What is criminology?

Discuss its history, significance and also elaborate the

Lombroso' s contribution as father of Criminology.

History of Criminology

Criminology began in Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s with the classical school of
thought. Thinkers like Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham argued that people commit
crimes out of free will and should be punished in a way that discourages others from doing
the same. They also pushed for a better criminal justice system, which at the time used
cruel methods like torture. The classical school believed in fair punishment without torture.

The neo-classical school came next, adding the idea that people’s actions can sometimes
be irrational or based on circumstances. It recognized that the world isn’t perfect, and
sometimes people make mistakes, like acting in self-defense. Notable figures from this
school include Raymond Saleilles and Gabriel Tarde.

The positivist school introduced the concept of determinism, which suggests that actions
are predetermined, and free will is just an illusion. Positivists believe that everyone is
di/erent, so punishments should be tailored to the individual rather than the crime. They
also believed in the possibility of correcting or rehabilitating criminals, though they felt
some might be beyond help. Cesare Lombroso, known as the father of criminology, was a
key figure in this school.

In the 1920s, the Chicago school, led by Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess, linked
criminology to sociology, showing that crime rates could be influenced by social
environments, especially in certain city areas. Further research by Henry McKay and
Cli/ord Shaw found that crimes were often learned from older criminals.

Modern criminology includes the idea that people commit crimes based on rewards or
motivations. This can be split into two types: instrumental and expressive. Instrumental
motivation means the person has an external reason, like money or gang initiation, for
committing the crime. Expressive motivation means the crime itself is driven by emotions
like anger, jealousy, or fear. Crimes of passion, where someone acts in the heat of the
moment, fall into this category.

Significance of Criminology

Criminology plays a crucial role in shaping public policy and criminal justice practices. By
analyzing the causes and consequences of crime, criminologists provide insights that can
inform prevention strategies and rehabilitation programs. This field helps to identify
systemic issues, such as economic inequality and social injustice, that contribute to
criminal behavior, thus advocating for reforms that address these root causes.Moreover,
criminology contributes to the development of evidence-based practices in law
enforcement and legal systems. By integrating research findings into policy-making,
criminologists can help create more e/ective and equitable responses to crime, ultimately
enhancing public safety and justice. The interdisciplinary nature of criminology allows for a
comprehensive understanding of crime, making it a vital field for addressing contemporary
societal challenges related to criminal behavior.

Role of Lombroso

Lombroso occupies an important place in criminology. He is considered as the father of

the positive school of criminology. Lombroso wan an Italian and served as a doctor in the
Italian field army and as a professor of medical science at Turun University.

Lombroso found Villella interesting, given his extraordinary agility and cynicism as well as
his tendency to boast of his escapades and abilities. After Villella’s death, Lombroso
conducted a post-mortem and discovered that his subject had an indentation at the back
of his skull, which resembled that found in apes. Lombroso concluded from this evidence,
as well as that from other criminals he had studied, that some were born with a propensity
to o/end and were also savage throwbacks to early man. This discovery was the beginning
of Lombroso’s work as a criminal anthropologist.

Believing essentially that criminality was inherited and that criminals could be
identified by physical attributes such as hawk-like noses and bloodshot eyes,
Lombroso was one of the first people in history to use scientific methods to study
crime.

It began in Italy in 1871 with a meeting between a criminal and a scientist. The criminal was
a man named Giuseppe Villella, a notorious Calabrian thief and arsonist. The scientist was
an army doctor called Cesare Lombroso, who had begun his career working in lunatic
asylums and had then become interested in crime and criminals while studying Italian
soldiers. Now he was trying to pinpoint the di/erences between lunatics, criminals and
normal individuals by examining inmates in Italian prisons.

Lombroso occupies an important place in criminology. He is considered as the father of

the positive school of criminology. Lombroso wan an Italian and served as a doctor in the
Italian field army and as a professor of medical science at Turun University.

Lombroso Has mentioned three types of Criminals:

 (a) Born Criminals or atavists

There are some people who are born criminals, the criminality is hereditary in them, and it
is very di/icult to check or prevent criminality in them because they are not a/ected by
circumstances. It is impossible to reform them.

(b) Insane criminals

They have no mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong and to understand
the consequences of the acts. This is the reason that they are not much sensitive to
crimes.

(a) Criminaloid

(is a person who projects a respectable, upright façade, in an attempt to conceal a

criminal personality. This type, first defined by Cesare Lombroso in the later editions of his
1876 work “the Criminal man”.)

Essentially, Lombroso believed that criminality was inherited and that criminals could be
identified by physical defects that confirmed them as being atavistic or savage. A thief,
example, could be identified by his expressive face, manual dexterity, and small, wandering
eyes. Habitual murderers meanwhile had cold, glassy stares, bloodshot eyes and big hawk-
like noses, and rapists had ‘jug ears’.

Lombroso was endlessly curious about crime, criminals and their motivation for o/ending,
as well as their culture. As a result, he collected artifacts created by and belonging to
prisoners that he had encountered during his long career.

Lombroso was one of the first to use scientific methods to study crime, and he inspired
many others to do the same.

Lombroso views on punishment

He was of the view that punishment is very necessary for the safety of society and the
prevention of crime. He was a supporter of death punishment in case of serious crimes.
The first objective of punishment is the security of society and the second is the
reformation of the criminal. Lombroso also said that the su/erers of crime should be
compensated by the criminals.