SOCIOLOGY OF CRIMES

Reviewer

 Criminology is a social dealing with the nature, the extent and causes of crimes, the characteristics of
criminals and their organizations, the problems of apprehending and convicting law violators and the
management of jail facilities and correctional institutions.

 Generally, criminology cannot be considered a science because it has not yet acquired universal
acceptance and validity. Nevertheless, considering that science is the systematic and objective study of
social phenomenon and other bodies of knowledge, criminology is a science itself when under the
following circumstances:
a) It is an applied science – in the study of the causes of crimes, anthropology, psychology,
sociology and other natural sciences. While in crime detection, ballistics, chemistry, legal
medicine, mathematics, physics, polygraphy and questioned document examination maybe
utilized. This is termed as Instrumentation.
b) It is a social science – in as much as crime is a societal creation that it exists in a civilization
being a social phenomenon, its analysis must be considered a part of social science

 Scope of the study of Criminology

Study of the origin and advancement of criminal law and penal law. Study of the
origins of crimes and development of criminals.

 Criminal demography – study of the correlation between criminality and population.

 Criminal epidemiology – study of the correlation in relation to “spatial distribution” in a community.

 Criminal ecology – study of connection between environmental and criminality.

 Criminal physical anthropology – study of criminality in relation to physical constitution of man.

 Criminal psychiatry – study of human mind in relation to criminality

 Criminal psychology – study of human behavior in relation to criminality

 Victimology – study of the part of the victim in the commission of a crime

 Study of the various measures and methods accepted by society in cases of violation of criminal laws
such as:
 The detection and the investigation of crimes
 The arrest or apprehension of criminals
 The prosecution of suspected law violators
 The conviction of criminals in a judicial proceeding
 The imprisonment, treatment and rehabilitation of the convicted criminal
 The enforcement of laws, decrees, rules and regulations.
 The administration of the police and other law enforcement agencies
 The maintenance of recreational facilities and other auxiliary services to prevent the
development of crimes and criminal behavior

 Criminology is the scientific study of criminals as an individual and crime as a social phenomenon

 Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral sciences, deriving especially on the research
of sociologist and psychologist, as well as on writings on law.

 In 1885, Italian Law professor RAFFAELE GAROFALO coined the term Criminology

 Developed in the mid 18th century, the CLASSICAL SCHOOL was based on utilitarian philosophy. Its
proponents were CESARE BECCARIA, author of “on Crime and Punishment (1763 – 64), JEREMY
BENTHAM, inventor of the panopticon. (“Panopticon”—a model prison where all prisoners would be
observable by (unseen) guards at all times—a project which he had hoped would interest the Czarina
Catherine the Great. After his return to England in 1788, and for some 20 years thereafter, Bentham
pursued—fruitlessly and at great expense - the idea of the panopticon).

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 The CLASSICAL SCHOOL of THOUGHT argued that:

 People have free will to choose how to act

 Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian ontological notion of the human being a “hedonist”
who seeks pleasure and avoids pain, and a “rational calculator” weighing up the costs and
benefits of the consequences of each action.

 Punishment can deter people from committing crime, as the penalties outweigh benefits and
that severity of punishment should be proportionate to the crime.

 The more swift and certain the punishment, the more effective it is in deterring criminal
behavior.

 The CLASSICAL SCHOOL of THOUGHT came about at a time when major reform in penology
occurred with the establishment of prisons incarceration was developed as a form of punishment. This
period saw many legal forms, the French Revolution and the development of the legal system in the
United States.

 The NEO – CLASSICAL SCHOOL continued the traditions of the Classical School within the
framework of RIGHT REALISM. The UTILITARIANISM of JEREMY BENTHAM and CESARE
BECARRIA remains an important and relevant social philosophy in policy term using for using
punishment as a deterrent through law enforcement, the courts and imprisonment

 UTILITARIANISM is the ethical principle that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its
contribution to overall utility. It is a form of consequentialism.

 UTILITY – the good to be maximized, has been defined by various thinkers as pleasure or happiness
versus pain or suffering. It is the satisfaction of preferences or “interest”.

 Some utilitarian count the interests of any and all sentiment beings when assessing overall
utility.

 THE POSITIVIST SCHOOL advocates that criminal behavior is caused by internal and external
factors outside of the individual’s control.

 The SCIENTIFIC METHOD was introduced and applied to study human behavior
 Positivism can be broken up into three (3) branches which includes biological, psychological
and social positivism.

