Visual criminology and Lombroso: In memory of Nicole Rafter (1939–2016)

Abstract

Nicole Rafter (1939–2016) formed her vast and diverse oeuvre long before the rise of visual criminology. Nevertheless, Rafter was a pioneer in this new, expanding field. Rafter’s scholarly interest in ‘the visual’ and biological theories of crime appeared in her early scholarship. Eventually, Rafter focused on the visual and Cesare Lombroso’s (1835–1909) criminal anthropology. She discovered that Lombroso was not simply the founding figure of what is today called criminology, but of visual criminology.