lOMoARcPSD|14985576
Theories of Crime and Delinquency (chapters 6-7)
Two Major Types of Theories of Crime
• Kinds of people theories
– “What makes a person turn to crime" or "why did Billy kill his mother"
– Involves motives, situational factors, subjective feelings, etc.
• Kinds of environment theories
– “Why is crime higher in the inner cities?" or “Why does the US have a much
higher rate of crime than other nations?” or “Why is the highest rate of
violence in the Southern states?”
– Explaining rates more often takes into consideration factors external to the
individual actor
• These two types focus, in other words, on the question of individual motivation and
crime rates, respectively
• The key point here is that we develop theories in order to explain something; we are
not excusing it
Classical School of Criminology
• The classical school of thought about crime and criminal justice emerged during the late
eighteenth century with the work of an Italian named Cesare Beccaria and an Englishman
named Jeremy Bentham.
• Classical thinking derives its core ideas from a period known as the Enlightenment,
first emerging in France during the early eighteenth century.
Underlying Principles of the Classical School
• humans have free will and are hedonistic
– They try to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
• The main instrument of the control of human behavior is fear, especially fear of pain.
– Punishment, as a principal method of operating to create fear, is seen as
necessary to influence human will and thus to control behavior.
• Some code of criminal law, or some system of punishment is necessary to respond to
crime
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
• The main purpose of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime through
deterrence.
– A potential criminal will decide against committing a crime because the
punishment would be too costly.
Classical School Summary
• six principles underlie the Classical approach to crime:
– all people are by their nature self-seeking and therefore liable to commit
crime;
– in order to live in harmony and avoid a "war of all against all" people agree
to give up certain freedoms in order to be protected by a strong central state;
– punishment is necessary to deter crime and the state has the prerogative to
administer it;
– punishment should fit the crime and not be used to rehabilitate the offender;
– use of the law should be limited and due process rights should be observed;
– each individual is responsible for his or her actions and thus mitigating
circumstances or excuses are inadmissible
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) & Utilitarianism
• On Crimes and Punishment (1764) had a profound influence as many countries
(including the US) modeled their systems after his work.
• the major principle that should govern legislation was "the greatest happiness for the
greatest numbers"
– This philosophical doctrine is known as utilitarianism, the idea that
punishment ought to be based on its usefulness or utility or practicality.
• "For a punishment to attain its end, the evil which it inflicts has only to exceed the
advantages derivable from the crime."
– In other words, punishment should fit the crime.
Beccaria’s Basic Thesis
• “In order for punishment not to be, in every instance, an act of violence of one or of
many against a private citizen, it must be essentially public, prompt, necessary, the least
possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crimes, dictated by the laws.”
• Punishment should be "swift and certain“
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
• The purpose of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime through deterrence.
– According to this line of thinking, a potential criminal will decide against
committing a crime because the punishment would be too costly.
Rational Choice Theory
• routine activities theory
– Criminals plan very carefully by selecting specific targets based on such
things as vulnerability (e.g., elderly citizens, unguarded premises, lack of
police presence) and commit their crimes accordingly.
– Thus people who engage in certain “routine activities” during the course of
their daily lives place themselves at risk of being victimized
One flaw in this view is that there is an assumption that people should stay home
more often to avoid being a victim when in fact certain groups (especially women and
children) seem to be much more vulnerable at home than anywhere else
See comment by Klein on p. 187 about “Operation Hammer” that illustrates some
problems with deterrence
Availability of alternative choices
o A good analogy is that of a “menu” at a restaurant.
o Some have better “menus” than others
Cause & Effect
• Free will – does such a thing exist?
• Everything has a cause – the world would not exist without causes
• People often fail to examine causes when it comes to crime
– Police seek causes of a homicide all the time
– See discussion of “Dr Laura” on p. 188
The Crime Control and Due Process Models
• The classical school of thought has generally led to two contrasting models of the
criminal justice system
Theories of Crime and Delinquency (chapters 6-7)
Two Major Types of Theories of Crime
• Kinds of people theories
– “What makes a person turn to crime" or "why did Billy kill his mother"
– Involves motives, situational factors, subjective feelings, etc.
