n addition, biological and psychological causes of crime may violate the mens rea requirement, and we recognize this in the law with such things as the insanity defense.) Sociological theories do try to explain these differences by explaining crime in terms of the social environment. There are variations in theory under this general heading depending on what specific aspect of the social environment is seen as causative. Theorists who focus on economic factors see crime as caused by the economic conditions of a society.
Criminology can be divided into two basic streams of thought. The first is that of classical criminology, which has different approaches under the same basic heading. Cesare Beccaria is one theorist under this heading, and he believed that laws were necessary in society to maintain the social contract and that in order to assure that this contract was supported, these laws should show equity
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