Theories of Delinquency

The fundamental theory of early biological criminologists, such as the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, was that crime was determined by an individual's biological make-up, meaning that some persons were born criminals who could not control their actions (Fleming, 2000). Lombroso's research on the physical individualities of criminals was rejected because of its poor quality. Recently, there has been a renewal of attention in a range of biological factors, including genetics, biochemical and neurophysiological factors. The biosocial theory states that an individual's level of provocation works in combination with the social environment (Glick, 2005). Those with low levels of provocation are less likely to learn suitable ways to deal with aggression and violence and therefore are more disposed to commit crime (Akers & Sellers, 2004).

Early biological theories view criminal behavior as the result of a defect in the individual (James & Coleman, 1973). The defect in the individual could either be biological or genetic in type, it is the defect that aids to isolated the criminal from the rest of society that abide and follows the law. Present-day biological theories focus more on disparities in genomic and added biological issues in collaboration with the social environment, and are less likely to mention biological deficiencies or abnormalities

Professor James Finckenauer has proposed that different treatment plans would change by the type of problem, but that correctional interventions could contain chemotherapy (for genetic and hormonal problems), special education for learning disabilities, and megavitamin therapy for offenders with diet-related problems (Walsh & Lee, 2007). There are no estimates available on the amount of the current offender populace that is affected by these biological factors, but it seems safe to-predict that before criminal justice agencies could address the needs of these offenders, money for treatment would be needed. It also seems likely that a policy of careful incapacitation would need to be applied to control the treatment failures that certainly would develop from these community-based programs (Lipsey, Howell, & Kelly, 2010).

Some hypothetical assumptions are that some juvenile individuals have genetically linked features that influence them to criminal behavior. Intervention strategies would have to be designed to identify those juveniles with those biological characteristics that would increase their risk of criminal behavior and once those juveniles have been identified the next step would be to provide treatment to address the problem identified. Treatment could be in the form of drug treatment or other behavior interventions. The use of specialized community supervision caseload treatment and control strategies for violent or assaultive offenders is an example of a strategy of program that could be implemented.

Punishment serves a different