What makes a criminal tick? What motivates and drives them into the heinous psychopathic and irrational behavior towards other living things and property? Lombroso proposed a rather insidious theory into the making and identification of a criminal. He argued in his school of thought that there are biological and anthropometric traits associated with deviance and crime propensity in certain people which he described as atavisms. Lombroso continued that peculiarities in stigmata could be a sign of criminal attributes in person such as dropping eyes, wide ears, peculiarly oriented nose, arms longer in relation to the lower limbs among other physical characteristics. Other noticeable traits include hypersensitivity, tattoos, slang and grotesque thought perceiving and expression (Gibson, 2002). Arguably, the featured criminal perspective of Lombroso makes some sense which in critique cannot be empirically proven or verified.
Lombroso stigmata classification has however been faced by the evolution of empiricism and science oriented approaches that have invalidated the claims. Scientists have become proponents of studies and research geared towards establishing the causal roots and modern view of criminals. Science has a more valid and empirically verifiable explanation such as evaluating the tentative anatomy of a crime. Modern day criminologists like Adriane Raine propose that physical attributes cannot be aggregated to explain, predict and control criminals and crime. He claims the criminals have a proper and fully developed frontal lobe which is the key to the organized, well premeditated and carried out crimes like the one experienced in Boston in 2015; therefore, brain dysfunction can be ruled out in the explanation of cause and effect. However, criminals tend to have a relative 18% reduction deficiency in the volume of the posterior cingulate and parts like medial prefrontal cortex. Therefore, when it comes to decision making on whether to do or not do something. They know that something is not morally sound but do not understand nor feel the ramifications and implications of the same (Raine, 2015).
Another modern explanation to the prevailing crime rates among youth is related to disposition in the early life such as substance abuse, corporal punishment, and treatment by parents and guardians. Research on the same indicates that youth that was predisposed to violent environments, substance abuse, and conflicts tend to exhibit homicidal, violent and criminal traits in later years of their life (Santtila & Haapasalo, 1997).
Therefore, it is entirely scientific to assert that there are biological platforms that can be used explain why criminals turn on the rampage and destructive acts. Biological aspects of the brain can, therefore, be applied to empirically study criminals in the modern context. Additionally, predisposition factors can also be implemented biologically in the field of neural science to explain the same.
References
Gibson, M. (2002). Born to crime: Cesare Lombroso and the origins of biological criminology (p. 22). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Raine, R. (Dr. Sanjay Gupta). (2015). The Biological Roots of Crime [Video file]. Retrieved from https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0LEVvcEj5tXmH8A7iEPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTBsa3ZzMnBvBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--?p=raine+anatomy+of+crime+youtube&tnr=21&vid=2ab8dffbfaf03906366e7372d1378310&l=386&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.Va48665d98547ce7f6f7b1e31e796d627%26pid%3D15.1&sigi=12b6sh1or&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ-D2iWjUWiM&sigr=11b6nuaqm&tt=b&tit=The+Biological+Roots+of+Violence&sigt=110enh2kn&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Draine%2Banatomy%2Bof%2Bcrime%2Byoutube%26type%3Dbr110dm33bs01af122852%26hspart%3Dbtbar%26hsimp%3Dyhs-002%26fr%3Dyhs-btbar-002%26ei%3DUTF-8&sigb=14k1mks5g&hspart=btbar&hsimp=yhs-002
Santtila, P., & Haapasalo, J. (1997). Neurological and psychological risk factors among young homicidal, violent, and nonviolent offenders in Finland. Homicide Studies, 1(3), 234-253.
