Classical Criminology Theory - Research Paper Example

Classical Criminology Theory Introduction Criminology includes the study of criminal behavior of an individual. It assesses the nature and control of the criminal activity. Criminology includes many areas that are researched, and these include the forms, causes and consequences of the crime that has occurred. Criminology also includes the existence of the crime, the reaction and the regulations of the government in relation to a criminal activity ‎(Vito, 2011).‎ The history of the theories used in criminology goes back to the 18th century. Many of these theories were formed in the classical school by authors such as Cesare Beccaria. They include the processes of making, reacting and the breaking of laws to prevent criminal activities. Background Throughout the background of the criminology theory, there have been different forms of punishments, policies, customs and ideas that have been changed to form the study of the criminology. These classical theories defining the reasons behind the crimes that are committed have been devised by the writers of that time. One of the main founders of the classical school of criminology was Cesare Beccaria, who developed his theories in order to develop the criminal justice system (Hagan, 2011). Beccaria’s theories are developed on the basis of three main ideas: all individuals have a free will to do anything they want and make choices; all individuals look out for their own satisfaction; it is the interests of individuals that make their actions predictable. The first idea of Beccaria is similar to the ideas expressed by other classical theorists – that it is free will that allows a person to do what he or she wants and to make free choices. The second idea expresses the individual’s rational manner, which means that an individual will do anything for his or her personal satisfaction; this means that a person’s desire to get the best can make this person a wrongdoer. In this way all members of the society will be looking for their satisfaction and thus interests will clash ‎ (Samaha, 2005). ‎ The third idea expresses manipulability – a universal interest of humans is known, and it makes the human actions predictable and controllable. He further believed that the problem with the criminal justice system was to choose the right punishments for the right criminals, and not only the criminal justice system but also the government should play a role in using their rights to have the laws of punishments (Hagan, 2011). When someone chooses to live in a society, this person has to give up some personal interests for the safety of that society. Laws are also made in order to encourage or prohibit certain interests. Although Beccaria believed that the government and the criminal justice system needed improvement, he also thought that the current laws were inappropriate. He believed that the criminal justice needs to be improvised in order to enlighten the laws and the punishments for the controlling of the actions of the free-willed and rational human beings. Beccaria stressed on the need to form laws not out of great passions but rather for the ‘greatest happiness for the greatest number ‎ (Samaha, 2005). ‎ Such laws would be the ones that would be formed by a literate person in order to benefit the whole community and not only for his or her benefits. The belief was that laws are made to benefit the society and the community to keep them away from all the crimes that could occur. Laws should not be made only for the benefit or passion of one person. As there will be a formation of criminal laws, a rational form of punishment will also be created (Vito, 2011). Although his ideas were against severe punishments, he suggested that those people who harm the society should be punished. And this right was given to the government. He further suggests the principles, rules and examples on how the system should work. It immensely helped in the growth of the criminal justice system. History Criminology can be termed as a scientific procedure in which both the social behaviors of the individuals and the criminal actions of those individuals are judged. This is why it can be divided into several sections which include the natural sciences, sociology and all the way to the evolution and the development of people and the society. In criminology, the criminologists are responsible for answering questions such as why the criminal was liable to commit that crime, rather than other investigators who focus on the facts: who was the criminal, what crime he committed and how he committed it. Since this is an important part of the criminal activity, criminology theories were formed (Vito, 2011). Criminology has a long history as it focuses on the study that has been formed to examine the behavior of the criminals for committing a certain crime. Many of the writers and theorists on crime development were a part of the criminology theories. The classical school of criminology was founded by the writers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham in the mid 18th century in Europe. The classical school of thought believed that the torture that was taking place all over the continent was wrong and that crimes are committed through free will. They believed that these crimes were not a result of any psychiatric problems or social behavioral changes, but were committed through the free will of people as they felt free to do anything, and, therefore, they should be punished for the wrongdoings (Samaha, 2005). The classical school of thought believed that the punishments that are given to the criminals should be strong enough to limit and control the occurrence of crime in the society. They worked on the criminal justice system as they were determined that it needed to be modernized and changed immensely (Vito, 2011). The criminal justice of their time included torture that was painful such as crushing and stabbing. The aim that these founders worked on was to improve and develop the criminal justice from being torturous to being progressive. The neo-classical school of thought brought some changes to the theories of criminology. Though most of them were a part of the