CLINICAL CRIMINOLOGY: ANTECEDENTS, METHODS AND EXPONENTS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The clinical criminology is a school of criminology that is responsible for studying the mental state of people who commit crimes. It is based on the belief that, for a person to commit a crime, they must have certain pathological features in their personality or be suffering from mental illness.

In this sense, clinical criminology seeks to understand why criminal behaviors occur, in order to be able to solve the underlying problem. Thus, one of the main objectives of this discipline is to reintegrate criminals into society.

This branch of criminology does not seek to take responsibility for their actions from people who commit a crime, but to re-educate them so that they stop being a danger to society. To do this, it combines tools from various disciplines such as traditional criminology, psychology and sociology.

Background

Clinical criminology was born as a by-product of a trend in the 19th century known as "criminological positivism."

This theory, formulated by thinkers such as César Lombroso, Enrico Ferri and Rafael Garófolo, was far from the classical conception of criminology that had prevailed until then.

The main objective of the authors of this current was the application of the scientific method to study and explain criminal behavior.

Previously, in the so-called "classical school" of criminology, crimes were understood as isolated events, without giving importance to the social characteristics of the criminal or his environment.

The authors of the new theory made a coordinated effort to formulate ideas based on experimental knowledge, without being influenced by religious or moral ideas, or by concepts that were not proven by the scientific method.

This positivism spread very quickly, becoming a very important paradigm in criminology at the time.

Main slopes

Criminological positivism developed mainly in two directions. On the one hand, the anthropological aspect defended by Lombroso appeared.

He tried to explain the criminal behavior of people based on biological factors, considering that some individuals are born predisposed to crime.

On the other hand, Ferri believed that crimes were explained above all by sociological factors; that is, a person commits a crime due to the culture in which they have been immersed.

However, both streams were complementary rather than disagreeing. This was achieved because both authors and their followers used the scientific method to verify their claims.

Influence on criminology

Over the following decades, the discoveries made by these authors and their successors became part of the body of knowledge in criminology.

Thus, in 1925 the International Penitentiary Congress was held in London, in which it was declared that all criminals should undergo physical and mental examinations.

Over the following decades, clinical criminology centers began to open around the world. Some of the most important were that of San Quintin (USA, 1944), Rome (Italy, 1954), Madrid (Spain, 1967) and Toluca (Mexico, 1966).

Methods

Clinical criminology has several main objectives when it comes to studying why a person commits criminal acts.

These include knowing the motivations of the subject, diagnosing why they have committed a crime, proposing a treatment to avoid similar problems in the future and evaluating the changes produced by the intervention once it has occurred.

For this, a series of tools and procedures are used that allow the criminologist to extract as much information as possible about the offender and the relevant factors for the case. Here we will see some of the most important procedures.

Study of the file

To understand what goes on in the mind of a criminal, the first thing to do is study his criminal record and the types of crimes he has previously committed.

A person who has only acted against the law once in isolation is not the same as someone who repeatedly breaks the rules.

Analysis of the reports

During a legal process, all kinds of psychic, sociological and biological reports of the accused are made. Therefore, a clinical criminologist who wants to know more about this person will review all the knowledge collected by the experts during this process.

Thus, for example, a specialist may examine various personality or intelligence tests, medical examinations and the subject's family history.

Interview

One of the easiest ways to learn more about a criminal is simply by interviewing them.

This interview usually falls into the category of semi-structured interview; In other words, some of the most relevant questions will be prepared in advance, leaving some freedom to improvisation.

Clinical study of the subject

If all these procedures were not enough, the clinical criminologist could apply other techniques to the subject, such as personality tests or psychological tests.

You could also conduct an observation of the offender in your day-to-day life, as well as interview people close to him to gather more information.

Main exponents

The most influential authors within clinical criminology were those belonging to the Italian School. Among them are César Lombroso, Enrico Ferri, and Raffaele Garofalo.

Cesar Lombroso

He was one of the founders of the Italian School. Lombroso was the main promoter of the practical application of pathology.

His book Experimental Anthropological Treatise on the Criminal Man, published in 1876, was one of the most influential for the development of modern criminology.

His main contribution was the classification of criminals into six different types, based on different anthropometric data that he collected in his studies.

These ideas became very controversial in their field in later years, but they are still widely accepted.

Enrico Ferri

A disciple of Lombroso, Ferri decided to focus on the study of the social factors that lead a person to commit a crime instead of the biological ones. He was a great student of the scientific method and its application, and tried to develop different methods to prevent crime.

On the other hand, he was the founder of the magazine Scuola Positiva, in addition to being considered the founder of criminal sociology.

Raffale garofalo

Garofalo, the third most important author of the Italian School, was halfway between the ideas of the other two. He believed that both biological and social factors were of great importance in the development of a criminal personality.

His efforts focused on finding "natural crime"; that is, in those actions that have been considered a crime throughout history by all types of cultures and societies.

References

1. "Clinical criminology" in: Crimina. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from crimina: crimina.es.
2. "Clinical criminology" in: Criminal Law. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Criminal Law: infoderechopenal.es.
3. "Criminological positivism" in: Crimina. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from crimina: crimina.es.
4. "Cesare Lombroso" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.
5. "Enrico Ferri" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.
6. "Raffaele Garofalo" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.