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Chapter 3
CRIME AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

At the end of this chapter the student should be able

to:

• Define Crime
• Understand the Elements of Crime
• Gain knowledge about Criminal Behavior

Crime and Criminal Behavior

Crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. Crime is
any form of conduct which is forbidden by the law under pain of some
punishment (Thorsten Sellin, 1931).

Crime is any rational human conduct that violates a criminal law and is
subject to punishment (Adler, Mueller & Laufer, 1995).

Crime is defined as an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law

forbidding or commanding it and for which punishment is
imposed upon. Crime is an act or omission prohibited by law. It is also defined as
an act that violates the law of the nation (Inciardi, 2005).

Norm – any standard or rule regarding what human beings should or

should not think, say, or do under given circumstances (Bohm & Haley, 2002)

Deviance – refers to the conduct which the people of a group consider so

dangerous or embarrassing or irritating that they bring special sanctions to bear
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against the persons who exhibit it. It should be noted though that not all deviant
behavior is criminal behavior (Inciardi, 2005).

Distinction Between Crime and Sin

Crime – is an act or omission against the penal law of the state
Sin – is an act or omission against the spiritual or divine law

Elements of Crime
• Harm – for crime to occur, there must be an external consequence or
harm.
• Legality – this has two aspects, first the harm must be forbidden for a
behavior to be a crime, second a criminal law must not be retroactive or ex
post facto law.
• Actus reus – this Latin term refers to criminal conduct – specifically,
intentional or criminally negligent (reckless) action or inaction that causes
harm.
• Mens rea – refers to criminal intent or guilty mind.
• Causation – refers to the causal relationship between the legally forbidden
harm and the actus reus.
• Concurrence – this means that the criminal conduct (actus reus) and the
criminal intent (mens rea) must occur together.
• Punishment – there must be a statutory provision for punishment or at
least the threat of punishment.

Three Ingredients of Crime (Philippine National Police)

 Motive or Desire – This is the driving force, the reason why the accused
committed the crime
 Opportunity – It refers to the time and place of the commission of the
crime.
 Instruments – These are tools employed by criminals
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CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
Who is a Criminal?
 Criminal refers to any person who commit or omit crime and violates the
law. They are also persons who conduct or get involved in criminal
activity.

Classification of Criminals
1. Acute criminals – they commit crimes due to impulse of the moment, fit of
passion, anger or spell of extreme jealousy.
2. Chronic criminals – they are those who acted in consonance with deliberate
thinking.
3. Normal criminals – their psychic conditions resemble that of a normal individual,
except that they identify themselves with criminal prototypes.
4. Ordinary criminals – considered to be the lowest form in the criminal career and
engage only in conventional crimes that require limited skills.
5. Organized criminals – they have degree of organization to enable them to
commit crimes without being detected, with specialized criminal activities
operated in large scale.
6. Professional criminals – they are highly skilled and able to obtain considerable
amount of money without being detected due to organization and contact with
professional criminals.
7. Accidental criminals – they commit criminal acts as a result of unanticipated
circumstances.
8. Situational criminals – they are not actually criminals but commit crimes due to a
given situation.
9. Habitual criminals – they continue to commit criminal acts for diverse reasons
due to deficiency of intelligence and lack of self-control.
10. Active-aggressive criminals – they commit crimes in impulsive manner usually
due to their aggressive behavior.
11. Passive-inadequate criminals – they commit crimes because they are pushed to
do it, by inducement, reward, or promise without considering the consequences.
12. Socialized criminals – they are normal in their behavior but mere inadequate and
defective in their socialized process.
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Classification of Criminals (The Revised Penal Code)

 Recidivist – is the one who, at the time of trial for one crime, shall have
been previously convicted by final judgement of another crime embraced
in the same title of RPC.
 Quasi-recidivist – is one who commits another crime after having been
convicted by final judgement of a crime falling under either the RPC or
Special Law, before beginning to serve such sentence or while serving the
same.
 Habitual delinquent – is one who, within a period of ten (10) years from the
date of his release or last conviction of crimes of serious or less serious
physical injuries, robbery, estafa, or falsification is found guilty of any of
the said crimes for the third time or oftener.
CRIMINAL ETIOLOGY
 Criminal Etiology – refers to the study of the causes of crime. It discusses the
different explanations to criminality including the theories and factors that
account for criminal behavior of a man. Criminal etiology tries to understand and
explain the causes why people commit a crime.
 Earlier Explanations of the Existence of Criminality
• Crime is caused by demon (Paganism Era). Men violate social and
religious practices because they are possessed by demons or evil spirits.
• Crime is caused by divine will. Men manifest criminal behavior because
they are sinful. God is the offended party when they commit crimes, and
the punishment is in a form of plagues, earthquakes, or other forms of
desolation.
• Crime is a matter of personal offense and retribution (Ancient World, Early
Greek Law). The earliest form of punishment was private revenge, in
which the victim or the victim’s kin retaliated for injury and the community
did not interfere.Crime is equal to sin (Middle Ages).
• Crimes and sins were treated as the same substance and nature.

CRIMINOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF

CRIME
Alviola, A. (2014). Criminology and Psychology
of Crimes. Philippines: Wiseman’s Books
Trading, Inc.