 CESARE LOMBROSO, an Italian prison doctor working in the late 19 th century and sometimes
regarded as the Father of Criminology, was one of the largest contributors to biological positivism.
 LOMBROSO took a scientific approach, insisting on empirical evidence for studying crime

 LOMBROSO is also considered as the founder of criminal anthropology, he suggested that

physiological traits such as the measurement of one’s cheekbones or hairline, or a cleft palate,
considered to be throwbacks to Neanderthal man, were indicative of “atavistic” criminal
tendencies.

 This approach was influenced by the earlier theory of Phrenology and by Charles Darwin and
his theory of evolution, has been superseded.

 Modern research examines genetic characteristics and the chemistry of nutrition to determine whether
there is an effect on violent behavior

 ENRICO FERRI, a student of LOMBROSO, believed that social as well biological factors played a
role and held the belief that criminals should not be held responsible for the factors causing their
criminality were beyond their control. Criminologist has since rejected LOMBROSO’s biological
theories, with control groups not used in his studies.

 ADOLPHE QUETELET made use of data and statistical analysis to gain insight into relationship
between crime and sociological variables. He determined that age, gender education, poverty and
alcohol consumption were important factors related to crime.

 EMILLE DURKHEIM viewed crime as an inevitable and expected aspect of society, with uneven
distribution of wealth and other differences among people.

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 POST MODERNIST SCHOOL applies postmodernism to the study of crime and criminals and
understands “criminality” as a product of the power to limit the behavior of those individuals excluded
from power, but who try to prevail over social inequality and behave in ways, which the power
structure prohibits.

 THE CHICAGO SCHOOL is a POSITIVIST SCHOOL, applying scientific methods and techniques to
the collection and deductive analysis of data to explain different types of individual and social
phenomena. It has focused on human behavior as determined by social structures and physical
environmental factors, rather than genetic and personal characteristics.
 The CHICAGO SCHOOL arose in the early 2oth century, through the work of ROBERT
EZRA PARK, ERNEST BURGESS, and other urban sociologist at the University of Chicago

 CHICAGO SCHOOL SOCIOLOGISTS adopted a social ecology method to studying cities,

and postulated that urban neighborhoods with high levels of poverty often experience
breakdown in the social structure and institutions such as family and schools. This results in
social disorganization, which limits and reduces the ability of these institutions to control
behavior and creates an environment conducive for deviant behavior.

 EDWIN SUTHERLAND suggested that people learn criminal behavior from older and more
experienced criminals that hey may associate with,

 Criminal Sociology – this includes the fundamentals of criminology, juvenile delinquency, human
behavior and crisis management, ethics and community relations, criminal justice system.

 Criminals classified on the BASIS OF ETIOLOGY:

 ACUTE criminals – people who violate criminal law due to the impulse of the moment, fit of
passion or anger or spell of extreme jealousy
 CHRONIC criminals – persons who acted in deliberate thinking
 NEURETIC criminals – refers to insane criminals whose actions arise from intra – psychic
conflict between the social and anti – social components of their personality
 CRIMINALOIDS – a term used to denote those born criminal type whose unlawful act are
cause by an organic pathological process

 Criminals classified on the BASIS OF BEHAVIORAL SYSTEM

 ORDINARY CRIMINALS – refers to the lowest form of criminal careers. They engage only in
typical crimes which require limited skill. They lack organization to avoid arrest and
conviction.
 ORGANIZED CRIMINALS – these criminals possesses a high degree of organization to allow
them to commit crime without being detected and commit to specialized activities which can
be maintained and operated in large scale. Force, intimidation, violence, influence and bribery
are tools utilized to gain and maintain control over economic activities.
 PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS – are highly trained and skilled to make possible for them to
acquire considerable amount of money without being detected because of experience and
special knowledge, their organization and contact with other professional criminals. They
specialize in crimes which require skill such as gun for hires, game fixing, counterfeiting and
others.

 Criminals classified on the BASIS OF ACTIVITIES

 Professional criminals – are those who make and earn their living through criminal activities

 Accidental criminals – refer to those who commit criminal acts as a result of unforeseen and
unanticipated circumstances

 Habitual criminals – those who continue to commit criminal acts for such varied and diverse
motive due to deficiency of intelligence and lack of self – control.

