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INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY

 CRIMINOLOGY
-The entire body of knowledge regarding crimes, criminals and the effort of society to prevent and repress them.
-The scientific study of the causes of crimes in relation to man and society who set and define rules and regulations for himself and
other to govern.

 THE EVOLUTION OF CRIMINOLOGY


- The term criminology was derived from the Italian term “criminologia” coined by Raffaelle Garafalo,an Italian law professor, in
1885.
- In 1887, Paul Topinard, a French anthropologist, used the term “criminologie”.
- An American criminologist in the person of Edwin Sutherland introduced his own definition of the term “criminology”. According to
him, criminology is the entire body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the process
of making laws, of breaking laws and of reacting towards the breaking of the laws.

 NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY
1. It is an applied science.
2. It is a social science. Crime is a social creation and it exists in a society being a social phenomenon.
3. It is dynamic. Criminology changes as a social condition changes. It is concomitant with the advancement of other science that
have been applied to it.
4. It is nationalistic. The study of crimes must be in relation with the existing criminal law within a territory or country. The
question as to whether an act is a crime is dependent on the criminal law of a state.

 SCOPE OF THE STUDY OF CRIMINOLOGY


1. Study of the origin and development of criminal law
2. Study of the causes of crimes and development of criminals.
3. Study of different factors that enhance the development of criminal behavior, such as:
a. Criminal demography - the study of the relationship between criminality and population.
b. Criminal epidemiology – the study of the relationship between environment and criminality.
c. Criminal ecology – the study of criminality in relation to the spatial distribution in a community.
d. Criminal physical anthropology – the study of criminality in relation to physical constitution of men.
e. Criminal psychology – the study of human behavior in relation to criminality
f. Criminal psychiatry – the study of human mind in relation to criminality.
g. Victimology – the study of the role of the victim in the commission of crime

A. Criminal etiology = the study of the Cause or origin of crime. It studies the primary reason for crime commission.
B. Sociology of law = attempt at scientific analysis of the condition which the penal/criminal laws has developed as a process of
formal or social control.
C. Sociology = it is the study of human society, its origin, structure, functions and direction.
D. Criminological research = study of the crime correlated to with antecedent variables, state of crime trend.

 CRIME
- An act or omission in violation of public law forbidding or commanding it.

 SUB-CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES
a. FELONY
- An act or omission punishable by law which is committed by means or dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault) and punishable under the
Revised Penal Code.
b. OFFENSE
- An act or omission in violation of a special law.
c. 3) INFRACTION
- An act or omission in violation of a city or municipal ordinance.

Classes of Crimes
1. Crime Mala In Se = acts that are outlawed because they violate basic moral values such as rape, murder, assault and robbery?
a. Intentional felony (IFI)
b. Non-intentional felony (IFN)
2. Crime Mala Prohibita = acts that are outlawed because they clash with current norms and public opinion, such as tax, traffic and
drug laws.
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ELEMENT OF A FELONY
a) INTENTIONAL FELONIES:
- committed by means of dolo (deceit)
- The act or omission is performed with deliberate intent or malice
1) Freedom or voluntariness
2) Intelligence
3) Intent

b) CULPABLE FELONIES:
- committed by means of Culpa (fault)
- The act or omission of the offender is not malicious and the injury caused by the offender is unintentional, it being the simply the
incident of another act performed without malice
1) Freedom or voluntariness
2) Intelligence
3) Negligence or imprudence (lack of
Foresight or lack of skill)

LEGAL CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES


1) As to the manner crimes are committed:
a) by means of dolo or deceit
b) by means of culpa or fault
2) As to the stage in the commission of crimes:
a) Consummated crime - when all the element necessary for its execution and accomplishment are present
b) Frustrated crime – when the offender has performed all the acts of execution which will produce the felony as a consequence but
which nevertheless do not produce it, by reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator
c) Attempted crime – when the offender commences the commission of crime directly by overt acts and does not perform all the
acts of execution which should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance
3) According to plurality:
a) simple crime – single act constituting only one offense
b) Complex crime – single act constituting two or more grave felonies or an is a necessary means for committing the other
4) According to gravity:
a) Grave felonies – those the law attaches the capital punishment or afflictive penalties
b) Less grave felonies – those to which the law attaches correccional penalties
c) Light felonies – those to which the law attaches the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding P200.00

CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES


1) According to the result of the crime:
a) Acquisitive crime – the offer acquires something
b) Extinctive crime – the consequence of the act is destructive
2) According to the time or period of the commission of the crime:
a) Seasonal crime – committed only during a certain period of the year
b) Situational crime – committed only when the situation is conductive to its commission
3) According to the length of time of the commission of the crime:
a) Instant crime – committed in the shortest possible time
b) Episoidal crime – committed by series of acts in lengthy space of time
4) According to the place or location:
a) Static crime - committed in only one place
b) Continuing crime – committed in several place
5) According to the use of mental faculties:
a) Rational crime – committed with intent and the offender is in full possession of his sanity
b) Irrational crime –committed by an offender who does not know the nature and quality of his act an account of the disease
of the mind
6) According to the type of offender:
a) White collar crime – committed by a person belonging to the upper socio- economic class in the course of his occupational
activities
b) Blue collar crime – committed by ordinary professional criminal to maintain his livelihood
Other types of crimes
Bias crime = acts directed toward a particular person or members of a group merely because the targets share a discernible
racial, ethnic, religious or gender characteristics. Also called hate crimes.
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Cleared crimes = two ways by which crimes are closed: (1) when at least one person arrested, charge, and turned over to
the court for prosecution, (2) by exception means, when some element beyond police control precludes the physical arrest of an
offender e.g. when he/she leaves the country.
Corporative crimes = white collar crime involving a legal violation by corporate entity such as price fixing, restraint of trade,
or hazardous waste dumping.
Crime of reduction = crimes that are committed when the offended party experiences a loss of some quality relative to his
her present standing such as when they becomes victims of robbery or theft, but they may also be victimized if their dignity is
stripped from them when they are taunted by racists.
Crime of repression = crimes that are committed when members of a group are prevented from achieving their fullest
potential because of racism, sexism, or some status bias.
Cyber crime = the commission of criminal acts using the instruments of modern technology such as computers or the
internet.
Economical crime = an act in violation of the criminal that is designed to bring financial gain to the offender.
Enterprise crime = the use of illegal tactics by a business to make profits in the market place.
Expressive crime = a crime that has no purpose except to accomplish the behavioral hand such as shooting someone.
Hate crime = act of violence or intimidation design to terrorize or frighten people considered undesirable because of their
race, religion, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.
Inchoate crime = incomplete or contemplated crimes such as criminal solicitation or criminal attempts.
Mission hate crimes = violent crimes committed by disturbed individuals who see it as their duty to rid the world of evil.
Organizational crimes = crimes that involves large corporations and their efforts to control the market place and earn huge
profits, through unlawful bidding, unfair advertising, monopolistic practices, or other illegal means.
Organized crimes = illegal activities of people and organization whose acknowledge purpose is profit to illegitimate
business enterprise.
Public order crimes = Acts that are considered illegal because they threaten general well- being of society and challenge its
accepted moral principles. Prostitution, drug use, and the sale of pornography are considered public order crimes.
Reactive hate crime = perpetrators believe they are taking a defensive stand against outsiders who they believe threaten
their community or way of life.
Retaliatory hate crime = offense committed in response to a hate crime, real or perceived.
Statutory crimes =crimes defined by legislative bodies in response to changing social conditions, public opinion, and
custom.
Trill-seeking hate crime = hatemonger who join forces to have fun by bashing minorities or destroying property; inflicting
pain on others gives a sadistic thrill.
Victimless crimes = that violate the moral order but in which there in no actual victim or target in these crimes which
include drug abuse and sex offenses. It is society as a whole and not an individual who is considered the victim.
White – collar crimes = illegal acts that capitalize on a person’s status in the market place. It may involve theft,
embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation restraint of trade, and false advertising.

Other term referring to crimes


I. Crime of Rape
a. acquaintance rape = forcible sex in which offender and the victim are acquitted with one another
b. aggravated rape = rape involving multiple offenders, weapons and victim injuries.
c. date rape = forcible sex during the courting relationship.
d. gang rape = forcible sex involving multiple attacker.
e. marital rape = forcible sex between people who are legally married to each other.
f. serial rape =multiple rapes committed by one person over time.
g. statutory rape = sexual relations between an underage minor females and an adult male.
II. Crime of killing
a. Homicide = the killing of human being by another.
b. Parricide = the act of killing one’s own father, mother, spouse, or child.
c. Infanticide = killing of an infant less than 3 days old.
d. Sororicide = killing one’s own sister.
e. Fracticide = killing of one’s own brother.
f. Matricide = killing of a mother by her own child.
g. Patricide = killing of a father by his own child.
h. Uxoricide = act of one who murders his wife.
i. Eldercide = the murder of a senior citizen.
j. Abortion (aborticide) = an act of destroying (killing) a fetus in the womb.
k. suicide = taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally.
l. Regicide = the killing or murder of a king
m. Vaticide = the killing of a prophet.
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n. euthanasia = mercy killing or the act or practice of painless putting to death a person’s suffering from incurable and distressing
disease.
o. Involuntary manslaughter = a homicide that occurs as a result of acts that are negligent and without regard for the harm they
may cause others, such as driving while under the influence of liquor or drugs. (also known as negligent manslaughter).
p. Voluntary manslaughter = a homicide committed in the heat of passion or during a sudden quarrel; although intent may be
present, malice is not.
q. Mass murder = the killing of a large number of people in single incident by an offender who is typically does not seek concealment
or escape.
r. Murder = the unlawful killing of human being with malicious intent.
s. serial Murder = the killing of large number of people over time by offender who seek to escape detection.
III. Crimes against Property
a.Acquaintance against robbery = robbery who focus their theft on people they know.
b. Arson = the intentional or negligent burning of a home, structure, or vehicle for criminal purpose such as profit, revenge, fraud or
crime concealment.
c. Arson for profit = people looking to collect insurance money, but who afraid or unafraid to set the fire themselves, hire
professional arsonist.
d. Arson fraud = a business owner burns his or her property, or hires someone to do it, to escape financial problem.
e. Burglary = braking into and entering a home or structure for the purpose of committing a felony.
f. Carjacking = theft of a car by force or threat of force.
g. Churning = a white collar crime in which a stockbroker makes repeated trades to fraudulently increase his/her commission.
h. Commercial theft = business theft that is part of the criminal law; without such laws the free enterprise system could not exists.
i. Grand larceny = theft of money or property of substantial values, punished as a felony.
j. Larceny = taking for one’s own use the property of another, by means other than force or threats on the victim or forcibly breaking
into a person’s home or workplace; theft.
k. Petit (petty) larceny = theft of a small amount of money or property, punished as a misdemeanor.
l. Pilferage = theft by employees through stealth or deception.
m. Robbery = taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force and /or by putting the victim in fear.
n. Shoplifting = the taking of goods from retailed store.

