Chapter IV

Causes of Crime
 Overview

 “Society prepares the crime, the criminal commit it.”

 On the other hand, God created human being with
the ability to choose; hence, no one is force to
become a criminal.
 Crime as one of challenges societies face.
 Poverty, low education and unemployment are the
traits the perpetrator has in common.
 Crime
can simply define as the breach of law that laid down by the
ruling authority of the land.

 An act or omission in violating of a criminal law in its legal

point.
 An anti-social act; an act that is injurious, detrimental or
harmful to the norms of the society ; they are unacceptable
act in its social definition.
 Psychologically, crime is an act , which is considered
undesirable due to behavioural maladjustment of the
offender; act that maladaptive or abnormal behavior.
 A crime is define as any act that is contrary to legal code or
law.
Types of crime
 Crime against person
 Victimless crime
 Violence crime
 White collar crime

 Offense- is an act or omission punishable by special law.

 Felony –is an act or omission punishable by Revised Penal Code.
 Delinquency- referring to the act committed by minor offender in
violation with the simple rule and regulation.
 Misdemeanor- violation of city an municipal ordinances.
Crime and Punishment A Biblical Perspective
 The bible teaches that crime is caused by evil in men’s
hearts.
 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God and the earth
was filled with violence (Genesis 6;5-11)
 Sin – contrary to God’s standard as revealed in His Law-Word.
 Crime – is unlawful behavior that usually threatens life,
liberty, or property of others either direct or indirect.
 All crimes are sin but not all sin are crimes punishable by
civil authorities.
 Law cannot change the heart of man; they cannot elevate
men above the level of their faith and morality.
 Demonic Possession

 - is believed to be the process by which individual are possessed by

malevolent preternatural beings, commonly to as demons or devils.
 Description of Demonic Possession often include erased memories or
personalities, convulsions and fainting as if one were dying.
 The oldest references to demonic possessions is came from the
Sumerians believed in that all diseases of the body and mind were
caused by “sickness demons” called gidim.
 The priest who practice exorcism in these nation is called ashipu
(sorcerer) opposed to an asu ( physician) who applied bandages and
salves.
 Cuneiform clay tablets contain prayers certain gods asking for
protection from demons, while other ask the gods to expel the demon
that have invaded their bodies.
 Shamanic culture
 also believe in demon possession and shamans perform
exorcism.
 In these culture , diseases are often attributed to the
presence of vengeful spirit ( termed demon).
 This spirit are more often the specters of animal or people
wronged by the bearer, the exorcism rites usually
consisting of respectful offering or sacrificial offering.
 In Christianity, Satan and his demon are actually fallen
angel but in medicine it is now suspected as underlying
cause of what sometimes appears to be demonic
possession is actually anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
 Catholicism
 Catholic exorcists – the Catholic Church authorize this use of exorcism for
those who believed to be the victim of demonic possession.
1. Possession, in which Satan or some demon(s) takes full possession of a
person ‘s body without their knowledge or consent , so the victim is
therefore morally blameless.
2. Obsession, which include sudden attack of irrationally obsessive
thoughts, usually culminating in suicidal ideation and typically influence
dreams
3. Oppression, in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary
action.
4. External physical pain caused by Satan or demon.
5. Infestation, which affects houses, things, or animals
6. Subjugation, in which a person voluntarily submits to Satan or some
demon.
 Malachi Martin also mention a type of demonic attack called
“familiarization” is seeking to “come and live with” the subject.
 Four typical character of Roman Ritual:
1. Manifestation of superhuman strength.
2. Speaking in language that victim cannot know
3. Revelation of knowledge , distant or hidden, that the victim cannot
know.
4. Blasphemous rage, obscene hand gesture, using profanity and aversion
to holy symbols or relics.

