Introduction to Criminology

Introduction to Criminology Criminology - the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior and law enforcement. 3 Main School of Thought 1. Classical school 2. Positivist school 3. Chicago school

Classical school - based on utilitarian philosophy developed in the 18th century. This school of thoughts argues: 1. That people have free will to choose how to act. 2. Deterrence is based upon the notion of the human being as a hedonist who seeks pleasure and avoid pain and a rational calculator weighing up the cost and benefits of the consequences of each action. 3. Punishment of sufficient severity can deter people from crime as the cost (penalties) outweigh benefits and that the severity of punishment should be proportionate to the crime. 4. The more swift and certain the punishment, the more effective it is in deterring criminal behavior.

Criminology Consists of 3 Principal Divisions 1. Sociology of Law - which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the conditions under which criminal law influences society. 2. Criminal Etiology - which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the study of causes or reasons for crime. 3. Penology - concerned with control crime by repressing criminal activities through the fear of punishment. Crime - is a wrong doing classified by the state as a felony or misdemeanor. Felony - is a serious crime punishable by at least one year in prison. Misdemeanor - is a crime for which the punishment is usually a fine and/or up to one year in jail. *Crimes are defined and punished by statutes and by the common law. Etiology - study of causes and reasons for crime. Atavism - the view that crime is due to a genetic throwback to a more primitive and aggressive form of human being.

Prominent Philosophers of Classical school 1. Cesare Becarria - author of crimes and punishment. 2. Jeremy Bentham - inventor of the

Elements Necessary For A Crime To Occur 1. Desire or motivation on the part of the criminal. 2. The skills and tools needed to commit the crime.

panopticon - type of institutional building designed to allow an observer to observe inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether or not they are being watched.

Positivist school - presumes that criminal behavior is caused by internal and external factors outside of the individuals control.

Positivism can be broken in 3 segments which include: 1. Biological 2. Psychological 3. Social - - one of the largest contributors to biological positivism and founder of the Italian school of criminology is Cesare Lombroso.

Italian School 

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Cesare Lombroso - an italian doctor and sometimes regarded as the father of criminology. Considered also as the founder of criminal anthropology. He suggested that physiological traits such as the measurement of the checkbones or hairline or a cleft palate, considered to be throwbacks to neanderthal man, were indicative of "atavistic criminal tendencies". This approach has been superseded by the beliefs of Enrico Ferri. Enrico Ferri - a student of Lombroso, believe that social as well as biological factors played a role and held the view

3. Opportunity. Spree killer - is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on 2 or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. Spree killing - killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders. Spree murder - two or more murders committed by an offender/offenders without a cooling off period. Serial murder - two or more murders committed by an offender/offenders with a cooling off period. Mass murderer - are defined by one incident with no distinctive time period between the murders. Thrill killing - a premeditated murder committed by a person who is not necessarily suffering from mental instability and does not derive sexual satisfaction from killing victims or have anything against them and sometimes do not know them but instead motivated by the sheer excitement of the act. Victimology -studies the nature and cause of victimization. Psychology - the scientific study of the human mind and its functions. Psychiatry - the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Ecology - the environment as it relates to living organisms.

that criminals should not be held responsible when factors causing their criminality were beyond their control. 

Sociological positivism - suggest that societal factors such as poverty, membership of subcultures or low levels of education can predispose people to crime.

1. Adolphe Quetelet - made use of data and statistical analysis to gain insight into relationship between crime and sociological factors. He found that age, gender, poverty, education and alcohol consumption were important factors related to crime. 2. Rawson W. Rawson - utilized crime statistics to suggest a linkbetween population density and crime rates with crowded cities creating an environment conducive for crime. 3. Joseph Fletcher and John Glyde - also presented papers to the statistical society of London on their studies of crime and its distribution. 4. Henry Mayhew - used empirical methods and an ethnographic approach to address social questions and poverty. 5. Emile Durkheim - viewed crime as an inevitable aspect of society with uneven distribution of wealth and other differences among people.

Chicago school - arose in the early 20th century, through the work of Robert Park, Ernest Burgess and other urban sociologist at the university of Chicago. Park and Burgess identified five concentric zones that often exist as cities grow,

Demography - the branch of sociology that studies the characteristics of human populations. Epidemiology - the branch of medical science dealing with the transmission and control of disease. Anthropology - the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of humans. Impulse - a sudden strong urge or desire to act. Kleptomania - is an irresistible impulse to steal in the absence of economic motive. Prototype - is a standard or typical example. Pathological - is caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition.

including the zone in transition which was identified as most volatile and subject to disorder. 

Edwin Sutherland - suggested that people learn criminal behavior from older, more experienced criminals that they may associate with. (differential association).

2 Main difference between the classical and positivist schools of criminology Classical school Positivist school 1.Free will 1. Determinism 2. Philosophy 2. Scientific methods De minimis - is an addition to a general harm principle.The general harm principle fails to consider the possibility of other sanctions to prevent harm, and the effectiveness of criminalization as a chosen option. Thanatos - a death wish. Tagging - like labeling, the process whereby an individual is negatively defined by agencies of justice.