In criminal justice, positivism explains that the causes of
crimes are not motivated by malice, but by social factors that influence human
behavior and cause people to deviate from rational choices. Discover the
features of positivist criminology.
Positivist criminology holds that the motivation for a crime
extends beyond the person who commits the crime. Social conditions, including
external, biological, and psychological factors, influence criminal behavior,
according to positivist criminology theory. The positivist theory of
criminology seeks to comprehend various types of criminals and the underlying
causes of their illegal behavior in order to improve society”its systems and
people”and thus reduce criminal activity holistically.
Cesare Lombroso, an Italian criminologist from the
nineteenth century, pioneered the positivist approach. He rejected the
classical theory (popularized by another Italian theorist, Cesare Beccaria),
which holds that criminals are born or that free will and selfishness can lead
to crime. Lombroso's theories on crime, deviance, and delinquency are linked to
factors beyond the control of a criminal, and understanding those factors and
how to reform them may lead to lower crime rates.
Positivist vs. Classical Criminology: What™s the Difference?
How positivist and classical approaches to criminal law
measure and respond to crime differ. According to Beccaria's classical school
of criminology, human selfishness can lead to crime, and swift punishment will
help deter society from engaging in further 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 constraints that some criminals face, as well as
how those constraints can increase crime. Today, criminal justice systems
frequently combine these two approaches, and their differences, benefits, and
drawbacks are frequently studied in social sciences.
3 Characteristics of Positivist Criminology
Positivist criminologists investigate the sociological
factors that influence criminals. Positivist criminology has the following
characteristics:
1. Positivist criminologists are proponents of reform.
Positivists value reform over punishment because they believe that punishment
will not fix the system that caused the crime and that reform (both within the
individual and within society as a whole) is required to see change and lower
crime rates.
2. Patterns are identified by positivist criminologists.
Positivists study criminal patterns to determine why they occur and whether
there are any variables that link certain crimes, such as age, racial demographic,
income, mental state, or location.
3. Positivist criminologists study criminal
backgrounds. Many factors influence the commission of a crime, according to
positivist criminologists. Investigating a person's life and experiences can
assist judicial systems in learning how to better treat the convicted.
Examples of Positivist Criminology
Positivist criminology is applicable in a wide range of
situations. Those who are short on resources, for example, may be more likely
to steal food because they require it to survive but cannot afford meals.
Positivist criminology examines these social conditions and advocates for
reform rather than outright punishment.
Similarly, a person in poor mental health may commit a crime
in order to demonstrate the need for psychological treatment. In these cases,
reform rather than punishment can reduce the likelihood of the same person
committing the same crime again.
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