Classical Criminology (Week 4) Flashcards
1
Q
Who influenced classical criminology?
What was its focus?
A
- Classical criminology was influenced by 2 main enlightenment philosophers:
- Cesare Beccaria
- Jeremy Bentham
- Focused on theory of rational choice
2
Q
Theory of Rational Choice
Doli Capax
A
- the theory of rational chouce sees criminal behaviour as the outcome of individual choice and calculation
- criminals are thought to have free will and an understanding of responsibility for their actions
- according to this theory swift and severe punishment should act as a deterrence for committing the crime as well as the “punishment fitting the crime”
doli capax: capacity for understanding
- regulates the age of responsibility
3
Q
Criticisms of rational choice theory
A
- the notion of rationality and individual choice doe snot take into account the fact that much of crime is spontaneous and is often committed by people who do not feel they have much to lose by going to prison
- it is unrealistic to assume that most offenders weigh up the possibilities of their actions in advance based on their conduct and rational calculation
- this is especially true for teenagers, whose brains have been found to be underdeveloped in areas such as impulsivity and reasoning
