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The Classical School Of Criminology

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Introduction According to Locke and Rousseau, all human beings enter into “social contracts” wherein, we trade some of our freedom of our own interests and become fortunate enough to earn a position in the society. The field of criminology is essential based on answering one simple question, “How is society possible?” given that human beings have free will and are self-interested. Now, if there is a breach of contract, society feels fit to punish the violators. (Sociology of Crime (Criminology), n.d). Now, the question that arises is that, what is this “breach of contract” called? In a way, it indicates to the term crime. However, the definition of the same is ever changing due to many “social, political, psychological and economic conditions …show more content…

Classical School: Cesare Beccaria was an Italian attorney who is known as one of the founding fathers of the Classical School of Criminology. The Classical School of Criminology emerged into existence around the 1700s and 1800s due to the lack of a proper legal framework. The pre-existing system was corrupt and subjective in nature, wherein it was believed that people who committed offenses did so because God was testing the faith they had, punishing them or using them to admonish others. Otherwise, they were sinners who were not under God’s protection and were controlled by the Devil. Due to these reasons, the legal systems didn’t operate well. This school of thought put forth the argument that crime was committed due to the existence of free will and a “risk versus reward” system. Their movement was known as the Enlightenment or Age of Reason. They thought that humanity didn’t need to depend on a religious governance and rather a sensible idea could be used to build upon principles of ethics and justness (Torrence, 2016). According to this, individuals could enter into social contracts and give up some of our self-interests to gain the protection and acceptance of the society (Vold, Bernard & Snipes, 2002). Specific theories under Classical School of Criminology …show more content…

(1999). The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things. New York: Basic. Kappeler, V. E., & Potter, G. W. (2005). The mythology of crime and criminal justice. Long Grove, Ill: Waveland Press. Mandal, P. B. (2011). Sociology of Crime. Centrum Press Reiman, J. (2007). The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class and Criminal Justice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Sutherland, H. E. (1947). Principles of Criminology. Philadelphia: Lippincott. Torrence K. (2016). Schools of Criminology. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Schools-of-Criminology Vold, G., T. Bernard, & J. Snipes. (2002). Theoretical Criminology. New York: Oxford University Press. “...economic inequality has rapidly increased over the past 30 years.” Income Inequality. Retrieved from https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/ “According to Locke...punish the violators.” Sociology of Crime (Criminology). Retrieved from http://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-crime-criminology/#what-is-the-nature-of-crime “When one is studying crime......disparities between theories.” Criminology Research Methods. Retrieved from

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While a few theories are not as regular, others have developed and are utilized as a part of numerous criminal reviews today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the

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Within the past couple of decades, criminologists have developed different criminological theories that apply to the social behaviors and decisions of criminals. One of the earliest theories developed regarding criminality is the rational choice theory, in which describes the rationalization of determining if the rewards from committing the crime outweigh the consequences. In Scarver’s case, his decision to engage in criminal activities outweighed the potential consequences, or the other alternatives if he did not engage in such criminal activities. In addition to the rational choice theory, Scarver’s criminality can be related to the social disorganization theory, which describes the influence of one’s social and physical environment on one’s decision to commit a crime. Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals.

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2014. Criminological Theory. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education inc. Rengifo, Andres F 2009.

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The five most important things I have learned throughout my semester in SOC 150 are about crime and perception of social problems, how fines and fees keep people in jails, about mobility and poverty, sexual assault on college campuses, and lastly about the school-to-prison pipeline. During our unit on crime I learned about the perception of a social problem in different parts of the country as well as to a single individual. The two readings about crime, “Crime Rates Have Plummeted” and “U.S. Crime Is Up but Americans Don’t Seem to Have Noticed” demonstrate that crime is a social problem to be interpreted differentially based on the person perceiving the problem. What happens with crime is that crime is more likely to be thought of as a social problem based on what the media is reporting. The media will broadcast the

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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander published in 2012, is a 261 page book detailing how mass incarceration has become the new form of legalized discrimination. BACKGROUND A large cause for the writing of this book is that there is currently not much research or call for a criminal justice reform. According to Alexander the main goal of the book is to “stimulate a much-needed conversation about the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy in the United States” (2012:16).

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Criminology has within its scope the process of reacting toward the breaking of laws, breaking laws, and making laws. The objective of all criminology is the development of a body of

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It does not consider other factors such as criminal associations, individual traits, and inner strains, which plays a significant role in determining punishment for the individuals in committing crimes. It is observed that this theory endeavours to know that whether the activities of crime as well as the victim’s choice, criminals commit the activities on start from rational decisions. The theory also determines that criminals consider different elements before committing crime. They engage in the exchange of ideas before reaching on any final decision. These elements consist of consequences of their crimes, which include revealing their families to problems or death, chances of being arrested, and others elements, which comprises of placement of surveillance systems (Walsh & Hemmens, 2010; Lichbach,

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Additionally, classicism tried to understand crime as “a product of a rational free will”, Hughes (1998) continues, and a criminal act was seen as something chosen and as a result of the calculation of pain and pleasure involved with the crime (Hughes, 1998). Besides, punishment, as Hughes (1998) depicts, was seen as “an instrument of social control to achieve certain desired ends” and it must be warranted, effective and profitable. Furthermore, classicists believed that it was better to prevent than to punish (Hughes, 1998). During the Enlightenment period, new theories about crime, punishment and new ways of rationalising justice arose (Newburn, 2013). Beforehand, it was believed that people could not choose rationally but with the development of the classical school, the assumption that criminals can exercise free will and rationality was introduced (Newburn, 2013).

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Based on the assumption that humans are inherently social, crime would have been traced to an unfavorable environment that distorted human nature (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2015). These unfavorable environments were to product of capitalism, in that it created clear distinctions between the rulers and the ruled that created much tension. Bonger believed that human nature was distorted in unfavorable environments by “egoism” that made people more capable of engaging in crimes against others (Lilly, 2015). It was believed that this idea of egoism could not be reduced by social controls that bonded individuals to society, because a society under capitalism was the source of egoism (Lilly, 2015). Bonger found that much crime was the result of poverty generated by capitalism, while noting that those in power also engaged in criminal behavior (Lilly, 2015).

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This essay will discuss crime as both a social problem and a sociological problem. Crime is seen as a typical function of society. Crime doesn’t happen without society. It is created and determined by the surrounding society. According to the CSO, the number of dangerous and negligent acts committed between the years of 2008 and 2012 rose from 238’000 in 2008 to 257’000 in 2012.

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