Soc 275 classical criminological theories PDF

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Demonological theory - Supernatural explanation of criminality - Dominated early explanations of crime into the 18th century - Criminals were believed to be sinners - Determinism - Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England - Spanish inquisition - Morality Classical theory - Rational choice and deterrence - Jeremy Bentham - Individual is viewed as entirely rational - Hedonism and utilitarianism - Maximize pleasure and minimize pain - Felicific calculus: the greatest happiness shared by the greatest number - Cesare Beccaria - Law should be made by legislatures and they should be specific - The seriousness of the crime should be determined by the harm it inflict on society - Punishment should be based on the crime and its ability to deter - Punishment should not exceed that which is necessary for deterrence - Excessive severity in punishment often increases crime that is then committed in order to avoid punishment - Capital punishment should be abolished - All should be treated equally before the law - The role of the criminal justice systems is to serve as a system of punishment - The system should punish offenders in a manner that is impartial, equitable, and proportionate to the crime committed - Can be traced back to the “classical school” of criminology - Actors are rational and act on their on free will - Emphasizes free will and rationality on the part of the criminal - People are 100% responsible for their actions - Assumes hedonism - Pleasure principle - Assumption that the main purpose of life is to maximize pleasure while minimizing pain - Key ideas of punishment as retribution - Punishment must be impartial and proportional

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Two key determining factors: - Level of the harm caused by the offense - The culpability of the harms caused - Critiques - Robs judges of discretionary power - Application of graduated punishment reflecting the seriousness of crime implementation becomes problematic Neoclassical theory - Admits environmental, psychological, and other mitigating circumstances as modifying conditions to classic doctrine Rational choice theory - Individual positivism - Offenders weigh the opportunities, costs, and benefits of particular crimes - A number of factors may constrain choice - Admit that behavior is only partly rational but that most offenders know quite well what they are doing Deterrence theory - Mandatory sentencing policies all reflect the assumption that the criminal is a rational actor and will be deterred by more severe and certain punishment - Deterrence policy Assumes rationality on the part of the actors - Specific deterrence serves to discourage a particular individual from repeating a crime and general deterrence targets others Ecological theory - Social determinist - The ecological school is also referred to as the statistical, geographic, or cartographic school - Key authors - Cesare lombros - AM guerry - Geography - Violence and personal crimes were higher in rural areas - Adolphe quetelet - Poverty - Crime increases when an individual passes in an abrupt way from a state of ease to misery and to insufficiency in satisfying all the needs which he has created - Climate - Thermic law of crime Economic theory

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Economic determinism Karl marx and class analysis William bonger: criminal law and class - Criminal law serves the interest of the ruling class in capitalist systems and is enforced by forcer rather than by consensus - Hedonism is natural among people but capitalism encourages egoism to an extreme and to the disadvantage of the society and the poor - All groups are prone to crime in capitalist society, but seldom are the crimes of the wealthy punished - Poverty resulting from capitalism encourages crime Formal and informal sanctions - Sanctioning in the criminal justice system is based on large part on the assumption that offenders and potential offenders are free willed, rational individuals - Formal sanctions: laws, regulations, and criminal justice system - Informal sanction: peers, family, reference group memberships - Deterrence approaches to the study of marijuana use among college students: - Four aspects to consider: - Availability and quality of parental models of behavior - Availability of positive evaluation and recognition within family units - Perception of family relationship as “warm” - Expression of satisfaction with, involvement in, and reliance upon the family unit - The perceived severity of formal punishment is generally unrelated to reported marijuana uses - The deterrence impact of the perception of both formal and informal sanction is slightly greater for males than for females - The cumulative impact of perceived certainty and perceived informal sanctions is greater than the separate impact of either certainty or the perceived informal sanction alone...