Week Two - Beccaria and Classicism

Question 1

What are the main points from Beccaria’s On Crimes and Punishments (1764)

Answer 1

Criticisms of arbitrary powers of monarchs/aristocrats

Severity of the punishment should be governed by nature of the crime rather than the criminal

Punishment should be that sufficient for deterrence

Question 2

What did Beccaria and Classicism believe about torture and prisons and the Criminal Justice System?

Answer 2

Torture - useless method of investigation

Prisons should be extended and improved

Doctors, psychiatrists and social workers allowed into the Criminal Justice System to identify the impact of biological, psychological and social differences between offenders

As a result sentences became more individualised

Question 3

What does Classical Criminology emphasise?

Answer 3

Classical Criminology emphasises the need to maintain social order within a society