 In Christianity and Islam , sorcery came to be associated with heresy

and apostasy and to be viewed as evil.
 Warlock- is sometimes mistakenly used for male witch.
Violence related to accusations
 Belief in witchcraft continues to be present today in some
societies and accusation of witchcraft are the trigger of
serious form of violence, invluding murder.
 Incident is common places such as Bukina,Faso,Ghana,
India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania.
 Accusation of witchcraft are sometimes linked to personal
disputes, jealousy, and conflict between neighbor or
family over land or inheritance.
 Witchcraft related violence is often discussed as serious
issue in the broader context of violence of women.
Causes of Crime During Medieval Period
 The time of Middle Ages was a time of severe punishment and harsh
torture for crime that today would seem trivial.
 Even the Catholic Church used torture and imprisonment to obtain
confession from people regardless of they were guilty.
 Torture and punishment has existed for thousand of years .
 Court and judge did exist, but were of bias and often judgment were
known before the case was even heard.
 Outlaws bounded together roaming the countryside and committing crime
the most famous of these is of cause Robin Hood.
 The harsher the crime the more horrendous the punishment.
 Hanging and public torture was encourage by rulers to bring fear to the
town people.
 In Medieval period the medieval official lacked
the resources or money to build suitable jails and
people often died from illness before the court.
 But in today’s society we do not use torture as a
means of punishment, as history progressed
torture became less prolific.
 In many countries the killing of murder and rapist
is not permitted.
Classification of Criminals by Lambroso

1. Born Criminal
 Describe by the father of modern criminology , Cesare Lambroso’s
theory of the ‘born criminal’.
 Believe that criminality was inherited and that criminal could be
identified by physical attribute such as hawk-like nose and bloodshot
eyes.
 Lambroso also believed that criminality was inherited

2.Criminal by passion
 a crime committed while in the throes of passion, with no
opportunity to reflect on what is happening and what the person is
about to do.
3. Great Emotion
 Positive feelings- are one of the core element to have in life to enjoy well-being and
happiness.

There are top positive feeling;

A. Joy B. Interest
C. Serenity D. Hope
E. Gratitude F. Kindness
G. Surprise H. Cheerfulness
I.Confidence J. Admiration
K. Euthusiasm L. Euphobia
M.Satisfaction N. Pride
O. Contentment P. Inspiration
Q. Amusement R. Enjoyment
S. Awe T. Love
4.Like Anger
 Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something
you feel has deliberately done you wrong.
 It occurs when a person feels their personal boundaries are being or are going to
be violated.
 Anger can be a good thing.
 Anger can cause problem.
Types of Anger Disorder
 Passive Anger
–people experiencing passive anger may not even realize they are angry.
 Aggressive Anger
- individual who experience aggressive anger are usually aware of their
emotions, although they don’t always understand the true roots of their ire.
What causes anger?
 A leading cause of anger is a person’s environment.
5. Insane Criminal
 Insanity, craziness, or madness is a spectrum of behavior
characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral
pattern.
 Insanity manifest as violation of societal norms , including
a person becoming a danger to themselves or others.
 In legal perspective, the McNaughton rule dictates that a
person maybe considered not responsible for a crime if his
or her state of mind is in diminish capacity, or he did not
know it was wrong.
 A criminal defendant who is found to have been legally
insane when he or she committed a crime may found not
guilty by reason of insanity.
6.Psychological Disorder
 Mental disorder are patterns of behavioral or psychological symptoms
that impact multiple areas of life.
7.Neuro development Disorder
 Neuro development Disorder are those are typically diagnosed during
infancy, childhood or adolescence.
Psychological disorder include;
 Intellectual disability was formerly referred to as mental retardation.
 Global development delay is a diagnosis for developmental disabilities in
children who are under the age of five.
 Communication disorder are those that impact the ability to use,
understand, or detect language.
 Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by persistent deficit in social
interaction and communication in multiple life areas as well as restricted
and repetitive pattern of behavior.
 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is characterized by a persistent
pattern of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention.
8. Bipolar and Related Disorder
 Bipolar disorder is characterized by shift in mood as well as changes in
activity and energy level.
 Involves experiencing shift between elevated mood and periods of depression.
 Mania is characterized by feeling overly excited and even hyper.
 Depressive episode are characterized by feeling of intense sadness, guilt,
fatigue and irritability.
9. Anxiety Disorder
 Anxiety disorder are those that are characterized by excessive and
persistent fear, worry, anxiety and related behavioral disturbances.
Types of anxiety disorder;
 Generalized anxiety disorder which is marked by excessive worry about
everyday events.
 Agoraphobia is characterized by a pronounced fear a wide range of public
places.
 Social anxiety disorder is fairly common psychological disorder that
involves an irrational fear of being watched or judged.
 Specific phobia involve an extreme fear of specific
object or situation in the environment. This specific
include natural events, medical, animal and
situational.
 Panic disorder is psychiatric disorder characterized by
panic attack that often seem to strike out of the blue
and for no reason at all .
 Separation anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety
disorder involving an excessive amount of fear or
anxiety related to being separated from attachment
figure.