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CRIM 201 - THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION

INTRODUCTION

CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES
“Crime does not evolve from any single source. There can be several reasons behind a person’s criminal
behavior or multiple origins of crime. The theorists in criminology have tried to explain these reasons through
several theories”.

CRIMINAL ETIOLOGY - A division of criminology that attempts at scientific analysis regarding the causes of
crime, otherwise known as the “theories of Crime Causation”.

In this department a systematic investigation into the various causes of crime is made.

Its deals with the social and personal factors responsible for the occurrence of crime and growth of a criminal.

TERMINOLOGY

Theory(s) – refers to the plausible explanation of reality.

Applied Theory – refers to or is concerned with gaining explanations with the underlying principles.

Explanation(s) – a sensible relating of a particular phenomenon into the whole field of knowledge. Criminology
requires both as an interdisciplinary field, in order to explain criminal behavior.

TYPES OF EXPLANATION TO CRIMINALITY

1. Single or Unitary Cause – crime is produced only by one factor or variable be they are social,
biological or mental. This theory is no longer in use at present.

2. Eclectic – crime is one instance may be caused by one or more factors, while in other instances it is
caused by another set of factors.

3. Multi-Factor – crime is not a product of a single cause or factor but a combination of other factors.
Some factors are playing a major reason while the others are playing the minor role. This is the
accepted theory of crime causation.

TWO (2) KINDS OF EXPLANATIONS IN CRIMINALITY

1. SUPERNATURAL EXPLANATIONS

The concept of the supernatural encompasses anything that is inexplicable by scientific understanding of the
laws of nature but nevertheless argued by believers to exist.

Examples include immaterial beings such as angels, gods and spirits, and claimed human abilities like magic,
telekinesis and extrasensory perception.

Supernatural Theoretical Approaches:

Supernatural Explanations of Criminal Behavior – is according to the writings of Traditional Authorities, is

the way of thinking about crime or harm that attributes its cause from otherworldly forces. Biblical persons once
said:

St. Augustine – “When man surrendered to the devil, the result is crime”.
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St. Aquinas – “Sin or crime took place, when man’s reason failed”.

Such as. .

1. Demonological Theory - Is one of the earliest theories in criminology. In the ancient times, people
believed that evil spirits or demons entered the human soul and made people commit sins.

This was the earliest explanation given regarding crime and criminal behavior. Terms like demons, and
witches were used for people who had turned criminals under demonic influence.

The society thought that it all happened due to evil spirits. Supernatural powers were considered the
best explanation behind crime and sin then.

It was believed that a person did not commit crimes of his own free will but because he was under the
influence of evil.

2. Theological or Divine Will Theory- In the Middle Ages in Europe, feudal lords established means of
determining guilt and innocence, God intricate that is guilty or not by giving victory to the innocent in the
trial of battle (Judicium Dei).

People are manifested of criminal behavior because they are sinful to God, and God wants the punish
them.

During the ancient period criminals are given the right of sanctuary whereby they can seek refuge in the
temples of God so that they will be free from prosecution (Benefits of a Clergy).

And do not allow inmates to talk with one another or prisoners are placed in single cell so as to give
them more opportunity to ask for forgiveness to God.

3. Astrological Theory - The pseudo-scientific belief that astrological signs such as configuration of the
planets or stars influence human behavior.
This study also known as Criminal Astrology or the planetary patterns in the astrological charts of
criminals.
Example:
Are Leos thieves?
Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people are thieves. - Virgo (8/23 - 9/22) you are the logical type and
hate disorder.

4. Other relative theories -

2. NATURALISTIC EXPLANATIONS (this is the main focus of our study)

In philosophy, naturalism is the "idea or belief that only natural (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws
and forces operate in the world.“

Adherents of naturalism (i.e., naturalists) assert that natural laws are the rules that govern the structure and
behavior of the natural universe, that the changing universe at every stage is a product of these laws.

