ATS1281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham, Netflix
8 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
UNDERSTANDING CRIME: LECTURE 2
Classical Criminology
Essay
Selet oe of the riiologial perspeties e studied this seester ad ealuate
hether it is useful for uderstadig the prole of outh rie i Vitoria. Cosider
what other theoretical perspectives might help to address its limitations and use evidence
ad speifi eaples to support our aalsis
Deadline: Friday 4th May 2018 (11:55pm; Week 9)
Length: 1800 words +/- 10%
% of Final Mark: 30%
Some of the Criminological theories/perspectives we will look at this semester
• Theories associated with classical criminology (eg. Rational choice theory)
• Theories associated with biological/psychological positivism
• Social disorganisation theory
• Strain theories
• Social learning theories
• Control theories
• Labelling
• Theories that focus on masculinity
• Structural theories
What is Classical Criminology?
• The foundations of modern criminology and criminal justice influenced by two
schools of thought
• Classicism (1500s – 1700s)
• Classical criminology focuses on the act, not the actor
• Focuses on the crime, not the criminal
• Intrinsic value of the individuals
• Equality coming before the law – equality between wealthy white
land owners (at the time) strong emphasis on the protection of
private property – riiologial ideas historiall haet ee
applied to everyone
• Democracy returning – not particularly relevant in the medieval age
• Positivism (1800s onwards) – Week 3
• Positivist criminology focuses on the actor, not the act.
• Whe soeoe oits a offee, the ade a osious hoie to do so
• Classial riiolog doest are aout h a rie as oitted
• Classical criminology recognises that everyone is a potential criminal so why
focus on the criminal, anyone would do it if the perceived benefits
outweighed the risks.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Essay (cid:858)sele(cid:272)t o(cid:374)e of the (cid:272)ri(cid:373)i(cid:374)ologi(cid:272)al perspe(cid:272)ti(cid:448)es (cid:449)e studied this se(cid:373)ester a(cid:374)d e(cid:448)aluate (cid:449)hether it is useful for u(cid:374)dersta(cid:374)di(cid:374)g the (cid:858)pro(cid:271)le(cid:373)(cid:859) of (cid:455)outh (cid:272)ri(cid:373)e i(cid:374) vi(cid:272)toria. Co(cid:374)sider what other theoretical perspectives might help to address its limitations and use evidence a(cid:374)d spe(cid:272)ifi(cid:272) e(cid:454)a(cid:373)ples to support (cid:455)our a(cid:374)al(cid:455)sis(cid:859) Deadline: friday 4th may 2018 (11:55pm; week 9) Jeremy bentham wanted to make punishment more effective in his era punishment was public and harsh but was inconsistent and was focused on socioeconomic status. Cesare beccaria (1738-1794: key text: on crimes and punishment (1764) Jeremy bentham (1748-1832: key text: principles of morals and legislation (1781, panopticon (1791) Classical model of criminal justice: legislature should define crimes and punishment, the role of judge is to determine guilt (without discretion) Rational choice theorists recommend criminal justice agencies do two main things to decrease crime: change situations to increase the perceived efforts and risks, reduce the perceived benefits to offenders.
