Classical Criminology

Question 1

Enlightenment

Answer 1

• A philosophical and humanist movement that countered absolutism (one ruler has complete authority over the country)
  -would rather govern through reason and experience rather than religion and superstition
• doctrine of the social contract: believed that the soveirgn must govern in the interest of its people (common good) in order to maintain the individual rights of citizens; state would be restricted and contained by the social contract

Question 2

Beccaria

Answer 2

• Influenced by enlightenment era
• proposed reforms for the criminal legal system because it must be rationally justified
• wanted to justify the right to punish (imprisonment) but only after going to trial because it has to be rationally justified
• was against torture and the death penalty
• believed the certainty of punishment would deter people from committing crime and they would be more inclined to follow the law
• his view on human behaviour was that people have free will but it can be determined by predictable principles

Question 3

Bentham

Answer 3

-Ideas revolved around utilitarianism (the most ethical choices will produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number), pursuit of happiness (how societies thrive)
- the use of punishment to deter crime; criminals will weigh out the potential risks or benefits of their behaviour and make a rational decision
- using positive (rewards) or negative (punishment) reinforcement to deter criminal acts

Balancing crime and punishment
1. Ultimate goal is to deter crime; pain of punishment must outweigh the pleasures obtained by the criminal act
2. Threat of punishment must serve to persuade people to abide by the law
3. If a criminal decides to commit a crime then they must be persuaded to do no more mischief than necessary
4. Crime prevention must be as cheap and efficient as possible (for the governmet)

Panopticon (inspection house)
- prison as a rational and controlled environment ideal for rehabilitation (abolish physical punishment)
- architectural design for prisons to maximize surveillance, discipline and deference through nonphysical ways (power of mind over minci)
-three storied circular building with central tower; tower windows are draped with blinds to create an imbalance of knowledge (prisoners will assume they are always being watched)
- absolute uniformity (all prisoners treated equally no matter what background they have) and every prisoner is in isolation (cannot be influenced by others, individual discipline)
- prisons in central areas of the city as a reminder to the public of what happens when the law is broken

Question 4

Effects of classical criminology

Answer 4

• Making punishment more predictable and certain
• using discipline to construct the subjectivity of criminals in order to create an obedient citizen
• a panopticon-like society would be oversurveilled and cause suspicion and fear within society