CRIMINAL
-In the legal sense, a criminal is any person who has been found to have committed a wrongful act in the course of the standard
judicial process; there must be a final verdict of his guilt.
-In the criminological sense, a person already considered a criminal the moment he committed a crime.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMINALS


1) On the basis of etiology:
a) Acute criminals – persons who violated criminal law because at the impulse of the moment, fit of passion or anger.
b) Chronic criminals - persons who acted in consonance with deliberated thinking such as:
b.1) neurotic criminals – persons whose acting arise from the intra-physic conflict between the social and anti-social
components of his personality.
b.2) normal criminals – persons whose psychic organization resembles that of a normal individual except that he identifies
himself with criminal prototype.

2) On the basis of behavioral system:


a) Ordinary criminals – the lowest form of criminal career; they engaged only inconventional crimes which require limited
skill.
b) Organized criminals – these criminals have a high degree of organization that enables them to commit crimes without
being detected and committed to specialized activities which can be operated in large scale business.
c) Professional criminals – these are highly skilled and able to obtain considerable amount of money without being detected
because of organization and contact with other professional criminals.
3) On the basis of activities:
a) Professional criminals –those who earn their living through criminal activities.
b) Accidental criminals – those who commit criminal acts as a result of unanticipated circumstance.
c) Habitual criminals – those who continue to commit criminal acts for such diverse reason due to deficiency of intelligence
and lack of control.
d) Situational criminals – those who are actually not criminals but get in trouble with legal authorities because they commit
crimes intermixed with legitimate economic activities.
Other Criminal types
Career criminal = a person who repeatedly violates law and organized his or her neighbors.
Professional criminals = offenders who make a significant portion of their income for crime.
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Professional fence = an individual who earns his or her living solely by buying and retailing stolen merchandise.
Reasoning criminal = according to the rational choice approach, law-violating behavior occurs when an offender decides to
risk breaking the law after considering both personal factors such as need for money, revenge, thrills and entertainment and
situational factors such as how well a target is protected and the efficiency of the local police force.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF CRIMINAL LAW


CRIMINAL LAW or PENAL LAW
- That branch of public law which defines crimes, treats of their nature and provides for their punishment
REVISED PENAL CODE (RPC) – Act. No. 3815
- The book that contains the Philippines criminal law.
- Effectively of the RPC is 1 January 1932
- Approved on December 8, 1930
CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL LAW
1) It is general in application/ GENERALITY:
The provision of the criminal or penal law must be applied equally to all persons within the territory regardless of sex, race,
nationality and other personal circumstances, with the following exception:
a) Heads of state or country
b) Foreign diplomats and ambassador
2) It is territorial in character/TERRITORIALITY:
As part of the right of a state to self-preservation, each independent country has the right to promulgate laws enforceable
within its territorial jurisdiction, subject only to the limitations imposed by treaties of preferential applications and by the operation
of international law of nations. The Revised penal Code and the other special laws are applicable only to the areas within the
Philippine territorial jurisdiction, such as:
a) Philippine archipelago – all the islands
that comprise the Philippines
b) Atmosphere water – all bodies of water
that connect all the islands such as
bays, river and stream
c) Maritime zone – the twelve (12)
Nautical Mile limit beyond our shore
measured at low tide
EXCEPTION TO THE TERRITORIAL CHARACTER OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE:
The revised Penal Code shall be applicable to all cases committed outside the Philippine territorial jurisdiction under the
following circumstances:
a) Should commit an offense while on Philippines ship or airship:
b) Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippines island or obligation and securities issued by the
government of the Philippines;
c) While being a public officer or employee should commit an offense in the exercise of their function
d) Should commit any of the crimes against national security and law of nations

3) It is prospective or retrospective /PROSPECTIVITY:


No person may be punished for his act when at the time he committed the act, it is still not yet punishable by law. However,
penal laws may be given retroactive effect when it is favorable to the accused.

4) It is specific and definite.


