The main tenet of the positivist theory is that some individuals are more likely to commit crimes than others because of some underlying reason. This may be because of some underlying personality trait, coming from a broken home, a low IQ or some other factor in their environment. Hans Eysenck was one of the main proponents of this theory and suggested that some individuals have personality traits such as neuroticism, narcissism or psychoticism that makes them pre-adapted to commit a crime (Siegel 59). The theory is mainly aimed at individuals who commit crimes that are particularly socially unacceptable and may stem from mental illnesses, such as those who are involved in brutal mass murders, school shootings (Siegel 59) but can also be applied to individuals who commit more minor crimes because of their situation and previous lives (Siegel 60).
The basic assumption of this theory is that people commit crimes based on who they are and where they have come from, rather than through “free will” as seen in the Classical Theory (Siegel 12). People may believe that they are choosing to commit a certain crime, but really it is a product of who they are and how they have lived. It is a more accepting look at crime in that it really focuses on the reasons why people commit illegal acts rather than blaming them. In this sense, the criminal is a product of their environment rather than being a generally bad person. It also suggests that, once the individual has committed to a criminal lifestyle, the personality traits that caused them to commit a crime will prevail until counseling is successful (Siegel 64).
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"Criminology: Positivist Theory".
On October 24th, 2014, a school shooting occurred at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in WA. The perpetrator of the crime, named as Jaylen Fryberg, shot at give students and then killed himself, leaving two injured students and four dead (Flores web). Although the student was a member of the Tulalip Indian Tribe, news sources state that this was the act of the individual and not of the tribe (Flores web). In this case, Fryberg has been noted to be suffering from some serious mental health problems. Although there was no mention of bullying in the report, it was noted that Fryberg’s Twitter account had taken a dark turn before the shooting and that there were some messages relating to suicide (Flores web). This fits in with the Positivist Theory because it suggests that Fryberg committed these crimes as a result of having a mental propensity toward crime and underlying environmental issues that contributed to his actions.
The Positivist theory also suggests that the individual may not be able to understand the wrongfulness of their actions (Siegel 62). Although we cannot say whether or not Fryberg was aware of the morality of his actions as he sadly committed suicide, it is interesting to consider whether this plays a part. Some part of him felt that it was justified to commit a school shooting or he would not have done it, despite the fact that it may be due to his underlying issues (Siegel 62). It does not seem like a conscious, rational decision to an outsider and it is unlikely that Fryberg acted in a conscious, rational manner (Flores web). It is noted also that someone had been using racial slurs against Fryberg prior to the incident. This is likely to have been a trigger for his actions, and could also be related to Labeling Theory – in which an individual commits a crime because of the labels that society puts on them (Siegel 81).
