Explaining Crime Non-Sociological and Classical Sociological Theories

Theories in which help to explain either crime and the criminal justice system, helps to explain
the entire Canadian criminal Justice system, help us understand the lens or perspective that has
had major influences in terms of not just understanding crime but understanding why it is that
our system works in the way that it does

Ways to Categorize theories:

Consensus and conflict based
• Consensus Model: assumes high degree of consensus about social norms and values, and
departures mark deviance. There has been assumptions made that everyone agrees on what is
in the criminal code which is why it is written down and followed (how we got our law)

• Conflict Model: society is composed of diverse social groups with different definitions of
right and wrong. Challenge the consensus view of the world. Does not mean that we all agree.
Much more awareness or critically reflecting on the diversity of groups, opinions and impact

Theoretical Theories (Non-Sociological vs. Sociological)

• Emphasis on Individual (Non-Sociological)
• Emphasis on social structure (Sociological)
• Emphasis on social process (Sociological)
• Emphasis on social conflict (Sociological)

**Are criminals made bad or born bad?**

Are the causes in crime and criminality primarily found at the level of the individual or primarily
found in the social environment?

Early Theories of Criminology

• Early theories of criminology (religion and superstition) “force of evil”
• People believed that crime was committed because possessed by the devil and/or god was
punishing them
• Neither religion or superstition are regarded as current ways or realistic ways to look at or
explain crime

Main Disciplines that inform Criminology

• Philosophy (today)
• Biology
• Anthropology
• Psychology
• Law
• Sociology
⁃ Advantages: it has had the benefit of the history of other disciplines that have helped to
inform a sociological theory or analysis of the issues
Context For Classical Theory
• Enlightenment (age of reason): 1600’s - 1700’s Western Europe
• Transition from feudalism to capitalism
• Development and role of the state: “social contract” need for a state that provides us with the
protection against a potential harm that we might endure as individuals living in a state of
nature that is unpredictable, precarious, and dangerous
• Development of common law and civil law: history of how we got our system and how it
works (manga carta)

Thomas Hobbes “State of Nature”

• That the concern of individuals was that without some form of formal state we would not be
properly protected and that we needed to make a deal or trade off between wanting to have
individual freedom and liberty but also wanted protection because without a formal state the
concern would be that we would live in fear.
• Thought this was a rational thing to do

Crime Control vs. Individual Rights

• “State” according to Hobbes was to serve as a protective function means that individuals on the
one hand have rights (Charter of Rights and Freedoms) trade off is that we have these rights
but we agree to give up some of these social rights in return of protection by the state (crime
control)

Section 7 and Section 15 (Specifically)

• Good examples of the establishment of the law that is trying to clarify and be explicit about our
individual rights and liberties
• The state made a social contract that had a history of being a hazard kind of justice, couldn’t
count on, reflected on who you were, who you knew, what kind of power you had
• Section 15 guarantees that the rule of law applies to everyone equally so that everyone is under
the law, our current contemporary system comes from this history and is identified as the
enlightenment or the age of reason
• The role of the state is to preserve the rule of law, guarantees that the rule of law applies to
everyone equally

Classical School
• They are both considered to be the fathers of classical criminology theorizing, utilitarian
philosophers, primarily interested in punishment and both legal and penal reform.
• The state, the legal system and how punishment metered
• Utilitarian principle: “the greatest happiness for the greatest number”
• Punishment would deter people from committing crime
• Crime and deviance could be understood if one examined people as rational calculating actors

Cesare Beccaria: critiqued the existing system when it was very arbitrary. He thought that the
arbitrary nature of judicial decision making was very problematic and it lead to barbaric forms of
punishment
Jeremy Bentham
Contemporary example: both thought that the previous system was not fair, hazardous,
barbaric, resulted in lots of forms of punishment that was terrible

Philosophical Theories
Utilitarian Principle: Greatest happiness for the greatest number
Classical Criminology theory: Free will and rational actors

The 3 R’s of Classical Criminology

• Rights (individual)
• Reason/Rationality
• Rule of law

Solution to Crime?
• Our solution to crime is punishment and specifically deterrence, the solution to the crime
should fit to how we explain crime
• As long as the punishment out ways the benefit of doing the crime than deterrence should work
• General deterrence: used to make sure everyone knows if you do something, this is what will
happen to you
• Specific deterrence: specifically focused on if you do the crime you will do the time
• Deterrence (if costs > benefits) = punishment
• Punishment can deter crime if it is:
⁃ Swift: suggests that the punishment has to come soon after you’ve done the crime (statue of
limitations) time period that has become part of how our system works
⁃ Certain: is the idea of specific deterrence that we will know that if you do a particular
crime you will get a particular punishment (mischief example)
⁃ And proportional to the crime: find the right balance between what you did and what the
punishment is

What are the limitations?

