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In the History & Development unit, we'll be looking at four different perspectives on crime and criminals and how each of them has contributed to our understanding of criminology. Each perspective may have several theories and both perspectives in general and specific theories have their pros and their cons. There's no one-shoe-fits-all explanation for why people commit criminal acts! We'll be looking at these different perspectives in (roughly) chronological order so you can see how thinking about crime and criminals has changed amidst the trend towards evidence-based practice (the scientific method).
take notes
take notes
Alongside the activities, from now on there will be 'take notes' sections throughout these pages to help people take notes on the key points.
Note down what a perspective is, the four perspectives we'll be reviewing AND why we have a need for multiple perspectives in the first place.
Before diving in to the nitty-gritty, check out the timeline below as well as the synopses underneath for an idea of some key points for each of the theories. Hopefully you'll see that an overarching theory or approach might have several underlying theories too - this is because over time, different theorists contribute their own ideas, helping theories to develop and become more robust.
"The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries"
Instead of basing our understanding of the world on tradition and the mystic, people were turning towards reason and evidence-based practice
TAKE NOTES
TAKE NOTES
Grab a cuppa and watch the video above, taking notes on the key points. Try to summarise the 'Enlightenment' in a short paragraph. Consider:
The time period
Where
Any key theorists
What changed during this period? (In terms of how people viewed / approached social sciences)
within criminolgy, the enlightenment led to the development of the 'classical' perspective or school
within criminolgy, the enlightenment led to the development of the 'classical' perspective or school
"The classical school of criminology was developed in the eighteenth century, where classical thinking emerged in response to the cruel forms of punishment that dominated at the time. It is considered that writers such as Montesquieu and Voltaire encouraged perhaps the emergence of this new ‘classical’ thinking, by becoming involved in campaigns for more enlightened approaches to be taken towards crime and the punishment given by the justice systems at the time. Also the development of society craved new forms of legal regulation due to the fact that there needed to be predictability in the system, as technology and properties in particular needed legal protection and workers needed to be disciplined in a consistent way."
the classical school
the classical school
"In criminology, the classical school usually refers to the 18th-century work during the Enlightenment by the utilitarian and social-contract philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria. Their interests lay in the system of criminal justice and penology and indirectly, through the proposition that "man is a calculating animal", in the causes of criminal behaviour. The classical school of thought was premised on the idea that people have free will in making decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime, so long as the punishment is proportional, fits the crime, and is carried out promptly."
Watch it & take notes
Watch it & take notes
With the title 'Classical Criminology', watch either of the videos below and take notes on the key points of the approach
Write up a summary in your own words of how this compares to pre-existing ideas of crime and criminals (why is it different to demonology?)
Longer but really thorough overview including pre-classical theories of crime and the era of enlightenment
kEY CONCEPTS
kEY CONCEPTS
- free will
Free will is a key concept when we look at the different perspectives on crime and deviance. For example, pre-classical demonological explanations of crime put the blame on the possessing spirit while later, biological explanations, liken humans to organic machines which have no choice but to act in a certain way. What does the classical school say about 'free will'? The ability to act rationally and with free will was fundamental to the classical school of criminology as it means that would-be perpetrators of crime should also be able to understand the consequences.
John Locke proposed that all citizens are equal and that there is an unwritten but voluntary contract between the state and its citizens, giving power to those in government and defining a framework of mutual rights and duties. Crime, according to this perspective, is therefore a breach of the social contract between a citizen and the state
2. crime is a breach of social contract
2. crime is a breach of social contract
3. PROPORTIONAL PUNISHMENT...
3. PROPORTIONAL PUNISHMENT...
Pre-Enlightenment, punishments for crimes were wholly inconsistent and often barbarically excessive. One judge might let a petty thief off with a warning while another could have them hung, drawn and quartered for some minor infraction. The classical school of criminology put forward the idea that punishments should be proportional to the crime, meaning that the more severe a crime, the more severe the punishment should be. IN THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL, THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE CRIME (That will make more sense when we look at the biological perspective)
Taking the assumption of free will at face value, supporters of the classical school of criminology (below) argued that a punishment that slightly outweighed the perceived benefits of a crime could reduce crime itself. Think about it, if you're sitting down to plan a robbery where you hope to steal £10k but know that if you're caught the fine will be £12k then the math just doesn't stack up - the perceived cost outweighs the perceived benefit.
That works as a DETTERENT...
That works as a DETTERENT...
and is SWIFT AND certain
and is SWIFT AND certain
Of course, punishment as a deterrent only works if you are worried that you might actually get caught. Supporters of this perspective suggested that punishment should be emphasised to enhance the perception that if you commit a crime, you WILL be caught and punished accordingly.
