Classical Theory of Criminology Essay - 1523 Words

Criminology is the study of why individuals engage or commit crimes and the reasons as to why they behave in certain ways in different situations (Hagan, 2010). Through understanding the reasons or why an individual commits a crime, one can come up with ways to prevent and control crime or rehabilitate criminals. There exist a large number of criminology theories, some link crime to an individual or person; they believe a person weighs the cons and pros and makes a conscious decision on whether to commit or not commit a felony. Others see the society as having a duty to make sure that its members do not engage in criminal acts by providing a secure and safe living place. Some claim that some people have hidden or dormant characteristics†¦show more content†¦According to this theory, the rational remedy for preventing crimes would be establishing harsher punishments or sentences for committing crimes. Cesare Beccaria is considered to be the classical theory founder. His conce pt even in today’s world continues to play a significant role in many countries legal systems, however, this approach happens to be more flexible in the modern world. Cesare Beccaria theory emerged as a result of a reaction against the barbaric system of justice, punishment and law present before 1789. It mainly emphasized on human rationality and free will (Beccaria, 1986). The classical criminology theory was not concerned in studying and understanding criminals, but concentrated on legal processing and law making. According to the theory, crime was believed to be an activity engaged or committed out of free will and that criminals weighed their actions consequences. Punishment is established or developed in order to prevent individuals from engaging in criminal acts and it should be greater than the benefits of criminal acts (Akers Sellers, 2012). The classical theory stressed on the legal crime definition rather than emphasizing on what defined or determined criminal behavior. It is essential to understand the background inShow MoreRelatedClassical Theory in Criminology1753 Words   |  8 PagesClassical School Classical theory in criminology has its roots in the theories of the 18th century Italian nobleman and economist, Cesare Beccaria and the English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham (Hollin, 2004, 2). It was based on principles of utilitarian philosophy. Cesare Beccaria, author of On Crimes and Punishments (1763–64), Jeremy Bentham, inventor of the panopticon, and other classical school philosophers based their arguments as follows, (1) People have free will to choose how to act (2) DeterrenceRead MoreThe Classical School Of Criminology935 Words   |  4 Pagesprinciples of the Classical School of Criminology? 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Two of the main criminology perspectives are Classical Criminology and Positivist Criminology. Although these two are both studied in the criminology field, their viewsRead MoreBiological and Classical School1265 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The Classical School of criminology emerged during the eighteenth century after the European Enlightenment period. It was during this time that law enforcement and laws were disparate and unjust and punishment was brutal. Members of the Classical School would demand justice that based on equality and human punishment that was appropriate for the offense. According to Williams and McShane 2009, the Classical School was uninterested in studying the criminal per se; it gained its associationRead MoreClassical Criminology : Criminal Justice Policies And Against The Spiritual Explanation Of Crime Essay1087 Words   |  5 PagesClassical Criminology is focused on the punishment of crime rather than the causation of crime. The classicism theory of criminology is the concepts of legal system and its approach during the 1700’s (‘Enlightenment period’). It is argued that Classical criminology was a â€Å"protest against those criminal justice policies and against the sp iritual explanation of crime†.1 Features of Classical criminology still have a large impact on legal systems, like the concept of proportionality. There are many