Classicist Approach To Crime

There are different approaches to crime and different theories on how crime can be explained. Each of these theories has a unique perspective on how crime can be explained in individuals, and what causes those individuals to commit a crime, whether it is genetics, choice, or inequality in power, and the theories that adopt these explanations are positivist, classicism and critical perspectives, respectively.

The key principles of the theory of classicism are based upon the concept of the human capacity to reason, and the theory adopts a specific view of human nature, focusing on ‘the relationships between individuals and the state’ (White and Haines, 2008, 22). The classical theory focuses on free will and the individual choices of humans, essentially arguing that humans are thereby responsible for making our own decisions and dealing with any consequences that may occur as a result of these decisions (Hale et al, 2005, 64). A benefit of this approach is that it gives an
These factors mark certain individuals as predetermined to commit crime. Positivism is most closely associated with Cesare Lombroso, who attempted to scientfically prove that people who broke the law were different physically than those who did not, conducting post-mortem studies of both criminals and non-criminals. Lombroso then came to the conclusion that those predestined individuals existed as a form of humans lower on the evolutionary scale and distinct physically and mentally than the average human (Karmin 1974,7). A benefit of this perspective is that there is a belief that if the ‘criminal’ gene can be identified, the logic that follows is that people can be identified as criminal from an early age, and preventative measures can be taken to avoid criminal behaviour.A drawback of the positivist theory is that criminals could use this approach as an excuse for committing a crime and hide behind this defence without definite