 Situational criminals – those who are not usually considered as criminals but constantly in
trouble with legal authorities

 Criminals classified on the BASIS OF MENTAL ATTITUDES

 Active aggressive criminals – those who perpetrate crimes in an impulsive manner, usually due
to the aggressive behavior of the offender

 Passive inadequate criminals – those who commit crimes because they are urged and pushed to
it by means of inducement, by reward or promise without considering its consequences

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  Socialized delinquents persons who are normal in their conduct but merely defective in their
socialization process

 Single or Unitary Causes argues that crime is produced only by one factor or variable be they are
social, biological or mental.

 Multiple Factor Theory contends that crime is not a product of a single cause or factor but a
combination of several factors.

 Eclectic Theory - contends that crime is one instance may be cause by one or more factor, while in
other instances it is caused by another set of factors.

 The explanation that crime is caused by demon – contends that men commit anti – social acts because
the demons, spirits or someone from the other world instructed, pushed or forced them to do so. This
belief is rampant during the ages when any wrongful act of man is attributed to the will of the devils or
other supernatural beings.

 The explanation that CRIME IS CAUSED BY DIVINE WILL – this thought argues that men manifest
criminal behavior because they are sinful hence God want to 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 and punishment. Early American system of prison management does
not allow inmates to talk with one another or prisoners are place in single cells so as to give them more
opportunity for repentance and to ask forgiveness from God.

 The explanation that CRIME IS THE RESULT OF FREE WILL OF MEN (Classical School of
Thought by Becarria). According to Becarria, men are fundamentally a biological organism with
intelligence and rationality, which control their behavior. Before men tries to do something, he tries to
resolve the amount of pain they will suffer and the amount of pleasure they will receive. Their future
actions will depend on the balance of the two considerations if there will be more pains than pleasure,
they will desist from doing the act, but if pleasure will exceed the pain they will carry on their plan to
commit the unlawful act. It concludes that, crime is caused by the rational effort of men to augment
their pleasures and minimize their pains.

 Some of the noteworthy features of the CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT IN CRIMINOLOGY:

 Some people are steered by free will
 All behavior is guided by hedonism (pleasure/pain calculation)
 All crime is the result of free will and hedonism
 All punishment should correspond to the offense
 Bad people are nothing more than the outcome of bad laws.

 JOHN HOWARD (1726 – 1790)

He made it his life’s purpose to go into the prisons and clean them up, to make them more
sanitary. Between 1775 and 1790, he made seven (7) journeys across Europe in search of a humane
prison system. He conducted these investigations on his own and financed them himself. In 1866, the
Howard Association was created, dedicated to most efficient means of penal treatment and crime
prevention and a reformatory and radically preventive treatment of offenders.

Some of the topics that the Howard Association has dealt with over the years include the
following:
 Mothers and babies in prison
 Overcrowding in prison
 Prison regimes
 Drugs in prison
 Healthcare and mental health in prison
 Educational programs
 Suicide and self injury in prisons

 JEREMY BENTHAM (1748 – 1832)

Another major personage from the Classical School, an Englishman and in his book
“ Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislations” made the following points:
 Society is based on social contract, which convene for the exchange of liberties for freedoms.
 All people being equally possessed of free will and the ability for rational thought should be
treated equally.
 The law should be extensively known, this is referred to as “cognoscibility” or a person being
cognizant of the law at all times, at least in knowing what the “actus res “ is of each and every
crime.
 “UTILITARIANISM” (BENTHAM’s version of Hedonism) should be the basis of social
supremacy as it is for most human behavior.

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  Punishment should be the minimum required to discourage the individual and others from
doing or mimicking it.
 Judges should not enjoy too much discretion in sentencing; sentences should be about equal for
equal crime (determinate sentence)

 NEO – CLASSICAL of THOUGHT

This explanation accepts the fact that crimes are committed in accordance with free will of
men but the act of committing a crime is modified by some causes that finally prevail upon the
person to commit crimes. These causes are pathology, incompetence, insanity or any condition that will
make it possible for the individual to exercise free will entirely. In the study of legal provisions, this is
either mitigating or exempting circumstances.

The Neo Classical School of Thought emerged between 1880 and 1920. It stressed
individual accountability and individualization of punishment. Its leading proponents were
figures such as Gabriel Tarde (1843 - 1904) and his student Raymond Salielles (1898). Its
general features include:
 Character (not free will nor determinism) is the cause of criminality.
 Crime and punishment should be equivalent, not essentially proportional or “fitting”
 Imprisonment should be the customary method of punishment
 Treatment should be individualized, according to the incorrigibility of temperament
 Every punishment should consists of a measure of deterrence, exemplary but not vengeful
(except for the insane who should be treated by other experts)
 Abolition of the death penalty

 POSITIVE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

The explanation that criminals are born by Cesare Lombroso (1835 – 1909).

