The source of the consensus for classical theorists is the social contract. Neoclassical criminologists modified the theory and introduced the concepts that mitigating circumstances might inhibit the exercise of free will and that punishment should be rehabilitative. Special or specific deterrence is the prevention of punished persons from committing crime again, while general deterrence is the use of the punishment of specific individuals to prevent people in general or society at large from engaging in crime. C. Positivist Approaches to Explaining Crime 1. Positivists and the fundamental basis of society a.
Positivist theorists assume that society is based primarily on a consensus over moral values.
The source of the consensus for positivisitic theorists it is the collective conscience or general sense of morality of the times. Positivist views of crime causation a. Positivists reject the classical notion that individuals have free will and rationally choose to commit crime. Positivists assume, instead, that criminal behavior is determined by biological, psychological, and social factors. First is the problem of over-prediction.