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Chapter 5
The Classical Thinkers
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2. Forerunners of Classical Thought
Mores
Proscribe serious violations of a group’s values.
Folkways
Time-honoured customs based on traditions.
Laws
Codified into formal strictures.
Created for enforcement purposes.
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3. Two Categories of Crimes
Mala in se offences
Fundamentally wrong
E.g. sexual assault
Mala prohibita offences
Acts that are wrong only because they are prohibited.
Not necessarily a crime in all jurisdictions.
E.g. drug use
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The Demonic Era
Good versus Evil
Interpretations of evil range from the cosmic level (e.g. karma, fate, etc.) to personal deviance resulting from demonic possession.
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5. Early Sources of the Criminal Law
The Code of Hammurabi
Early Roman Law
Common Law
The Magna Carta
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The Code of Hammurabi
One of the first known bodies of law.
Focused on issues of theft, property ownership, sexual relationships and interpersonal violence.
Emphasis on retribution.
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Early Roman Law
Derived from the Twelve Tables.
Basic rules regulating family, religion, and economic life.
Based on common and fair practices.
The Justinian Code
Public law
Private law
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Common Law
Unwritten legal precedents supported by court decisions.
Based on shared traditions and standards.
Often referred to as “the major source of modern criminal law”.
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The Magna Carta
“great charter”
Concept of “due process of law” derived from Magna Carta.
“the foundation stone of our present liberties”
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The Enlightenment
Thomas Hobbes
Social contract
John Locke
Tabula rasa
Checks and balances
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Natural law
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The Classical School
Developed from the period of the Enlightenment.
Crime and deviance viewed as products of the exercise of free will.
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The Classical School
Cesare Beccaria ( )
Punishment should:
be a deterrent
be swift and certain
fit the crime
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The Classical School
Jeremy Bentham ( )
Pain must outweigh pleasure.
Hedonistic calculus / utilitarianism
Panopticon
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14. Heritage of the Classical School
The principle of rationality
The principle of hedonism
The principle of punishment
The human-rights principle
The due-process principle
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15. Neo-Classical Criminology
Rational Choice Theory
Routine activity theory
Situational choice theory
Situational Crime Control Policy
Focus on the context in which crime occurs.
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16. Punishment and Neo-Classical Thought
Just Deserts
 offenders deserve
punishment
Deterrence
 specific deterrence
 general deterrence
 recidivism
The Death Penalty
 deterrence
 retribution
 just deserts
Public Humiliation
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17. Policy Implications of the Classical School
Individual-Rights Advocates
Dangerousness
Incapacitation
Law-and-Order Advocates
Get-tough-on-crime policies
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