Individual factors relating to criminal behavior

Individual factors relating to criminal behavior
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Criminologists extensively involve themselves with the study of crimes, victims of the crime and theories that explain the deviant behavior, social reaction to crime and the effectiveness of anti-crime policies. Therefore, it involves itself with finding out what happens in these crime scenes and the study of the law enforcement as well as the whole justice system. Individual factors however, have been found to contribute to criminal behaviors and engagement in crimes.
Cesare Beccaria, a classical criminologist challenged the demonic perspective held until the 1700s. Demonic perspective believed that crimes were caused by supernatural forces and thus could be solved by ridding the individual of the evil spirits. Classical theories held by Cesare held that crimes are more influenced by natural forces rather. This classical school of criminology believed that such activities were engaged in freewill and that people weigh out the consequences thus, the punishment of a crime should be such that it outweighs the criminal gains. This school of thought also refuted the arbitrariness used by judges to punish offenders.
Cesare Lombroso would later challenge the view held by Beccaria that criminals are motivated by self interest. He argued that criminals were biologically different from normal people and described them as having the tendency to go back to their primitive state which compelled them to commit crime.
According to Lombroso, 1/3 of all the criminals have similarities to the caveman giving them physical characteristics similar to the apes. He would later become convinced that environmental factors have a role in making one a criminal. This was inclusive of people not born criminals such as minor offenders and occasional offenders.
This positivist school of thought implied that forces beyond human control were at play and thus focused on the biological, sociological and the psychological differences among criminals and non criminals.
Soon, the biological theories were abandoned and Sociological Theories of Crime and Deviance came up. These argued that there was no actual difference between c...