Module 9.2: Schools of Criminological Thought

I. The Classical School of Criminology (Mid-18th Century)

The Classical School emerged during the Enlightenment, a period of intellectual revolution in Europe that emphasized reason, logic, and the rights of the individual. Classical thinkers sought to reform the brutal and arbitrary legal systems of their time.

A. Core Principles

Free Will: The cornerstone of Classical theory is the belief that human beings are rational actors who possess free will. People choose to commit crimes after weighing the potential benefits against the potential costs.
Hedonism: Human behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
Rational Calculation: A person commits a crime because they have calculated that the pleasure or reward from the crime is greater than the pain or punishment they are likely to suffer.
The Purpose of Punishment is Deterrence: Since crime is a rational choice, the way to prevent it is to make the punishment just severe enough that the pain of the punishment outweighs the pleasure of the crime.
Punishment should be Swift, Certain, and Proportionate:
- Swift: The punishment must follow quickly after the crime.
- Certain: The offender must be sure that they will be caught and punished.
- Proportionate: The punishment must fit the crime, not the criminal.

B. Key Thinkers

Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794): An Italian jurist whose book On Crimes and Punishments (1764) is the foundational text of the Classical School. He argued against torture and the death penalty and advocated for a rational, predictable, and humane system of justice.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832): An English philosopher who developed the concept of utilitarianism—the idea that laws should be designed to produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people. He believed that the punishment should be just painful enough to deter crime and no more.

Legacy: The Classical School is the foundation of most modern legal systems in the Western world. The ideas of free will, deterrence, and due process are all classical in origin.

Ang Classical School ni Beccaria at Bentham ay naniniwala na ang tao ay may FREE WILL - ikaw ang pumipili kung magnakaw ka o hindi. Kaya ang punishment ay dapat DETERRENT lang - para matakot ka at hindi mo na ulitin. "Pag nakawin mo yan, makulong ka ng 5 years!" - ganyan ang logic. Ang pinaka-importante raw ay ang CERTAINTY ng punishment - sigurado ka na mahuhuli ka. Yung severity (bigat ng parusa) ay second priority lang.

Board Exam Tip: Classical School = FREE WILL + DETERRENCE + Punishment should fit the CRIME (not the criminal). Beccaria & Bentham.

COMPARISON: Classical vs. Positivist School

Classical: "Gumawa ka ng krimen dahil PINILI mo yan!" (Free Will)
Positivist: "Gumawa ka ng krimen kasi may something WRONG sa'yo - genes mo, utak mo, o environment mo!" (Determinism)
Classical: Focus sa ACT (ang ginawa mong crime)
Positivist: Focus sa ACTOR (ikaw, ang kriminal)
Classical: Ang solution ay PUNISHMENT para matakot ka
Positivist: Ang solution ay TREATMENT para gumaling ka

Conclusion

The history of criminological thought is a journey from philosophy to science. The Classical School provided the philosophical and legal foundation for the modern justice system, based on the idea of the rational, free-willed offender. The Positivist School challenged this, introducing a scientific determinism that sought to find the biological and psychological causes of crime within the individual offender. The Chicago School then broadened the focus, looking at the social and environmental factors that create crime in specific communities. Each of these schools has left a lasting legacy, and modern criminology continues to draw upon the insights of all three in its ongoing quest to understand and control crime.

Introduction

The scientific study of crime has evolved significantly over the past few centuries. This evolution can be understood by examining the major schools of criminological thought. These "schools" are not physical buildings, but rather groups of thinkers who shared a common perspective on the nature of crime and its causes. Understanding these foundational schools—primarily the Classical, Positivist, and Chicago schools—is essential for tracing the history of criminology and appreciating the different philosophical approaches to crime control.

Key Learning Objectives:

Explain the core principles of the Classical School of Criminology.
Explain the core principles of the Positivist School of Criminology.
Differentiate between the Classical and Positivist approaches to crime and punishment.
Describe the key contributions of the Chicago School to the study of crime.

II. The Positivist School of Criminology (Late 19th Century)

The Positivist School emerged in the late 19th century, influenced by the rapid advances in the natural sciences, particularly Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Positivists rejected the Classical School's focus on free will and instead sought to identify the scientific "causes" of criminal behavior.

