Positivism tries to explain crime by looking at the individual differences between people in terms of biological or physiological differences. It states that the qualities that make people different from one another means that some individuals are predisposed to crime more than others. This theory deals with crime by identifying those factors that predispose an individual to crime and finding a solution for those characteristics. Positivism individualizes social problems, crime and punishment. It states that the solutions are found deep within the human body or mind instead of within society.
This theory is dominated by biological positivism which looks for causes of crime within the makeup of human individuals, their bodies, and minds. Biological positivists suggest that crime and deviance are beyond the control of that person. They are just acting out deep rooted drives that come from their biology. Instead of demonic forces driving people to commit crime like it was thought in the medieval systems, the forces are physical and biological and operate within the individual.
This theory can be tied into the Classical School of Criminology by Cesare Lombroso who was an influential figure in the Classical School. One of the main points of his theory was that criminals have a distinct look to them, they didn't look the same as normal people. He called them Atavists and described them as freaks of nature, evolutionary throwbacks that hadn't fully evolved and were closer to apes than humans.
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