The Positive School consists of the following:

 Study first the natural origin of crime and
 Then its social and legal consequences in order to provide its social and legal means
 The various remedies, which will have the greatest effect on the various causes, that produced
it.

 The “positivist school” was a social movement that existed during the mid 1800s and early 190s. the
part of it that was positive was the forward – looking attitude toward social and personal betterment,
the perfectibility of both society and human nature. Similar to what we mean when we use the phrase
Positive Law or using law to change society.

 The term “positivism” refers to a method of analysis based on the collection of observable scientific
facts. Its aim is to explain and most importantly predict the way facts occur in uniform patterns.

 Positivism is the basis of most natural sciences and positivist criminology is the application of
positivist method to the study of people. The positivist school is best seen as a reaction to the armchair
philosophy and theorizing of the classical school

 Positivism is the search for supplementary, multiple factors as the cause of human behavior. It
represents a distinct shift from a concentration on law and crime control to the inner workings of the
criminal mind and what makes it tick.

Some of the common defining features of the Positivist School in Criminology are:
 The demand for facts and for scientific proof (determinism)
 There are body and mind differences between people
 Punishment should fit the individual criminal and not the crime
 The criminal justice system should be guided by scientific specialist
 Criminals can be treated, rehabilitated or corrected (if not, they are incurable and should be put to
death)

 According to Cesare Lombroso, considered to be the Father of Modern Criminology, criminals are born
with some physical characteristics, which become the causes of crimes. He advanced the following
explanations to such cause:
 Criminals have a distinctive physical type
 That there is a conspicuous born criminal type
 That this type can be recognized by certain stigma or anomalies
 That the stigmata are not the causes of crime but rather the symptoms of atavism or reversion
of his body to his ape – like ancestors
 That criminals are evolutionary degenerates
 That this atavism and degeneracy of the body are the causes of crime, and

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  That the person who is a born criminal type cannot desists from committing crime unless he
lives under exceptionally favorably circumstances

 There are four (4) classes of criminals

 Born criminals (atavists)
 Insane
 Occasional (criminals with some atavistic characteristics
 Passion

 Lombro’s Checklist of Physiognomic Indicators:

 Unusually short or tall height
 Small head but large face
 Small and sloping forehead
 Receding hairline
 Wrinkles on forehead and face
 Large sinus cavities or bumpy face
 Large, protruding earsbumps on head, particularly the Destructiveness Center behind the ears
 Protuberances ( (bumps) on the head
 High cheek bones
 Bushy eyebrows
 Large eye sockets
 Deep, beady eyes
 Beaked nose (up or down) or flat nose
 Strong jaw line
 Fleshy lips, but thin upper lip
 Mighty scissors, abnormal teeth
 Small or weak chin
 Thin neck
 Sloping shoulders
 Long arms
 Pointy, webby, stubby fingers or toes
 Tattoos on body
 Supernumerary fingers and toes
 Asymmetry of the face
 Unusual size of the ears
 Abnormality of the feet
 Imbalance of the hemisphere of the brain

 THE BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

Men as a living organism have been the focus of a number of studies which has the
purpose of determining the causes of his crimes

 Physiognomy
This is the study of the relationship between the facial features and human conduct of a
person in relation to his crimes. It includes observation of his physical appearance and measurement of
the outward appearance. Both claimed that bald men, bearded women, shifty eye, weak chin and
arrogant nose are criminal inclinations.

 Phrenology or Cranioloy
This is the analysis of the external formation of the skull that indicates the conformation of
the brain and the development of its various parts in relation to the behavior of the criminal.

 Study of physical Defects and handicapped in Relations to Crimes

Leaders of infamous criminal groups are typically given monikers in accordance with their
physical defects and handicapped such as funny words “Natong Kirat”, Brad Balat”, “Ariel
Bakling”, “Max Komang”, and the likes.

