less likely to breed with physically deformed women

Women have less chances to transmit their genes Degenerative traits in women would be less likely than such traits in men to survive over time The Female Offender (1897)

Lombroso Born criminal is unsuited for society Inevitably violate social and legal rules Theories of genetic superiority call for policy in which whole peoples are to be eliminated from the genetic stock of the world in order to prevent crime Theories of individual genetic inferiority call for castration of those said to be habitual criminals in order to prevent their producing more defective children who, presumably will be criminals

Frontispiece of Criminal Man Lombroso claimed that to the trained eye, the eye of the detective, these people would clearly be organized into categories Those in group "A" are all shoplifters, "B" are swindlers, "H" are purse snatchers, "E" are murderers, etc. And supposedly you can see a man's real character at a glance.

The New Sciences of Detection By the 1880s, urban police forces began developing new techniques for keeping track of criminals, especially new techniques of record-keeping Most of these techniques were heavily influenced by criminology

Mug Shots The mug shot originated in the 1880s, in studies designed to explore the relationship between appearance and criminal behavior These men are all forgers. The New York Police Department compiled this record in part to see if all forgers looked alike, or all murderers looked alike, or if all burglars had the same facial features