Classical Theory and Its Effects on Criminal Justice Policy Essay

Ever since the first prison opened in the United States in 1790, incarceration has been the center of the nations criminal justice system. Over this 200 year period many creative alternatives to incarceration have been tried, and many at a much lower cost than imprisonment. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s when our criminal justice systems across the country began experiencing a problem with overcrowding of facilities. This problem forced lawmakers to develop new options for sentencing criminal offenders.

Classical Theory proposes that people that brake the law do so with a clear, understanding of the effects of their actions. In response to a criminal's action, society requires that there should be a punishment to fit the crime, and classical theorist helped shape the justice system in the United States (Classical Theories in Criminal Justice. (n.d.). The theory behind the classical theory is that normal people are rational and that their behavior can be controlled.

Criminology is a field that has been researched prolong. Most of the information explaining crime and delinquency is based on facts about crime (Vold, Bernard, & Daly 2002, p.1). The aim of this paper is to describe the theories of crime and punishment according to the positivists Emile Durkheim and Cesare Lombroso, and the classical criminologist Marcese de Beccaria. The theories were developed as a response to the industrialisation and the modernisation of the societies in the 18th and 19th centuries and were aiming to create a rational society and re-establish social solidarity (Vold et al 2002, p.101). The criminological perspectives of crime and punishment will be discussed in a form of dialogue between the three theorists exploring

Beccaria is known for being the founder of the Classical School. He wrote An Essay on Crimes and Punishment that was based on transforming punishment to corrections. He proposed reorientation of criminal laws toward more humanistic goals. On page thirteen of our textbook it shows the four of his newer ideas that were incorporated into the French Code of Criminal Procedures and in the French penal Code.

The U.S. corrections system, a subdivision of the criminal justice system, continues to undergo change. From its beginnings as laws written in stone, the corrections system has sought to punish offenders. The origin of the corrections system dates back several thousand years and has witnessed various perspectives and goals. The best method of administering punishment to these prisoners has remained an issue of dispute for many years. Events through history, such

When it comes to crimes that were committed whether minor or severe, the United States' policies on punishment has always been up for debate. Many individuals believed that certain punishments upon offenders were fair and just, while others believed they were alternative methods to rehabilitate wrongdoers. While I believe criminals should receive some sort of penalty that matches the severity of the crime they committed, I also feel there should be other options offered in the deterrence of criminal activity.

Before the 1700’s religion ruled over crime and punishment deciding what punishment was inflicted for specific crimes. This was known as the spiritualist approach and was favourable in Europe for thousands of years, this included torture and those in charge believed they were “acting in place of god”. Classical school of criminology was opposed to the spiritualistic approach The classical school of punishment was brought around the 18th century (during the enlightenment period) this was adopted by Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) who believed that the Criminal justice system was unsatisfactory in terms of legitimacy. In 1764 Beccaria believed that the way punishment was carried out was “Barbaric” and believed that social order should be based around the law rather than religion. Beccaria stated that deplorable behaviour could be minimised by human nature meaning the distinguished characteristics such as feelings, thinking and acting, tributes to making a person Individual if individuals were rational and weighed out the pros and cons before committing criminal acts they would see that a peaceful society would be beneficial for everyone. Beccaria’s aim was not to justify criminal behaviour he believed that everyone had free will and that they must make a decision based on their hedonistic view of the situation. As Beccaria was writing about crime and punishment he believed that certain punishments

Throughout social sciences there are various opposing theories and perspectives, often based on the same social and criminological phenomenon, with contradictory, contrasting explanations and ‘actualities’. Both the ‘classical’ and ‘positivist’ methodologies within criminological theory have been exceedingly influential in their definition of and attitude to dealing with the concepts of crime and punishment. For centuries, theorists have attempted to approve a new and current approach to criminal punishment, in the hope that we can essentially understand thoroughly, and therefore know how to deal with criminal behaviour in an efficient manner. The two theories in question do of course differ, yet also share resemblances, and both influence

Secondary idea behind punishment is to scare the society to commit crimes and to build a better

Criminology earliest development traces back to the early 1700s, however did not fully bloom until the 1800s when criminal laws were being made and enforced (Altrichter, 2015). With this in mind, the first school to be developed through criminology was the classical school. The classical school was founded upon the thoughts and ideas of Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham (Altrichter, 2015). Cesare Beccaria implicated the idea that a crime is to be punished depending on its severity and rather not the criminal (Altrichter, 2015). Jeremy Bentham contributed to the classical school by stating that through a series of weighing the pleasure and pains of their results, this would increase or decrease the chances that a criminal would create a crime (Altrichter, 2015). The most notable idea that developed through the classical school is that criminals have a free will and can thinking

One of my biggest concerns with this type of approach is the fact that we can possibly start to prioritize what crime to go after, leaving other forms of deviance unaddressed, furthermore not every person weighs what they do on a scale of "pleasure and pain", so in this vein, it might not accurately deter crime in a modern society such as the one we currently live in. It puts the responsibility on the man, on his or her free will to make decisions and will be viewed equally under the law, thus the problem with this is the fact that not everyone is equal under the law, not everyone has the capacity to reason, and being this a fact, people may commit crimes to irrational decisions and the classical theory offers no answer to this. Furthermore, such as people with mental illnesses or children so they cannot be tried in the same manner. I do not believe you can reconcile the classical school and any redeeming factors, while Beccaria's studies laid the groundwork for Criminology as we know it today, it on its own is too simplistic for a complex society.

Legal Punishment Theories: a Pursuit for Justice Our government today must abide to the constitutional writing and, “establish justice.” It is known that under law, only the state has the “right” to administer punishment, but the criminal justice system still remains questionable on what justifies it. Laws are drawn to secure the society from crime, or at least attempt to. Punishing people and the reason behind it can be divided into two different theories which “justify” it: retribution and utilitarianism.

“However, it was Cesare Baccaria, an Italian theorist who in 1764 first suggested linking crime causation to punishments, as his book An Essay On Crimes and Punishments is often credited as the driving force in shaping contemporary thinking and crime corrections.” (Corrections, An Introduction, Richard P. Seiter). Because of his theories, he is notorious for being the founder of what is known as The Classical School of Criminology. Beccaria felt that the use of punishment should be physical work and prevention of not

Cesare Beccaria contributed to the classical theory greatly, and introduced several attributions to the justice system which advanced it immensely. “Views were consistent with Beccaria’s utilitarian beliefs that sought to maximize the public benefit by achieving the greatest amount of good for the most people”. (Newman, Freilich 133 1997; Newman & Margongiu, 1997) The Classical Theory has resulted in positive advancements in the justice system for various reasons. Firstly, it is “forward-looking utilitarian models designed to promote the public good” (Freilich, J., 2014, 138), also, it “embraces scientific principles to achieve their goals and seek to temper harsh punishments of their times” (Freilich, J., 2014, 138). These are beneficial for the justice system because communities independently choose the crime reduction strategy which they are comfortable with, and believe will

Who were the important thinkers of the Classical School of criminology and what was their legacy? One of the important thinkers of the Classical School of criminology was Cesare Beccaria. He lived from 1738-1794, and published his Essays on Crimes and Punishment in 1764. This book was a success and also stirred controversy about the treatment of