Classical Theory Of Crime

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There are many different types of crime and ways that we as the public deal with crime, more often than not we contact local authorities for help. Once the wrongdoer has been apprehended they can be viewed to see what their state of mentality was when committing the crime (Men’s Rea) from here different theories can be brought up until a truth is found about their mental state. The first theory is one of the oldest theories, one of the first theories developed in the 1500s and was used till the 1700s, the classical theory. Enlightenment thinkers believed that everybody all people could exercise Free will, and in this theory, it is driven by Hedonistic rationality, which is the calculation of pleasure to pain ratio (Bohm & Haley, 2014, 58).…show more content…
Because the mentally handicaps ability to use free will could be clouded by their impairments meaning the classical theory was directly against them. They allowed doctors to testify in court on behalf of the mentally handicapped and second time offenders were allowed to rehabilitate (Bohm & Haley, 2014, 59). Those that had committed a similar crime prior to a second hearing were considered second time offenders, the classical theory didn’t state what should happen to repeat offenders, and just that everyone should be treated the same. In the neoclassical theory it states that second time offenders should be sentenced to a punishment that is considered rehabilitative (Bohm & Haley, 2014, 59). Both the influences of the classical and neoclassical theory led to rational choice…show more content…
When one group is able to take control what they say goes, they are the leader and commander. The dominant group can also manipulate rules in their favor or against the subordinate group. The reason members of subordinate groups appear in official criminal statistics more frequently then members of dominant groups is that the dominant groups have more control over the definition of criminality (Bohm & Haley, 2014, 78). This would be perfect in a society if it weren’t for the fact that most of the population would be on the latter. When those sources are identified, they are usually attributed to the personal characteristics of elites; that is, people with power are said to be smarter, better educated, luckier, and better able to defer gratification (Bohm & Haley, 2014,
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