Ecot, Ronel D BSCRIM 4

What is Criminology?
Criminology is the scientific study of several different aspects of crime, namely:

• The nature and extent of crime

• The causes of crime: This includes questions like: Why do some people commit crime and why do others
not commit crime

• The consequences of crime: Crime affects a large number of people. Offenders, and the reasons why they
commit crime, often receive the bulk of the attention, but many more people are involved in one way or
another.

• Reactions to crime: This sub-area of criminology covers responses to crime by law enforcement

• The prevention of crime: There are many strategies that are claimed to prevent crime; some of these may
be effective and others not. In order to know whether a particular program or policy change is effective in
reducing crime, one has to test it using a robust method, which can then show whether it is worth
investing in that program of policy initiative, or whether attention should be focused elsewhere.

What are the three (3) Principal Division of Criminology?

Criminology consists of three principal divisions, as follows:

• The SOCIOLOGY OF LAW, which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the conditions under which criminal
law and which is seldom included in general books on criminology.

• CRIMINAL ETIOLOGY, (which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the study of causes or reasons for
crime).

• PENOLOGY, which is concerned with the control of crime.

What is the Nature of Criminology?

Criminologists regard crime as one among several forms of deviance, about which there are conflicting
theories. Some consider crime a type of anomic behavior; others characterize it as a more conscious response to
social conditions, to stress, to the breakdown in law enforcement or social order, and to the labeling of certain
behavior as deviant. Since cultures vary in organization and values, what is considered criminal may also vary,
although most societies have restrictive laws or customs? Hereditary physical and psychological traits are today
generally ruled out as independent causes of crime, but psychological states are believed to determine an
individual's reaction to potent environmental influences. Some criminologists assert that certain offenders are
born into environments such as extreme poverty or discriminated-against minority groups that tend to generate
criminal behavior. Others argue that since only some persons succumb to these influences, additional stimuli must
be at work. Psychiatry generally considers crime to result from emotional disorders, often stemming from
childhood experience. The criminal symbolically enacts a repressed wish, or desire, and crimes such as arson or
theft that result from pyromania or kleptomania are specific expressions of personality disorders; therefore, crime
prevention and the cure of offenders are matters of treatment rather than coercion.

What is the Brief History of Criminology in Europe, USA and Philippines?

The discipline of criminology had its beginning in Europe in the 18th century in the various writings of
philosophers, physicians, sociologists, and social scientists. The methodical study of crimes commenced in the late
1700s. Prior to that era, religion was the foremost and primary basis of social control. Explanations of crime were
demonic possession or that an individual commits crime because he was under the spell of Satan or demons or
divine wrath. At that time, criminal behavior is not called a crime but a sin a violation of sacred obligation.

At the turn of the 18th century, scholars differentiate crime from sin. They made possible that
explanations of crime would be outside religious principles. It was this era when those persons imbued with the
spirit of humanitarianism began questioning the cruelty, arbitrariness, and inefficiency of criminal justice and
prison systems. However, the classical schools were not really concern on the criminal but on penal legislation and
the reformation of laws and its administration.

In spite of its European roots, the major development of the study of Criminology took part in the United
States of America. It was in the early part of the 20th century when criminology was recognized as a subspecialty
within the emerging disciplines of psychology, sociology, and economics. However, despite its interdisciplinary
focus, scholars in the field of criminology have devoted its attention to the issue of crime causation. Scholars
formed criminological societies and founded criminology journals. Empirical tests were conducted and
consequently developed a wide range of theories.

Today, criminology is asserting its independence from the traditional discipline that spawned it. It
expanded its associations, published its journal, and a number of universities developed graduate and post
graduate programs in criminology. Criminology is now considered as a prodigal son of sociology.

What are the six (6) areas/subjects in the Board Licensure Examination for Criminologist/BLEC
Criminal Jurisprudence, Procedure & Evidence 20%

Law Enforcement Administration 20%

Crime Detection and Investigation (CDI) 20%

Criminalistics 15%

Correctional Administration 10%

Sociology of Crimes and Ethics 15%

What are the Qualifications of an Applicant for BLEC?

Filipino citizen/ foreign citizen whose country/state adheres to the Philippine practice of criminology;

In good health and is of good moral character;

A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Criminology;

Has completed a refresher course certificate*;

Has no criminal record which involves moral turpitude;

Has complied with other requirements prescribed by the PRC.

*Only applicable for applicants who failed five (5) times prior to the exam

What are the Requirements for Filing for BLEC?

NSO/PSA Birth Certificate

NSO/PSA Marriage Contract (for married female applicants)

Transcript of Records with scanned picture and Remarks “For Board Examination Purposes”

Valid NBI Clearance

RTC Clearance

Three (3) Certificate of Good Moral Character*

Examination fee payment (Php 900)

*PRC only recognizes certificate from the following: Barangay Chairman, School Dean, Employer, and Parish Priest