Beccaria's Theory Of The Criminal Justice Theory

Register to read the introduction… Beccaria wrote a book, On Crimes and Punishment, which was first published in 1764 (Brown, 2004). Brown (2004) explains of Beccaria’s book, “In his book, Beccaria noted, "For a punishment to attain its end, the evil which it inflicts has only to exceed the advantages derivable from the crime." In other words, punishment should not be excessive; it should fit the crime” (p. 1). The criminal justice system of today was built off the foundation of Beccaria’s book, which outlined what the system should be like (Brown, 2004). Classical thinkers like Beccaria were instrumental in setting in place a system that would hand out punishment as well as establish laws for the people to abide by. Classical theorist believed that punishment that followed the commission of a crime was more just and useful (Brown, 2004, p. 1). This means that if an offender was punished following a crime that he or she committed they would be less likely to commit a criminal act again. Classical theorist believed that swift and just punishment was the key to deterrence. A criminal would think hard before committing a crime because they would have to weigh out the benefit versus the …show more content…
It is not something that can easily be forsaken or turned away from in a single attempt. For this type of criminal there must be an advanced psychological therapy and counseling to help the individual see the root of their issues. They have to have the support and backing from family and friends if they want to be successful in being introduced back into society. For those individuals that are not in the penal system, but are tempted to commit a crime there has to be methods of prevention. There are programs that help youth such as D.A.R.E and mentoring programs that help to steer these youth in the right direction. There has to always be an open outlet that our youth or even older individuals can turn to when they feel tempted to do the unthinkable. If there are more outlets to prevent the nature of crime, the need for crime will decrease as well. There has to be a community effort to keep the rate of crime as low as possible. Rational thinking is something that every individual has at the time of birth, but not all thoughts are rational. This is …show more content…
B. (2004). Contrasting Schools of Thought in Criminology. Retrieved from http://www.sheldensays.com/new_page_5.htm McKean, L., & Ransford, C. (2004). CURRENT STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING RECIDIVISM. Retrieved from http://www.impactresearch.org/documents/recidivismexecutivesummary.pdf Siegel, L. J. (2011). Criminology: The Core (4th ed.). University of Massachusetts, Lowell: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. (2002). Criminological Theory Summaries. Retrieved February 22, 2013, from