KEY CHARACTERS
KEY CHARACTERS
"There were two main contributors to this theory of criminology and they were Jeremy Bentham and Cesare de Beccaria. They are seen as the most important enlightenment thinkers in the area of ‘classical’ thinking and are considered the founding fathers of the classical school of criminology. They both sought to reduce the harshness of eighteenth century judicial systems, even though coming from different philosophical stances."
JEREMY BENTHAM
JEREMY BENTHAM
If you're a fan of the morbid, try searching for Jeremy Bentham on google and check out the images. Don't say you weren't warned though!
Bentham’s contribution to ‘classical’ theory is based on the fact that he was a utilitarian, interested in the happiness and well being of the population and therefore believing that punishment, in the form of the infliction of pain, should always be justified in terms of a greater good.
Bentham believed that crime was committed on the outset, by individuals exercising free will who seek to gain excitement, money, sex or anything of value to the individual.
CESARE BECCARIA
CESARE BECCARIA
‘It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them’.
This is at the heart of the classical school of criminology. Beccaria believed that laws needed to be put into place in order to make punishments consistent and in line with the crime...
Beccaria thought that the severity of the penalties given should be proportionate to the crime committed and no more than what is necessary in order to deter the offender and others from committing further crimes.
CLASSICAL SCHOOL IMPACT ON CRIMINOLOGY
CLASSICAL SCHOOL IMPACT ON CRIMINOLOGY
The concepts put forward by the classical school have contributed considerably to how we think about, and as a society deal with, crime and criminal behaviour.
In Europe and America the idea of punishments being appropriate to the nature of the crime has become a foundation for modern criminal justice systems.
Since the introduction of the classical school of criminology and classical thinking, the use of capital punishment, torture and corporal punishment has declined. Neither Beccaria nor Bentham believed in the death penalty, apart from, Bentham argued, in the case of murder.
The classical school has also been cited as a reason for the growth in prison as a major system of punishment.
Many elements of classical ideas are very useful in modern society and these show the strengths that the theory does have. Deterrence continues to underlie all judicial systems and indeed underpinned the principles of the first commissioners of Sir Robert Peel, in the creation of the Metropolitan police. Prisons are also used as major deterrents and also to try and reduce rates of crime.
activity
activity
The focus of this unit is to understand how each of the approaches we'll be looking at has CONTRIBUTED to our understanding of criminology.
What does it do better than the last theory?
In what ways does it advance our understanding of crime or criminality?
Over the coming weeks we'll be looking at different approaches and theories. To show your understanding of each of these approaches, you'll be creating a timeline outlining the key features and (more importantly) contributions of each of these to criminology.
DECIDE - decide on the format of your work, you can choose to do slides (powerpoint or google) or a poster or infographic (canva, google drawing, google slides, there's no shortage of tools so pick something you can work with)
Create two sections on your timeline - one titled 'pre-classical' and the other titled 'classical'
Within your pre-classical section, add details on and explain demonological theories of crime and the code of Hammurabi
Within your classical section, explain classical criminology including (at a minimum):
The time period
The key contributors or theorists and what they said
How this approach differs to previous thoughts on crime / criminal behaviour
Any obvious problems or shortcomings of the approach
Submit your work in progress to 'Classical Criminology' on Teams
Next time, we'll be looking at the Biological perspective (also referred to as positivism sometimes). The video and article below discuss both the classical school and positivism so be sure to check them out to prime you with the terminology we'll be looking at next time
WATCH IT
WATCH IT
READ IT (and take notes)
READ IT (and take notes)
Resources and references
Teacher, Law. (November 2013). The Classical School of Criminological. Retrieved from https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/criminology/the-classical-school-of-criminological.php?vref=1
activity (additional)
activity (additional)
The four areas or perspectives we'll be looking at - classical, biological, sociological and psychological - are just the tip of the ice berg. Read the article below to get an idea of the competing explanations.
Don't worry if you don't fully understand the explanations of each of theories, that's what we'll be working towards in this unit.
Create a timeline which includes the name, time period, key theorist and a brief (1 or 2 sentence) summary of the following theories:
Atavism
Marxist Theory
Biological Determinism
Feminist Theory
Once you've created your timeline, see if you can categorise the four theories above as either SOCIOLOGICAL or BIOLOGICAL. The definitions below might help
Sociological - adjective - concerning the development, structure, and functioning of human society.
Biological - adjective - relating to biology or living organisms.
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