Positive

criminolo
gy
ANAGHA JOSE
 POSITIVE
CRIMINOLOGY
● In 1764, the Italian criminologist and philosopher Cesare Beccaria
wrote an essay that changed the face of the criminal law system
across Europe
● He not only advocated banning torture and the death penalty, but
challenged social injustice, asking how to prevent, rather than
punish, criminal activity
● Today, positive criminology aims to reduce criminal behavior by
focusing on offenders’ positive life influences and personal growth.
 POSITIVE
CRIMINOLOGY
● Traditional criminology has successfully identified some of the
causes of deviant behavior but has mostly failed to recognize how
some would-be offenders avoid or stop such activities.
● Positive criminology is a fresh approach to crime prevention and
involves developing intervention programs to reduce criminal
behavior and the tendency to reoffend.
● It does this by integrating existing models with newer, more positive
approaches that minimize the impact of negative characteristics
while promoting positive strengths.
 POSITIVE
CRIMINOLOGY
This multidisciplinary approach aims to distance the individual from
behavior associated with crime through :
● Therapy programmes and interventions(formal and informal, such as
self-help)
● Emphasis on positive social elements (prosocial behaviour, social
acceptance, human kindness, reintegration)
● Positive personal factors (resilience, positive emotions, morality)
 THEORIES OF
POSITIVE
TIM
CRIMINOLOGY
ES O
IND F
IA
 Factors of
protection and
resilience
● Kobasa, 1982.
● Resilience is crucial to helping individuals cope with risk and stress,
and recover from damaging environments and difficult circumstances.
● It requires a combination of emotional hardiness, positive adjustment,
and significant social, family, and personal protective factors.
● Positive criminology recognizes the value of resilience in the face of
challenges and harmful situations.
● Indeed, it can facilitate growth rather than engagement in a life of
crime for potential first-time offenders or possible reoffenders.
 Exposure to
goodness
● Exposure to positive human values (for example, altruism and
goodness) can help prevent at-risk individuals from choosing a criminal
path
● Getting involved – such as by volunteering – can change adolescents’
views from being egocentric to forming a more healthy, expanded
perception of the world
● After becoming involved in volunteering themselves, many of those at
risk found meaning in what they were doing and became better at self-
examination and making more positive life choices
 Social acceptance

● Ronel & Elisha, 2010.

● While ‘classical’ psychology and criminology focus on the negatives,
positive criminology explores the benefits of social acceptance.
● Indeed, replacing exclusion with inclusion can have dramatic results.
● Rather than viewing those released from prison as morally
disgraceful, mutual acceptance can improve reintegration into
the community and reinforce ongoing behavioral
 Desistance from
crime
● Maruna, Immarigeon, & LeBel, 2004
● Rather than focusing on why individuals reoffend, positive
criminology explores why individuals refrain from future criminal
activity.
● Similar to research findings regarding drug addicts, the journey to full
recovery is supported by a gradual transition from a delinquent to a
healthier social network.
● Research into ex-offenders found that the transition was not a single
jump but a series of smaller steps leading to them stopping criminal
activities.
● Along the way, they rebuilt their lives and successfully integrated into
the community in which they live.
 Restorative
justice
● Ronel & Elisha, 2010.
● Restorative justice aims to right the wrongs created by the offense
(rather than the perpetrator) by helping to heal and make better the
physical and nonphysical damage it has caused.
● This requires the perpetrator to take ownership for what they have
done and the hurt they have inflicted.
● Mediation, rehabilitation, and all form parts of the reintegration of
offenders in the community.
THA
NK
YOU