Biological Approach To Offending (historical Approachl

Question 1

What’s the historical approach to offending?

Answer 1

-in 1876, Lombroso described criminals are ‘genetic throwbacks’ a primitive sub-species who were biologically different from non-criminals
-Lombroso saw offenders as lacking evolutionary development and their savage nature meant they would find it impossible to adjust to the demands of civilised society and would inevitably turn to crime.

Question 2

The Atavistic form

Answer 2

-Lombroso argues offenders are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics. These include : narrow sloping brow, strong prominent jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymmetry, dark skin, extra toes nipples or fingers, unemployed, insensitive to pain, projecting ears, curly hair.

Although this theory is viewed as speculative and naive by today’s standards Lombroso is credited for making criminology more rigorous and scientific. His ideas may have laid the foundation for modern profiling offender.

Question 3

Lombroso study

Answer 3

-examined facial and cranial features of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living ones.

• 40% criminal acts are accounted for by people with atavistic characteristics. It led to Lombroso proposing that the atavistic form was associated with a number of physical anomalies which were key indicators of criminality,

-only Italian criminals , only facial and cranial, support, could we use in court?

Question 4

Goring study

Answer 4

-compared 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals to establish whether there were physical or mental abnormalities among the criminal ‘classes’

-no evidence that there was no ev that offenders are a distinct group with unusual facial and cranial characteristics. Although he did suggest that many people who commit crimes have a lower that average intelligence.

-doesn’t provide support for atavistic form, how we treat and see criminals, big sample size, control groups.