Criminological Positivism and Eclectic Schools

Posted on Nov 30, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Scientific Stage: Late 19th Century

Postulates

  • Determinism: The offender is predisposed to commit crimes due to genetic influence (a biological explanation).
  • Empiricism: Using the empirical inductive method, focusing on the offender.
  • Phenomenological: Seeking the causes conditioning the offender and the etiology of crime. Developing offender typologies.
  • Therapeutic Vocation: Viewing the offender as ill with a pathological disorder. Seeking alternatives to punishment.

Criminological Positivism: Main Representatives

Lombroso

  • Anthropological orientation.
  • Extensive work on diverse themes (e.g., alcohol’s disinfectant properties).
  • Most important work: “Anthropological Treatise” of the criminal.
  • Influence of Darwin’s idea of atavism (regression of the species).
  • Typology of offenders:
    1. Born atavistic (hypo-evolved).
    2. Morally perverse/diverting social type.
    3. Epileptic (violent, aggressive, destructive, alcoholic, tendencies to cannibalism and madness, tattoos).
    4. Insane (liable to offend religious sentiment).
    5. Passionate (patriotic remorse, post-offense suicide attempts).
    6. Occasional (heterogeneous group):
      • Pseudocriminals (involuntary)
      • Criminoloids (non-criminal disposition, seize the opportunity)
  • “La donna delinquente”: Criminal women are not an autonomous subtype. Prostitution is a specific phenomenon of the atavistic woman, a substitute for crime. Delinquent women show more degenerative stigmata of the born criminal.
  • Study of political crime: Highlights the social class factor. Contrasts violent crime (lower social class) and cunning/fraudulent crime (privileged classes). Depressed classes represent past atavistic brutality.
  • Main contribution: The empirical method. Formulated his theory from over 400 autopsies of criminals and analysis of 6000 living offenders.
  • Evolution towards environmental approaches: Downplayed the born criminal type (initially 65%, later reduced by one third).

Ferri

  • Sociological orientation.
  • Typology of offenders:
    1. Born
    2. Insane
    3. Passionate
    4. Occasional
    5. Habitual
    6. Pseudocriminal (involuntary)
  • Main contribution: Theory of penalties. Ambitious politico-criminal preventive criminal law drawing on psychology, anthropology, and statistics.
  • Proposed measures: Economic alcohol taxes, political reforms, administrative assistance for single mothers and released prisoners, reduction in religious luxury, divorce, and education.
  • Influence of Quetelet: A constant volume of crime, influenced by physical and social factors.

Garofalo

  • Moderate approach.
  • Criminal behavior as a moral anomaly or congenital hereditary mental illness (lack of feelings).
  • Lack of:
    1. Pity (to avoid damage to personal property)
    2. Probity (to prevent damage to real property)
  • Typology of offenders:
    1. Murderers (lack both sentiments, genuine criminals)
    2. Violent (lack pity)
    3. Thieves (lack probity)
    4. Heterogeneous group (low moral perception)
  • Search for a concept of natural crime (injury to pity and probity). Unsuccessful in establishing a universal concept.
  • Death penalty as artificial selection (similar to Darwinian natural selection). Elimination of those lacking altruistic sentiments.

Positivism in Spain

Golden Huntsman
  • Embraced the reform school and Italian positivist inquiry.
  • Advocate for more repressive criminal law.
Rafael Salillas
  • Doctor, founder of the Criminologica school.
  • Attempted to renew the Spanish prison system.
  • Representative of positivism with a sociological orientation.
  • Recommended work as correction and rehabilitation.
  • Distinguished between:
    • Those who can be rehabilitated
    • The incorrigible, insane, disabled, and elderly (proposed prison hospitals)
Bernaldo de Quiros
  • Criminologist using the empirical method.
  • Studied Spanish underworld crime and Andalusian banditry.

Lyon School (Anthroposocial and Criminalsociological)

  • Lacassagne and Aubry
  • Criminogenic factors:
    • Predisposing factors: Biological (heredity, nervous disorders, mental disorders)
    • Determinants: Social (family, education, social environment)
  • Compared the offender to a microbe, dormant until activated.

Eclectic Schools

  • Harmonized classical and positivist tenets.
  • Scope of criminal responsibility: Moved away from determinism and resumed free will, but acknowledged influence on predisposed individuals.
  • Scope of response to crime: Integrated penalties and security measures (dualism penological).
  • Italian schools: Plurifactorista theory (biological and social factors).
  • Hamburg school: Scientific analysis of criminal reality, maintained penological dualism, attempted to recover free will.
  • Psycho-sociological theory: Criminals are made, not born, through internalization of criminal behavior (social learning theory and criminal subcultures).