 It is very ordinary that these criminals are known for their physical defects and handicap, which was
the accustomed source of irritation during their childhood days, wherever they become the subject
matter of jokes by others. As an outcome, they become violent, feel inferior to others and or being
ostracized by the society. The unfavorable results therefore could be the following:
 Persons who are suffering from physical defects have poor social relationship and serious
emotional disturbances
 It reduces his capacity to compete economically and socially

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  It may cause the development of inferiority complex
 Persons suffering from defects are frequently annoyed by friends and resort to violent criminal
behavior

 Classifying Type of Physiques and the type of crimes they are prone to commit
 Pyknic Type – persons who are stout and with round bodies. They tend to commit deception,
fraud and violence
 Athletic type – persons who are muscular and strong. They are usually connected with the
crimes of violence
 Asthenic Type – those who are skinny and slender. Their crimes are petty thievery and fraud.
 Dysplastic or mixed type – those who are less clear evident having any predominant type.
Their offenses are against decency and morality.

 WILLIAM SHELDON
Varieties of Delinquent Youth – kinds of Physique
 ENDOMORPHIC BODY TYPE is manifested by relatively great development of digestive
viscera tendency to put on fat; soft roundness through various regions of the body; short
tapering, limbs; small bones; smooth velvety skin

 MESOMORPHIC PHYSIQUE is one where there is relatively predominance of muscles, bone

and the motor organ or the body; large wrist and hands, if lean a hard rectangular outline
 CTOMORPHIC PHYSIQUE is evidenced by relatively predominance of skin and its
appendages which include the nervous system; lean, fragile, delicate bones, droopy shoulders,
small face, sharp nose, fine hair, relatively small body mass and relatively great surface area

 Kinds of Temperament
 Viscerotonic – where the behavior shows general relaxation of the body; a comfortable person;
loves luxury; an essentially extrovert person
 Romotonic – refers to active dynamic persons whose walks, talks, gestures assertively and
behaves aggressively
 Cerebrotonic – persons whose traits are generally classified as introvert, full of functional
complaints, allergies, skin troubles, chronic fatigue, insomnia; sensitive skin and to noise:
shrinks from crowd

 HEREDITY AS THE CAUSE OF CRIME

The familiar household lexis like, “ it is in the blood” and “like father, like son” are
usually heard and said whenever there are several members in the family who have similar
physical and behavioral attributes with their elders. Consequently, heredity transmits single traits and
characteristics from parents to their children. Criminality of the offspring is used to show and determine the
nature of the parents and the nature of their crimes.

 Kalikak Family Tree (Goddard)

Martin Kalikak was a soldier of the American Revolutionary War, who while stationed in a
small village, met and had illicit relations with a feeble - minded girl. About 489 descendants
from this pedigree were traced which included 143 feeble – minded and only 46 were normal.
Thirty-six were illegitimate, 3 were epileptics, 3 criminals, 8 kept brothels and 82 died in
infancy.

At the end of the war, Martin Kalikak Sr. returned to his home and married a Quaker from
a good family. Out of this union, 4967 of the descendants has been traced and all but
one were normal mentally, only two were known to be alcoholic and one was convicted of
religious offense, 15 died in infancy and no one became criminal or epileptic.

 Juke Family Tree (Dugdale and Estabrook)

The Juke Family consisted of 6 girls most of whom were illegitimate.. one of the 6
sisters, Ada Juke was known as “ Margaret, the Mother of Criminals”. Dugdale traced from
this pedigree 1,200 descendants for 75 years from its origin and found 280 as paupers, 140
criminals, 60 habitual thieves, 300 infants prematurely born, 7 murdered, 50 prostitutes, 440
contaminated with sexual diseases and 30 were prosecuted for bastardry.

 Sir Jonathan Edwards Family Tree

Sir Jonathan Edwards was a famous preacher during the colonial period. His family tree
was traced, none of the descendants was found to be criminal. Out of his pedigree many
become presidents of the United States, governors, members of the Supreme Court, famous
writers, preachers and teachers.

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 GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
Early Criminologist correlated weather, climate, humidity, wind velocity, atmosphere
pressure, rainfall, nature of soil and other geographical causes to the existence and the development
of crimes and criminality. The foregoing are some of the explanations devised by criminologist about
geography and crimes:
 North and South Pole – According to QUETELET “ Thermic Law of Delinquency”, crimes
against persons prevail in the South Pole and during warm season while crimes against
property predominate in the North Pole and cold countries

 Approach to the Equator – According to MONTESQUIEU in his book, “The Spirits of Laws”,
1748 criminality increases in proportion as one approaches the equator while alcoholism
increases as one approaches the North and South Pole.

