Crime Theories

Criminological Theories

Before one can understand criminological theories one should first know what criminology and theories are. Criminology, according to Edwin H. Sutherland, one of the modern founding scholars of American criminology, is the body of knowledge that notices crime as a social phenomenon. It includes the processes of making laws, breaking laws, and the reacting toward the breaking of laws.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a theory is an analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another. In general, a theory is an explanation that has not yet been proved.

In summary, criminological theory is the study of various explanations for criminal behavior.

Among the eight categories of criminological theory, I will discuss and contrast the classical and biological theories as well as the theories of free will and atavism.

Classical Theory of Crime

The classical theory is based upon the logic of free will and rational choice. This theory is a rudimentary model to follow when applying it to the role of individual responsibility. This theory states that the “person is aware of their actions and is aware of their choice to commit crime” (C. Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishments). In classical theory, human behavior as well as criminal behavior is motivated by the pleasure seeking rationality, in which criminals weigh the potential pleasure of an action against the possible pain associated with it. It is thought that the prevention method in this theory is to provide hasty and certain punishment to offenders.

Biological Theory of Crime

One of the first modern biological theories of crime was that of Italian army doctor Cesare Lombroso (1876). Lombroso held that many criminals had been born with atavistic features. Criminals had definite biological failings that inhibited them from evolving to a fully human level. They showed certain ape-like characteristics or sometimes just savage features. Such “physical anomalies...