historical approach

• historical approach -

  • lombroso (1876) - Italian physician
  • criminals are genetic throwbacks - primitive subspecies who were biologically different from non-criminals
  • todays standards atavistic form would be best described as speculative and naive
• biological approach -

  • offenders seen by Lombroso as lacking evolutionary development - their savage and untamed nature meant they would find it impossible to adjust to the demands of civilised society and would inevitably turn to crime
  • Lombroso saw offending behaviour as a natural tendency rooted in genes of those who engage in it
  • at time he was proposing a new perspective - offending behaviour was innate and therefore an offender wasn't to blame for actions
• atavistic form -

  • offender subtype could be identified as being in possession of particular physiological markers that were linked to particular types of offence
  • biologically determined atavistic characteristics - physical differences
  • cranial characteristics - narrow sloping brow, strong prominent jaw, high cheekbones and facial asymmetry
  • physical - dark skin, extra toes nipples or fingers
  • other - insensitivity to pain, use of slang, tattoos and unemployment
• offender types -

  • murderers - bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears
  • sexual deviants - glinting eyes, swollen fleshy lips, projecting ears
  • fraudsters - thin and reedy lips
• Lombroso's research -

  • meticulously examined facial and cranial features of hundreds of Italian convicts - dead and alive - concluded there was an atavistic form
  • concluded these features were key indicators of criminality
  • examined skulls of 383 dead convicts and 3839 living ones - concluded 40% of criminal acts are committed by people with atavistic characteristics