1

OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE – SAN MANUEL INCORPORATED

San Manuel, Isabela
College of Criminology

Handout in Crim1: Introduction to Criminology

Course: Crim 1
Course Title:​ Introduction to Criminology
Course Credits:​ 3units
Contact Hours/week:​ 3hours
Pre-requisite:​ none

Course Description:

This course presents an overview of the different schools of thought in criminology;

theories that explain criminal behavior; techniques for measuring the characteristics of
criminals, crime and victims; the interrelatedness of theory, policy, and practice in the
criminal justice system; and current issues and studies in criminology.

Course Outcomes: ​ At the end of the trimester, the students are expected to have:

1: Conduct Criminological research on evolution and development of Criminology.

2: Understand the Principles of and Jurisprudence of basic concept of Criminal law in
relation to Crime causation.
3: Engage in lifelong learning and understanding of the need to keep abreast on the
developments in the field Criminology

Topic 1: Overview of 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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 2

 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.

Topic 2: Crimes

 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.

ELEMENT OF A FELONY
a) INTENTIONAL FELONIES:
- committed by means of dolo (deceit)
- The act or omission is performed with deliberate intent or malice

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 3

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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 4

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.
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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 5

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.
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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 6

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.

Topic 3: Criminal

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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 7

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.
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.

Topic 4: 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)

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 8

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.

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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 9

- 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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 10

- 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

Topic 5: SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN CRIMINOLOGY

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…”

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 11

“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
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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 12

- 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.

Topic 6: 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.

b) 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
c) 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
d) 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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 13

- 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 1st half of the 20th century

The following are the proponents of the somatotype school of criminology:

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

f) Asthenic – lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders; their crimes are petty thievery
and fraud
g) Athletic – medium to tail, strong, muscular, coarse bones; they are usually
connected with crimes of violence
h) 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

i) 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.

j)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

k) 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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 14

- 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:

l) 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.
- in his theory, PERSONALITY IS COMPOSED OF THREE COMPONENTS:

m) 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

n) 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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 15

o) 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.

Topic 7: 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:

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 16

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

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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 17

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”.

Topic: 8 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
- 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.

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 18

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

Topic 9: 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

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna

 19

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.

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.

Prepared by: Noted by:

Ian Angelo B. Bonilla Marissa F. Prudencio, Ph. D.

Coordinator Academic Dean

Criminology OLPC-SMI – Nai olegna