Classical Theory And Positivist Theory In The Criminal Justice System

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Recommended: Why is classical theory considered to be the foundation of the American criminal justice system? How has it influenced the way that justice is handed out here

In what ways have classical theory and positivist theory influenced the criminal justice system’
The main goal of this essay is to introduce how classical theory and positivist theory influenced the criminal justice system in the past and actually. These two theories were discovered in XVIII and XIX centuries. The main contributors which represented classical school were Jeremy Bentham and Cesare de Beccaria. Representative who was preaching positive theory was Cesare Lombroso, Raffaele Garofalo or Enrico Ferri. Differences between these theories were slightly dissimilar. Classical theory mentions that humans are intelligent, rational beings who are responsible for their own decisions.
The two members of classical theory disagree with …show more content…

They cannot be related with victim or offender. To stay with fairness accused has right to hire free lawyer.
Theorist go further to explain that to deter and reduce crime, “the severity of the penalties given should be proportionate to the crime committed and no more than what is necessary in order to deter the offender and others from committing further crimes”, (‘Classical’, 2010). Deterrence theory can be traced to the early works of classical philosophers such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. The main three individual components of Deterrence Theory were: certainty, celerity and severity. Philosophers believe that if punishment is severe, certain, and swift, a rational person will measure the gains and losses before engaging in crime and will be aware from breaking the law if the loss is greater than the gain.
These days’ criminal justice policies sometimes are based on the foundations of Deterrence Theory. For example programs such as boots camps for teenage offenders and “scared straight” programs continue to rely on the deterrence theory. Criminologists are working in the direction of expanding the deterrence concepts from certainty, severity, and celerity. Deterrence theory is common used in routine

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