The father of criminology is widely recognized as Cesare Lombroso, an Italian physician, psychiatrist, and criminologist who founded the Italian school of positivist criminology. He introduced the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, shifting the focus from moral and religious interpretations to empirical research
. Lombroso is best known for his theory of "atavism," which proposed that criminals are evolutionary throwbacks identifiable by specific physical traits, suggesting that criminality is biologically inherited. His seminal work, The Criminal Man (1876), laid the foundation for modern criminology by advocating for the use of scientific methods to study crime
. Although many of Lombroso's biological determinism ideas and reliance on physical characteristics have been discredited and criticized as pseudoscientific, his introduction of empirical approaches and his influence on criminal profiling and forensic psychology remain foundational in criminology
. In summary, Cesare Lombroso is considered the father of criminology for pioneering the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, despite the controversial nature of some of his theories.
