Foundation in Criminology

General Concept of Criminology

▪ Criminology 
 from Latin crimen, "accusation“
 is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. 
 is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences,
which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, political
scientists, economists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, biologi
sts, social anthropologists, as well as scholars of law.
▪ The first to study crime and criminals scientifically is Cesare Lombroso
(father of modern criminology)
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▪ To understand criminology
a person must first know what crime is.
A violation of criminal law.
is the scientific study of crime as a social phenomenon, behavior of
criminals, and the penal treatment of the criminal.
studies the non-legal aspects of crime.
•The non-legal aspects of crime include the causes and preventions of
crime.
▪ Criminology includes the study of crimes, criminals, crime victims, and
criminological theories explaining illegal and deviant behavior.
▪ The social reaction to crime, the effectiveness of anti-crime policies, and
the broader political terrain of social control are also aspects to
criminology.
▪ Edwin Sutherland was an American sociologist and criminologist, often
called the “Dean of Criminology”
▪ According Edwin Sutherland to Criminology is the body of knowledge
regarding crime as a social phenomenon that includes within its scope the
process of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting toward the
breaking of laws.
▪ Criminological Theories
 are an important part of criminology. "Theory" is a term used to
describe an idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain facts or
events.
Therefore, a theory is suggested or presented as possibly true, but that
is not known or proven to be true, as well as, the general principles or
ideas that relate to a particular subject.
Criminological Theories examine why people commit crimes and is very
important in the ongoing debate of how crime should be handled and
prevented.
▪ Criminologists
are the people working and researching the study of crime and society's
response to crime.
Some criminologists examine behavioral patterns of possible criminals.
Generally, criminologists conduct research and investigations,
developing theories and analyzing empirical patterns.

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▪ The interests of criminologists include the study of nature of crime and
criminals, origins of criminal law, etiology of crime, social reaction to
crime, and the functioning of law enforcement agencies and the penal
institutions.
▪ It can be broadly said that criminology directs its inquiries along three
lines: first, it investigates the nature of criminal law and its administration
and conditions under which it develops; second, it analyzes the causation
of crime and the personality of criminals; and third, it studies the control of
crime and the rehabilitation of offenders. Thus, criminology includes within
its scope the activities of legislative bodies, law-enforcement agencies,
judicial institutions, correctional institutions and educational, private and
public social agencies.
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▪ In the 19th century, scientific methods began to be applied to the study of
crime.
▪ Today, criminologists use a plethora of techniques and data to help render
results about criminals, their activity, and the punishments being received.
▪ Criminologists frequently use statistics, case histories, official archives
and records, and sociological field methods to study criminals and criminal
activity, including the rates and kinds of crime within geographic areas.
▪ Criminologists then pass on their results to other members of the criminal
justice system, such as lawyers, judges, probation officers, law
enforcement officials, prison officials, legislatures, and scholars.
 Schools of Criminology

▪ Classical School of Criminology

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 Classical School
▪ The Classical School of Criminology was brought to light in the late 1700s
and early 1800s.
▪ The legal systems around the 1700s did not work very well. The legal
systems were subjective, corrupt, and harsh up to the time of the
development of the Classical School of Criminology.
▪ Enlightenment is a place where the Classical School set it roots and
alleged that humans are rational beings and that crime is the result of free
will in a risk versus reward position.

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▪ There were many people who helped shape the Classical School of
Criminology. Two of the most important of these people to shape the
Classical School of Criminology are Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy
Bentham. With the principles of Cesare Beccaria and the philosophies of
Jeremy Bentham, the Classical School of Criminology was erected and
put into effect.
▪ The father classical school of criminology is generally considered to be
Cesare Bonesana, Marches di Beccaria.

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▪ Beccaria also implied that all factors except the impact on society were
immaterial in determining the seriousness of a crime. Therefore, impact on
society should be used to determine the significance of the crime.
▪ The next principle brought forth by Beccaria was that of proportionality. He
felt that that the punishment of the crime should be proportionate to its
seriousness. In other words, the “time should fit the crime.”
▪ Beccaria thought that the purpose of punishment should not be retribution.
Instead, he believed punishment should be based on deterrence. He felt
that if people saw punishments being carried out, it would allow onlookers
to be deterred from criminal activity.

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▪ Beccaria thought if a punishment was certain then society would have a
better impression of the criminal justice system.
▪ Beccaria pushed for laws to be published so that the public would be
aware of the laws, know the purpose of the laws, and know the
punishments set forth by the laws.
▪ Beccaria called for imprisonment instead of capital punishment or the
death penalty. He also emphasized jails becoming more human and the
distinction between the elite and the underprivileged be eradicated from
the law.

