Criminology is a certain study of crime based on the social-scientific approach and is both regarded as an individual and wide social phenomenon. Criminological research fields include such issues as: the incidence of crime, its forms, causes and consequences of crime. Governmental and social regulations, certain reactions to crime are also included here.
Criminology is actually an interdisciplinary sphere in the sciences that regard behavior. It is usually drawing up by the research of such scientists as: sociologists and psychologists; it is also drawing up by writings in law. Quantitative methods in the criminology play a great role in data analysis. Deflem wrote in his book: “In 1885, Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo coined the term “criminology” (in Italian, criminologia). The French anthropologist Paul Topinard used it for the first time in French (criminologie) around the same time”(Deflem, p. 279, 2006).
Following these I suggest reviewing Positivist school of “Schools of thought”, which is listed in the Larry J. Siegel’s “Criminology – The Core”, and is development.
The Positivist School argues that the criminal behavior itself is always caused by some factors: internal and external which are mainly outside of the control of the certain individual. The scientific method was represented and applied in order to study behavior of the human being. According to Larry J. Siegel Positivism can be divided into three main segments which are named: biological positivism, psychological positivism and social positivism.
Siegel states that: “Cesare Lombroso, an Italian prison doctor working in the late 19th century and sometimes regarded as the “father” of criminology, was one of the largest contributors to biological positivism and founder of the Italian school of criminology” (Siegel, p. 7, 2003). I accordance with McLennan: “Lombroso took a scientific approach, insisting on empirical evidence, for studying crime” (McLennan, p. 311, 1980). He actually suggested that certain physiological traits such as the measurements of somebody’s cheek bones or even hairline, or maybe a cleft palate, used to be considered as throwbacks to man of the Neanderthal period, were pointing out of well known “atavistic” tendencies in the criminal sphere.
This approach was actually influenced by the earlier represented theory of the phrenology and also by Charles Darwin’s evolution theory. However, this approach has been replaced. A well known student of Cesare Lombroso – Enrico Ferri argued that both factors: social and biological ones played a role. Ferri stated that criminals should not be regarded as responsible ones for those factors which were causing their criminality but were actually beyond their own control. Larry J. Siegel states that: “Criminologists have since rejected Lombroso’s biological theories, with control groups not used in his studies” (Siegel, p. 139, 2003).
Then we may speak of Alexandre Lacassagne and his own school of thought. He actually rejected Lombroso’s “criminal type” and “born criminals”, and outlined the significance of social factors. Key positions of his theory were opposite to social determinism of Durkheim, but still Alexandre Lacassagne did not turn down certain biological factors. Renneville said about these: “Indeed, Lacassagne created an original synthesis of both tendencies, influenced by positivism, phrenology and hygienism, which alleged a direct influence of the social environment on the brain and compared the social itself to a brain, upholding an organicist position” (Renneville, p. 56, 2005).
Emile Durkheim regarded the act of the crime as an inescapable aspect of human society, with its uneven allocation of wealth and some other obvious distinctions among people.
We made a comparison analysis in the Positivist school of “Schools of thought” with a view to Larry J. Siegel’s “Criminology – The Core” and other theorist’s points of view.
References
Deflem. M. (2006). Sociological Theory and Criminological Research: Views from Europe and the United States. Elsevier: Praeger Publishers.
McLennan. G. (1980). Crime and Society: Readings in History and Theory. Routledge: Routledge Press.
Renneville. M. (2005). La criminologie perdue d’Alexandre Lacassagne (1843-1924), Criminocorpus. Paris: Centre Alexandre Koyré.
Siegel. L. J. (2003). Criminology -The Core. New York: Pocket Books.