Theories are important tools in enabling people understand and explain how society functions. Criminology, enable us appreciate the criminal justice system. Theories inform people on the things they should be aware and what they need to know. They include the breaching and making of the law, crimes and deviant behavior, and also arrangements of criminal activity. Many theories have common features, but differences among them are still in existence.
Classical school of criminology differs from other schools of criminological theories in that, the classical school of criminology based its arguments upon utilitarian notions of free will and choice. They believed that individual commit crime after weighing the advantage and the disadvantage of crime. The choice to commit a crime is sound. Other schools of thought believe that human behaviors are as a result of psychological, biological or social forces that constrain free will (Alexander, 1981). That is positivist school of thought.
A sociological view of the crime is that Terrorists learn crime activities from society members who are more experienced than them. They get training from other terrorist. They get incentive after achieving the set goals. A classical view indicates that terrorists are not irrational actors. They understand the advantage and the disadvantage of crime, and now they can be arrested.
Positivist theory influences biosocial theory in that, positivist envisioned biological and environment interaction. Positivist was using social data to study changes that were taking place in 19thc and in so doing create a field for sociology (Alexander, 1981).
Lombroso’s biological determinism theory was based on Darwin early work on evolution. According to Lombroso physical traits, would determine criminal behavior also known as biological determinism. The Atavist, Lombroso theory, was a throwback from an earlier stage of development. It had ‘’ propensities’’ as well as physical characteristics. Lombroso suggested that certain physical features be frequent with criminals (Ellwood, 1912).
Biological determinism relates to the contemporary biosocial theory. Biosocial theories were referred as biological determinism. Any trait resulted from the interaction of environment and biology. The method used in those studies was primitive. In, today’s standards this has changed since with machine advancement one can study the brain. This has enabled biosocial research to grow rapidly abandoning the ideology of biological theory (Ellwood, 1912).
Crime refers to an act or behavior against the law of the state such as drug trafficking and murder while deviance refers to behavior that is contrary on the norms and values of a society. For example, walking nude, abortion and wiping the nose on the wall (Alkhatter, 2003).
Deviant and crime action relate to domestic terrorism in that they result to violent crimes, destruction of property and threatens the state and government. It also destabilizes the well-being of the society and challenges the acceptable morals.
References
Ellwood, A. (1912). Lombroso’s Theory of Crime: Journal of the America Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology vol. 2No. 5
Alexander, Y. Gleason, J.M (1981). Behavioral and quantitative perspective of terrorism: New York publishers.
Alkhatter, M. (2003). Religion and terrorism: An interfaith perspective: Amazon publishers.
