2 Jun 2022

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The Classical and Positivist Schools of Criminology

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Academic level: College

Paper type: Coursework

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The two primary forms of criminology foundation are classical and the positivist schools of criminology. Cesare Beccaria is the person behind the development of the classical school of criminology, where the proposal was to have an eye-for-an-eye form of punishment to those who commit a crime. Cesare Lombroso was the founder of the positivist criminology theory. The main concern is to have a perception of criminology and the science of evolution. The paper focuses on describing the two thoughts about criminology. 

In classical school, the proposal is to have punishment as a way of solving crime. The strategy can only be useful to the deterrents of a crime if the sentence is lenient (Bruni & Porta, 2014). For instance, if an offender has alleged to have taken part in a murder case, the punishment should be a capital offence, such as being sentenced to death. If a thief has stolen goods but did not hurt anyone, then the judgment needs to be tough to prevent people in the future from repeating such criminal acts. The idea presented by the founder of the classical school id top similarly punishes the nobles that the lowest community members would be punished for a similar crime. The praise that the classical school of criminology receives is on its practical aspect of offering justice to the people. 

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In the current world, there are many instances where the first school of crime can be applicable. According to the classical criminology school, some gangs punish their members and rival gangs (Frampton, 2013). For instance, if a rival motor club shot a member from another crew, revenge will be done similarly by killing a member of that gang. There are also the Italian mafias that take part in vengeance as the style for controlling crime. The classical school of criminology theory is still in existence and is being transferred from one generation to the next. 

The positivist school of crime suggests the need for treating crime to fit the criminal. The founder of the theory was a physician, and he realized the presence of the same characteristics in the body of the offenders when he did an autopsy. There is the use of evolutionary biology, in theory, to determine if an individual will commit the life of crime. Equally, women have a much higher propensity to commit crime than men in the same class (Hostettler, 2010). Several physical and emotional traits are cited in the school and being possible causes of crime. Some of the characteristics include heredity, chronic willingness not to abide by society's rule, and people's irresponsible nature. An excellent example of the positivist school of criminology is data piracy. The founder of the theory creates a path for logical discrimination which is a problem for the legislative enforcers and the judiciary. 

In conclusion, classical and positivists are the two primary criminology schools that focus on establishing crime causes. The first theory of crime stipulates the need to have appropriate crime punishment. The idea presented in view is based on revenge, where if an individual commits a crime, the penalty should be worth the crime they have committed. The positivist school of criminology theory stipulates that crime should fit criminals as individuals' biological traits make them commit crimes. There is also racist profiling in the approach where illegal activities are associated with people of a specific community rate. Based on the discussion above, the criminal justice system needs to consider both the classical and positivists school of criminology theory before offering a judgment. 

References 

Bruni, L., & Porta, P. (2014). Cesare Beccaria’s on crimes and punishments. History of Economics Review, 60 (1), 64-74. 

Frampton, W. (2013). The predisposition of positivism: The forgotten foundation of the entrapment doctrine. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 103 (1), 111-146. 

Hostettler, J. (2010). Cesare Beccaria: The genius of ‘on crimes and punishments.’ Waterside Press, Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.exproxy1.apus.edu/lib/apus/reader.action?docID=3416247 Accessed 27 October 2020. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 14). The Classical and Positivist Schools of Criminology.
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