Naturalistic Explanations of Criminal Behavior – is according to the writings of philosophers, “that man’s
behavior could be explained in terms of natural of earthly causes”. Plato once suggested that, “certain social
and political factors encourage crime”.
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The Major Schools/ Theoretical Approaches in Criminological Theories:

1. Classical Theory - In criminology, the Classical School usually refers to the 18th-century work during
the Enlightenment by the utilitarian and social-contract philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Cesare
Beccaria.

Their interests lay in the system of criminal justice and penology and indirectly, through the proposition
that "man is a calculating animal", in the causes of criminal behavior.

The Classical School of thought was premised on the idea that people have free will in making
decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime, so long as the punishment is proportional,
fits the crime, and is carried out promptly.

2. Neo-Classical Theory - That came after the classical school. Neoclassical criminology focused on
individual rights, due process, alternative sentencing and legal rights.

Derived from the late 1800s, the neoclassical thinkers focused on the nature of the crime more than the
individual. Later, neoclassical believers relied on scientific proof, the motivation of crime and
consequences.

Furthermore, individuals have no free will when they commit crimes. So, neoclassical theory suggests
crimes need due process of the law.

Many of the rights in modern times derive from neoclassical thinking. For instance, liberty, search and
seizure, imprisonment, trials, sentencing, self-incrimination and interpreters are part of the criminal
system today.

3. Positivist Theory - In criminology, the Positivist School has attempted to find scientific objectivity for
the measurement and quantification of criminal behavior. As the scientific method became the major
paradigm in the search for knowledge, the Classical School's social philosophy was replaced by the
quest for scientific laws that would be discovered by experts. It is divided into Biological, Psychological
and Social.

Historically, medicine became interested in the problem of crime, producing studies of physiognomy
(see Johann Kaspar Lavater and Franz Joseph Gall) and the science of phrenology which linked
attributes of the mind to the shape of the brain as reveal through the skull. These theories were popular
because they absolved society and any failures of its government of responsibility for criminal behavior.
The problem lay in the propensities of individual offenders who were biologically distinguishable from
law-abiding citizens. This theme was amplified by the Italian School and through the writings of Cesare
Lombroso (see L'Uomo Delinquente, The Criminal Man and Anthropological criminology) which
identified physical characteristics associated with degeneracy demonstrating that criminals were
atavistic throwbacks to an earlier evolutionary form.

4. Economic (Marxist) Theory - Marxist criminology is one of the schools of criminology. It parallels the
work of the structural functionalism school which focuses on what produces stability and continuity in
society but, unlike the functionalists, it adopts a predefined political philosophy.

As in conflict criminology, it focuses on why things change, identifying the disruptive forces in
industrialized societies, and describing how society is divided by power, wealth, prestige, and the
perceptions of the world. "The shape and character of the legal system in complex societies can be
understood as deriving from the conflicts inherent in the structure of these societies which are stratified
economically and politically" (Chambliss, 1971).
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It is concerned with the causal relationships between society and crime, i.e. to establish a critical
understanding of how the immediate and structural social environment gives rise to crime and
criminogenic conditions.

5. Sociological Theory - Embraces traditional Chicago School of Criminology refers to work conducted
by faculty and students at the University of Chicago that utilized a macro-sociological theory called
“social disorganization” to understand why crime and delinquency rates are higher in some
neighborhoods than others.

Environmental factors that affect offenders and victims include the physical, social, family, community,
economic, cultural and political environments in which individuals live.

That the school expanded to three (3) major theoretical perspectives: the Sociological (Mainstream)
Theories, the Critical Theories and the Radical Theories in criminology.

6. Developmental/Multi-Factor Theory - The defining feature of developmental criminology is its focus

on offending in relation to changes over time in individuals and their life circumstances, with most
research being focused in practice on childhood and youth.

Developmental criminologists are concerned with questions of continuity and change in behavior,
including the onset of and desistance from offending, and patterns of offending over time.

Developmental criminology has its roots in mainstream criminology and positivist social science and
studies the relationship between biological, psychological, and social factors and offending across the
life course, from conception to death.

A foundation assumption is that the ‘baggage’ people carry from the past – the continuing effects of
earlier experiences such as a happy childhood or sexual abuse –affect the ways they behave in the
present.
Bourne Treadstone, Crim Files 2021