Lombroso

• What did the Victorians believe?

  That is was possible to spot a criminal by his features
• What does Lombroso argue?

  That criminals were physically different from non-criminals and he spent several years measuring and recording details of the heads and faces if thousands of criminals
• What are some certain features of criminals?

  Large jaw, low sloping forehead, handle shaped ears, high cheekbones, large chins, upturned nose, tattoos
• What did Lombrosos theory rest upon the idea of?

  People being 'born criminal
• What did Lombroso see criminals as?

  Atavistic - a primitive stage of evolution
• Crimnals were unsocial, unable to control their impulses and were...


  ...insensitive to pain making them 'savages
• In modern society, what were the criminals seen as?

  Abnormal and could not adjust socially and morally to civilised society
• What could the criminals not distinguish?

  Right from wrong and showed no guilt or remorse meaning they couldn't form meaningful and loving relationships
• In his study he sampled the proportions of almost 400 skulls of dead convicts and the heads of over 3000 living ones, what was his key finding?

  40% of criminal acts were carried out by people who had atavistic features
• What was Lombroso's view on women?

  He believed that females did not show physical attributes but were psychologically worse than male criminals as they were more jealous and capable of monstrous cruelty
• Strength - Garland (1994) claims that the subject of criminology which we know today grew out of the work of lombroso. He is regarded as...

  ...the founding father of criminology
• Strength - Lombroso was the first person to scientifically study crime using...

  ...objective methods and to argue that there could be a biological bias to crime
• Strength - Recent research in china in which a computer was programmed to look criminal facial features...


  ...half were criminals and half were not and it correctly identified 83% of the criminals
• Limitation - Not everyone with atavistic features...


  ...is a criminal and not all criminals have them
• Limitation - Research conducted since Lombroso has failed to show any link...


  ...between facial features and criminal behaviour
• Limitation - It focuses on the role of nature...


  ...ignores the influence of nurture