In this paper I will discuss a major theory that has helped shape our criminal justice system today and how it came about. There are multiple major theories that made the criminal justice system what it is today, but I will only be discussing one theory and the theory that I will be covering in this paper is the classical school theory. I chose this theory because I believe that people have a choice to decide what they do. That also plays a part in the criminal activities that they participate in as well. I believe that a person can chose to commit a crime if they really want to. Rather a person is surrounded by criminals or the best non-criminals in the world that person can still chose to commit a crime. The person could be raised in a way that they are taught not commit crimes but later in life they may choose to commit a crime.
Beccaria believed in social contract, when one chooses to live in a society, then on chooses to give up some personal liberties in exchange for the safety and comfort of a society. Laws are designed as the condition of a society of free willed and rational individuals. There is a need to have some system set up in order to ensure that the individuals in the society are protected against any individual or groups of individuals that want to violate the personal liberties in the social contract. The justice system would ensure that all individuals in society obey and or follow the social contract.
This paper is on the Classical School theory that emerged in the eighteenth century; Cesare Beccaria. Some of the major ideas that descend from this theory are the concepts of humans as free-willed, rational beings, utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number), civil rights and due...
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...t crimes if you are a big known celebrity and have a lot of money.
Works Cited
Beccaria, C. (1963). On Crimes and Punishments. In C. Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishments. Englewood Cliffs: Trans. Henery Paoluccis.
Carpenter, A. (n.d.). Beccaria, Cesare: Classical School. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from Academica.edu: https://www.academia.edu/235709/Beccaria_Cesare_Classical_School
Cesara Beccaria. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2014, from Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/cesare-beccaria-39630#awesm=~oBUoP77I4gBpZI
III, F. P. (2014, 2010, 2004). Criminological Theory sixth edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Monachesi, E. (1955, Nov.-Dec.). Pioneers in Criminology. IX. Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794). Retrieved April 4, 2014, from The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, Vol. 46, No. 4: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1139709
Hickey, T. J. (2010). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, 9th Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Daly, Kathleen, Goldsmith, Andrew, and Israel, Mark. 2006, Crime and Justice: A guide to criminology, third addition, Thomson, Lawbook Co.
Schmalleger, Frank. Criminology: A Brief Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Prentice Hall., 2011.
Maguire, M., Morgan, R., and Reiner, R. (2012) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 5th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Lilly, Robert J., Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context And Consequences. 5th ed. California: SAGE.
..., Larry J. (2006). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, & Typologies, 9th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-495-00572-X. Print. 25 Feb 2014.
Lilly, J. Robert, Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Williams, F., & McShane, M. (2010). Criminological Theory, (5th Edition). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Morgan, R., Maguire, M. And Reiner, R. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.
Williams, F., & McShane, M. (2010). Criminological Theory, 5th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment.
The Classical School of Criminology generally refers to the work of social contract and utilitarian philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the enlightenment in the 18th century. The contributions of these philosophers regarding punishment still influence modern corrections today. The Classical School of Criminology advocated for better methods of punishment and the reform of criminal behaviour. The belief was that for a criminal justice system to be effective, punishment must be certain, swift and in proportion to the crime committed. The focus was on the crime itself and not the individual criminal (Cullen & Wilcox, 2010). This essay will look at the key principles of the Classical School of Criminology, in particular
Campaigns for individual rights, the American and French revolutions and the increase of industrial production and exchange, changed the way of how crime was seen and defined and with the help of famous and educated philosophers, scientists and writers such as; Beccaria and Bentham , authorities and states started to understand that not all people are criminals, but that criminals make rational decisions and that crimes are committed in order to satisfy an individual’s needs for things like money, power or