LOMBROSO

• Lombroso proposed that criminals could be identified by physical characteristics such as exaggerated jaw, sloping forehead, large ears, and protruding cheekbones.
• According to Lombroso, criminals were atavisms - a throwback to a primitive stage of evolution.
• Lombroso believed that these characteristics represented vestigial remnants of primitive evolution.
• The theory was based on the idea that criminal behavior is inherited from primitive ancestors.
• Critics argue that Lombroso's ideas were influenced by his own prejudices against Jews and other minority groups.
• Cesare Lombroso believed that criminal behaviour was inherited from the past.
• Biological theories suggest that certain individuals are born with an innate tendency towards crime due to their genetic makeup.
• Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) was an Italian physician and criminal anthropologist known for his work on biological theories of crime.
• Others criticize Lombroso's methodology, arguing that his sample size was too small and not representative of the general population.
• He also suggested that these traits were evidence of atavistic throwbacks to earlier stages of evolution.
• Lombroso was a positivist.
• Lombroso based his theory on faces/skulls of hundreds of criminals, but did not compare these to a control group of non-criminals.
• Goring (1913) studies physical features of thousands of English prisoners and found none of the distinctive facial features noted by Lombroso
• Lombroso's theory is descriptive rather than explanitory.
• Lombroso's theory is extremely deterministic. It assumes that criminality is akin to eye colour; one is born a criminal and is unable to escape one's destiny.
• Lombroso's theory does not take into account social or economic factors
• Modern research has found no evidence of Lombroso's claims.
• Biological theories are also seen as overly deterministic, suggesting that people cannot change their behaviour or circumstances.