historical approach

• Atavistic form


  1876 - Lombroso wrote a book which suggested criminals were 'genetic throwbacks' - primitive subspecies who were biologically different from non criminals
• Offenders were seen by lombroso as lacking evolutionary development - savage and untamed nature meant they would find it impossible to adjust to the demands of civilised society and would inevitabley turn to crime - lomb saw offending as natural tendency rooted in gendes of those who engage in it - innate and so offedner not to blame for his actions
• he argued offedner subtype could be identified as being in possesionof physiological markers that were linked to particular types of offence

  atavistic characteristics - narrow sloping brow, strong prominent jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymmetry, dark skin, extra toes, nipples, fingers

  insensitivity to pain, use of slang, tattoos and unemployment
• Offender types -

  Murderers - bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears

  sexual deviants - glinitng eyes, swollen fleshy lips, projecting ears
• Lombroso's research


  He examined the facial and cranial features of hundred of italian convicts, both living and dead, concluded that these features were key indicators of criminality

  He examined the skulls of 383 dead convicts and 3839 living ones

  Concluded 40% criminal acts committed by ppl with atavistic characteristics
• W: Racist


  Many features he identified as atavistic (curly hair, dark skin) ar emost likely to be found among people of African descent - suggesting africans more likely to be offenders, view fitted 19th centruy attitudes but holds no place in society today

  --> some aspects of theory highly subjective, influenced by racial rejudices
• W: Poor control 


  Failed to control important variables such as he did not compare his offender sample with a non offender control group

  may have been confounding variables

  eg research demonstrated links between crime and social conditions such as poverty and poor educational outcomes - would explain why offenders more likely to be unemployed
• W: Contradictory evidence


  Goring conducted comparison between 3000 offenders and 3000 non offenders and concluded there was no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with unusual facial and cranial characteristics (although do have lower IQ)

  --> Challenges idea that offenders can be physically distinguished from the rest of the population and therefore unlikley to be a subspecies