 Season of the Year – Crimes against person are prevalent in summer months than in rainy
season on the other hand, crimes against properties are predominant during the rainy season.
Climatic conditions affects one’s bad tempers and cause criminality. During dry season, people
get out of their houses more to go to beaches, resorts and malls to cool down and as a result
there is more conglomeration of people and consequently more probability of personal
violence.

 Soil Formation - More crimes of violence are committed in fertile level lands than in hilly,
rugged terrain. Where there is a more mass of population and there is more irritation. There is
also more rape in level districts.

 Month of the Year – there is more occurrences of violent crimes during warm months from
April up to July having its peak in May. This is due to may Festivals, excursions, picnics, and
other sorts of festivities wherein people are more in contact with one another.

 Temperature – According to DEXTER, the number of arrests increases quite regularly with a
marked increase in temperature. The rise of temperature affects the emotional state of he
individual and leads to fighting. The impact of temperature upon females is greater than males.

 Humidity and Atmosphere Pressure – According to research ad inquiry, large number of

assaults is to be found correlated with low humidity and a small number with high humidity. It
was explained that low and high humidity are both vitally and emotionally depressing to the
individual.

 Wind (Velocity) – Under this study, it was rationalized that during high wind, the number of
arrest were less. It maybe due to the presence of more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that
minimizes the vitality of men to commit violence

 PSYCHOANALYTIC FACTORS
This refers to the analysis of human behavior and Psychiatric Factors which focuses on the
study of human mind in relation to the commission of crime.
 AICHORN in his manuscript entitled, “Wayward Youth, 1925” argued that the cause of crime
and delinquency is the faulty development of the child during the first few years of his life. As
children, human beings typically follow only his pleasure impulses instinctively. As we mature
and grow up, we find some restrictions to these pleasure impulses which we must control.
Otherwise, a person will suffer from faulty ego development and grows to be delinquent.

 ABRAHAMSEN in his book, “Crime and the Human Mind, 1945” – explained the origin of
crime by this formula, “Criminal behavior is a result of criminalistics tendencies plus crime
inducing situation divided by the person’s mental or emotional resistance to temptation”.

 CYRILL BURT in his book, “Young Delinquent, 1925” gave the hypothesis of general
emotionality. According to him, many offenses maybe traced to wither the excess or a
deficiency of a particular instinctive drive. An overload of the submissive instinct account for
the tendency of many criminals to be weak willed or easily led. Fear and absconding maybe
may be owed to the impulses of fear. Cruel and unsympathetic type of offenders maybe the
result of the shortage in the primitive emotion of love and a surplus of the instinct of hate.

 HEALY, in his book, “Individual Delinquency”, asserted that crime is an expression of the
mental content of the individual. Frustration of the individual causes emotional anxiety;
personality demands removal of pain and the pain is eliminated by substitute behavior, that is
commission of crimes and delinquency of the individual.

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  BROMBERG in his writing, “Crime and the Mind, 1948” asserted that criminality is the
consequence of emotional immaturity. A person is deemed emotionally matured when he has
learned to control his emotions effectively and who lives at peace with himself and in harmony
with the standards of conduct, which are acceptable to the society.

 SIGMEUND FREUD in his book, The Ego and the Id, 1927”in his psychoanalytical theory of
human personality and crimes has the following explanations
o Id – inclinations or instincts of social drives. It contains all that is inherited and is
present at birth (pleasure component)
o Ego – reality component, this form part of man’s physical organization between its
sensory stimuli on one hand and his motor activity on the other. The ego operates on
the basis of expediency.
o Super Ego – means the conscience of man. It is the role of agencies outside the home,
which tries to control the ego.

To be normal, there must be a proper balance of the above components. Disproportion or

disharmony may make the individual neurotic

If the super ego is deficient or improperly developed, then the ego will dominate, for this
reason, the persona may become impulsive or forceful making them prone to commit violent
acts.

 THE GIANELL INDEX TO CRIMINALITY – is crimino - synthesis which explains the reason why a
person may commit crime or restrain himself from doing so under the following circumstances:
 NEED FRUSTRATION. The person before committing the crime is likely to feel angry,
aggrieved, bitter, indignant, unhappy, unsatisfied and resentful about something in particular
about life in general.
 INTERNAL INHIBITION. It refers to all types of internal constraints which may prevent a
person from committing a crime. These forces may be the person’s conscience or his principles
or his sense of self respect or the particular conception he has of himself or a sense of guilt or
remorse that he may experience if he commit certain criminal acts.
 EXTERNAL INHIBITIONS. This constitutes all types of external factors which may prevent
an individual from committing a crime.
 CONTACT WITH REALITY. This refers to the extent to which a person can learn from his
past experience especially his past mistakes, as well as to the extent which he can evaluate
accurately the present situation and foresee the consequence of his present action in relations to
his future.

