Early Criminological Theories by Kristina Deveaux PDF

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EARLY CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES

Early Criminological Theories Kristina Deveaux Valencia College Criminology

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Chapter Three – The Classical School of Criminological Thought Outline A. The Classical School of Criminological Thought 1. Deterrence Theory – Is the use of punishments to deter potential criminals from committing crimes. 2. Classical School – Rationality, or the idea that people choose to commit crimes. All behavior is a product of a person’s free will. B. Pre-Classical Perspectives of Crime and Punishment (Demonological Theory) – That man is simple, and his actions are controlled by nature (full moon, excessive thunder, etc.) These crimes are supposedly committed due to a demon or evil spirit. C. Punishments Under Pre-Classical Perspectives – Barbaric punishments such as beheading, torturing, stoning, whipping, and drowning are punishments that were used in the middle ages. However, stoning is still used today in certain countries in Africa and the Middle East. D. The Age of Enlightenment – The fear of punishment motivates persons to cooperate with the laws of the government. To establish respect for the government from the societies a social contract was established stating that the citizens agreed to abide by the laws set forth by society in return for protection. E. The Classical School of Criminology – Cesare Beccaria was known as the Father of Criminal Justice, Classical School of Criminology, and the Deterrence Theory. F. Influences of Beccaria and His Writings 1. Utilitarianism places the points of right or wrong solely on the consequences of choosing one action over another. To increase happiness and decrease unhappiness.

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G. Beccaria’s Proposed Reforms and Ideas of Justice 1. Beccaria believed in that no matter the intent (mens rea) that the act (actus reus) alone should be punished. He believed that information obtained through ways of torture should not be of any value when convicting a defendant, as when suffering immense pain defendants may confess to a crime that they did not commit. Beccaria also believed that the fate of a defendant should not rely on the thoughts of a judge alone, but to have a jury of peers to assist in the decision. He believes in fairness through public processing and not with closed courtrooms. Beccaria believes that humans are rational and if aware of the criminal laws and punishments would be less likely to commit a crime. H. Beccaria’s Idea of the Death Penalty 1. Beccaria was against the death penalty and believed that the death penalty violated the social contract as the social contract establishes morals and Beccaria believes that the death penalty is immoral. 2. Beccaria believed that the taking of one’s life leaves a negative barbaric example to society. The brutalization effect shows that the homicide rates increase after an execution (especially after the execution of someone important/famous). 3. Beccaria believed that long-lasting punishment was more effective than a quick punishment. Most individuals would be more fearful of spending their life in prison versus dying. I. Beccaria’s Concept of Deterrence and the Three Key Elements of Punishment

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1. The swiftness of Punishment is how quickly an individual is punished after committing a crime. Beccaria believes that punishing shortly after the crime was committed aids in the defender mentally relating the crime to the punishment (Cause and Effect). 2. The certainty of Punishment is the most important in deterring crime to offenders as the certainty of being caught is what prevents offenders from committing the crime, not the punishment and/or severity of the punishment. 3. The severity of Punishment is the most complicated as it is the assumption that the punishment given must be greater than the potential benefits of the crime. Beccaria believes that the punishment should be equal or surpass the crime committed but should not unreasonably exceed the crime committed as it is barbaric and may lead to further criminal activity. 4. Specific Deterrence is when punishment is given to an individual to discourage that specific offender from committing future crimes. 5. General Deterrence is when punishment is given to an individual to discourage potential offenders from committing future crimes. J. The Neoclassical School of Criminology is when individuals base their decision to commit a crime on logic, but the reason (mens rea) that the crime was committed is more complicated. K. Loss of Dominance of Classical/Neoclassical Theory which contends that criminals exhibit free will and act on it, placed the blame for crime on the society that made unlawful behavior seem like the rational choice. L. Policy Implications (most based on the Deterrence Theory)

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1. Three-Strikes Law is relatable to that of baseball’s “three strikes and you’re out” for habitual offenders. Should an offender have committed two previous crimes or felonies, the third occurrence typically issues a 25 to a life sentence. This has been amended for circumstances such as juvenile offenses and nonviolent offenses; however, this varies by state. 2. Scared Straight is a program implanted for juveniles to visit prisons/inmates in hopes to deter them from committing crimes in the future by getting a glimpse of the reality of prison. 3. Bounded Rationality is making a decision without obtaining all of the information before making the decision. Based on the information available and time, most persons are likely to make a comparative decision as its almost impossible to obtain all information when making a decision. Therefore, a decision is made that relates to what the individual’s mind considered to be the best decision.