classical school of thought, they further believed that the criminals can be influenced by the behaviors of people around them. They also suggested that mistakes are made as the world is full of imperfections, and self-defense is also acceptable. Many famous criminologists supported the neo-classical school of thought. Positivist school of thought and determinism is the belief that all actions of all people are already established and that free will does not exist. This is under the scientific conclusions made concerning the commitment of criminal offenses; every person is different mentally and physically, and thus the crime is identified not by the nature but by the person who committed it. Even the punishment would be that which is determined by the person rather than the crime itself. Moreover, they believed that the criminals can correct themselves through the treatment and the rehabilitation processes. They believed that these processes have to be successful, and in case the criminals are not affected by them, they should be killed (Samaha, 2005). Critics There are many criticisms for the theory of classical criminology. One of the most common criticisms is the inequality of punishments irrespective of those who commit the crime. There have been many justifications of this idea, which has greatly been supported. The biggest question is that regarding the laws for the minors and the mentally ill. The state has provided separate laws for the minors, and the mentally ill are excused due to their mental condition. But according to the classical criminology theory, a person who commits a crime is to be punished irrespective of who he or she is. Moreover, there are criminals who repeat their actions. The same punishment means that those criminals also get the same punishment every time that they commit the offense (Henry, 2009). Therefore, the inequality of the punishments is one of the major criticisms of the classical criminology theory. Also, most crimes are not carefully planned; rather, they are impulsive. The case of Roderick McLean was established in the 19th century. He was trialed in the court for his attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria. He made this attempt on the 2nd of March, 1882. It was the last of the eight attempts to assassinate the Queen. He was tried in April and was found ‘not guilty, but insane’ by the jury. He lived the rest of his life in an asylum. However, after this trial the Queen was suggested to change the law that would allow those who are convicted for such offences to be considered as ‘guilty, but insane’. Similar cases were held in that era, which led to frequent changes in the laws. For such cases the criminology theories were devised, and that helped to figure out what the criminal was thinking about and analyzing. Criminology Theory Today The popularity of criminology has been immensely growing in the modern era. The criminology today includes the categorizing of the motives of the criminals. These may be either instrumental or expressive. Instrumental motive is the one which means the criminal has a benefit in committing the crime. For example, contract killers may commit crimes in order to get money for it. When such incentives are proved, the punishments are rather harder. On the other hand, an expressive motive is the one in which a criminal commits a crime out of emotions. This is a common motive and it includes such feelings as anger, hatred, frustration, etc. (Barlow, 2010) The recent policies that have followed the theories of Beccaria are the truth in sentencing, emphasis on crime not criminal, punishment rather then treatment, etc.; though not all governments have adopted these theories, yet most of them have. However, the treatise that Beccaria wrote, “On Crimes and Punishments”, is still being used by the criminal justice system. One essay greatly impacted the Bill of Rights, Constitution and the justice system. The essay became the foundation of many criminology theories and was used to build and expand them. The criminal justice classic theory suggested that anyone who breaks the law does so with his or her rational free will and tends to understand the effects of his or her actions. The basic idea was that the actions of the humans can be controlled by human will. Thus, the idea of Beccaria was that the punishment of those crimes must be rational as well. And these ideas are still impactful on the governments. Conclusion Thus, criminology is a combined source of collecting – to understand the motives of criminals – the data about social actions and criminal offences that have been committed (Barlow, 2010). Criminology is considered to be very important for the proper development of the criminal justice system, as criminology is the source of understanding the reasons behind the criminal offence, which influences the conclusions by the state regarding that offence. Starting from the criminal offence to the case development in the court, the criminologists are responsible for understanding why criminals do what they do. The criminologists form these theories and gather such information so that the people are safe and the society is improved through better actions taken against criminal offenses. With the use of this information, the criminals will be well punished for what they have been doing to the society, and this will create a sense of security amongst the people of the society. However, prevention of crime is the main aim behind the criminology theory. A better criminal justice system will greatly benefit the society and will keep the people free from such offenses. The classical criminology theory has been developed to understand the criminals with the purpose of stopping the crime, not to consider the crime and the way it was conducted. References Barlow H. (2010). Explaining crime: A primer in criminological theory. US: Rowman & Littlefield. Hagan F. (2011). Introduction to criminology: Theories, methods and criminal behavior. London: SAGE Publications. Henry S. (2009). Essential criminology. NJ: Westview Press. Samaha J. (2005). Criminal justice. London: Cengage Learning. Vito G. (2011). Criminology: Theory, research and policy. NY: Jones & Bartlett. Read More