Criminological Theory

Criminological theories have been created by numerous scholars in an attempt to have a better understanding on how to manage crime. The Classical theory is, without a doubt, one of the most significant theories established for the criminal justice system development. Theories, such as the classical theory, facilitate people’s comphrension about crime and all of its aspects. And, at the same time theories may benefit authorities who are able to create, modify and enforce laws based on research. Basically, this theory is the foundation of the current criminal justice system practices in the United States. There might be higher probabilities that the criminal justice system improves if personnel becomes familiarized with criminal behavior. Knowledge

The Classical theory definition is based on a notion of free will, it “refers to a belief that a crime is committed after an individual weighs the pros and cons” (Akers & Sellers, 2013 p.5). In other words, classical theorists suggest that offenders make the decision to commit a crime by rationally calculating probable gratification versus the risk of getting apprehended and punished. Specifically, this principle is also known as hedonism which means that individuals measure the consequences of their criminal behavior focusing on a pain and pleasure choice (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2014). As a matter of fact, these decisions are obviously based on the individual’s life experiences and

Although, other researchers have suggested that punishment might not be answer to reduce crime rates, it is evident that the United States will continue with this procedure. Another key point important to realize is that the classical criminologists’ main intention was to reform the “judicial and legal system to make it more rational and fair”, which will also continue to be part the criminal and legal procedures as stated in the United States Constitution (Akers, 2013, p. 15). Moreover, Beccaria and Bentham argued that it would be prudent to increase citizens’ participation in political matters to obtain more control of the government’s decisions, which is currently known as a form of democracy. Therefore, it must remembered that thanks to the authors of the Classical theory, the United States presently has a reasonable legal system in which the punishment is proportional to the