 SITUATIONAL CRIME POTENTIAL. This is centered on the cultural chance and opportunity
to commit the crime.
 POTENTIAL SATISFACTION. This refers to the balance of gain and loss that a person may
experience if he commits a given crime.

 CASES OF MENTAL DISTURBANCES – are at times the causes of criminality and the development
of criminal behavior

Mental deficiency – refers to a state of arrested or incomplete development of the mind existing
before the age of 18, whether arising from inherent origin or induced by disease or injury.

Classes of mental deficiency:

 IDIOTS – mentality which maybe compared to that of a 2 year old children. Persons who
manifest mental defectiveness of such a degree that are unable to guard themselves against
common physical dangers.
 IMBECILES – persons whose sate of mind is similar to a child 2 – 7 years of age and in whose
case there exist mental defectiveness which though not amounting to idiocy is yet so evident
that they are incapable of managing themselves or their affairs.
 FEEBLE – MINDED PERSONS. Are those whose state of mid manifest cases where there
exist mental defectiveness though not amounting to imbecility, requires care, supervisions and
control for their own protection.
 MORAL DEFECTIVENESS. Are persons wherein their mental defect exists coupled with
strong vicious or criminal propensities, and who require care and supervision, and control for
the protection of others.

 SCHIZOPHRENIA – sometimes referred to as dementia praecox, which is a form of obsession

characterized by thinking disturbance and regression to a more relatively unimpaired and intellectual
functions are well preserved. The personal appearance is dilapidated and the patient is liable to
impulsive acts, destructively and may commit suicide.

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 It refers to the group of psychotic disorders characterized by gross distortions of reality, withdrawal
from social interaction, disorganization and fragmentation of perception, thoughts and emotions. It also
refers to terms such as “dementia praecox, mental deterioration, or split mind”.

 COMPULSIVE NEUROSIS – this refers to a state of mind where there is an uncontrollable or

irresistible impulse to do something, such as:
 Pyromania – compulsive desire to set things or objects on fire
 Homicidal compulsion – the irresistible urge to kill somebody
 Kleptomania – the irrational craving to steal
 Dipsomania – the habitual and compulsive desire to drink alcoholic beverages.

 PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY – this is characterized by infantile level of response, lack of

conscience, wanting feeling of affection from others and aggression to environment and other people.

 EPILEPSY – this is a state characterized by compulsive seizures and a tendency to mental

deterioration.
Types:
 Grand Mal – where there is a complete loss of consciousness and general contraction of the
muscles
 Petit Mal – it maybe evident by mild or complete loss of consciousness and contraction of
muscles
 Jackonism Type – there is localized contraction of muscles with or without loss of
consciousness.

 ALCOHOLISM – it is a condition wherein a person is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or

alcohol. His physical state and conduct has been adapted to a certain extent by the effect of alcohol.
The drunkard habitually consumes or uses intoxicating liquor and once under the influence of liquor
become dangerous to himself and others. He may perpetrate violent crimes and inflict physical injuries.
Habitual drunkards may commit suicide, sexual offenses and other acquisitive crimes.

Causes of Alcoholism:
 Alcohol is an appetizer before meal
 Alcohol gives a therapeutic and soothing effect
 Alcohol is used as a means of evading or avoiding personal problems
 Alcohol is used as a means of escaping unpleasant realities in life.

 DRUG ADDICTION.
A form of vice abuse, which causes strong mental uproar. It is the state of intermittent or
chronic intoxication produced by the repeated intake or consumption of natural or synthetic drugs. A
drug dependent may commit crimes against property once he has no more money to buy the drugs. A
woman may become a prostitute just to get money to buy drugs. An addict during withdrawal
symptoms may commit violent crimes and commit suicide due to extreme sufferings. An addict is lazy,
unsanitary and turns out to be less dependable.

