Atavistic Form

• Atavistic form (1876)

  Suggests offenders are genetic throwbacks or a criminal sub species which cannot conform to the rules of modern society. They are distinguishable through physical features.
• Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)

  Created theory of anthropological criminology which stated criminality was inherited and could be identified through physical defects.
• Cesare Lombroso’s Study

  - 383 dead Italian criminals

  - 3839 living Italian criminals

  - 40% of them had atavistic characteristics
• Atavistic Features

  - Forward projection of jaw

  - Handle shaped ears

  - Shifty eyes

  - Scanty beard

  - Insensitivity to pain

  - Tattoos

  
  
• At the time Atavistic form was created concepts of Eugenics were becoming popular.
• Sheldon’s Somatotype (1942)

  - Ectomorph - sensitive/ introverted

  - Endomorph - relaxed/ extraverted

  - Mesomorph - aggressive/ risk-taker
• Sheldon (1949)

  Found male delinquents were much more likely to be mesomorphs than male students of a similar age.
• Theories on physical features identifying criminals are outdated but mark the beginning of offender profiling.
• Lombroso used scientific method through his research into Italian criminals.
• Lombroso did not have a control group of non criminals in his study so it could have just been common characteristics of the population he was observing.
• Lombroso accused of scientific racism. Some of the characteristics related to criminality are prevalent in certain racial minorities.
• Eberhardt found that stereotypically ‘black’ looking men were more likely to get the death penalty in the USA than those less stereotypically ‘black’ looking, even when they committed the same offences. This could show Lombroso’s scientific racism has had a lasting effect on society.
• The features Lombroso observed were likely the result of other factors that can cause criminality, like poverty, poor diet, illness and disease.
• Goring (1913)

  Found evidence that criminals tend to have bellow average intelligence. However this could mean crime is due to a lack of education rather than biological differences.
• Lombroso’s research lacks temporal validity and is a child of its time.