Criminal Justice System: Classical School Theory

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...

... middle of paper ...

...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