Biological explanation: Historical approach

Question 1

Historical approach:

Answer 1

• Lombroso
• Suggested that criminals were ‘genetic throwbacks’
• Said they were a primitive species who were biologically different

Question 2

Lombrosos application to the biological approach:

Answer 2

• offenders lacked evolutionary development
• would find it impossible to adjust to society due to their untamed nature which lead to them turning to crime
• Offending was. natural tendency which was tooted in the genes
• Offending was innate - said that offenders were not to blame for their actions

Question 3

Atavistic form:

Answer 3

• There were physiological markers that were linked to certain crimes
• biologically determined characteristics mainly features of the face that make offenders different

Question 4

Examples of atavistic features:

Answer 4

• thin lips
• low sloping forehead
• chiselled jaw line
• large ears
• prominent cheekbones

Question 5

Offender types:

Answer 5

• Lombroso believed you could identify a criminals crime by their characteristics
• Blood shot eyes and curly hair = Murderer
• Fraudsters = Thin lips

Question 6

Lombroso’s research:

Answer 6

• examine facial and cranial features of 500 dead criminals and 4000 living ones
• they were all male and all Italian
• Found that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted by atavistic characteristics

Question 7

What is a strength of Lombroso ?

Answer 7

Strength of historical approach: Lombroso contributed to the starting of offender profiling
- Including the origins of offender profiling
- Had positive implications of the Criminal justice system
- Helped move towards more scientific explanations and away from demonic possessing
- Created more objective ideas

Question 8

What are limitations of the historical approach ?

Answer 8

Limitation of the historical approach: Socially sensitive
- Criticised for allowing racial discrimination
- Racial stereotyping is enabled by the characteristics that Lombroso set out

Negative implications on the criminal justice system
- Suggests that criminality is innate and biologically determined
- Criminals have no free will over their behaviour
- Questions whether criminals should be punished and undermines the justice system

Biologically reductionist
- Reduces crime to one level (evolution)
- Doesn’t consider the complexities of causes of crime
- Kaplan – suggested that crime is the result of poor interactions with others as a result of atavistic markers