The Schools of Criminology Pre-classical School of Criminology The Classical School Neo-classical school Positive School Cartographic School Clinical School of Criminology Sociological School of Criminology Socialist School of Criminology

Your neighbour’s son is caught shoplifting. One aunt says he made a bad choice and should be punished so he learns. Another says something is wrong with him and he needs a counsellor. A third says look at the gang he runs with. A fourth says the shop prices are the real crime. Each aunt has unknowingly joined a school of criminology. This topic sorts them out and shows what each school would do with the boy.

In two minutes

Each school answers the question ‘why do people offend?’ differently, and each answer leads to a different response: choice leads to deterrent punishment, biology or psychology to treatment, social conditions to reform of society.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Criminology and Penology on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.