Classical and Neuve Classical Schools of Criminology Study Notes

Crime theories are generally classified into two broader schools: classical and positive.
The classical school emerged around the mid-eighteenth century.
- Key Figures:
- Cesare Beccaria (1764): Published Essay On Crimes and Punishments, outlining fundamental themes of the classical school.
- Jeremy Bentham (1789): Published An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, contributing key ideas to classical criminology.
- Utilitarian Philosophers: Both Beccaria and Bentham were utilitarians, advocating that government policies (judicial and penal) should maximize social benefits (utility).

Good social policies are evaluated based on cost-benefit analysis.
- Example of Capital Punishment:
- Seen as a negative due to causing pain, potential for wrongful executions, etc.
- If it leads to deterrence of murder (a positive), its utility is weighed based on net consequences.
Policies are assessed not on moral grounds but on their utility to society.

Influenced by Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Locke, Hobbes).
Key Theme: Crime results from free will and rational deliberation.
- Individuals rationally evaluate benefits versus penalties associated with crime.

Potential offenders calculate costs/benefits:
- Crime is chosen if perceived benefits exceed possible costs.
- Criminal actions undertaken if offenders assume they will profit.
- Minimizing crime requires convincing offenders that punishment is certain, swift, and severe enough.

Human beings are rational, calculating, and hedonistic, aiming to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
In a state of nature, individuals are afraid of becoming victims, leading to a social contract to ensure mutual protection.
- Hobbesian View: Without restraint, society risks a chaotic state of war among individuals.
- Individuals surrender some freedoms to gain protection offered by a governing body (Leviathan or social contract).

The state's role is to enforce laws with minimal coercion, focusing on overall societal welfare.

Criminal behavior explained by the assumption of rationality in all persons.
Everyone has the potential to offend under the right circumstantial incentives.
Focus on maximizing the expected costs of crime without overstepping and breaching the social contract.

Often referred to as “penal criminology,” it emphasizes principles for legislators concerning criminal justice policies.
- Beccaria's work exemplifies this goal.

Cesare Beccaria: Born in Milan, Italy, in 1738, associated with the Enlightenment movement, authored Essay on Crimes and Punishments.
- Criticized existing penal practices: torture, forced confessions, arbitrary judicial decisions.
- Proposed legal reforms for a more humane, rational, and equitable legal system.

Clear and public laws, limited judicial discretion.
Reduction of the death penalty; all citizens treated equally.
System of punishment should be swift and certain, but just enough to deter crime.

By the late nineteenth century, criminology saw a shift towards the positive school—focused on scientific study and empirical examination of behavior.
- Despite this, interest in classical principles reemerged in the 1960s, termed the new classical school.

Scholars began to expand deterrence theory into broader rational choice theory and routine activity theory.

Core Principle: Criminal punishment must be certain, swift, and proportionately severe.
- Beccaria stated:
- Certainty of Punishment: More critical than severity.
- Swift Punishment: Strengthens association between crime and punishment.
- Severity of Punishment: Must be enough to outweigh the crime's benefits.

Deterrence is founded on rationality and self-interest.
- Individuals calculate potential costs vs. rewards before committing crimes.

General Deterrence: Inhibits potential offenders through fear of punishment.
Specific Deterrence: Inhibits punished individuals from reoffending due to fear of further punishment.
Absolute Deterrence: Complete avoidance of any crime due to fear.
Restrictive Deterrence: Inhibits frequency or seriousness of crimes committed.

Proposed that general and specific deterrence can apply to the same person through personal and vicarious experiences with punishment.

Deterrent effects studied in relation to the certainty, severity, and swift administration of punishments.
- Evidence supports that objective properties of punishment influence crime rates.
- Limitations exist, such as the need for credible threat of punishment before deterrence occurs.

Broadening the definition of deterrence to include informal sanctions (e.g., social pressures, moral costs).
Informal deterrents often inhibit crime more effectively than formal legal threats.

Importantly derived from economics: crime as a decision-making process akin to buying a product.
Understanding of human behavior incorporates bounded rationality, where decisions are not perfectly informed but are subject to constraints.

Focuses on conditions under which crime occurs, appealing to the interaction of suitable targets, motivated offenders, and absence of guardians.
The likelihood of victimization rises with the presence of attractive targets and minimal protection.

Both rational choice and routine activities theories illuminate aspects of crime prevention and the rational considerations behind criminal acts, extending classical criminological thought into contemporary application.