3. Who were some important thinkers of the Classical School of criminology, and what was their legacy?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A number of Enlightenment thinkers contributed to the Classical School of Criminology. These included the following:

• Thomas Hobbes developed the idea of a social contract, in which humans band together to form a state. In return for protection, the state the surrender of certain natural rights and submission to the absolute authority of a sovereign.
• John Locke further developed the idea of a social contract, suggesting that through such a contract humans abandon their natural state of individual freedom and lack of interpersonal responsibility to join together and form a society. In return for the surrender of some freedoms to the society, the government is obligated to assume responsibilities toward its citizens and provide for their protection and welfare.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau suggested that, in their natural state, humans are basically good and fair, but that they have been corrupted by the introduction of shared concepts and joint activities. When people agreed to establish governments and educational system to correct the problems and inequalities resulting from the rise of civilization, the social contract emerged. Rousseau also contributed to the concept of natural law, rights that individuals retain in the face of government action and interests.
• Thomas Paine argued that only democratic institutions could guarantee the natural rights of individuals. Paine's concept of natural law was a basis for the U.S. Constitution.

There were two key Classical School thinkers who greatly influenced classical criminology:

• Cesare Beccaria's 1764 work, Essay on Crimes and Punishments, contained his observations on the laws and justice system of the time. He presented a philosophy of punishment which became a key element of the classical philosophy. Beccaria emphasized that punishment should be based on the degree of injury caused by the offender, rather than on the offender's criminal intent. The purpose of punishment should be deterrence, rather than retribution. To prevent crime, Beccaria stated that punishment should be swift and certain, and that it should be just severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits from crime commission. He also felt that the punishment should fit the crime, so that property crimes would be punished with fines, personal injury crimes with corporal punishment, and serious crimes against the state with capital punishment. He opposed torture and the death penalty for all crimes except those against the state. Beccaria's observations were considered to be very progressive and his principles were incorporated into the French penal code of 1791. They also influenced various European leaders, such as Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Emperor Joseph II of Austria. In addition, Beccaria's Essay influenced the framers of the U.S. Constitution

• Jeremy Bentham's 1789 work, An Introduction to the Principles of Moral Legislation, outlined his approach to crime prevention, which has become known as utilitarianism or hedonistic calculus. Bentham believed that that people are rational and will weigh the pain of punishment against the pleasure to be gained from the crime. Therefore, to reduce crime, the pain of the crime commission must outweigh the pleasure to be derived from criminal activity. He also stated that punishment must be swift and certain to be effective. His recommendation that a centralized police force focused on crime prevention and control be created eventually contributed to the passing of the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 and the establishment of the London Metropolitan Police.