The Biological and Sociological Explanations of Crime

In this essay, I will be aiming to accurately compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of both the biological and sociological explanations of crime. Firstly, I will give a brief overview of what both the biological and sociological explanations of crime mean. I will then create a paragraph that explains the strengths and weaknesses of the theories within the biological explanation of crime; such as Lombroso’s ‘Criminal Man theory’ and Sheldon’s ‘body type’ theory Chromosome’ theory as they are relatively controversial topics within Criminology. I will then form a paragraph regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the psychological explanation of crime, by discussing theories such as ‘psychoanalytic theory’ and ‘social learning theory’. I will then conclude the essay by summarising the content of the essay and giving my own point of view on the situation. Biological explanation of crime The first biological explanation of crime that I am going to look at is Cesare Lombroso’s. Lombroso (1835-1909) was an Italian criminologist who completely rejected the thesis of ‘Classical School’, which suggested that crime was in fact a specific characteristic developed by human nature and instead had the idea that criminality, was actually inherited. From this idea, Lombroso developed his own theory of deviance, the criminal man theory (1876); which suggests that by looking at someone’s constitution; such as their physical appearance, it will indicate whether they’re a ‘bornShow MoreRelatedThe Crime Of The Criminal Justice System845 Words   |  4 PagesThis include the different theories of crime and how they have an impact the criminal justice system. Some of this theories are the Biological studies, Psychological theories, and last the Sociological theory all are used as different methods of explaining why crime exists. 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