The classical school of criminology reformed how courts
administer punishments, developing a code of ethics to ensure that those who
commit crimes receive a fair trial and the appropriate punishment. Discover the
classical school of criminology.
What Is the Classical School of Criminology?
The classical school of criminology, which emerged during
the eighteenth-century Enlightenment movement, brought together theorists who
believed that reason was a missing but necessary component of existing criminal
justice systems. Criminologists consider Cesare Beccaria, an Italian
philosopher and criminologist, to be the founder of this school of thought. His
thoughts on crime and punishment have had a long-lasting influence on due
process and modern legal systems.
Humans enter a social contract with free will and act in
self-interest, according to Beccaria's criminology theory. Humans also
understand that a peaceful society free of criminal activity is in their best
interests. Beccaria's approach to criminal law emphasizes that deterrents to
criminal behavior in the eighteenth century were ambiguous, and that capital
punishments in judicial systems tended to be cruel and unfair. He believed that
reforming these systems could lead to greater crime prevention. Beccaria's
contemporary in England, Jeremy Bentham, was a social reformer and contributor
to the classical school of criminology. Bentham advocated for welfare, the
separation of church and state in criminology, the abolition of slavery, the
death penalty, and the concept of "natural law," or the belief that
jurisdiction power is "God-given."
What Is the Difference Between Positivist and Classical Criminology?
How positivist and classical approaches to criminal law
measure and respond to crime differ. According to Cesare Beccaria, a
philosopher and criminologist, human selfishness can lead to crime, and swift
punishment will help deter society from continuing illegal activity. The theory
also holds that fair trials are required to maintain a person's humanity, and
that penalties should be proportionate to the crime.
The positivist school of criminology focuses on the person
rather than the crime, analyzing the motivation behind the action. Positivists
will investigate the social barriers that some people face and how those
constraints can lead to an increase in crime. Today, criminal justice systems
frequently combine these two approaches, and their differences, benefits, and
drawbacks are frequently studied in social sciences.
3 Principles of the Classical School of Criminology
Classical criminology principles include the following:
1. A clear system of justice: Individual judges
frequently impose their own punishments, resulting in a variable system. People
would know the exact sentence for a crime if there were clear guidelines and a
cohesive criminal justice system.
2. Fair and equal treatment: Mild criminal activity
frequently results in severe punishment, such as the death penalty. This traditional
school of thought considers human rights and advocates for sentences that are
proportionate to the severity of the crime.
3. Swift punishment: According to Beccaria's crime study,
admonishing swift punishment showed definitive consequences to illegal
activity, which would lower crime rates. Prolonged trials would highlight the
gray areas of an ambiguous system and demonstrate to those who might commit
crimes that punishment does not always directly follow a crime.
Implications of the Classical School of Criminology
Some important implications of this classical school of
thought are that judges act consistently and fairly, that swift punishment
deters wrongdoing, and that people want to live in a crime-free society.
Enlightenment criminologists observed that patterns of discipline varied
greatly from court to court and that many rulings did not correspond to the
severity of the crime. These theorists argue that their way of thinking will
deter crime by informing people about the consequences of crimes through a
unified set of rules.
These implications pervade modern criminal justice systems
as well as sociological theories. For example, the Sixth Amendment to the
United States Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial. Nonetheless,
the degree of fairness is still subjective to individual courts and laws, which
can have an impact on the classicists' pure intentions. Another implication is
that punishment is always a reaction to a crime, which some modern criminal
justice reform advocates question.
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