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Chapter Three – The Classical School of Criminological Thought Questions Pre-Classical School of Criminology also known as the Demonological Theory was the foundation of the criminal justice system. This school of criminology believed that individuals were controlled by nature and the crimes committed were blamed on demons. As irrational as this may seem, the barbaric punishments of whipping, stoning, torturing, etc. to remove the demons from an individual for a crime that was supposedly committed uncontrollably and not by an individual’s motive is quite extreme in comparison. Today a case such as an individual stealing lipstick from a store could have resulted in being stoned and even beheaded if we were still under the Demonological Theory. Following the Pre-Classical School of Criminology is what is known as The Age of Enlightenment. Proposed by Thomas Hobbes when he stated his belief that individuals use reasoning when deciding if they want to proceed with committing a crime even with the fear of knowing the punishment that will be received. Thus, the social contract was established to provide an agreement between individuals and the society to not commit crimes in exchange for protection. This contract ensured that all individuals were punished accordingly to the crime committed so that there were no violations of the contract. The Classical School of Criminology emerged from the age of the enlightenment thinkers. Cesare Beccaria’s “Classical School of thought was the notion that "it is better to prevent crimes than to punish them" (Beccaria, 1764/1963:93). Out of this idea arises our common understanding of Deterrence and the idea that it is better to let a guilty man go free than to punish an innocent man. this is a very contrary position to the "old" Pre-Classical ways whereby the innocent was often tortured and even killed in the pursuit of justice in an effort to extract a confession (Classical Criminology - my.ilstu.edu. (n.d.)).” Beccaria believed in what we

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know today as “innocent until proven guilty.” He was against the death penalty and felt this form of punishment not only violated the social contract but was immoral. Beccaria believed that a quick punishment such as the death penalty as opposed to a long jail sentence was more effective in the effort to deter individuals from committing crimes, as individuals would be more willing to die than to serve a life sentence in prison. This is confirmed in the case of “D.C Madam” in which she took her own life to avoid a life sentence. Beccaria believed that individuals are free-willed and will make decisions based on which outcome will provide the most pleasure. Beccaria’s utilitarianism view is that he is against the punishment of crimes, especially those barbaric in deliverance, and focuses more on the deterrence of crimes by educating the society to make decisions that produce happiness and avoid the actions that produce unhappiness. For example, if you are choosing to have a protest, the utilitarianism view is to choose the protest that will give you the most pleasure or that most people will benefit from. Also known as the father of deterrence, Beccaria felt that if individuals are educated on the punishment for crimes committed it would aid greatly in their decision to commit, or not commit a crime. Beccaria believed greatly in the fairness of the law, and open processing as it educated members of the society of crimes committed and punishments received. He felt that any punishment enforced onto an individual should not rely on the decision of a judge alone, but rather a juror of peers to assist with the conviction. This rational choice theory (deterrence theory) was shown in the case of The Harpe Brothers as they found more pleasure in committing crimes and chose to repeatedly commit crimes for personal happiness. Beccaria believed in specific deterrence and general deterrence. Specific deterrence is typically the deterrence for all crimes committed as the objective is to prevent the individual from committing future crimes.

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However, the general deterrence of publicly humiliating an individual in the hopes to prevent other individuals from committing future crimes. General deterrence can be viewed in different ways, by news broadcasting, visual arrests, and social media. Beccaria believed in three elements of punishment: Swiftness, Certainty, and Severity of punishment. As the father of deterrence certainty was the most important element to Beccaria to deter crime as he felt that if someone were certain they would get caught and punished they would be less likely to commit the crime. The swiftness of punishment is also quite important for an individual’s association with the punishment to the crime also known as cause and effect. This is also shown today when teachers await punishing a student until days after the student was disobedient instead of when the incident happened, due to the time between the act and punishment the student is no longer associating the punishment to the act that was committed. Lastly, is severity which is the most complicated of the three as Beccaria believed that the punishment should be equal to or slightly surpass the crime committed, however, not to exceedingly surpass the crime. To challenge Beccaria’s idea of severity, should individuals commit murder, a punishment that would be equal to or to surpass that of taking one’s life would be the death penalty or long imprisonment such as a life sentence. Therefore, it would be considered an “eye for an eye” which is the retribution in which Beccaria fought against. Beccaria’s influence on policy has been tremendous as most policies that we are currently using today stem from the deterrence theory. Today there are states which use the Three-Strikes Law specifically for habitual offenders who can be issued a life sentence on their third crime committed, this law seems to have stemmed from Beccaria’s specific deterrence concept. The Scared Straight program which allows adolescents to see the lives of offenders in jail, also seems to have stemmed from Beccaria’s concept of general deterrence. Also, the policy of Bounded

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Rationality which in simple terms is making a decision without all of the facts available would be believed to have stemmed from Beccaria’s view on utilitarianism in which an individual makes a decision that will bring the most pleasure. Hence the title of father of criminal justice and the deterrence theory as Beccaria was a man before his time, his concepts are still being used three thousand years later even though crime is evolving consistently.