Criminal law must give a strict definition of a specific act which constitutes an offense. Where there is doubt as to whether
a definition embodied in the Revised Penal Code applies to the accused or not, the judge is obligated to decide the case in favor of
the accused. Criminal law must be constructed liberally in favor of the accused and strictly against the state.

5) It is uniform in application.
An act described as a crime is a crime no matter who committed it. Wherever committed in the Philippines and whenever
committed. No exception must be made as to the criminal liability. The definition of crimes together with the corresponding
punishment must be uniformly constructed, although there may be a difference in the enforcement of a given specific provision of
the penal law.

6) There must be a penal sanction or punishment.


Penal sanction is the most essential part of the definition of the crimes. If there is no penalty to a prohibited act, its
enforcement will almost be impossible. The penalty is acting as deterrence and as a measured of self-defense of the state to protect
society from the threat and wrong inflicted by the criminal.
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EVOLUTION OF CRIMINAL LAWS


A) PREHISTORIC CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Primitive tribes
- Punishment may be in the form of ostracism and expulsion
- Adultery may be punished by the aggrieved husband who may kill the adulterer and his own attending wife
- Crime may be avenged by the victim himself or by the victim’s family

8) THE EARLY CODES


1) CODE OF HAMMURABI
- Hammurabi the king of Babylon during the eighteenth century BC is recognized as the first codifier of laws.
- It provides the first comprehensive view of the laws in the early days.
- The Code was carved in stone
- The “law of talion”, on the principle of “tit for tat”, (an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth) appears throughout the Code
- Under the principle of the law of talion, the punishment should be the same as the harm inflicted on the victim
Highlight of the Code of Hammurabi:
a) Compensation to the victim of a robbery by the authorities if the thief was not caught
b) The killer is answerable not to the family of the victim but to the king
c) Death was the penalty for robbery, theft, false witness, building a house that falls on its owner
(If the house should collapse and kill the owner’s son, the son of the builder would be the one executed)
d) A son who struck his father would suffer the amputation of a hand
e) If in an assault a victim’s bone was broken, the same bone of the assailant would be broken

2) THE HITTITES
- The Hittites existed about two centuries after Hammurabi and eventually conquered Babylon

Highlight of the laws of the Hittites:


- Capital punishment was used for many offenses, except for homicide or robbery
- Rape, sexual intercourse with animals, defiance of the authority and sorcery were all punishable by death
- The law of homicide provided for the restitution to the victim’s heirs
- Law enforcement and judicial functions were placed in the hands of commanders of military garrisons

3) CODE OF DRAKON
- knows as the “ultimate in severity”
- codified by Drakon, the Athenian lawgiver of the seventh century BC
Highlight of the Code of Drakon:
- Death was the punishment for almost every offense
- Murderers might avoid execution by going into exile; if they return to Athens, it was not a crime to kill them
- Death penalty was administered with great brutality

4) LAWS OF SOLON
- Solon was appointed archon and was given legitimate powers
- Solon repealed all the laws of the Code of Drakon, except the law on homicide
- Solon was one of the first to see that a lawgiver had to make laws that applied equally to all citizens and also saw that the law of
punishment had to maintain proportionality to the crimes committed
Highlights of the Laws of Solon:
- the thief was required to return stolen property and pay the victim a sum equal to twice its value
- for the crime of temple robbery, the penalty was death
- for rape of a woman, the penalty was a fine of certain amount

5) ROME’S TWELVE TABLES


- Roman law began with the Twelve Tables which were written in the middle of the sixth century BC
- the Twelve Tables were the foundation of all laws in Rome and written in tablets of bronze
- the Twelve Tables were drafted by the Decemvirs, a body of men composed of patricians
Highlight of the Twelve Tables:
- if a man break another’s limb and does not compensate the injury, he shall be liable to retaliation
- a person who committed arson of a house or a stack of com shall be burned alive
- judges who accepted bribes as well as those who bribed them were subject to execution
- any act of treason was punishable by crucifixion

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN CRIMINOLOGY


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CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
The classical school at criminology grew out of a reaction against barbaric system of law, punishment and justice that
existed. There was no real system of criminal justice in Europe at that time. Some crimes were specified, some were not. judges had
discretionary power to convict a person for an act not even legally defined as criminal.
This school of thought is based on the assumption that individuals choose to commit crimes after weighing the
consequences of their actions. According to classical criminologists, individuals havefree will. They can choose legal or illegal
means to get what they want, fear of punishment can deter them from committing crime and society can control behavior by
making the pain of punishment greater than the pleasure of the criminal gains.
This theory, however, does not give any distinction between an adult and a minor or a mentally-handicapped in as far as
free will is concerned.

