THEORY OF CRIME PREVENTION
The difference between the classical school of criminal and the positivist school of criminal
The two basic schools of criminology foundations are different in several ways. The classical theory was established by Cesare Baccaria, an eye for an eye design of punishing crimes. The positivist theory was established by Casare Lombosoro and it focused on visual criminology and biology of revolution. The classical theory suggested that administered punishment should befit the crime. On the other hand, the positivist theory proposed that punishment befit the criminal. The classical theory of criminology argues that for a punishment to be effective at crime, it should be lenient. On the other hand, the positivist theory applied evolutionary biology to foretell an individual’s reaction to a life of crime (Walsh & Jorgensen C, 2018).
Classical theory and society’s law
Society’s laws subscribe to the classical theory of criminology and not the positive theory of criminology. The classical theory of criminology is upheld by society’s laws because it promotes logical justice. The classical theory that punishment should befit the crime committed. As the classical theory suggests, the punishment should be humane and lenient. For example, a criminal who is charged with murder, then capital punishment/ death penalty befits the criminal. In another instance, a criminal who is found guilty of stealing an expensive Rolex watch from a supermarket without hurting any security guards, then the punishment subjected to the thief should be lenient but effective to discourage thefts in the future (Walsh & Jorgensen C, 2018).
The classical theory lives with us and well-practised in society. The classical theory of criminology supports the concept of an eye for an eye which is an act of fairness and justice. For example, gangs revenge by punishing the members of the gang as well as opposing gangs which is in line with the classical theory by Cerare Beccaria. In the example above, the individuals punished suffer the consequences of their actions, that is, the punishing individuals employ the classical theory of criminology through revenge (Walsh & Jorgensen C, 2018).
Teens charged with murder in Frederick, Maryland
A boy, Richard Cartnail, and a girl, Caliyah Lobaugh aged 16 and 14 respectively were charged with murder crime and conspiracy in the death of a 17-year-old Tykerria Dawson of Hagerstown, who was found murdered in the Farmbrook neighbourhood. The two teens were charged with first-degree murder and plotting the execution of first-degree murder after Cartnail admitting having shot her and enough evidence against the two teens. Despite their ages, the two teens were charged with murder and put behind bars in the Frederick County Adult Detention Center, where the key murder, Cartnail remained there, Lobaugh was later taken to a juvenile detention facility (Walsh & Jorgensen C, 2018).
In the murder case above, the classical theory of criminology was applied. the theory insists on the punishment that befits the crime committed. In the murder case, the sentencing of Richard Cartnail, a 16-year-old boy in the Frederick County Adult Detention Center was fair enough since his actions of murder matched his punishment. The detention of Caliyah Lobaugh a 14-year-old girl in the juvenile detention facility also served justice, in the sense that her involvement in the murder of the 17-year-old Tykerria Dawson was punished according to to the conspiracy to committing first-degree murder. An earlier murder case should have been punished with execution instead of detention. History of execution of murderers would have discouraged the teens from committing murder and instead plot another ‘punishment’ on the murdered teen (Walsh & Jorgensen C, 2018).
Based on the positivist theory of criminology, the crime should befit the criminal. The change that could have been applied to prevent the murder crime from happening could have been the application of evolutionary biology. The application of evolutionary biology would have predicted the charged teens as whether they subscribed to a life of crime or not (Walsh & Jorgensen C, 2018).
References
Walsh, A. & Jorgensen, C. (2018). An overview of crime and criminology. Criminology: The essentials (3rd ed., pp. 1-21). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Walsh, A., & Jorgensen, C. (2018). Crime as choice: rationality, emotion, and criminal behaviour. Criminology: The essentials (3rd ed., pp. 83-99). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Walsh, A., & Jorgensen, C. (2018). Social structural theories. Criminology: The essentials (3rd ed., pp. 100-120). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Walsh, A., & Jorgensen, C. (2018). The early schools of criminology. Criminology: The essentials (3rd ed., pp.64-82). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.