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References Classical

Criminology

-

my.ilstu.edu.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

May

http://my.ilstu.edu/~jawalsh/Sp13/CJS_201/ch4_choice/Chapter42.html

24,

2020,

from

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Chapter Four – Contemporary Classical and Deterrence Research Outline A. Contemporary Classical and Deterrence Research B. The Four Waves of Modern Deterrence Research 1. Aggregate Studies look at statistical studies to see how to work with deterrence. This supported the importance of certainty and severity of punishment in deterring individuals from committing a crime, particularly homicide. However, these studies were found not that helpful because they emphasize the perceptions of individuals. 2. Cross-Sectional Studies are focused on individual perceptions of certainty and severity of sanctions, primarily drawn at one point in time. It was evident that it was unclear whether perceptions were causing changes in behavior, or whether the behavior was causing changes in perception. 3. Longitudinal Studies are individual perceptions and deterrence, which measures one’s perceptions of the risk and the severity, as well as behavior, over time. a. Experiential Effect is when an individual's previous experience highly influences their expectations of being caught and resulting penalties on whether severe enough to recommit. Ex. Drivers under the influence/ White Collar Criminals 4. Scenario/Vignette Studies method provides a specific, realistic (albeit hypothetical) situation in which a person engages in a criminal act. This method

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showed that individuals were more affected by perceptions of certainty and less so by perceptions of severity. C. Formal and Informal Deterrence 1. Formal/Official Deterrence is the deterrence that takes place because of law enforcement, courts, and corrections. 2. Informal Deterrence refers to many factors beyond official factors such as family, friends, employment, and community. a. Rational Choice Theory implies that criminals think rationally prior to committing a crime and will always choose the option to which the pleasure outweighs the punishment. Most choices stem from the informal sanctions versus the official sanctions. D. Routine Activities Theory 1. Motivated Offender – this can entail someone that is motivated under the influence, but not specifically. 2. A Suitable Target - targets such as vulnerable women carrying purchased items, money, under the influence, as well as unlocked motor vehicles, unoccupied homes. Persons or places that seem to be unprotected or vulnerable. 3. Lack of Guardianship – refers to persons or items protecting the residential property (dogs, alarms, police patrol, neighborhood lighting, adult presence), mobile property (car alarms). Note: Areas that have all 3 activities are called “hot spots”.

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E. Applications of Routine Activities Theory 1. The Minneapolis Hot Spots Study showed that in a year of phone calls, the top 10 places police were called for help were locations such as bars where there were suitable targets and a lack of guardianship. 2. Crime Mapping and Geographic Profiling is the process of determining the most probable area of an offender's base of activities through an analysis of his or her crime locations. Crime mapping is used by law enforcement analysts to map, visualize, and analyze committed crime patterns. 3. The Lifestyles Perspective is the theory in which persons are believed to be victimized due to the type of lifestyle that they have. F. Policy Implications 1. Broken Windows Theory is thought that if the minor signs of disorder will in turn decrease in the amount of more serious crimes. 2. Three Strikes You’re Out Law is when your third violent offense secures a life in prison sentence and focuses more on the severity of the crime rather than the clarity and swiftness.

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Chapter Four – Contemporary Classical and Deterrence Research Questions The Contemporary Classical School of Criminology was birthed in the late 1960s which had started refocusing on the deterrence aspect of crime. The previous Classical and NeoClassical Schools of Criminology fell out of favor with researchers as these theories were all based on ideas and beliefs and not research. The aggregate, cross-sectional, longitudinal, and scenario/vignette studies that took place in the contemporary school of criminology, focused mainly on the certainty and severity of crime. These are two of Beccaria’s key elements of punishment and concepts of deterrence. Aggregate research was completed and found to be unhelpful as it focuses on the perceptions of individuals, depending on the crime rates of different regions the ratios will be biased when compared. Aggregate studies are those of group comparisons and provide little to no information on an individual basis. This research focused mainly on the crimes reported to law enforcement versus the actual arrests in the jurisdiction. These studies also were used in comparing states that have the death penalty versus the crime rate in that state which yielded results showing higher crime rates in states with the death penalty. Cross-sectional research proved that the reason most individuals chose to take risks to commit or not to commit the crime is mainly due to their confidence in avoiding conviction. However, it was unclear if the perception affected the behavior or the behavior affected the perception. For example, if you have 100 people in the state of Florida complete a survey about drinking habits, the information can be used to compare the information of those individuals, but cannot be used to analyze individual behaviors over a period of time.

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Longitudinal research is quite the opposite of cross-sectional research in the fact that it involves repeated analysis of the same specified information over a period of time. An example of this research is the experiential effect that is used to mainly track the information of repeated offenders. In chapter four they used the example of habitual alcoholics being comfortable operating a vehicle with the confidence that they are unlikely to be pulled over. I feel that this can relate to any sort of mind alteration and choice combination, whether it be alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine, or even someone that has a mental disorder as they are not thinking with a rational mind, but with an altered mindset in which they make irrational decisions. Scenario/Vignette research is information collected from individuals on surveys regarding criminal behavior. The survey provides specific scenarios in which an individual will indicate the likelihood of them committing the crime, their confidence, or lack thereof being apprehended for the crime and the punishment they would intend to receive. This research is found to be the most precise as the ability to provide the answer immediately closely relates to what an individual would do should the scenario take place in real life. These studies also revealed that individuals are more concerned about being apprehended than the punishment that they...