FOUNDER OF THE CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY


1) CESARE BONESANA MARCHESE DI BECCARIA (1738-1794)
- published a book entitled “On Crimes and Punishment” in 1764; this book presented a coherent and comprehensive
design for an enlightened criminal justice system that was to serve the people
- his book contains almost all modern penal reforms but its greatest contribution was the foundation it laid for subsequent
changes in criminal legislation
- his book was influential in the reforms of penal code in France, Russia, Prussia and it influenced the first ten amendments
to the US Constitution
HIGHLIGHTS OF CESARE BECCARIA’S IDEAS REGARDING CRIMES AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
“In forming a human society, men and women sacrifice a portion of their liberty so as to enjoy peace and security”
“Punishment that go beyond the need of preserving the public safety are in their nature unjust”
“Criminal laws must be clear and certain. Judges must make uniform judgments in similar crimes.”
“The law must specify the degree of evidence that will justify the detention of an accused offender prior to his trial.”
“Accusations must be public. False accusations should be severely punished.”
“To torture accused offenders to obtain a confession is inadmissible.”
“The promptitude of punishment is one of the most effective curbs on crime.”
“The aim of punishment can only be to prevent the criminal from committing new crimes against his countrymen, and to
keep others from doing likewise. Punishments, therefore, and the method of inflicting them, should be chosen in due proportion to
the crime, so as to make the most lasting impression on the minds of men…”
“Capital punishment is inefficacious and its place should be substituted life imprisonment.”

“It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. That is the chief purpose of all good legislation.”

JEREMY BENTHAM
- founded the concept of UTILITARIANISM - assumes that all our actions are calculated in accordance with their likelihood
of bringing pleasure and pain
- devised the pseudo-mathematical formula called “felicific calculus” which states that individuals are human calculators
who put all the factors into an equation in order to decide whether a particular crime is worth committing or not
- he reasoned that in order to deter individuals from committing crimes, the punishment, or pain, must be greater than the
satisfaction, or pleasure, he would gain from committing the crime
-
Rational Choice theory = law violating behavior occurs when the offender decides to risk breaking the law after considering both
personal factors and situational factors.

Offense – specific = means that criminals does not simply engage in random acts of anti-social behavior.

Offender-specific =means that criminals does not simply engage in random acts of anti-social behavior.
Three essential elements in decision making as to commit or not to commit crime:
1) Type of crime
2) Time and place of crime
3) Target

NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
This theory modified the doctrine of free will by stating that free will of men may be affected by other factors and crime is
committed due to some compelling reasons that prevail. These causes are pathology, incompetence, insanity or any condition that
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will make it impossible for the individual to exercise free will entirely. In the study of legal provisions, this is termed as their
mitigating or exempting circumstances.

POSITIVIST CRIMINOLOGY
During the late eighteenth century, significant advances in knowledge of both the physical and social world influenced
thinkingabout crime.Forces of positivism and evolutionism moved the field of criminology from philosophical to a scientific
perspective.
Positive theorist was the first to claim the importance of looking at individual difference among criminals. These theorists
focused on biological, psychological and sociological causation of crime.
CESAR LOMBBROSO
- Considered the FATHER OF MODERN CRIMINOLOGY due to his application of modern scientific methods to trace criminal
behavior, however, most of his ideas are now discredited
- He claimed that criminals are distinguishable from non-criminals due to the presence of atavistic stigmata (Atavistic
anomalies) – the physical features of creatures at an earlier stage of development
- He asserted that crimes are committed by those who are born with certain recognizable hereditary traits
- According to his theory, criminals are usually in possession of huge jaws and strong canine teeth, the arm span of
criminals is often greater than their height, just like that of apes who use their forearms to push themselves along the
ground
- Other physical stigmata include deviation in head size and shape, asymmetry of the face, excessive dimensions of the jaw
and cheekbones, eye defects and peculiarities, ears of unusual size, nose twisted, upturn or flattened in thieves, or aquiline
or beaklike in murderers, fleshy lips, swollen and protruding, and pouches in the cheek like those of animal’s toes
- Lombroso’s work supported the idea that the criminal was a biologically and physically inferior person
- According to him, there are three (3) classes of criminals:
1) Born criminals – individuals with at least five (5) atavistic stigmata
2) Insane criminals – those who are not criminals by birth; they become criminals as a result of some changes in their brains
which interfere with their ability to distinguish between right and wrong
3) Criminaloids – those with makeup of an ambiguous group that includes habitual criminals, criminals by passion and other
diverse types.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES UNDER THE POSITIVIST CRIMINOLOGY
A) BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
this explanation for the existence of criminal traits associates an individual’s evil disposition to physical disfigurement or
impairment.

1) GIAMBATTISTA DELA PORTA (1535-1615)


- Italian physician who founded the school of human physiognomy, the study of facial features and their relation to human
behavior, the study of judging a person’s character from facial features to determine whether the shape of the ears, nose
and eyes and the distances between them were associated with anti-social behavior
2) JOHANN KASPAR LAVATER (1741-1801)
- Swiss theologian who believe that people’s true characters and inclinations could be read from their facial features
3) FRANZ JOSEPH GALL (1758-1828)
- Born in Germany a renowned neuro-anatomist and physiologist and a localization of mental function in the brain
- Developed cranloscopy a method of study the personality and development of mental and moral faculties based on the
external shape of the skull
- Cranioscopy was later renamed as phrenology, the study that deals with the relationship between the skull and human
behavior
4) CHRLES GORING (1870-1919)
- Also studied phrenology or craniology which deals with the study of the external formation of the skull indicating the
conformation of the brain and the development of its various parts which is directly related to the behavior of the criminal
- He believed that criminal characteristics were inherited and recommended that people with such characteristics should
not be allowed to reproduce.
- Relationship between crime and defective intelligence such as feeblemindedness, epilepsy, insanity and detective social
instinct.
5) JOHANN KASPAR SPURZHEIM (1776-1832)
- German phrenologist who was the assistant of Gall
- He was the man most responsible for popularizing and spreading phrenology to a wide audience

