A Comprehensive Study of the Classical School of Criminology

Abstract

The eighteenth century saw the development of the classical school of criminology. This theory of criminology was primarily influenced by Cesare de Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. They are regarded as the most significant intellectuals of the Enlightenment. Are regarded as the founders of the classical school of criminology and are leaders in the field of "classical" thought. Because he was a utilitarian and concerned with the happiness and well-being of the populace, Bentham's contribution to "classical" philosophy is predicated on his conviction that punishment, in the form of causing pain, should always be justified in terms of a larger benefit. Bentham's writings revolved around the notion of the pleasure-pain principle, which holds that human behavior is intended to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Beccaria thought that in order to make punishments fair and commensurate with the offence, laws had to be implemented. According to him, there are three key concepts that determine how effective crime prevention is: the likelihood of a crime occurring, its certainty, and the timing of the crime, the speed at which it is punished, the seriousness of the offence, and the extent of the suffering caused. According to Beccaria, the harshness of the punishments meted out should be commensurate with the offence committed and should not exceed what is required to dissuade the perpetrator and others from committing similar crimes in the future. Because there would be no deterrent, classical philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and Beccaria believed that the death penalty was meaningless. But in the case of manslaughter, as Bentham also holds, the death penalty should unquestionably be applied if the severity of the penalty significantly outweighs the offence. Seeing another criminal eliminated as a result of their acts doesn't seem to be a more powerful deterrence to future criminals considering engaging in the same criminal behavior. Though possibly not as much on criminal justice practice, classical philosophy has had a major influence on criminological thought generally. Since the advent of classical criminology and classical thought, the use of torture, corporal punishment, and the death penalty has decreased.