Biography
Ferri was born in Lombardy in 1856, and worked first as a lecturer and later as a professor of Criminal law, having spent time as a student of Cesare Lombroso. While Lombroso researched anthropological criminology, Ferri focused more on social and economic influences on the criminal and crime rates.
Ferri's research led to him postulating theories calling for crime prevention methods to be the mainstay of law enforcement, as opposed to punishment of criminals after their crimes had taken place. He became a founder of the positivist school, and he researched psychological and social positivism as opposed to the biological positivism of Lombroso.
Ferri, at the time a radical, was elected to Italian Parliament in 1886. In 1893, he joined the Italian Socialist Party and edited their daily newspaper, the Avanti. In 1900 and 1904 he spoke out in congress against the roles of socialist ministers in bourgeoisie governments.
Ferri favoured Italian neutrality during World War I, and he was re-elected as a socialist party deputy in 1921. In post-war Italy, he became a supporter of Mussolini's fascist regime. Ferri died in 1929.
Read more about this topic: Enrico Ferri
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