1. What do criminologists do? What is the criminological enterprise?
Criminologists are professionals who analyze data intending to search for patterns, investigating what causes crime, identifying individuals who are likely to commit a crime and determining the best way to avert crime in the future. Once the patterns have been found, they are used by law enforcement officers to envisage and prevent criminal behaviours. Policymakers can also use the models to ensure that the laws passed are fair and logical. Criminological enterprise on the other hand involves particular sub-areas like criminal statistics, theoretical constructions, penal behaviour systems, penology, victimology, and the sociology of criminal law.
2. What are some of the principles of classical school? Also, which philosophers are considered the founders of the classical school?
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The classical school in criminology refers to the school of thought in criminal theory that can be traced back to the 18 th century. It is associated with utilitarian, and social construct philosophers called Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria. Those scholars were concerned about the legal protection of the rights of society and individuals. Therefore, their philosophy is considered part of the classical school. The principles of the “classical school” form part of the foundations on which modern criminal justice policies are grounded. The principles include human being have a free will and act rationally, human beings have particular inherent rights, and there is a social contract between the state and citizens. Notably, the classical school of thought is anchored on the idea that human beings have free will in making decisions and penalty can be a deterrent to crime only if the punishment is rational, fits the crime and it is done in time.
3. Explain the five major psychological disorders that are found in the criminal justice system.
In the criminal justice system, there are particular psychological disorders. They include the following disorders schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder or manic depression. Those mental disorders were discovered through large-scale epidemiological studies that employed DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Schizophrenia is diagnosed among one to two per cent of the general population in the U.S.
4. Which scientists and their theories make up the foundation of biological trait theories?
Lombroso Cesare is the scientists who used positivism theory as a foundation for the biological trait theories. Positivism involves the use of scientific methods to solve problems. Lombroso used scientific methods to determine whether the law offenders were physically different from people of usual values. He believed that serious criminals have inherited criminal traits and have inherited physical problems that drive them into the life of crime. Thus, according to the positivist paradigm, behaviours, including the offending law behaviours, are determined by factors that are beyond individual control.
