The Biological Factors In Criminality

Biological factors in criminality is a “deterministic approach” when a criminal behaviour has a psychological origin, meaning there can be inherited characteristics of person’s behaviour. There is a genotype which also has a low level of the enzyme that can cause violence in people. This gene and being exposed to abuse as a child connects together causing the violence to be present in person’s behaviour. A damage to the prefrontal cortex connects to antisocial behaviour. The damage usually happens because of the head injury.

An Italian army doctor, Cesare Lombroso collected the features and traits, which showed that the criminals were born with these features. According to Keith E Rice, The Biological Factors in Crime article states that “Based on the physical measurements he collected from Italian prisoners and non-criminal military personnel, Lombroso held that many criminals had been born with ‘atavistic’ features. Criminals had definite biological failings that prevented them from developing to a fully human level. They showed certain ape-like characteristics or sometimes just ‘savage’ features. Such physical anomalies included large jaws, high cheek bones, large ears, long arms, thick skulls and extra nipples, toes and fingers.” People with these features are seen as criminals in the society because these traits made them look like criminals in people’s minds. These features made people look bad and some people are judged because of it. It is not right to judge people based on how they look like.

William Sheldon argued that the person’s body shape describes what kind of person they are. People with mesomorph body shape are most likely to get involved with a crime. Mesomorph body shape is an aggressive and muscular frame so the question is why do people think that people with an aggressive body shape are criminals?

Sources:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09111601

http://www.integratedsociopsychology.net/crime-biological_factors.html

http://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector/drivers-of-crime/publications-and-background-information/documents/spb-biological-risk-factors

http://euc.sagepub.com/content/2/3/287.abstract