WHAT IS CRIMINOLOGY?

ACCORDING TO EDWIN SUTHERLAND AND DONALD CRESSEY

“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.”

ORIGIN OF THE WORD

“CRIMINOLOGY”
Came from two latin word :
Crimen – accusation
Logia – to study

-Criminology is the study of accusation. meaning it is the study of how people or person are
being accuse or charge for the commission of a crime.

ACCORDING TO TRADIO
study of causes of crimes.

ACCORDING TO ATTY. GERARDO MAGLINAO

Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crimes and criminals and the efforts of the
society to prevent and repress them.

CESARE LOMBROSO
*Founder of the positivist school of thought
*Father of modern criminology
*Started the study of criminology in europe
*Advocated the theory of hereditary
predisposition.
*Stigmata, criminaloids,

RAFFAELLE GAROFALO
He is an italian law professor, who, in1885, coined the italian term "criminologia"

PAUL TOPINARD
French anthropologist, used the term “criminologie”. In 1887

Principal Division of Criminology

1.Criminal Etiology (breaking laws)

– deals with the scientific study of the
causes of crimes.
–how and why people commit crimes.
–Dahilan,pinagmulan, sanhi kung bakit
nagkakaroon ng crimen sa ating bayan
(Causation of crimes).

2.Sociology of laws (the process of making laws)

– refers to the study of the nature of criminal law and its administration.
–Ano ba yung batas patungkol dun sa krimen.

3.Penology
– the study that control of crimes and the
rehabilitation of offender.
–paano ba kokontrolin ang krimen?

NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY (characteristics)

-It is an applied science

Criminology is an applied science because criminology as a body of knowledge has already
established universally accepted principles and concepts and these are used by other fields
of studies.

-It is a social science

Criminology is a social science because its studies crime as a social phenomenon. Crime is
a social problem which has great impact of society. Crime is a social creation and it exists in
a society being a social phenomenon.

-It is dynamic
changing times.

-It is nationalistic
Crimes are studied in relation to the criminal laws applied in the country or place where
these crimes are committed.

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 the different factors that enhances the development of criminal behavior

Other sciences that examine criminal behavior using scientific method

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 a crime

WHAT IS A CRIME?
-refers to all acts that violate law.

CRIME - can be also classified as

Mala In se, Mala Prohibita.

Mala In se- rape, robbery,

Mala Prohibita- fishing, illegal logging,illegal gambling, fencing, drugs possession, etc.

•Act of committed refers to crime of commission, which the act performed is in violation of
law forbidding it.

•Act of omitted refers to crime of omission, which happens when a person failed to perform
an act that is commanded by law.

•Nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege

there is neither crime nor punishment without a law. (No crime without law)

What constitutes a crime?

1.Corpus delicti
2.Actus reus
3.Mens rea
4.Concurrence
5.Causation
6.Harm

•CORPUZ DELICTI
-"body of the crime"
-prove that a crime has been committed.

•ACTUS REUS
-means guilty act
-involves the actual action of the offender committing the crime.

•MENS REA
-means guilty mind
-the intent of the offender to commit the crime.

TRIANGLE OF CRIME/ELEMENTS OF CRIME

desire refers to the wanting of a person to commit a crime
Capability refers to the ability or the means of the offender to commit the crime
opportunity refers to the physical possibility for crime to be committed.
CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES
Legal Classification

According to law violated

•Felony – an act or omission punishable by law which is committed by means of dolo
(deceit) or culpa (fault)and punishable under the Revised Penal Code
•Offense – an act or omission in violation of a special law
•Infraction – an act or omission in violation of a city or municipal ordinance

According to the manner of committing crime

•By means of dolo or deceit – if the crime is committed with deliberate intent. Thus, it is
called intentional felonies.
freedom or voluntariness
intelligence
intent
•By means of culpa or fault
- 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
lack of foresight
lack of skill
negligence
imprudence

According to stage of commission

•Consummated crime – when all the elements necessary for its execution and
accomplishment are present
•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 or
causes independent of the will of the perpetrator
•Attempted crime - when the offender commences the commission of a 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

According to plurality
•simple crime – single act constituting only one offense
Ex. Theft, Robbery, Homicide, Murder, Libel
•complex crime – single act constituting two or more grave felonies (compound crime) or an
is a necessary means for committing the other (complex crime proper).
Ex. Robbery with Homicide, Rape with homicide, Arson resulting in death and damage to
property.

According to gravity
•a) grave felonies – those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or afflictive
penalties
•b)less grave felonies – those to which the law attaches correctional penalties
•c)light felonies – those to which the law attaches the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not
exceeding P200.00

According to the nature of the act

•Crimes Mala in se – act that are inherently or naturally bad or evil.
ex. Killing of another person or taking something that does not belong to you.
•Crimes mala prohibita – prohibited only because there are laws forbidding such acts.
ex. Traffic violation and smoking

Criminological Classification

According to the result of the crime

•acquisitive crime – the offender acquires something e.g. theft, robbery and estafa.
•extinctive crime – the consequence of the act is destructive e.g. homicide, murder,
parricide and arson.

According to the time or period of the commission of the crime

•Seasonal crime – happen only during a particular season or period of the year.
•Situational crimes – when the situation is conducive to the commission of the crime or the
opportunity is there.

According to the length of time of the commission of crime

•Instant crime – crimes may be committed in short time
•Episoidal crime – committed through series of acts or episodes and much longer amount
of time

According to the place or location

a) static crime – committed in only one place.
b) continuing crime – committed in several places.

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 on account of the disease of the mind.

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.
ex. Graft and Corruption, Plunder, Money Laundering, etc.
b)blue-collar crime – committed by ordinary professional criminal to maintain his livelihood.
ex. Shoplifting, theft etc.

CRIMINAL

-The causes of crime are complex. Poverty, parental neglect, low self-esteem, alcohol and
drug abuse can be connected to why people break the law.
-Crimes exist because there are people who perform acts that are in violation of the law

-people who commit crime are called criminals. Without criminals, there will be no crimes

LEGAL SENSE
a person can only be called criminal if the court has decided that he is.

CRIMINOLOGICAL SENSE
whether he was judged by the court or not, is already a criminal.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SENSE

a criminal may be defined as one who has undergone the process and went through the
pillars of CJS.

Classification of Criminals

According to etiology
•acute criminals – persons who violate criminal law because of the impulse of the moment,
fit of passion or anger
•chronic criminals – persons who acted in consonance with deliberated thinking, such as:

Sub type of Chronic criminal

1)neurotic criminals – persons whose actions arise from the intra-psychic conflict between
the social and anti-social components of his personality
2)normal criminals – persons whose psychic organization resembles that of a normal
individual except that he identifies himself with criminal prototype

According to type of offender

A) ordinary criminals – the lowest form of criminal career; they engage only in conventional
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 businesses.
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

According to criminal 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
circumstances.
c)habitual criminals – those who continue to commit criminal acts for such diverse reasons
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.