• To what extent does classical criminology theorizing therefore using that theory to solve the
problem and use it as a way for the system to work
• Limitations come from the assumptions that are made about the underlying theory

Classical Theories > current policy

Zero tolerance policies
Determinant sentences

Critique of Classical Theory

1. General principles did not always serve justice = rational actors
2. Equality BEFORE the law masks a world of deep social inequalities (is it fair to hold
everyone accountable for different actions)

Contemporary examples of classical perspectives

• The way punishment works, how we use deterrence (modern legal system) important
legislative statute: Canadian Charter of rights and freedoms
• Mental intent and guilty action minimum mandatory sentences are good examples of swift,
certain, proportional
• Do process and the rule of law is essential
• Context is the most important part about sociology: what was happening at the time, the social,
legal, political, economic context

Positivism
• The application of the scientific method to the study of the human condition and
understand the social world
• Shift to studying social problems was through using natural science principles (significant)
• Science instead of philosophy
• Built on the foundation of classical thinking but crime is explained by examining the
individual differences
• This way was going to give us better data rather than classical

Classicism Positivism

Crime a legal entity (focus) Crime a biological or psychological entity (focus)

Free will (explanation - why people commit crimes) Behaviour is determined (not about free will, you
have no choice)

Punishment as deterrent (solution if crime is Treatment of criminals to protect society

committed)

Biological and Psychological Theories

• Human behaviour is determined NOT by free choice but factors beyond the individuals
control
• People who commit crimes are different, deviant, abnormal
• People who are deviant/criminal are sick
• Theory of natural selection, adapt or die

Biological
• Deviance lies within the abnormal individual “Born bad”
• Chromosomal abnormalities, hormones, brain damage, chemical imbalance, external brain
damage, poor nutrition, drugs, alcohol

Cesare Lombroso
• Atavism: evolutionary throwback, people were born criminals, could be identified by criminal
characteristics using natural science, abnormal,
• Stigmata: physical characteristics
• Thought a criminal was born in a way that his brain had informalities
• Influenced by Charles Darwin
• Studied many Italian prisoners, different physical characteristics called stigmata, the body
could reveal the criminal, never studied women, study the body
• “Female offender” (book) must be even worse than the male offender, if they were to be a
criminal than that means she must be really abnormal, so unlike what her gender characteristics
should be, unique because they acted like men, didn’t act or look like females

Biological theories
Constitutional
• Body type e.g. hooton, Sheldon
• Genetics, inheritance e.g. twin studies, IQ

Body chemistry
• Hormones testosterone
• Serotonin
• Chemical substances e.g. alcohol and drugs, nutrition

Sociobiology
• E.g Biological determinism

William Sheldons Somatology

Influenced by lombroso
Identify criminals by their body types
Thought that certain build were associated with a certain personalities and propensities
Ectomorph (left): thin, fragile, lean, shy
Endomorph (right): round, soft, slower
Mesomorph (middle): muscular body, active, aggressive personality

Biological Theories — Policy

• Solution to crime - threat using medical, chemical or surgical procedures
• Permanent incarceration
• Capital punishment
• Invasive treatment, put away, killed
• Last time Canada used the death penalty 1962

Psychological Theories
• Crime was made not born
• Externally caused biological problems
• Internal produced psychological factors about their personality
• Head injuries, personality disorders

What accounts for individual behaviour

Personality disorders
• Antisocial personality disorder (common)
• Sociopath/psychopath

Psychoanalytic Theory

Social learning Theory

• Modelling (family, peers, media)
• Psychological theory not a sociological theory
• Albert Bandura (1973): modelling - Bobo Doll experiment
• Aggressive behaviour is learned from 3 sources:
⁃ Family
⁃ Subcultural influences such as peers, violence in sports (hockey and baseball)
⁃ Symbolic modelling such as the media, tv, violent video games, violence in sports
(hockey and baseball)
• Common theory to explain behaviour (aggressive)
• Social learning theory does not do a good job at explaining aggression and violence

Solution to Crime
Treatment or Incapacitate
• If you are NOT ABLE to control your actions it may reduce your level of responsibility
• Assess mental capacity to stand trail and to be held responsible for the crime
• M’Naghten Rule 1844

Psychological Theories - Policy

Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act, 2013
• Drug Treatment courts
• Anger treatment courts
• Partner Assault response programs

Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act, 2013 (Prime Minister Harper)

• Explicitly make public safety the paramount consideration in the court and the Review Board
decision -making process relating to accused persons found to be NCR or unfit to stand trail
• Theme: personal freedoms and public safety
• Example: Indeterminate sentence (up to the system)
• Crime control model

Crime Control Model Due Process Model

Goals: Goals:
Deter crime Protect individuals from the powers of the
Protect citizens and the community state
Punish offenders Enhance legal rights

Actions: Actions:
Give criminal justice agencies more legal Limit discretion and control the activities
powers of crown and judges so that all
accused/convicted treated fairly

Model Masculinity
• Men learn this from their family, friends and the media

Implications and Criticism

• Abuses of human rights
• Racism
⁃ Which of those are considered to be an other or not like us within the population
• Genocide
• Social inequalities
• Overly deterministic model of human behaviour
Criminal behaviour has been reduced to a single cause