225-T5A - Historical and Biological Theories of Criminology Flashcards
What was the main source of theories of crim in Pre-18th Century times?
religion & supersition, on the authority of the Church and kings
according to neo-christian teaching, what are the two explanations behing sinful behaviour?
temptation and possession
temptation
the devil tempts, and those who are weak (cannot resist) and are morally inferior
possession
wrongdoers are possessed by evil spirits, and must be rid of via sever or fatal methods
how is crime used as a social tool in the judeo christian teachings? (3)
- silencing rebellions
- diverts failings of elites onto “devil possessions” - no accountability?
- there are indispensable people who can stop the devil
how did pre-18th century punish crimes/sins?
- finding “heretics”
- witch hunts
what phenomenons happend in the victimization of women during the pre-18th century
- mental illnesses became “witchcraft” or “possession by the devil”
- single mothers were ostracized
- women who were sexually assaulted
another name for pre-enlightenment period
pre-18th century
explain these Enlightenment philosophies’ relevant to crime/freedom:
1. the free and rational human
2. the social contract
3. reform movement
- people are free and rational, we should have more rights and freedoms
- social contract: give up freedoms for safer society
- reforming governance and criminal justice
what was the result of the enlightenment’s rigorous scientific, political, and philosophical discouse on crime?
more scientific approaches to udnerstanding crimes and criminal behaviour
T/F: the classical school of criminology is directly related to the social contract
if TRUE, explain why
TRUE: based on fairness
father of classical school theory of crime
Marchese Beccaria
what were the three rules social contract with the state
- give up freedom for a safer society
- state provides security but could not ciolate rights of citizens
- citizens would obey the rules of face punishment
what was the logic behind the reform of classical theorists? what assumptions about people are key in making an effective social contract?
- people broke the law to advance own interests
- people are rational beings who calculate consequences of their actions
therefore, a social contract would allow people to protect their own interests without violating others, and penalties will deter people from breaking the law
which criminology theory was the first to explain crime through deterrence?
classical school
controversies behind deterrence/classical school of thought
- thinking of people as “free and rational human beings”
- penalties may not deter crime for chronic and serious offenders with cognitive deficits
T/F The stronger the punishment, the stronger the deterrence effect
FALSE.
- severity of punishment is not the deterrent, but the swiftness and certainty of punishment
what makes an effective punishment/deterrect?
- effective and fair to the act itself
- sever enough to cost individuals more than what they could gain from crime
- swift and certain
specific reforms of the classical theory of crime (4)
- no harsh punishments (execution) for minor offences
- dealt in public according to law
- laws should be accessible and understandable to all
- lawmakers =/= judges
How do we see the reforms of the classical period in the CJS?
- Equality before the law
- Guarantee of one’s rights
- Establishment of fixed penalties
- Due process safeguards
- Separation of judicial and legislative systems
limitations of the classical school
- equal punishments for teh same crime did not allow for flexibility/consideration of individual offenders’ situations
- judges had no discretion
neoclassical theory is more flexible than classical theory. what three things are taken into account in sentencing a particular individual?
- offender characteristics
- mitigating circumstances
- motive
what is the controversy behind mandatory minimum sentences in US and Canada?
- judges cannot tailor sentence to the circumstances of the offender
statistical school
- use stats to explore social issues
- more structural
what were the methodological and philosophical assumptions of the statistical school of thought?
- positivism
- social conditions as an explanation of people’s behaviour
who was the founder of the positive school?
lombroso, ferri, garofalo
according to lombroso, what were the physical differences between criminals and non-criminals?
stigmata, depending of the type of offence
the more “animal-like”, the more primitive and criminal
T/F. Men have more stigmata than women
TRUE
categories of criminals accroding to Lombroso
- epileptics
- criminally insane
- criminals of passion
- “criminaloids”
limitations of the positivist school
- poorly chosen control groups
- crude stats techniques
- sloppy measurements
- assumption that those in prisons included all criminals and only criminals
how did lombardo find the stigmata?
via observations of prisoners
contributions of the positive school (to 19th-century to modern CJS)
- punishment should fit the crime (depends on the type of criminal)
- born criminals should be incarcerated
CJS
- probation
- indeterminate sentences
- mitigating circumstances
Charles Goring’s contributinos to biological theories of crime in 1903
criminality is not determined by physical characteristics but the (lack of) intelligence)
Ernest Hooton’s contributinos to biological theories of crime in 1930s
- both physical and mental characteristics are inherent to criminality
- “physically, mentally, and morally unfit individuals should be segregated” (on the basis of race)
- eugenics
Eugenics
An ideology based on a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding races of people and groups judged to be inferior and promoting only those judged to be superior.
Who found somatotypes?
william sheldon in 1950s
criminaloids
a person who projects a respectable, upright façade in an attempt to conceal a criminal personality.
what were some examples of somatotypes?
endomorphs (curvy)
mesomorphs (muscular)
ectomorphs (skinny)
according to sheldon’s somatotypes, which body types were more likely to be involved in delinquent or criminal behaviour
mesomorphs (muscular people)
who argued that because prisoners with low IQ or mental ages of 12, people who are disabled and mentally ill should be segregated from the rest of society?
henry goddard
criticisms of eugenics
- cultural bias of IQ tests
- weak evidence supporting theories
recent research methods to find link between individual characteristics and criminality
- chromosomes
- unusual EEG
- other pathologies
