Lombroso

• What was Lombroso’s theory called?

  Born criminals

  Atavism
• What did Lombroso argue?

  That criminal behavior is determined by biological factors and can be identified through physical characteristics. - he recorded and measured details of the heads/faces of criminals in prison
• What did Lombroso conclude?

  that criminals could be identified by their distinctive physical features
• What is Atavism?

  Lombroso saw criminals having similar features to early humans at a primitive stage of evolution

  Argued that criminals were like ‘savages’ or even apes ( having excessively long arms )

  Saw criminals as different species
• Characteristics of a criminal?

  pre-social, unable to control emotions, had reduced sensitivity to pain ( usually have tattoos )
• Physiological features of a criminal?

  enormous jaws

  high cheek bones

  extremely acute eyesight

  nose twisted/upturned/flattened

  prominent eyebrow arches

  excessively long arms
• What are the 4 types of criminal?

  Born criminal : facially

  Insane : mentally disabled, alcoholics paranoics

  Ocassional : those that have opportunities to commit crime

  Criminals of Passion: due to emotion such as anger/love
• Examined facial/cranial features of 383 dead criminals and 3,839 imprisoned criminals, came to conclusion that 40% of all criminal could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics
• less females as they did not represent with as many physical anomalies when compared to male offenders - woman less biologically developed - closer to the primitive race, skulls/skeleton didn’t change as much as men - more like children
• Women committed prostitution - a smaller cranial capacity were more : obese, shorter and dark haired, believed that they were destined to be born a prostitute were rarely ‘ugly or presented with wrinkles’
• Strengths -

  Lombroso first person to study crime scientifically, using objective measurements to gather evidence - before crime was seen as a religious or moral issue

  His research showed importance of examining clinical and historical records of crime.

  His later work took some limited account of octal and environmental factors, not just hereditary

  His work he related beginning of offender profiling

  By arguing that offenders were not freely choosing to commit crime, helps us focus on how we might prevent further offending rather than simply punishing offenders
• Limitations -

  Research since Lombroso has failed to show a link between fiscal features and criminality

  Scientific racism - Delisi ( 2012 ) indicated that many of the atavistic features defined are specific to people of an African decent

  Extremely deterministic and assumes we cannot escape destiny