Early Theories of Crime

Today the students got into groups of 4-5. They were given big chart paper and encouraged to included as many reasons as they could about why people commit crimes. After 15 minutes or so we discussed as a class some of the reasons why people commit crimes. They students shared their ideas infront of the class and then posted their charts to the white board. From their we tried to categorize the different reasons: Biological/Social/ Family/ Mental/ Financial....were some that the students came up with.

We continued discussing the issue of Nature/Nurture....twin studies.

The students were then given the following assignment to work on:

Early Theories of Criminology

This chapter describes the historical framework through which modern theories of criminology developed. The earliest theories of crime causation emphasized the role of religion and/or superstition. A belief that criminals were possessed by evil spirits brought harsh punishments that often resulted in the death of the accused.

Your goal is to read chapter 8 and gain information on the early theories of crime. The following are the main theories that need to be studied:

Classical Theory

Statistical School

Positive School

Early Biological Theory

For each of the following theories I want you to answer the following:

1)    List the major theorists associated with each theory…

2)    Pros/Cons of each theory

3)    What are the limitations of each theory

4)    How did each theory lead to legal reforms

What theory do you most relate to…which one do you think is most plausible