ST.

THERESE COLLEGE OF TAGUIG

CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

WEEK 2: THEORY
Concept of Theory

Theory is a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially

one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained. Theory
serves as a model or framework for understanding human behavior and the forces that
form it. Moore stated that theory is a related set of concepts and principles about a
phenomena.

Theory is derived from the Greek word”theoria” which means”contemplation or

speculation( Oxford’s Dictionary).

Theory- a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles

offered to explain phenomena. It is synonymous with the terms
thesis,hypothesis,supposition,and proposition (merriam-webster’s dictionary).

A Theory is a set of interconnected statements or propositions that explain how to or

more events or factors are related to one another.(curran and Renzetti,1994)
books.google.com.ph

Theory - Means irrelevant antonyms of fact. Facts are real, Theory,if developed
property,is about real situations, feelings,experience,and human behavior. An effective
theory helps us to make sense of facts that we already know and can be tested against
new facts. Ronald Akers( 2013)) books.google.com.ph

ELEMENTS OF THEORY

● Concept - something conceived in the mind, thought, notion.

● Definition - explanations.
● Assumption - a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without
proof.
● Generalization - a general statement or concept obtained by inference from
specific cases.

FOUNDATION OF THEORIES

Social Theory - Defined as the systematic set of interrelated statements or principles

that explain aspects of social life(Siegel,2007)

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.
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CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Development of theory

Theories were developed for us to understand why certain phenomena are happening;
theory has been developed.They are formulated by theorists in order to explain the
causes and effects of crime, criminal behavior and or delinquencies. Scientific
understanding of a phenomenon requires the construction of a theory. This theory is the
basis for predicting,Manipulating,controlling,and counteracting the phenomenon,and
also for relating the phenomenon to other phenomena.

Concept

Scientists formulate, test, accept, reject, modify and use theories as guide to
understand and predict events.

Stages of Theory Development

● Speculative - Attempts to explain what's happening.

● Descriptive - Gathers descriptive data to describe what is really happening.
● Constructive - Revises old theories and develops new ones base on continuing
research.

Reasoning in Development of Theory

● Inductive Reasoning - Specific Observation (General Conclusion, maybe true)

● Deductive Reasoning - General Rule (Specific Conclusion, always true)
● Abductive Reasoning - Incomplete Observation (Best Prediction, maybe true)

Formula of Crime Causation

Jonathan Swift as cited in a book by Cathy Scott(2017) entitled “ The Crime Book: Big
ideas simply explained” stated that laws are like cobwebs, Which may catch small
flies,but let wasps and hornets break through. This statement can be exemplified by a
case that involved pioneering legal defense strategies,i.e the 1843 case of Daniel M’
Naghten, The first of its kind in UK legal history. M’Naghten was acquitted from a high
profile murder charge based on a criminal insanity defense and was remanded to State
Criminal Lunatic Asylum for the remainder of his life (Scott,2017).

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.
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CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Crime is a generic term which may be referred to as felony when it is punishable by the
Revised Penal code. Offense, when punishable by the Special Law And Misdemeanor
when violated an ordinance.
Normality of Crime

David Emile Durkheim maintained that criminality is a normal factor rather than a
pathological one. He indicates that crime is found in all societies and that crime is
normal because a society exempt from it is utterly impossible. The Fundamental
conditions of social organization logically imply it. Crime is not due to any imperfection
of human nature or society any more than birth or death may be considered abnormal
or pathological.It is all a part of the totally of society.’A society exempt from it crime
would necessitate a standardization of the moral concepts of all individuals which is
neither possible nor desirable.” In reality crime can disappear only when the collective
sentiments’ in a community reach such intensity that all persons concur in the same
common values and when the horror of bloodshed becomes widespread and deep in
those social strata from much murderers are recruited,” Durkheim maintains that crime
is not only normal for society but that it is necessary.

Dr. David Abrahamsen’s Theory of the Etiology of Criminal Acts.

According to Abrahamsen crime, is a product of the individual's tendencies and the

situation of the moment interacting with his mental resistance.

C = Crime C=T+S
T = Criminal Tendency ____________
S = Total Situation
R = Resistance to Temptation R

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.
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CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The Fundamental Schools of Thought in Explaining the Causes of Crime.

CLASSICAL NEOCLASSICAL ITALIAN OR POSITIVES

● 18th Century ● Classical was ● 19th Century

● Attempt to reform modified in the early ● Application of
the legal system. 1800’s. Scientific Method to
● Founded by Cesare ● Childrens, Lunatics study criminals.
Beccaria. are not legally ● Every act had a
● Beccara “Better to responsible for their cause.
prevent Crimes than actions. ● Founded by Cesare
to punish them”. ● Let the Children and Lombroso.
● Utilitarianism by Lunatics criminals ● Crimes is being
Bentham, Pleasure be exempted from committed because
over Pain. punishment. they are mentally
● Hedonistic weighing sick that's why they
pleasure vs pain. need to be treated.
● Let the Punishments ● Theory of Born
Fits the Crime. Criminals.
● ATAVISM.
● Raffaele Garofalo,
Moral ANomalies.
● Enrico Ferri Moral
Responsibilities
● Let the Punishment
Fits the Crime.

EMPIRICAL BASES FOR CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES

Ecological Theory- The Ecological School of Criminological theory is also referred to

as the Statistical Geographic or Cartographic. Ecology is the branch of biology that
deals with the interrelationship between human organism statistics and the physical
environment.This school was called statistical because it was the first to attempt to
apply official data and statistics to the issue of explaining criminality. The labels
geographical and cartographic have been assigned due to the fact that writers in this
group tended to rely upon maps and aerial data in their investigations.

