Classical theory of crime and punishment

The new era, ushered in by the Enlightenment thinkers, led to the

development of the Classical School. Cesare Beccaria became known as the
Father of Classical Criminology. At a very young age he authored his most famous
work titled, On Crimes and Punishments (1764). He was a member of an
intellectual group known as the Academy of Fists and the group would gather in
secret to discuss the need for social reform. Beccaria is most frequently referred to
as a punishment reformer and he staunchly advocated the principle of "no crime
without law" and he specified the criteria for the enactment and administration of
criminal codes. He felt strongly about the separation of powers in criminal law due
to the potential for abuse and misuse. Interestingly he was one of the first people to
suggest that the essence of crime was the harm that it did to society.

At the heart of Beccaria's Classical School of thought was the notion that "it is
better to prevent crimes than to punish them" (Beccaria, 1764/1963:93).  Out of
this idea arises our common understanding of Deterrence and the idea that it is
better to let a guilty man go free than to punish an innocent man. this is a very
contrary position to the "old" Pre-Classical ways whereby the innocent were often
tortured and even killed in the pursuit of justice in an effort to extract a confession.

Beccaria did not question the need for punishment, but he believed that laws
should be designed to preserve public safety and order, not to avenge crime.

To ensure a rational and fair penal structure, punishments for specific crimes must
be decreed by written criminal codes, and the discretionary powers of judges
severely curtailed.

Prevention employs the threat of punishment to influence behavior.  It assumes

that:

 People are rational

 people's behavior is a product of free will

 People are pleasure-seeking (their goal is to increase pleasure and/or to

avoid pain)
Three principles of punishment that became the hallmark of Beccaria's Classical
deterrence doctrine:

  Swift - punishment must be swift to be effective. You can't have the

punishment linger or the punishment and the crime loose their association
 Certain - people must know they will be punished for their illegal behavior -
can't have people avoid the law for any reason
 Severe - must be severe enough to outweigh the rewards of the illegal action
- severity and proportionality are sometimes at odds especially since each
person is different in terms of what constitutes a "severe" punishment.

Punishment must also be proportionate to the harm caused. If we lose

proportionality there is little to prevent/discourage the criminal from committing
more severe crimes and engaging is worse behavior.

Punishment used to keep order not avenge crime.

Beccaria is against Capital punishments and death penalty.