Which theory focuses on the crime and its consequences rather than the offender?

• A. Hedonism
• B. Atavism
• C. Mala en se crimes
• D. Classical School

Answer: (D)

The main idea tested is that crime is deterred by the consequences of the act, with punishment designed to be swift, certain, and proportionate, rather than focusing on the individual offender. This is the Classical School, associated with Beccaria and Bentham, which treats laws and penalties as tools to deter rational actors who weigh costs and benefits before acting. The emphasis is on the offense and its consequences to prevent crime, not on the offender’s biology, psychology, or character. Other approaches focus on the offender’s nature (atavism), classify crimes by inherent wrongness (mala en se), or explain motivation in terms like pursuing pleasure, but they do not center on a policy framework that uses punishment and deterrence of the act itself in the way the Classical School does.