CLASSICAL THEORY OF CRIME

Classical Theory of Crime

Classical Theory of Crime

Introduction

Historically, criminology has been taught within sociology departments in universities and colleges around the United States. This is in contrast with Great Britain, for example, where until relatively recently, criminology was studied in the context of law and medicine. This reflects criminology's evolution as a field.

Stephen Pfohl, in his book Images of Deviance, reminds us that early ideological views of criminal behavior were heavily influenced by religious or theological beliefs. Criminals were believed to be possessed by demonic forces out of their control. The witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1700s were based on the premise that crime and deviance were the work of diabolic forces that entered and possessed a person's soul, particularly those souls that had given in to temptation. As Einstadter and Henry point out in their book Criminological Theory, these dual notions of powerful forces beyond a person's control and individual moral weakness continue to resonate in how we talk about crime (Gottfredson, 2000, 20).

Discussion and Analysis

The roots of Criminological theory are traditionally traced to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Enlightenment Europe. During the Enlightenment, the use of reason and logic to uncover laws that govern society became the favored way to study the material universe and the functioning of society. Rationalistic philosophical explanations replaced demonic views of crime and punishment. Early social theorists, such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, claimed that crime could only be understood, and eventually reduced, through reason because people acted based on reason.

A philosophy originally developed during the Enlightenment in the 18th century by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. Due to inconsistencies and the arbitrariness of the judicial process, in addition to the widespread use of torture as a practice for punishment and the extraction of confessions, both philosophers called for the humane treatment of prisoners. They spoke against the use of corporal and barbaric punishments, which were inherently incongruous with the underlying principles of a civilized society. Certain principles characterize the classical-criminology perspective. For punishment to deter future crime, it should be certain (the offender's chance of being apprehended and prosecuted is highly probable), swift (the time between the act and the punishment should be as brief as possible), and severe. Punishments should be based on gradations of seriousness according to the nature of the crime; in sum, the punishment should fit the crime.

Punishments that are too lenient will not deter future criminal behavior, and punishments that are too severe could beget more crime. Crime can be controlled through the threat of formal punishment, and punishment serves two vital deterrent purposes: specific deterrence sends a message to the individual offender, while general deterrence sends a message to society. Sanctions should encompass the principle of utilitarianism—that is, providing the greatest good for the greatest number.

Beccaria and Bentham believed that crime was a rational choice on the part of the offender: All people were rational beings and made decisions based on the concept of free will; prior to the commission ...