Classical Criminology and Present Day Crime

The notion of the classical school of criminology refers to the period of Enlightenment (18th century). This notion is based on the utilitarian and social-contract philosophical outlooks. The developers of the classical school of criminology believed that humans are calculating animals and there is an indirect dependency between the criminal justice system and the premises of illicit behavior (Marzbali, Abdullah, Razak, & Tilaki, 2012). Nonetheless, it was considered a deterrent only if the punishment was proportional and in line with the severity of the crime. The key focus of this theory is the rationality of the made decision. The outlooks on the severity of the crime and appropriate punishment rely on the subjective views of the decision-makers. This school of criminology also implied that the policies on punishments and rewards should be reviewed constantly. The core idea of the classical school of criminology is that crime prevention is better than punishment activities that take place after the illicit event (Siegel, 2015). The authors of the classical notion of criminology broke explained the crime prevention procedure as a process that depends on several ideas inherent in the philosophy of the classical school of criminology. They pointed out the probability of the crime, the swiftness of the crime and punishment, and how much damage is done to the victim.