Cesare Baccaria

During the early 1700’s people had the belief that crime was the result of supernatural forces, and that people committed crime because of temptations of evil forces like the devil, or possession by a spirit. The theory was challenged by those known as classical criminologists in the late 1700's through the 1800's. Cesare Baccaria was the first classical criminologists, also known as the father of criminology. Renowned for his work emphasizing the theories surrounding the social impact on the legal system (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, p. 27). Classical theorist steered away from spiritualism theory and believed people who committed crimes were in pursuit of their own interest, by attempting to increase their pleasure, and minimize their pain. Classical theory focuses on crime that is caused by natural forces (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, p. 21)
In 1876 Lombroso’s theory of crime challenged the normalization of criminals as being normal, rational people who choose crime in order to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain. Lombroso presented a list of characteristics that he believed "born criminals" exhibited. Some of those characteristics included a large jaw and cheekbones, swollen or protruding lips, an arm span greater than the individual’s height, excessive wrinkling and a prehensile foot. He later added to his theory that born …show more content…
If the cost of committing the crime is low and the reward is high, crime will more than likely to occur according to this theory. Deterrence comes from a swift, and severe, punishments which will discourage people from committing crime (Cullen, Agnew, Wilcox 2014). General deterrence focuses on the prevention of crime by making examples of specific criminals. The individual is not the focus of the attempt at behavioral change, but rather receives punishment in public view in order to deter other individuals from deviance in the