PHYSIOLOGY OR SOMATOTYPE
-this refers to the study of the body build of a person in relation to his temperament and personality and the type of
offense he is most prone to commit. It became popular in the 1 st half of the 20th century
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The following are the proponents of the somatotype school of criminology:


1) ERNEST KRETSCHMER
- He correlated body build and constitution with characters or temperamental reactions and mentality
- He distinguished three (3) principal types of physiques:

a) Asthenic – lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders; their crimes are petty thievery and fraud
b) Athletic – medium to tail, strong, muscular, coarse bones; they are usually connected with crimes of violence
c) Pyknic – medium height, rounded figures, massive neck, broad face; they tend to commit deception, fraud and
violence

2) WILLIAM SHELDON
- formulated his own group of somatotype:

TYPE OF PHYSIQUE and TEMPERAMENT


a) endomorphic – relatively large digestive viscera; round body; short’ tapering limbs; bones; smooth, velvety skin.
Viscerotonic – generally relax and comfortable small person, loves luxury and essentially extrovert.

b) Mesomorphic – with relative predominance of muscles, bones and motor organs of the body with large wrist and hands
Romotonic – active, dynamic; walks, talks and gestures assertively and behaves aggressively

c) Ectomorphic – relative pre- dominance of skin and its appendages which includes the nervous system; it has fragile and delicate
bones; with droopy shoulders, small face and sharp nose, fine hair
cerebrotonic –introvert prone to allergies, skin troubles, chronic fatigue, insomnia, sensitive skin and sensitive to noise and with
relatively small body

HEREDITY AS A FACTOR IN CRIMINALITY


1) RICHARD DUGDALE
- He studied the lives of the members of theJUKES FAMILY and referred to ADA MARGARETH JUKES as the MOTHER OF CRIMINALS.
- he discovered that from among the descendents of Ada Jukes, there were 280 pauper, 60 thieves, 7 murderers, 40 other criminals,
40 persons with venereal diseases and 50 prostitutes
- he claimed that since families produce generations of criminals, they must have been transmitting degenerate traits down the line

2) HENRY GODDARD
- he studied the lives of the KALLIKAK FAMILY and found that among the descendants from MARTIN KALLIKAK’s relationship with a
feeble-minded lady, there were 143 feeble-minded and only 46 normal, 36 were illegitimate, 3 epileptic, 3 criminals, 8 kept brothels
and 82 died of infancy; his marriage with a woman from a good family produced almost all normal descendants, only 2 were
alcoholics, I was convicted of religious offense, 15 died at infancy and no one became criminal or epileptic.

INTELLIGENCE AS A FACTOR IN CRIMINALITY


The classic studies of the Juke and Kallikak families were among the first to show that feebleminded or low-intelligence can
be inherited and transferred from one generation to the next. Numerous test were also conducted that lead to the development of
the use of IQ test as a testing procedure for offenders. The very first results seemed to confirm that offenders had low mental
abilities and they were found to be mentally impaired.

PSYCHOLOGICAL DETRMINISM
This explains the psychological determinants which define behavior of a person. This idea has long been hatched by
thinkers who were consumed by the belief that it is the psychological equivalents that prod the person to act the way he does.
There are many ways to classify psychological theories emphasize emotional problems, mental disorders, sociopathy and
thinking patterns. But the common assumption of these theories is that there is something wrong with the mind of the offender
which caused him to commit crimes.
From among the many theories regarding the relationship of psychology and crime, the psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund
Freud is the most notable:

1) SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939)


He is recognized as the FATHER OF PSYCHOANALYSIS
- he believed that man carry with him residue of the most significant emotional attachments of his childhood, which then guide
future interpersonal relationship.
- he founded the PSYCHOANALYTIC (Psychodynamic) THEORY OF CRIMINALITY in which he attributed delinquent and criminal
behavior to a conscience that is overbearing which arouses feelings of guilt or a conscience that is so weak that it cannot control the
individual’s impulses and the need for immediate gratification.
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- in his theory, PERSONALITY IS COMPOSED OF THREE COMPONENTS:

a) ID – this stands for instinctual drives; the primitive part of the individual’s mental make-up present ay birth; it is governed by the
“pleasure principal”; represent the unconscious biological drives for pleasure; the id impulses are not social and must be repressed
or adapted so that they may become socially acceptable

b) EGO – this is considered to be the sensible and responsible part of an individual’s personality and is governed by the ”reality
principle”; it is developed early in the demands of the id by helping the individuals guide his actions to remain within the
boundaries of accepted social behavior; it is the objective, rational part if the personality.

c) SUPEREGO – serves as the moral conscience of an individual; it is structured by what values were taught by the parents, the
school and the community, as well as belief in God; it is largely responsible for making a person follow the moral codes of society. It
is divided into two parts: conscience (tells what is right or wrong) and ego ideal (direct the individual to morally acceptable and
responsible behaviors, which may not be pleasurable).

PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT


EROS = the most basic human drive present of birth (the instinct to preserve and create life). An expressed sexually.
 Oral stage = usually during the first year of life when the child attains pleasure by sucking and biting.
 Anal stage = focus on the elimination of bodily wastes during the second and third years of life.
 Phallic stage = during the third year when child focus their attention on their genitals.
Oedipus complex = a stage of development when male begin to have sexual feelings for their mother
Electra complex = a stage of development when girls begin to have sexual feelings for their fathers.
Latency = begins at age 6. Feelings of sexuality are expressed until the genital stage begins at puberty; this marks
the beginning of adult sexuality.
Fixated person = exhibit behavior traits characteristics of those encountered during infantile sexual development
e.g. an infant who does not receive enough oral gratification during the first year of life is likely as an adult engage in such
oral behavior as smoking, drinking, or drug abuse and others.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION


1) EMOTIONAL PROBLEM THEORIES
The emotional problem theories look at the offender as having the same psychological make-up as that of non-offender.
There is no disease or psychological disorder present in the offender. But the offender does not cope well with his environment and
this creates frustration that result in crime. The emotional problem theories assumes that the lawbreaker does not have a great
mental sickness that causes him to commit crimes but rather, he commits crime because of everyday emotional problems that made
him unable to cope. As a result the offender acts out criminality.
2) MENTAL DISORDE THEORIES
There are two types of mental disorders. First, the organic disorder, where the physiological cause can be identified, such
as, head injuries that left the mind blank, senility, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, Organic disorders refer to the brain’s
disorder or sickness. Second is the functional disorder, which is characterized by strange behavior that cannot be traced to any
known organic disease. Examples of functional disorders are those people with no apparent brain sickness who hear voices that
others do not hear, or who see things that others do not see.

TYPE OF MENTAL DISORDERS


1) NEUROSIS
- a common type of mental disorder used to explain criminal behavior
- also referred to as hysteria or neurasthenia
- some of the more common neuroses are:
a) ANXIETY – also known as anxiety state or anxiety reaction; characterized by the person feeling anxious, fearful anticipation
or apprehension; the person may, be irritable have poor concentration and over reacts to things that are annoying
b) OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR – people who suffer from this have unwanted, intrusive and repetitive thoughts or
behaviors

OBSESSION – a repetitive and irresistible thoughts or urge

COMPULSION – a repetitive behavior that is thought to produce or prevent something that is thought to be magically
connected to the behavior

c) PHOBIA – excessive and unexplainable fear of something; generally exaggerated fear of things that normal people do not
fear with the same degree
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d) DEPRESSION – extreme feeling of low morale, sadness loneliness, self-pity, despair, rejection, boredom and pessimism; a
person is said to be depressed if these feelings become pervasive and can already affect all aspect of a person’s life

e) IMPULSE DISORDER – an excessive or unreasonable desire to do or have something; an irrational or irresistible motive;
examples of this are kleptomania, pyromania, dipsomania and others

2) PSYCHOSES
-a more serious type of mental disorder, which can be organic or functional
- psychotic people lose contact with reality and have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy
- the most common type of psychosis are the following:
a) SCHIZOPRENIA – also called dementia praecox; characterized by distortion or withdrawal from reality, disturbances of
thought and language and withdrawal from contact.
b) PARANOIA – gradual impairment of the intellect, characterized by delusions or hallucination.

DELUSION – false belief


HALLUCINATION – false perception

DELUSION OF GRANDEUR – a false belief that you are greater than everybody else

DELUSION OF PERSECUTION – a false belief that other people are conspiring to kill harm or embarrass you

Albert Adler (1870-1937) = founder of individual psychology and called the term “inferiority complex” --- people who have them
feelings of inferiority and compensate for them with a drive for superiority.

Erik Erikson (1902-1984) = described the so called “identity crisis” --- a psychological state in which youth face inner turmoil and
uncertainty about life roles.

