The main weakness of the Classical School of thought, in my opinion, is that it does not fit the contemporary environment of crime prevention. The Classical view focuses on the punishment as the ultimate method of crime prevention. However, harsh punishment often contradicts the premises of human rights and ethics that were developed in the 20th century. Torture and execution, although prevalent in the past, is now forbidden in developed countries.
Therefore, instead of focusing on punishment, it is necessary to include other strategies for crime prevention. For instance, situational crime prevention strategies include infrastructure and security provisions that can prevent crime and contribute to investigations in case a crime occurs. Another critical shortcoming of the Classical theory is that it views crime as a choice not influenced by external circumstances.
Due to the development of psychology, scholars have come to understand the factors that affect decision-making and lead to crimes. For instance, peer pressure is the ultimate force that causes adolescents to engage in criminal behavior and disregarding this link could impair crime prevention strategies. Thus, the Classical school of thought was abandoned because it offered a limited perspective on the problem of crime and could not be used to deter crime effectively.