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▪ Jeremy Bentham the founder of modern utilitarianism
▪ Bentham created the concept of the hedonistic calculus, because he
believed in the person’s capability to judge the impact of punishment on
themselves and their ability to make a choice regarding the pursuance of
pleasure and the evasion of pain.
▪ The hedonistic calculus defined as the idea that the main objective of an
intelligent person is to achieve the most pleasure and the least pain and
that the individuals are constantly calculating the pluses and minuses of
their potential actions.

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▪ Since Bentham believed in the hedonistic calculus and a person’s ability
to make a rational decision regarding a pleasure versus pain calculation,
he conjectured that the punishment for crimes should prevail over the
pleasure the person would get from committing the criminal activity.
▪ The free-will idea of the Classical School, therefore, added to Bentham’s
idea that the penalties of the criminal actions would be considered before
the actions were taken. That meant that the person would ultimately be
deterred from the actions that criminal activity the person would have
made had they not be a free-will, rational person.

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▪ Cesare Beccaria focused on crime, not the criminal. While, Jeremy
Bentham focused on criminal not on crime. The Classical School of
Criminology focused on the principle of deterrence instead of
punishment.

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 Positivist School
▪ In the late 1800s, the Classical School of Criminology came under
attack, thus leaving room for a new wave of thought to come about.
▪ There were three causations for the attack of the Classical School.
These causations were crimes appeared to be increasing even though
changes in the legal system had taken place, punished offenders were
recidivating, and the theory of an offender being a rational, self-
interested person who chose to engage in crime was challenged by the
biological sciences. Each of these events brought on a new school of
criminology that came to be known as the Positivist School of
Criminology.

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 ▪ Cesare Lombroso was an Italian physician who founded the Positivist
School of Criminology in the nineteenth century.
▪ Lombroso researched the links between criminality and physical
attributes. Lombroso came up with the “Criminal Man,” which outlined
what he studied and deemed to be the traits of a criminal.
▪ These traits of the “Criminal Man” were: not being developed sufficiently
mentally, having long arms, large amounts of body hair, prominent
cheekbones, and large foreheads.
▪ The Criminal Man, Lombroso suggested that criminals were biologically
in a different stage in the evolution process than the counterpart non-
criminals.
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 ▪ Lombroso classified criminals into four (4) major categories:
Born Criminals
Insane Criminals
Criminaloids
Criminals of Passion

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 ▪ Born criminals or people with atavistics characteristics
were thought to be one-third of the criminals which were a more
primitive evolutionary form of development.
▪ Insane criminals
were the idiots, paranoiacs, and those affected with dementia,
alcoholism, hysteria and other types of mental complications.

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 ▪ Occasional criminal or criminaloids
are considered a large general class without specificities on physical
characteristics or mental disorders, but sometimes tend to be involved
in rancorous and criminal behavior.
▪ Criminal of passion
Who commit crimes because of anger, love, or honor and are
characterized by being propelled to crime by an irresistible force.

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 The three (3) categories of the theories used
in the Positivist School
1. Biological theories
2. Psychological theories
3. Sociological theories

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 ▪ Biological theories
are based on a person’s biological and hereditary identity. These
theories imply that it is not entirely the criminal’s fault, but their
biological make up that makes them identify with criminality.
Lombroso suggests what he feels is a typical criminal in his book
the Criminal Man, in which he describes traits and characteristics of
prisoners that he identifies with criminality.

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 ▪ Psychological theories
deal with a person’s mental being. In psychological theories the
individual is the unit of analysis. It is believed that crimes are the result
of abnormal, dysfunctional, or inappropriate mental processes within
the personality of the individual.

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 ▪ Sociological Theories
associate a criminal’s behavior with the social constructs surrounding
the individual. Sociological theories are structured and based on the
environment around the individual. This is the people that are in close
or intimate contact with the individual, the environment(s) in which the
individual is in constant contact with, and the way the individual has
been taught. Social structure and context, as well as sociological
theories are an important part of analyzing a criminal’s behavior.

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 Neo-classical School
▪ The Neoclassical School was developed as a compromise to the Classical
and Positivists Schools of Criminology. The French Code of 1789 called
for the judge being the only mechanism for applying the law, and the law
took the responsibility for defining a penalty for every crime and every
degree of crime.
▪ There was a problem with this however since there is a different condition
in each situation that was being overlooked. This allowed for first time and
repeat offenders to be treated in the same manner, as well as children
and adults, sane and insane, and so on being treated as if they were the
same.
▪ A new set of reformers argues that the treatment of others as the same
was unfair and complained about injustice.
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▪ Gabriel Tarde suggested that there was a difference between total free will
and determinism and argued that no one has total free will. He suggested
that factors such as age, gender, social and economic environments,
nevertheless everyone is still responsible for their actions. The
Neoclassical School of Criminology had a basis on the offender’s
character.
▪ Gabriel Tarde was a French social theorist. He believed that people
patterned their behavior after the behavior of others. He then formed three
laws of behavior, or called the law of imitation.

