Written by- Sonali

Criminology Volunteer

Abstract:

Cesare Lombroso is known as the father of criminology. Lombroso coined the term “born criminal” stating that criminality was biological and could be detected through physical characteristics, concluding that criminals were evolutionary regressions. Criminals, according to Lombroso, are divided into four categories: Criminaloids; Criminals by Passion; Born Criminals; Occasional Criminals; and a mechanism for forecasting criminal behavior would be developed by collecting anthropological data, such as physiological measurements.

Introduction:

Criminologists are those who study and research crime and the responses of society to crime. Some criminologists look at the habits of potential criminals. Criminologists, for the most part, perform research and investigations, formulating hypotheses and examining empirical trends. The study of the nature of crime and criminals, the origin of criminal law, the causes of crime, the social response to crime and the functioning of law enforcement organizations and prison facilities are all topics that criminologists are interested in.

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) is an Italian criminologist, anthropologist and physician who first coined the word "psycho" and defined it as a "feeling of energy in an individual or collective sense.” He is the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established classical school, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature. His work is widely regarded as a legitimate contribution to the scientific study of human behavior. Lombroso’s theory was that crime could be explained by simple physical factors such as cranial length, facial angle, etc., but he also advanced ideas about criminality which are now widely discredited. In 1905, he studied medicine at the University of Turin and later graduated as a physician. Cesare Lombroso is most famous for his views on criminality and race. He began his research comparing prisoners to non-criminals; he argued that crime committed by criminals was more motivated by their inferior moral state than their actual moral faculties. He was born in Italy and died in Paris on October 30, 1922.