A. Core Principles

Determinism: The central belief of Positivism is that criminal behavior is determined by factors beyond the individual's control. These could be biological, psychological, or social factors. People do not freely choose to be criminals; they are pushed into it by forces they cannot control.
Scientific Method: The causes of crime can be discovered through the use of scientific methods, such as observation, measurement, and experimentation.
The Criminal, Not the Crime: The focus of study should be the criminal, not the crime itself. The goal is to understand what makes a person a criminal.
The Purpose of Punishment is Treatment/Rehabilitation: Since criminals do not freely choose their behavior, the proper response is not punishment for deterrence, but treatment to cure the underlying pathology. The punishment should fit the criminal, not the crime.

B. Key Thinkers (The "Italian Triumvirate")

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909): The "Father of Modern Criminology." A physician who argued that criminals were "atavistic"—biological throwbacks to an earlier, more primitive stage of human evolution. He believed that "born criminals" could be identified by certain physical stigmata, such as a large jaw, sloping forehead, and long arms. (Note: Lombroso's biological theories have since been largely discredited, but his focus on the scientific study of the offender was revolutionary).
Enrico Ferri (1856-1929): A student of Lombroso who argued that crime was caused by a combination of biological, social, and psychological factors.
Raffaele Garofalo (1851-1934): Another student of Lombroso who focused on the psychological causes of crime.

Legacy: The Positivist School introduced the scientific method to criminology and shifted the focus from the act to the actor. The modern ideas of rehabilitation, probation, parole, and indeterminate sentencing are all positivist in origin.

Comparison: Classical vs. Positivist | Feature | Classical School | Positivist School |

III. The Chicago School (Early 20th Century)

The Chicago School emerged in the early 20th century at the University of Chicago. It was the first major school of criminology in the United States. Its thinkers were sociologists who were interested in how the urban environment shaped human behavior.

A. Core Principles

Social Ecology: The Chicago School viewed the city as a kind of ecosystem, with different neighborhoods having different characteristics.
Social Disorganization: They argued that crime was not caused by individual pathology, but by social disorganization in specific neighborhoods.
The Zone of Transition: Through their studies, they found that crime rates were always highest in a specific area of the city they called the "zone of transition." This was the area immediately surrounding the central business district, characterized by high poverty, rapid population turnover, and a breakdown of social institutions (like family, school, and church).
The "Why," Not the "Who": The key finding was that it didn't matter who lived in the zone of transition; the crime rate remained high. This proved that the cause of crime was not the people themselves (as the Positivists might argue), but the nature of the place. The crime was a feature of the environment.

B. Key Thinkers

Robert Park & Ernest Burgess: Developed the "Concentric Zone Model" of the city.
Clifford Shaw & Henry McKay: Conducted the classic studies that mapped crime rates in Chicago and found they were always highest in the zone of transition, regardless of which ethnic group lived there.

Legacy: The Chicago School was the foundation of sociological criminology. It shifted the focus away from individual-level explanations (biological, psychological) and towards societal and environmental explanations of crime. Modern theories like Strain Theory, Differential Association, and modern community-based crime prevention strategies all have their roots in the Chicago School.

Ang Chicago School ni Shaw at McKay ay nagsabing, "Hindi ang TAO ang problema, kundi ang LUGAR!" Gumawa sila ng study sa Chicago city at napansin nila na may specific area (zone of transition - yung area around the business district) na LAGING MATAAS ang crime rate, KAHIT SINO PA ang tumira doon! Pag Italians ang tumira, mataas ang crime. Pag mga Mexicans naman, mataas pa rin. Pag Filipinos, mataas pa rin! Ano ang ibig sabihin? Ang problema ay hindi ang LAHI o ang TAO mismo, kundi yung KALAGAYAN NG LUGAR - social disorganization, poverty, walang strong institutions (family, school, church). Kaya ang solution: ayusin ang community, hindi lang ang tao!

Board Exam Tip: Chicago School = Social Disorganization Theory = Focus on THE PLACE, not the person. Shaw & McKay. Zone of Transition.