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 Tarde’s three (3) laws of imitation:

▪ The law of close contact

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  The law of close contact
 explains that people have a greater tendency to imitate the fashions
or behaviors of those around them. If one is constantly surrounded by
deviant behavior, one is more likely to imitate that type of behavior
than any other, of which that person knows little.

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  The law of imitation of superiors by inferiors
 explains that the poor or the young imitate the rich or the more
experienced, and that crimes among the poor are in fact their attempts
to imitate wealthy, high-status people.

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  The law of insertion
 says that new behaviors are superimposed on old ones and
subsequently either reinforce or extinguish previous behavior.
• For example, if criminals start to use a new type of weapon, they
will not use the old one any more.

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▪ The Neo-Classical School of Criminology allowed for mitigating factors to
be reviewed by a judge and allowed for discretion to be used. Before the
Neo-Classical School, all offenders were treated the same no matter what
age, mental condition, gender, and so on. This was seen as unfair and
unjust and allowed for change to transpire. The Neo-Classical School
called for judged to have discretion which is necessary in some instances.

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▪ Specific Theories within the Neoclassical School 
 Some things came into creation because of the Neo-Classical School of
Criminology. One of those things is theories. Theory is important
because it helps criminologists to explain criminal behavior. One of
those important theories to explain the behavior of criminals is the
Deterrence Theory.

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▪ Deterrence Theory
 As a general definition, deterrence is a goal in sentencing of hindering
the criminal behavior from fear of the punishment or consequence.
There are two types of deterrence;
• General deterrence - A goal in criminal sentencing that seeks to
prevent others from committing crimes similar to the one that the
offender is being sentenced.
• Specific deterrence - Has a goal in sentencing that seeks to prevent
a particular offender from recidivism or repeat offending.

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▪ The Classical School, Positivist School, and Neo-Classical School are all
considered separate from each other. However, some of the
characteristics of each are intertwined in the big scheme of things.
▪ The Classical School of Criminology is based on freewill and determinism
(complete free will)
▪ while the Positivist School of Criminology is based on the biological,
psychological, and sociological aspects of a criminal.
▪ The Neo-Classical School, however, is a blend of the two other schools of
criminology with a big emphasis on deterrence. (felt that if a person had
freewill, but not absolute free will).
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References
▪Baxter, D. D. (2013). Criminological Theories. (C. a. Class, Interviewer) Elkins, West Virginia, USA.
▪Briggs, S. (2013, 12 14). Important Theories in Criminology: Why People Commit Crime. Retrieved from Criminology For
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commi.html
▪Brotherton, D. (2013, 12 14). What is Criminology? Retrieved from John Jay College of Criminal Justice:
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▪Cullen, F., & Agnew, R. (2002). Criminological Theory: The Past to Present. Los Angeles: Roxbury. Retrieved from
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▪Florida State University. (2013, 12 26). Cesare Beccaria. Retrieved from College Of Criminal Justice and Criminology:
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▪Geis, G. (1955). Pioneers in Criminology VII--Jeremy Bentham. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
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▪Merriam-Webster. (2013, 12 26). Aristocrat. Retrieved from An Encycolpedia Britannica Company: Merriam-Webster:
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▪Merriam-Webster. (2013, 12 14). Crimionology. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster Dictionary: An Encycolpedia
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▪ Merriam-Webster. (2014, 1 25). Crime. Retrieved from Merriam Webster: an Encyclopedia Britannica Company:
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▪ Merriam-Webster. (2014, 1 20). Theory. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: An Encyclopedia Britannica Company:

▪ Schmalleger, F. (2014). Criminology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.

▪ Seiken, D. (2014). Three Theories of Criminal Behavior. Retrieved from HubPages: http://seiken2.hubpages.com/hub/Three-

▪ Seiter, R. P. (2011). Putting Corrections in Perspective. In R. P. Seiter, Corrections: an introduction. Upper Saddle River: Pearson
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▪ Swanson, K. (2000). Jeremy Bentham. Retrieved from Florida State University:

▪ The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. (2013, 12 14). Department of Criminology. Retrieved from Penn Arts & Sciences:
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▪ Vold, G., Bernard, T., & Snipes, J. (2002). Theoretical Criminology. New York: Oxford University Press.

▪ [1] Thorsten Sellin; “Crime,” Dictionary of Sociogy, ed. P. Fairchild, New York: Philosophical Library, 1994, p.73

▪ https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gabriel_Tarde

▪ https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4218&context=jclc#:~:text=The%20last%20law
%20of%20imitation,increase%20in%20the%20newer%20method.
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