Criminology is a study that largely defines the detection and control of crime in a bid to control illegitimate character in the society. The two schools of thought – the classical school and the positivist school – have been an effective tool in the understanding and formulation of crime control strategies that the control of deviant behavior.
Firstly, the classical school, which is an advancement of philosophers Cessare Beccaria and Jeremey Bentham in the 18th century was inclined on the utilitarian philosophy being a contributor to the development of prisons thereafter (Williams III & McShane, 2010, p. 41). The classical school philosophers maintained that severity, swiftness, and certainty in punishment was a deterrence factor that would be effective in combating criminal behavior (ibid, p. 39). They argued that the punishment needed to outweigh the criminal benefits for the punishment to be effective. However, they did not dispute the notion that everyone had the free will to choose a course of action.
Secondly, the positivist school has had its philosophers argue that the cause of deviant character in individual is as a result of factors that are beyond the individual’s control. This has raised concerns on the mode of punishment or accountability for crimes committed (Smart, 2013, p. 82). This got more critical when Lombroso studied the biology of human bones and hairlines and their contribution to criminal activity. He required that the criminals with the biological attributes not be held responsible for the crimes as they were out of their control. As such, criminologists have disputed Lombroso by ascertaining that it is other factors such as education levels, poverty and uncivilized cultures that preposition people to crime. They recovered that demographic factors such as age and gender as well as alcohol consumption could directly be linked to criminal activities. In other cases, it was discovered that crime spread to individuals through association with some societies justifying crime for particular cases (ibid, p. 86). In this respect, the positivism school detailed that crime is inevitable and will exist as long as there are social differences in the society.
Further, according to Siegel (2016), criminology theories maintain that the poverty, economic deprivation, and life goals are the stimuli to criminal activity. They force people to illegitimate means as they pursue sustainable or dream lifestyles. Major milestones in the development of viable criminology theories can be summarized as:
Criminal responsibility and the social functions of punishments by French’ Fauconnet in 1920.
The Association for Scientific Treatment of Criminals that was done in 1931 by British’ Tavistock Clinic.
Crime and Personality as written by British’ Hans in 1964.
Criminology and Postmodernity by Lea in 1993.
Criminology and History by John Lea in 2004.
Policing the Crisis by Emma Dowling in 2013.
References
Siegel, L. J. (2016). Criminology: Theories, patterns and typologies. Cengage Learning.
Smart, C. (2013). Women, Crime and Criminology (Routledge Revivals): A Feminist Critique. Routledge.
Williams III, F. P., & McShane, M. D. (2010). Criminology theory: Selected classic readings. Routledge.
