Classic vs positivist criminology PDF

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Notes preparing me for an essay discussing classic approaches to Criminology in comparison with positivist approaches, with specific focus on Adolphe Quetelet. ...

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“Society contains the germs of all the crimes that will be committed, as well as the conditions under which they can develop. It is society that, in a sense, prepares the ground for them, and the criminal is the instrument.’ What does Adolphe Quetelet mean by this statement, and how does this assertation differ from the understandings of crime and deviance in classical criminology?” -

Word count: 750 – 1000 words Due date: Friday 29th May Sections; intro, Quetelet para, classic criminology para, conclude.

Classical criminology: overview and key concepts Summary in two words: RATIONALITY AND CHOICE

Notes from: Carrabine, E (2014) “Enlightenment thinking about crime” - The enlightenment thinking became known as the classical approach and key thinkers are Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu. - The main reason why punishment evolved from barbaric human torture to fair, civilised, rational imprisonment for reformation. - Cesare Beccaria  founder of classical criminology  humanist  argued for reformations of the current irrational judicial system  influenced by social contract theory (Hobbes/Rousseau/Locke)  people live best together in a society which is in agreement with a set of moral and political rules. If we live in according to a social contract, we can live morally and rationally by our own choice. Rules in society should be established through a utilitarian approach (weigh up pleasure VS pain) (Bentham 1829).

Notes from: Akers and Sellers, 2013. - A school of thought based upon utilitarian notions of free will (influenced from Augustine and free will) and the greatest good for the greatest number; at its core classical criminology refers to a belief that crime is committed after an individual has weighed up the pros and cons. The decision to commit a crime is a rational decision (and therefore the individual is at blame), and it is best countered through a deterrence-based system. - Sought to provide a rational, logical and philosophical approach to an abusive, unfair and inhumane system of justice. - The current criminal justice system relies on the classical criminological perspective. - Individuals have a CHOICE whether to follow or violate the law; many get thrills and pleasures from crime and it is the state’s duty to punish those who violate the law to outweigh the amount of pleasure they gained from it. - The classic approach to crime is all about the idea that we are free willed, free thinking, rational individuals and we CHOOSE to commit

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crime; other opposing criminological ideologies say that biological/psychological/environmental factors are to blame. It is attractive to politicians because it claims that the individual is fully to blame, and they must take responsibility and make better decisions; it is not societies fault. Programmes around the world such as ‘Scared Straight’ have attempted to use fear and discipline to keep youth away from crime. Deterrence is a factor which prevents many people from committing crimes; they do not want imprisonment, fines, community service, ban of driving license etc, but the deciding factor (in most cases), is that most people are socialised into believing breaking the law is unethical and wrong, hence, they just do not do it. Celerity – how quickly an individual will be punished after committing a crime (an element of deterrence) Certainty - how likely it is an individual will be caught / punished for a crime they have committed; it is an element of deterrence. Severity – one of the three elements of deterrence; refers to how severe a punishment is for an individual once they have committed a crime. Overview: if punishments are certain and severe, then people will refrain from committing criminal acts. Classical criminology (aka deterrence theory) is at the core of the criminal justice system and is the justification for harsher and longer sentences; an individual is free to decide what he or she does, so if they choose to go down the path of deviancy and criminality, they will have to face the consequences.

The Positivist Movement: (18th – 19th century)

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Quetelet was a positivist criminologist Positivist criminology – the positivist school of criminology (led by Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo) sought to find scientific objectivity of crime through the measurement and quantification of criminal activity. Their methods were developed by examining characteristics of criminals to determine where their behaviour stems from. Lombroso found similar physical traits between offenders that he dissected. Lombroso’s cited several physical and emotional traits of potential criminals; he was a significant contribution to scientific racism (e.g. craniology) Adolphe Quetelet Biological factors of the criminal man:

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Found that some people were more likely to commit crimes than others, such as young, poor, unemployed and uneducated males. Crimes committed by this group of people were mainly committed in areas of wealth and employment, which suggested to Quetelet that one must be exposed to a life of wealth, opportunities and temptation to trigger criminality. He concluded that the propensity to engage in crime is a reflection of one’s moral character. These young, poor, men had a lack of virtues (morality) and they committed high levels of crime. His main policy recommendations were to enhance moral education and to ameliorate social conditions in order to improve people’s lives. While the idea that moral defectiveness is not completely incoherent, this was the groundworks for his latter developed theory on physical characteristics which are completely irrelevant and incoherent in contemporary criminology. L’umo Delinquente  ‘The Criminal Man’ (1876)  he proposed his idea that criminals are biological regressions to an earlier evolutionary stage where people were more primitive and savage. He used the term atavistic to describe these people. (characterised by reversion to something ancient/ancestral) He conducted a physical examination on a deceased criminal in which he found unusual characteristics in the skull; these anomalies had led him to believe this man was not as evolved as everyone else. He had conducted more studies on another criminal who had raped and strangled women  he was physiologically similar. Consequently, he concluded criminals are less atavistic than noncriminals. From this he depicted what an average man’s overall characteristics should be and a criminal man’s characteristics. His average man was calculated from taking mortality rates, the heights of 100,000 French army conscripts, and the chest measurements of 5,738 Scottish soldiers. From his observations he calculated the average weight/height of his subjects; cross tabulated these with sex/age/occupation/geographical region (Beirne, P, 1987) Social conditions which create criminality: Quetelet

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Quetelet’s research found that illiterate, poor, young males who were subject to visible inequality who were most heavily involved in crime. But surprisingly, it was not the poverty area’s which had the highest crime rates, but the wealthy, prosperous areas. “These are the rough alternations from one state to another that give birth to crime, especially if those who suffer from them are surrounded by temptation and find themselves irritated by the continual view of luxury and of an inequality of fortune which disheartens them” (Quetelet, 1831).  He believed that it was not

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poverty that caused crime, but inequality. His writings thus were very influential for Karl Marx. Quetelets findings differ from the beliefs from classical criminology because he claims it is not down to free will and rationality like classic criminologists suggest, but it is down to determinism. (Determinism  all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes; precludes free will because it suggests humans cannot act otherwise than they do). Quetelet’s research demonstrated that there was temporal consistency in both criminal and normal behaviour; this gave him the idea that society routinely produces people who are more inclined to commit crime. Given the consistency of the ages (e.g. you’re at your ‘criminal peak’ during the ages of 21 and 25) gender (males were roughly four times more likely to commit crimes than females), and number of crimes committed; he concluded it is society which is the underlying cause of crime. Classic criminologists are often angered by this statement as they believe he is rejecting that human beings are free willed, rational agents; Quetelet frequently explained his argument that the decisions human make are simply influenced by social and individual conditions.

Overall conclusions: - Many positivist theories which are influenced by biological and physical characteristics have been written out of the social sciences due to their lack of evidentiary support, along with perpetrating racial and gendered prejudice, such as ‘scientific racism’. - Whilst positivism is no longer relevant in contemporary criminology, it is still influential and can be seen in modern day research, along with influencing significant faces in sociology such as Karl Marx. - Quetelet’s theory of the average man and is no longer relevant and is often classed as an outdated and incoherent contribution to criminology, however his research which suggested young, uneducated males who are exposed to inequalities in their day to day life is still very relevant and is still seen in contemporary society. - Classic criminological approaches to deterrence make contemporary punishments fair as the punishment must always fit the crime. However, their emphasis on human beings being free willed agents who are fully to blame for their actions is somewhat flawed; although it is true, humans are to blame for their actions and choices, it is naïve to rule out contributing factors which may influence ones propensity to crime; such as ethnic, gender and class inequalities....