Criminology P3
Classicist theory
Cesare Beccaria in the 18th century stated that any punishments given to offenders should be suitable for the type of crime they committed, equal for the rich and poor otherwise worse crimes could be committed if excessively harsh punishments are used for something relatively small. He theorized that an individual is smart enough to decide against offending, that we humans can distinguish between what’s right and wrong in society, therefore everyone should make a rational decision.
Positivist theories
Positivist theories rejected the classicist beliefs, mainly criticising them for being unable to describe what motivates the crimes and then take steps to control it. Positivists do not take into account factors
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He believed that criminals had certain facial features like large jaws and sharp canines.
Evaluation- Even though Lombroso established using statistics and data collection in criminology, his belief was not supported by research gathered much later on. He was criticized for the atavistic form theory. The data gathered to incriminate people basing the claims on appearance was re-analysed by Gould (1981) who eventually concluded that it was weak and lacked evidence.
Somatotype Theory – Sheldon (1949) Like Lombroso, this theory also suggested that we can tell who’s a criminal from their somatotype (body type). Sheldon argued that how muscular someone was, raised their mesomorphs which has an effect on an individual’s level of aggression and would eventually lead to criminal behaviour.
Evaluation- Somatotypes vary in different people, Sheldon found generally higher levels of mesomorphy in delinquents, other studies have also had this conclusion. Though there still isn’t a clear link from mesomorph levels and crime, some explanations will link it with high levels of testosterone.
Realism: Right &