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Cesare Beccaria - Classical Theory
Cesare Beccaria was an Italian philosopher and a classical theorist. His theory has three main parts: free will - humans make their own choices, rational manner – individuals look out for personal satisfaction and manipulability – human behaviour is predictable and controllable. He believed that the right punishment can help the criminal justice system control the amount of crime. -
Cesare Lombroso - Biological Positivism
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) was an Italian physician. He performed post mortem examinations in the early 19th century on criminals to which he found that the majority of criminals had similar characteristics such as: a receding hairline, forehead wrinkles, bumpy face, broad nose, long arms etc. He also stated that tattooing and deviant behaviour is linked as the criminals he had seen (those who had been tattooed in prison) had a higher tolerance to pain and that most criminals had tattoos. -
Classical
The Classical Theory (1800s) is based on the idea that humans do actually have free will and that they make choices based on that free will. Classical theorists say that crimes are committed out of interest and crimes are not dealt with properly as prison sentences are not a deterrent. They believe that punishments should be more swift, harsher and equal. -
Classical Continued
Cesare Beccaria argued that the punishment should fit the crime as if an individual is going to receive the same punishment for committing any crime then they may as well commit a higher crime. This suggests that having different punishments for different crimes could reduce the amount of serious crimes being carried out as the punishments are worse. This idea successfully won the support of many political parties including parties in the USA. -
Interactionism
Interactionists believe that law breakers are not any different to law abiding people and that most people commit deviant acts but only some are caught. Interactionists such as Howard Becker (1928-) believe that just because someone breaks a rule it does not necessarily mean that others will define it as deviant and that somebody who is very interested in the issue must enforce these laws and regulations. -
Interactionism: The Labelling Theory
Howard Becker (1928-) came up with the labelling theory which is the idea that actions are not deviant; they become deviant through the application of the label and that once a label has been given to an individual then they will become that label. The British Crime Survey showed that young black males are more likely to be stopped and searched than any other person; the media has a big roll the play in these 'labels' as they socially construct crime and deviance by social control. -
Positivism Continued
In the 1960s -70s there was an argument that criminal behaviour is due to abnormal chromosomes (The XYY theory) suggesting that violent male criminals have an abnormal XYY chromosome, however this theory was dismissed when researchers found out that non-criminals also had this abnormal XYY chromosome and that the idea that criminals were born rather than made had died out. -
Broken Windows Theory Continued
This theory means that by monitoring urban areas can prevent vandalism that could escalate to a more serious crime. In the 1970s in New Jersey police officers started patrolling on foot in areas as a new crime control method. At first there was no evidence of any reduction in crime. What foot-patrol officers did was create an illusion that because they were walking around, criminals didn't get that opportunity to commit their offense making the citizen feel safe in their community. -
Right Realism: Broken Windows Theory
In 1982 James Wilson and George Kelling introduced the broken windows theory. The term "broken windows" is a metaphor for the disorder in the neighbourhood; Wilson and Kelling saw crime as something that could be escalated; they believed that if disorder could be eliminated from the neighbourhood then serious crimes would not take place. There are two types of disorders within a community: physical and social. Physical being broken windows etc. and social being drug dealers and prostitutes. -
Positivism
Positivism (early 19th century) looks at crime as a whole stating that human nature was basically good and criminal behaviour must be caused by factors outside the individuals control such as: poverty, upbringing, mental illness etc. This means that biological and psychological factors lead to criminal behaviour. This explanation of crime looks at the individual; the idea that criminals can be 'cured' through medication and mental institutions. -
Voluntarism
Voluntarism is based on the idea that humans know wrong from right and that we make our own decisions when it comes to committing a crime. The way that we prevent or reduce crime from happening is by making punishments deterrents; re-occurring reports of crime from the media has forced pressure on judges to give harsher punishments. Voluntarism also believes that this theory improves lives for poorer people as richer people could simply pay off the judge instead of receiving a prison sentence. -
Realism
Realism has a more realistic view on crime; realists know they can't get to the root of crime. They don't believe that crimes are committed due to a result of poverty, realists believe that crime is down to family values and lack of discipline. There are two types of realism: left and right. -
Left Realism
Left Realists prioritize social justice to ensure a 'fair' society. There is a higher co-operation between the police and the public and left realist were keen to speak to victims of crime to find the actual cause of the crime. Left realism also suggests that deprivation leads people to make their own opportunities to become an equal community. Tony Blair agrees with left realism and said that current crime is being carried out by working class vs. working class. -
Right Realism
Right Realism is the exact opposite of left realism; it prioritizes order over justice. Right realists believe that crime must be taken seriously, harsher sanctions are necessary, punishments should be swift (e.g. imprisonment) and that there should also be a focus on the victim making sure their well-being is intact. -
Zero Tolerance Policy
This policy is based on the 'broken windows' theory. It includes things such as: neighbourhood watch schemes, CCTV, harsher/more equal punishments etc. This is supported by conservatives as a way to show a tough approach on crime. -
Zero Tolerance Policy Continued
This policy allows police to monitor criminal behaviour through a computer giving them locations on certain criminal hotspots. The zero tolerance policy provides reassurance of safety to communities and there is a fall in criminal behaviour. Even though there is a fall in criminal behaviour it leaves behind negative consequences of aggressive policing as this scheme gives police an opportunity to discriminate. Also, figures have shown that crime has actually fallen without zero tolerance policy. -
Determinism
Determinism is the idea that we do not have control over our actions and that they are controlled by our genes, upbringing, poverty etc. and that humans don’t actually have free will. Determinists suggested that it is possible to predict behaviour by identifying the causes of behaviour and that it is wrong to punish people who don’t have control of their actions. They believe that criminals can be helped by a harsher punishment.
