Classical criminology came into existence during the middle of the eighteenth century as a result of an aversion towards the barbaric system of justice and punishment of those days. Utopian and social contract writers Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria were the main proponents of this school of criminology.
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794), an Italian social contract writer, is regarded as the “Father of modern criminology”. Classical criminology has its roots in his book “An Essay on Crimes and Punishment”. This book, which was published in 1764, became very popular. It advocated rationalism and criticized the social conditions that prevailed during those times. Beccaria applied rational and social contract ideas to crime and criminal justice.
Classical criminology sought to protect private property and personal welfare of all the people. It emphasized on rationality and free human will. Its proponents believed that people were self-seeking and engaged in crimes out of free will. They were aware of the consequences of their crimes. Classical criminology attributed high crime rate to bad laws. It emphasized on a legal system which would serve all the people and treat them equally.
According to classical criminology, the law should establish a scale of crimes. There should be a corresponding scale of punishments. The punishment should be proportional to the crime committed. The purpose of punishment should be to deter people from committing crimes.
The punishment should always be greater than the pleasure experienced as a result of the criminal activity. The punishment has to be imposed with certainty and quickness. This school of criminology sought abolition of capital punishment. It advocated improvement of prisons and suggested segregation of the inmates on the basis of age, sex and crime type.
Classical criminology defined the role of a judge very clearly. A judge should determine guilt or innocence at public trials and should apply the punishment as prescribed by the legislature. The judgment should be unbiased. The principles of classical criminology effectively prevented the judges of those times from misusing their power and position.
Classical criminology focused more on law making and legal processing and less on the criminals. It did not take the circumstances of the crime into consideration. It also did not try to identify the intention of the offender. For instance, while imposing punishment, this school of criminology did not differentiate between a sane and an insane offender. The positivist school of criminology sought to overcome these drawbacks.
