Early and Classical

Criminological Theories

1

Demonological Theory

A theory based on supernatural explanations• ~ to 18th century• Criminals are the people possessed by demons or damned

by otherworldly forces

Witch Hunt in the middle ages in Europe• A search for witches or evidence of witchcraft• Before 1750 it was legally sanctioned and involving official

witchcraft trials• Who are the “witches” (victims)?• Who are the “witch-hunters” (persons who define witchcraft)?• When and why are they defined as witches?

2

“Witch Hunt”

3

Who are the “witches” (victims)?• Typically more than 50s, poor widow, unmarried single

the weakest group of people in the society

Who are the “witch-hunters” (persons who define witchcraft)?

• Highly-ranked clerics, political leaders…

When and why are they defined as witches?• epidemic, economic crisis, uprising of peasants• Need to clean up the “causes”• Scape goat (for what?)

4

Classical Theory

5

Classic criminology refers to the 18th–century writings of Beccaria and Bentham

• Focusing “deterrence” of crime

Emphasizing free will and rationality of humans

• Contrast with “Witch Hunt” story• Actors with free will are motivated by hedonism

• The main purpose of their life is to maximize pleasure while minimizing pain

• Individuals choose to obey or violate the law by calculation of the risk of pain versus potential pleasure derived from an act

Cause of crimes

• Criminals are the people whose pleasure or thrill of crime outweigh the fear of punishment

• Crime is a purely individual-level choice• Individuals are entirely rational in a decision-making

process where they will attempt to increase pleasure until the anticipated pain appears to outweigh the expected enjoyment

• The decision on crime is dependent upon one’s own experience with criminal punishment and one’s awareness (and knowledge) of the punishment

6

Classical Theory (cont.)

How to deter crime• A legal system that is capricious and uncertain does

not guarantee sufficient grounds of “rational decisions”

• Such a system is not only unjust but also ineffective in controlling crime• To prevent crime, criminal law must provide reasonable

penalties that are applied in a reasonable fashion to encourage citizen to obey rather than violate the law

• Proportionality (“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”)• Celerity• Certainty • Severity

7

Classical Theory (cont.)

Classical Theory (cont.)

8

Importantly, in the age of the classical theory,

• The principles of “new” criminal justice system are proposed

• Punishment should be based on the seriousness of the crime• Punishment should not exceed that which is necessary for

deterrence

• Punishment should be sure, swift, and certain• Laws should be structured so as to prevent crime in the first

place. It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them

• Capital punishment should be abolished

These suggestions were considered very radical at that time (18th century)

Classical Theory (cont.)

9

Do criminal sanctions deter?• Yes (in a sense of absolute deterrence)

• But… Most people conform to the law because they adhere to the same moral values as those embodied in the law, not because they are worried about imprisonment

• So, the important question is, does the actual or perceived threat of formally applied punishment provide a significant deterrent effect beyond the effect of informal control system?

• Maybe yes, but weak• Certainty / Severity / Celerity

Neoclassical Theory

10

Admitting environmental, psychological, and other circumstances as modifying factors for the doctrine of the classical theory

• Becker (1968): “Individuals freely choose crime based on the their estimate of the likelihood of being caught”

• Abandoning the issues of treatment and rehabilitation, and then going back to the punishment model

• Not interested in finding the causes of crimes

Criticisms • Conservative ignorance of criminogenic, social structural

conditions

• Disregard for theoretical approaches to crime causation

Neoclassical Theory (cont.)

11

Rational choice theory• Individuals consider costs and benefits of crimes, but not

purely rational• Offenders know what they are doing• A number of other factors are also involved in the decision of

a crime (e.g., individual traits, attitudes toward crime, social factors)

• Nevertheless, increasing prevention or decreasing the opportunity to commit crime is viewed as an important means of deterring crime

Mixed supports for rational choice theory• Many criminals do not carefully plan their crimes• Many acts are impulsively done

Ecological Theory

12

Ecological Theory (cont.)

13

Guerry and Quetelet (early 19th century)• About 50 year earlier than Lombroso who is often called as the

father of criminology

• Their positivist approach seemed like a coup in the time when medical, psychological models were dominant

Cross-national comparisons in crime statistics

Challenging classical views that individuals exercise free will • Emphasizing impacts of group factors and characteristics• Highlighting the longitudinal consistency in crimes with respect

to age, gender, and economic conditions

Economic Theory

14

Being based on the legacy of Karl Marx

Bonger (1910)

• “Criminal law is primarily protecting the interests of the propertied class”

• Capitalism was viewed as precipitating crime by creating unequal access to the necessities of life

• All groups are prone to crime in capitalist society, but seldom are the crimes of the wealthy punished

• Most crimes would be eliminated in a socialist system