1. Are criminals made or born?
Criminology
Are criminals made or born?

2. Introduction to Criminal Law
Crime Takes Place
Crime Scene investigated
Police Responsibilities:
Search and Seizure,
Arrest,
Detention,
Charge
Pretrial:
Bail,
Plea Bargaining,
Jury Selection
The Criminal Trial:
Principles and Processes,
Courtroom Participants
Justice?
Legal Criminal Defenses,
Sentencing,
Wrongful Convictions

3. Criminology
What makes a criminal a criminal? Is it as simple as it seems?
You may not be familiar with the theories of criminology but you might be familiar with TV shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Law & Order
These shows show how technology has changed crime detection and how convicting criminals is neither an easy or simple task

4. Criminology on TV What do you think?
Are these portrayals on TV accurate?
Do you believe the science is accurate and how the programs portray criminals, victims, police officers, lawyers and defence attorneys?
What is our perception of criminals? What do they look like? Are they strangers among us or do they eat at our table?

5. The Classical Scholars
Modern criminology is the product of two main schools of thought: The classical school originating in the 18th century, and the positivist school originating in the 19th century.

6. Pre-Classical Notions of Crime & Criminals
Prior to the eighteenth century, explanations of a wide variety of phenomena tended to be of a religious or spiritual nature.
Demonological explanations of crime began to wane in the 18th century with the beginning of a period of historians call The Enlightenment, which was essentially a major shift in the way people began to view the world and their place.

7. Pre-Classical Notions of Crime & Criminals
Enlightenment thinkers focused on the dignity and worth of the individual.
A view that would eventually find expression in the law & the treatment of criminal offenders.

8. The Classical School: Cesare Beccaria and Reform
The father of classical criminology is generally considered to be Cesare Beccaria.
Dei Delitti e della Pene (On Crimes and Punishment) (1764): This book is an impassioned plea to humanize and rationalize the law and to make punishment more just and reasonable.

9. Classical Criminology Theories
Theorists/Time Periods
Key Ideas
Classical Criminology
Cesare Beccaria ( )
On Crimes and Punishments
-humans are driven by self interest
- We usually weigh the consequences and act rationally   

10. Jeremy Bentham and Human Nature
Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789) is a philosophy of social control based on the principle of utility, which prescribed “the greatest happiness for the greatest number.”
Any human action at all should be judged moral or immoral by its effect on the happiness of the community.
Hedonism: A doctrine with the central tenet that the achievement of pleasure or happiness is the main goal of life.

11. Jeremy Bentham and Human Nature
Rational behavior is behavior that is consistent with logic.
Hedonism and rationality are combined in concept of the hedonistic calculus, a method by which individuals are assumed to logically weigh the anticipated benefits of a given course of action against its possible costs.

12. Jeremy Bentham and Human Nature
Free will enables human beings to purposely and deliberately choose to follow a calculated course of action.
If crime is to be deterred, punishment (pain) must exceed the pleasures gained from the fruits of crime.

13. Theories
Theorists/Time Periods
Key Ideas
Classical Criminology
Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832)
Utilitarianism
- Law should ensure the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Laws are based on a social contract between the people and the government   

14. The Legacy of the Classical School
All modern criminal justice systems in the world assume the classical position that persons are free agents who deserve to be punished when they transgress the law.

15. The Legacy of the Classical School
Many of the ideas championed by Beccaria are contained in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other documents at the heart of Western legal systems today. :
the right to a speedy trial,
freedom from cruel and unusual punishment,
the right to confront one’s accusers, and
equality under law,

16. What is Positivism?
In the 19th century criminologists began to move away from the classical assumptions, especially the assumption of free will as it is commonly understood, and toward a more scientific view of human behavior.
The increasingly popular view among criminologists of this period was that crime resulted from internal and/or external forces impinging on individuals, biasing, or even completely determining, their behavior choices.

17. What is Positivism
This position became known as determinism, and its adherents were known as positivists.
Positivistic criminologists were more concerned with discovering the biological, psychological, or social determinants of criminal behavior than with the classical concerns of legal and penal reforms.

18. Positivism
Criminals are Born not Made
Focused on biological and psychological factors to explain criminal behaviour
Cesare Lombroso (1835 – 1909)
1960s
- Serious offenders had inherited criminal traits – such as physical features – a large jaw
XYY Theory
-A chromosomal abnormality might explain criminal bahviout

19. Pictures of murderers
that Lambarso believed
carried facial features
tied to criminal activity.

20. Does this mean Sean Penn is a Criminal?
Murderer
Sean Penn
See any similarities!?
Does this mean Sean Penn is a Criminal?

21. Those in group "A" are all shoplifters, "B" are swindlers, "H" are purse snatchers, "E" are murderers, etc

22. The Legacy of Positivism
The legacy of the positivist school was the shift from the armchair philosophizing about human behavior to utilizing the concepts and methods of science.
Positivism did not disprove or destroy classical principles; it simply shifted emphasis from crime and penology to the individual offender.

23. Sociological Theories
Sociologists emphasize that human beings live in social groups and that those groups and the social structure they create influence behavior.
assume that a criminal’s behavior is determined by his or her social environment
reject the notion of the born criminal.

24. Sociological Perspectives
Criminals are Made not Born
Emile Durkheim ( )
 Bystander Effect I
 Bystander Effect II
1930s Chicago School
Theory of Anomie
- As society moved (from rural to urban communities, individuals gained anonymity living in a big city and were no longer restricted by small towns
 Ecological School
- Communities that suffer from high rates of poverty have more criminal activity

25. Sociological Perspectives
Criminals are Made not Born
 Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels
 Social Conflict Theory
- We live in a capitalist society ( high competition for wealth) crime is inevitable. Political power is controlled by the wealthy, more likely to punish economically disadvantaged
Consensus Theory
- We all agree on what's right or wrong regardless of social class. Criminals don’t accept the views of the majority.

26. Contemporary Sociological Theories
We now believe more in the idea of rational choice and deterrence theories. This means that criminals will carefully calculate the costs and benefits of engaging in criminal activity.
1970s- present
Strain Theory:
- People commit crimes when they believe they cannot achieve their desires and goals through legitimate means
Socialization Theory:
- We are influenced by peers, our upbringing, and role models
Social Conflict Theory:
- Root cause of crime is the unfair economic structure

27. Contemporary Biological Theories
1970s – present
Biological Trait Theory:
- Human traits such as intelligence, personality, chemical and genetic makeup predispose people to criminal behaviour
Neurophysiological Theories:
- Focus on the study of brain activity and argues certain neurological dysfunctions are connected to criminal activity

28. The Twinkie Defence

29. The Warrior Gene

30. 3 Ingredients for Murder