• Kinds of environment theories
– “Why is crime higher in the inner cities?" or “Why does the US have a much
higher rate of crime than other nations?” or “Why is the highest rate of
violence in the Southern states?”
– Explaining rates more often takes into consideration factors external to the
individual actor
• These two types focus, in other words, on the question of individual motivation and
crime rates, respectively
• The key point here is that we develop theories in order to explain something; we are
not excusing it
Classical School of Criminology
• The classical school of thought about crime and criminal justice emerged during the late
eighteenth century with the work of an Italian named Cesare Beccaria and an Englishman
named Jeremy Bentham.
• Classical thinking derives its core ideas from a period known as the Enlightenment,
first emerging in France during the early eighteenth century.
Underlying Principles of the Classical School
• humans have free will and are hedonistic
– They try to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
• The main instrument of the control of human behavior is fear, especially fear of pain.
– Punishment, as a principal method of operating to create fear, is seen as
necessary to influence human will and thus to control behavior.
• Some code of criminal law, or some system of punishment is necessary to respond to
crime
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
• The main purpose of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime through
deterrence.
– A potential criminal will decide against committing a crime because the
punishment would be too costly.
Classical School Summary
• six principles underlie the Classical approach to crime:
– all people are by their nature self-seeking and therefore liable to commit
crime;
– in order to live in harmony and avoid a "war of all against all" people agree
to give up certain freedoms in order to be protected by a strong central state;
– punishment is necessary to deter crime and the state has the prerogative to
administer it;
– punishment should fit the crime and not be used to rehabilitate the offender;
– use of the law should be limited and due process rights should be observed;
– each individual is responsible for his or her actions and thus mitigating
circumstances or excuses are inadmissible
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) & Utilitarianism
• On Crimes and Punishment (1764) had a profound influence as many countries
(including the US) modeled their systems after his work.
• the major principle that should govern legislation was "the greatest happiness for the
greatest numbers"
– This philosophical doctrine is known as utilitarianism, the idea that
punishment ought to be based on its usefulness or utility or practicality.
• "For a punishment to attain its end, the evil which it inflicts has only to exceed the
advantages derivable from the crime."
– In other words, punishment should fit the crime.
Beccaria’s Basic Thesis
• “In order for punishment not to be, in every instance, an act of violence of one or of
many against a private citizen, it must be essentially public, prompt, necessary, the least
possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crimes, dictated by the laws.”
• Punishment should be "swift and certain“
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
• The purpose of the criminal justice system is to prevent crime through deterrence.
– According to this line of thinking, a potential criminal will decide against
committing a crime because the punishment would be too costly.
Rational Choice Theory
• routine activities theory
– Criminals plan very carefully by selecting specific targets based on such
things as vulnerability (e.g., elderly citizens, unguarded premises, lack of
police presence) and commit their crimes accordingly.
– Thus people who engage in certain “routine activities” during the course of
their daily lives place themselves at risk of being victimized
One flaw in this view is that there is an assumption that people should stay home
more often to avoid being a victim when in fact certain groups (especially women and
children) seem to be much more vulnerable at home than anywhere else
See comment by Klein on p. 187 about “Operation Hammer” that illustrates some
problems with deterrence
Availability of alternative choices
o A good analogy is that of a “menu” at a restaurant.
o Some have better “menus” than others
Cause & Effect
• Free will – does such a thing exist?
• Everything has a cause – the world would not exist without causes
• People often fail to examine causes when it comes to crime
– Police seek causes of a homicide all the time
– See discussion of “Dr Laura” on p. 188
The Crime Control and Due Process Models
• The classical school of thought has generally led to two contrasting models of the
criminal justice system
