Explorinig crime and criminological theroy.

10. Classical theory “ A product of the Enlightenment, based on the assumption that people exercise free will and are thus completely responsible for their actions. In classical theory, human behavior, including criminal behavior, is motivated by a hedonistic rationality, in which actors weigh the potential pleasure of an action against the possible pain associated with it.”

11. Classical Theory “ In 1764, criminologist Cesare Beccaria wrote An Essay on Crimes and Punishments , which set forth classical criminological theory. He argued that the only justified rationale for laws and punishments was the principle of utility .”

12. Utility The principle that a policy should provide “the greatest happiness shared by the greatest number.”

13. Classical Theory “ Beccaria believed the basis of society, as well as the origin of punishments and the right to punish, is the social contract.” “ The only legitimate purpose of punishment is special deterrence and general deterrence .”

14. Neoclassical Theory What might prevent free will? What about premeditation?

15. Neoclassical Theory Classical and neoclassical theory are the foundation of the criminal justice system in the United States.

17. Positivist Approaches to Explaining Crime “ The theory of the positivist school of criminology grew out of positive philosophy and the logic and methodology of experimental science.”

19. Positivist Approaches At present, criminologist tend to believe crime is a result of a “complex interactions” of different variables.

20. As an example “ Biology or genetics gives an individual a predisposition to behave in a certain way.” External conditions (social, etc.) cause a person to act in or against that predisposition

22. Biological Theories “ Biological theories of crime causation (biological positivism) are based on the belief that criminals are physiologically different from noncriminals. The cause of crime is biological inferiority.”

24. Intelligence and Crime Prior to 1931, “The idea that crime is the product primarily of people of low intelligence has been popular occasionally in the United States.”

25. Psychoanalytic Theories “ Psychoanalytic theories of crime causation are associated with the work of Sigmund Freud who believed that people who had unresolved deep-seated problems were psychopaths.”

26. Sociological Theories “ Most sociological theories of crime causation assume that a criminal’s behavior is determined by his or her social environment and reject the notion of the born criminal.”

27. Chicago School “ In the 1920s, a group of sociologists known as the Chicago School attempted to uncover the relationship between a neighborhood’s crime rate and the characteristics of the neighborhood.”

28. Chicago School High delinquency correlated to high disorganization

29. Anomie or Strain Theory “ Robert Merton in 1938 wrote about a major contradiction in the U.S. between cultural goals and social structure. He called the contradiction anomie.”

30. Strain “ the contradiction between the cultural goal of achieving wealth and the social structure’s inability to provide legitimate institutional means for achieving the goal.”

32. Learning Theories “ Edwin H. Sutherland—in his theory of differential association —was the first 20th-century criminologist to argue that criminal behavior was learned.”

35. Social Control Theories Why don’t people commit crime?

36. Social Control Theories “ The most detailed elaboration of modern social control theory is attributed to Travis Hirschi who wrote the 1969 book, Causes of Delinquency .”

38. Labeling Theory “ once a person commits a first criminal act and gets processed in the system, they are labeled negatively as a criminal.”

39. Conflict Theory “ Conflict theory focuses on the conflict in society between rich and poor, management and labor, whites and minorities.”

40. Radical Theory “ capitalism requires people to compete against each other in the pursuit of material wealth.”

46. Criminal Justice Policy Exploring Crime Discover Forensic Science at www.forensicprofiles.com