Classical School Vs Positivist School

One of the biggest debates pertaining to criminology is whether or not people are truly responsible for their criminal actions. Throughout history, criminalists attempt to answer that question in order to find a solution to control crime. There are two dominant thoughts on the subject; the Classical School version and the Positivist School version. The Classical School version is based on the premise that crime is committed through free will and rational thought; leading to the conclusion to do wrong (University of Cincinnati, n.d.). These offenders commit crimes because they believed that benefits from the crime outweighs the fear of the punishment if they are ever caught. In other words, these individuals weigh out the possible costs and …show more content…
One of the earliest solutions was to sterilized people with abnormal physical features and low intelligence to improve humanity and reduce criminal behavior. Another is the deportation or denied entrance to the United States of people who fits the criteria of criminality. By today’s standard, rehabilitation is the primary tool to change criminal behavior since punishment should be based on the circumstances on the crime rather than the crime itself. It focuses helping individuals to identify and resolve their problems that lead them to the life of crime. For example, a drug addict who commits a minor infraction will attend a rehab center to get clean and obtain other …show more content…
Constitution) in the name of someone’s safety and security. Must one person be victimized and stigmatized for the actions of others just because they share the same religion or race? Racial profiling is not only immoral but ineffective and lack of a definitive criteria of spotting a criminal. Regardless of good intention to protect people for danger, all aspects of the racial profiling will eventually lead to racism. This is the main reason why racism existed. Through the perception of one group believing they are superior to another group out of fear, jealousy, or ignorance. It all starts with generalization stereotypes and prejudice. The idea that “these people” are primitive, different or not highly regarded. Once a perception is associated with a group of people, it’s hard to le that perception go. It will develop into a learned behavior for outsiders to act on their ideas of a group. Over time, all outsiders will believe it’s the social norm to teach a group a certain way per “common knowledge” of what that group represent. The problem with stereotypes is that it limits a person to a defined, negative and predictable category that determines their value in society. If you are associated with negative attributes due to your race, then its’ hard for other people to see you as an individual human being. Overall,