Classical Criminology Principles

Classical Criminology

• All persons are equal in their rights and should be treated equally before the law.
• People are motivated by pleasure to commit crimes and to avoid pain.
• People are rational and their behavior is the product of free will.
• The focus of the study of criminology is the crime (act) and the law.
• Crime is a voluntary act committed by persons exercising a deliberate choice.
• Punishment is essential to control/deter criminal behavior.
• Classical criminology provides the origin of the concept of deterrence.
• Punishment must be proportionate to the crime and has to be just and fair.
• The victims of crime are of little or no importance.

Social Milieu School of Thought

• Two approaches: social structure and social process.
• The structural approach focuses on social structure, economic systems, social disparities, family dysfunction, and social disorganization.
• The process approach addresses variations in crime rates across structural conditions.
• It is based on the juridical conception of crime.
• The main focus is on the criminal's social environment.
• Improved social conditions will prevent crime.
• The emphasis is on external factors as causes of crime, and criminals are seen as victims of social conditions over which they have little control.

Positivist Criminology

• Uses the scientific method of the natural sciences.
• Human behavior is a product of social, biological, psychological, or economic forces.
• Rejects free will and rational choice.
• Focuses on determinism.
• Emphasizes the criminal, not the crime.
• Human behavior is determined by biological, psychological, and socioeconomic factors.
• Crime and victimization may be prevented by medical and psychological treatment and improving socioeconomic conditions.
• The purpose of sanctions is to provide treatment and reform.

Critical Criminology (Conflict or Radical Theory)

• Views crime as a product of the capitalist system.
• Rejects the juridical crime concept and traditional causes of crime.
• Sees crime as a rational choice.
• The state is selective and biased, focusing on acts committed by powerless people.
• Economic and political discrimination are seen as causes of crime.
• Lawbreakers are the real victims because they are oppressed by the state.
• Crime could be prevented by empowering the people, repealing unjust laws, and through diversion rather than imprisonment.

Feminist Criminology

• The theory suggests that the lower crime rate for women can be explained by their "second-class" economic and social position.
• The feminist school of thought is concerned with discrimination against women in society.
• Both classic and positivist criminology stereotype female criminals as "sick".
• Feminists question the expectation that victims should prevent crimes against themselves.
• Feminist criminologists point out that neither positivist nor critical criminology explains the low crime rate among women.
• They take both the juridical and non-juridical concepts of crime as their point of departure.
• They focus on discrimination against women in the criminal justice system.
• They point out hidden crimes against women, such as domestic violence and sexual crimes.

Postmodern Criminology

• Focuses on the use of language by those in power to define crime based on their own values and biases.