blog




  • Essay / Classical theory and positivist theory in the criminal field...

    They cannot be linked to the victim or the offender. For the sake of fairness, the accused has the right to hire a free lawyer. The theorist goes further by explaining that to deter and reduce crime, “the severity of the sanctions imposed must be proportional to the crime committed and no more than is necessary to deter the crime”. offender and others to commit further crimes” (“Classical”, 2010). Deterrence theory has its origins in the early work of classical philosophers such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. The three main components of the theory of deterrence were: certainty, celerity and severity. Philosophers believe that if punishment is severe, certain, and swift, a rational person will measure gains and losses before engaging in a crime and will be aware of breaking the law if the loss is greater than the gain. Today's criminal justice policies are sometimes based on the foundations of deterrence theory. For example, programs such as boot camps for adolescent delinquents and programs for “scared heterosexuals” continue to rely on deterrence theory. Criminologists strive to broaden the concepts of deterrence from certainty, severity and celerity. The theory of deterrence is commonly used routinely