The ecological systems theory holds that we encounter different environments

throughout our lifespan that may influence our behavior in varying degrees. These
systems include the micro system, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macro system,
and the chronosystem.

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.
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Economic /Marxist(conflict theory) The inspirational figure behind most economic

criminological theories was an economic determinist.Karl Marx insisted that the
economic substructure determines the nature of all other institutions and social
relationships in society. In his view, the emergence of capitalism produces economic
inequality in which the proletariats (workers) are exploited by the bourgeoisie(owners or
capitalist class.) The exploitation creates poverty and also is at the root of the existence
of other social problems.Since Marxist criminologists draw upon his economic and
philosophic writings and apply them to the crime issue.
● “Communist Manifesto” 1848, viewed crime as the product of law enforcement
policies akin to a labeling process theory.
● Capitalism System, inequities and criminality.
● Character of Civilization, concluded that it was affected by the mode of
production. (Productive Forces and Productive Relation.)

Willem Bonger - The foremost early Marxist criminologist was the Dutch Philosopher
Willem Bonger (1876-1940) Whose most noted work was CRIMINALITY AND
ECONOMIC CONDITION (1969),Which first appeared in 1910. Bonger viewed the
criminal law as primarily protecting the interest of the propertied class. In contrast to
precapitalistics societies that emphasized egoism (selfishness), Capitalism was viewed
as precipitating crime commission by competition as a sign of status. Bonger’s work
provides a very detailed literature review of a large number of works of the time.which
examined the impact of economic conditions upon crime. A persistent theme since early
times.
● He critiqued the more common viewpoint at the time that crime was caused by
factors resting within the individual, either because of their free will to choose
their own actions, including criminal behaviors, or by their biological makeup.
● Believes that capitalism generates egoism and blunt altruism.

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.
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CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Charles Goring(1870-1919) - in 1913 published the english convict, the results of a

study begun in 1902 of 3,000 english convicts and comparison groups of college
students, hospital patients and soldiers. He compared these “criminals'' with non
criminals” with respect to physical characteristics,personal histories and mental
qualities. The only difference was that he was able to discover that criminals were
shorter and weighed less and most importantly,were mentally defective.” While refuting
Lombroso’s Physical stigmata. A distinctive physical criminal type,as a characteristic,he
launched yet another search for hereditary mental deficiency as the cause of crime.
● Published the English Convict 1913 - statistical study set out to identify if there
are significant physical or mental abnormalities among criminal offenders that
separates them from ordinary men.
● The physical and mental constitution of both criminal and law-abiding persons, of
the same age, stature, class, and intelligence, are identical.
● There is no such thing as an anthropological criminal type.

Auguste Comte(1798-1857) - Is considered the founder of positivist school and

sociology. He applied scientific methods in the study of society,from where he adopted
the word sociology. He wanted a society of methods and research.He believed that
large groups of people such as society,being a subject of scientific study,can lead to the
discovery of specific laws that would greatly help them.

Adolphe Quetelet and Andre Michael Guerry - They started what was called
Cartographic School of criminology in which they worked independently on the relation
of crime statistics to such factors as poverty, age,sex,race,climate,and other
demographic factors. Both Scholars concluded that society,not the decisions of
individual offenders,was responsible for criminal behavior.

Another scholar who worked on the relationship of crime and social factors was Gabriel
Tarde. He was of the opinion that society played an important role in creating criminals.
However,individual choice and chance were also important to him. Tarde’s major
contribution in the study of the cause of crime was his concept of the criminal as a
professional type. He believed that most criminals went through a process of training
before finally becoming a criminal.

According to Emile Durkheim, crime is an inevitable aspect of society.It could

disappear only if all members of society had the same values,and such standardization
is neither possible nor desirable.He called this concept anomie (Greek,anomos,without
norms) a breakdown of social order as a result of a loss of standards and values.

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.
 ST. THERESE COLLEGE OF TAGUIG
CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Durkheim has been regarded by many as the FATHER OF MODERN SOCIOLOGY”

because of his perceptive insights into society.

Lacassagne School

Alexandre Lacassagne (August 17, 1843 – September 24, 1924) was a French
physician and criminologist who was a native of Cahors. He was the founder of the
Lacassagne school of criminology, based in Lyon and influential from 1885 to 1914, and
the main rival to Lombroso's Italian school.He had a keen interest in sociology and
psychology, and the correlation of these disciplines to criminal and "deviant" behavior.
He considered an individual's biological predisposition and social environment to be
important factors in criminal behavior.

Lacassagne was originally influenced by Lombroso, but started opposing himself to the
latter's theory of the "born criminal," of a "criminal type" and to his insistence on
heredity.

Demonological Theory

Demonological or supernatural explanations of criminality dominated thinking from

early history to the eighteenth century and still have modern remnants. In a system of
knowledge in which theological explanations of reality were predominant,the criminal
was viewed as a sinner who was possessed by demons who are damned by
otherworldly forces. Mankind was viewed as at the mercy of the supernatural:
Fates,ghosts,furies,and/or spirits. Mankind was viewed as manifestations of basically
evil human nature reflecting either with the price of darkness or an expression of divine
wrath.

The Salem Witch Trials in Puritan England and the Spanish Inquisition serve as an
example of the torture,burning at the stake, and other grim executions awaiting
heretics,witches and criminals. Such a worldview perceived the violator's actions as
deterministically-controlled by forces beyond individual’s mastery. Demonology is the
study of demons or beliefs about demons. They may be human, or nonhuman,
separable souls, or discarnate spirits which have never inhabited a body.

Prepared By: De Guzman Kevin C. MSCRIM

Culled by: KCDG reference: PCCR, PCU, JRU, ICCT, STC, PLMAR lecture notes.