August Aichorn= he conclude that societal stress, though damaging, could not alone result in a life of crimes unless a predisposition
existed that psychologically prepared youth for antisocial acts. He called this mental state the latent delinquency, found on youth
whose personality requires acting in the following ways: (1) seek immediate gratification, (2) consider satisfying their personal needs
more important than relating to others, and (3) satisfying instinctive urges without considering right and wrong (they lack guilt)

Isaac Ray = an acknowledged American psychiatrist who popularized the concept of “moral insanity” in his book, “A Treatise on the
Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity”.
c) SOCIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
- sociological factor refers to things, places and people with whom we come in contact with and which play a part in
determining our action and conduct. These causes may bring about the development of criminal behavior

1) EMILE DURKHEIM
- one of the founding scholars of sociology
- published a book “Division of Social Labor”, which become a landmark work on the organization of societies according to
him:
a) crime is as normal a part of society as birth and death
b) crime is part of human nature because it has existed during periods of both poverty and prosperity
c) as long as human differences exists which is one of the fundamental conditions of society, it is but natural and expected
that it will result to criminality
One of his profound contributions to contemporary criminology is the concept of anomie, the breakdown of social order as
a result of loss of standard and values

2) GABRIEL TARDE (1843-1904) – forerunner of modern day learning theorists,


- introduced the Theory of Imitation, which governs the process by which people become criminals
- The Theory of Imitation is explained by the following patterns:
a) Pattern 1 : individuals imitate others in proportion to the intensity and frequency of their contact
b) Pattern 2 : inferiors imitate superiors
c) Pattern 3 : when two behavior patterns clash, one may take place of the other

3) ADOLPHE QUETELET
- He repudiated the free will doctrine of the classicists
- He founded what is known as the CARTHOGRAPHIC SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY, together with ANDRE MICHAEL GUERRY
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- This study used social statistical data and provided important demographic information on the population, including
density, gender, religious affiliations and social economic status
- He found a strong influence of age, sex, climate condition, population composition and economic status in criminality

4) ENRICO FERRI
- a member of the Italian parliament
- he believe that criminals could not be held morally responsible because they did not chose to commit crimes but was driven to
commit them by conditions of their lives

SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND CRIME CAUSATIONS


The study of sociology provides many ideas and opinions that help in understanding why a person becomes a criminal.

SOCIAL NORMS
- Also called rules of conduct
- shared standard of behavior which in turn require certain expectations of behavior in a given situation
- Socially accepted and expected behavior or conduct in society
- set of rules that govern an individual’s behavior and action

SOCIALIZATION
- refers to the learning process by which a person learns and internalizes the ways of society so that he can function and become an
active part of society.

CULTURE
- refers to the system of values and meanings shared by a group of individuals including the embodiment of those values and
meanings in material object
- refers to the way of life, modes of thinking, acting and feeling
- it is a design of living that is transmitted from one generation to the next

MODERN EXPLANATION OF CRIMES AND


CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

A) SOCIAL STRUCTURE THEORY = views that disadvantage economic class position is a primary cause of crime

1) SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY


- Focused on the conditions within the urban environment that affect crime rates
- Links crime rate to neighborhood ecological characteristics
- Views crime ridden neighborhoods as those in which residents are uninterested in community matters; therefore, the common
sources of control – family, school, church, and barangay authorities – are weak and disorganized
- Also called differential social organization

Shaw and Mckay = works on social ecology (environmental forces that have a direct influence on human behavior) as
influence by urban sociologist Robert Ezra Park and Ernes’t Burgess was focused on social how their breakdown influences deviant
and anti-social behavior. He popularized social disorganization theory.

2) STRAIN THEORY
- holds that crime is a function of the conflict between the goals people have and the means they can use to legally obtain them
- argues that the ability to obtain these goals is class dependent: members of the lower class are unable to achieve these goals which
come easily to those belonging to the upper class
- Consequently, they feel anger, frustration and resentment, referred to a STRAIN
- The commission of crimes with the aim of achieving these goals results from this conflict

3) CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY


- combines the elements of both strain and disorganization theories
- theories that in order to cope with social isolation and economic deprivation, members of the lower class create an independent
subculture with its own set of rules and values

Cultural transmission = the concept that conduct norms are passed down from one generation to the next so that they become
stable within the boundaries of a culture.
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B) SOCIAL PROCESS THEORIES


- Social process theory = views that criminality is a function of people’s interaction with various organization, institutions,
and process in society.

1) SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY


- believes that crime is a product of learning the norms, values and behavior associated with criminal activity.

a) DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY


- Formulated by Edwin Surherland
- Believes that criminality is a function of a learning process that could affect and individual in any culture
- His theory is outlined as follows:
i. Criminal behavior is learned’
ii. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication;
iii. The principle part of learning of criminal behavior occurs within an intimate personal group;
iv. When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes techniques in committing the crimes which are
sometimes very simple, the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalization and attitudes;
v. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the
mechanism that are involved in any other learning

2) SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY


- Maintains that all people have the potential to violate the law and that modern society presents may opportunities for
illegal activities
- Argues that people obey the law because behavior and passions are being controlled by internal and external force

SOCIAL BOND THEORY (ALSO CALLED SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY)

Social bond = ties a person has to the institutions and process of society: according to Hirchi, elements of the social bond
include commitment, attachment, involvement, and belief.

Containment theory = according to Walter Reckless, it is the idea that strong self-image insulates a youth from the
pressures and pulls of crimogenic influences in the environment.

3) SOCIAL REACTION THEORY


- Also called LABELING THEORY
- Holds that people enter into law-violating careers when they are labeled for their acts and organize their personalities
around the labels.
Negative labels have dramatic influence on self-image of offenders.

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