 SOCIOLOGICAL CAUSES
Refer to people, places and things, which we come in contact and which play a significant role in
determining our actions and conducts. These causes may bring about the development of
criminal behavior. Edwin Sutherland’s Principle of Criminology, 6 th Edition and Adler, 1995,
briefly explain the process by which a particular person comes to engage in criminal behavior.
These are the following:
 Criminal behavior is learned.
 Criminal behavior is learned in the process of interaction and communication with other
person.
 The principal part of learning takes place within the person’s intimate personal group. Families
and friends have the most influence on the learning process.
 That upon knowing criminal behavior, the person learns the techniques of executing crimes, its
motives, drives and rationale.

 LACK OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE.

Much of our life is predisposed by the type of parents we have. Experience proves that many
parents are deficient in supervision over their children thorough ignorance, severity, carelessness and
indifference. Such children generally get into trouble. The maxim, “ Today’s Delinquent is
Tomorrow’s criminal”, is truly a reality.

 BROKEN HOMES AND FAMILY.

Family is the basic unit of society to which all persons belong is a homogenous, unified and
intimate social group wherein children have their initial experience with others; receive nourishment,
care, protection, normal instruction and basic physical and emotional satisfaction.

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 It is the group through which, he becomes familiar with his culture, which includes
respect to the rights of others, respect to property neighborliness, good sportsmanship, courtesy and
good manners, truthfulness and reliability. Frequently however, quarrelling and nagging in the family
and similar incidents makes children and parents in such cases to avoid the home and to seek refuge
and pleasure elsewhere. Too often, the satisfaction sought and the places it sought are criminals or
inductive to crime. And in many cases, the break up of the family structure results in delinquency of
the children and sometimes criminality on the part of the parents and their offspring.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF A NORMAL HOME

 Physically complete where both natural and legal parents are present
 There is social and religious similarity in the group
 Must be economically stable to maintain normal health
 There must be physical and psychological normality
 There must be functional adequacy

 BASIC NEEDS OF CHILDREN

 Security – economic and emotional security must be provided. Food, shelter, clothing and love
are necessary for their existence
 Recognition – the parents should be the ones who first recognize whatever accomplishment a
child has for himself
 Status – this is the tag for admission to status to other constructive group
 Companionship – the children’s relationship with the parents and other siblings is a unique
asset to the development of the child. Relationship with brothers and sisters requires the child
to adjust to more or less friendly rivalry. This experience will make him well in the more
complex relationship outside the family.

 KINDS OF DISORGANIZED OR BROKEN HOMES

 Home with criminal parents
 Home in which there are unsatisfactory relations be of dominations, favoritism, severe neglect,
jealousy, step parents and interfering relatives.
 Home socially or normally maladjusted because of difference of race, religion or common law
marriages.
 Home in which one parents is inflicted with physical or mental disability
 Home under economic pressure due to underemployment or unemployment

 INJURING CONDITION OF NEIGHBORHOOD

The residence in slum and impoverished areas will lower the social status of its population.
They are generally congested and have more than the average number of cheap amusement places,
have little or no recreational facilities.
As a rule, people are influenced by their surroundings and often get into trouble. This is more
evident in its influence on the youth residents.

 ASSOCIATION WITH CRIMINAL GROUPS

The old adage that, “one bad apple will spoil a barrel of good ones”, hold true, to a great
degree among people. Experience proves that the influence of some companions maybe more
significant than parental or peer pressure. The reason is that there exist stronger ties of brotherhood
among criminal groups than the non – criminal group.
It maybe best explained by VOID, in his “Group Conflict Theory”, which argues that,” Human
Behavior belongs to groups and plays a part in-group against the interest of another group. On faction
continually struggle to defend and maintain themselves against another group. They are like soldiers in
times of war. They behave in a manner to win conflicts and gain control.

 GROUP CONFLICT develops identification an loyalty as well as “esprit - de – corps” and morale.
Political alliances, fraternal organizations, law making, law breaking, gang behavior and crimes are
basically group conflict.

 SHORTAGE OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES for suitable use of leisure time. Recreational

facilities are especially necessary if we are to use up youthful energy in productive way. Too often, in
these areas where they are most needed such provisions are not present.
Consequently many of our young people tend to use their energies in mischievous, if not
illegal pursuits. More importantly, this results in idleness, which may further increase delinquency and
criminality.

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  LACK OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The lack of employment opportunity is a major cause of poverty. Poverty would result
to more problems, such joblessness as too much leisure time, leads idle people to crime. It sets up condition to
which citizen would resort to illegal and fraudulent means to make a living.

 CRIME AS A GROUP CONFLICT

A large number of criminologist consider that criminal behavior can be best defined in terms
of group conflict. According to this notion, the question of which behavior is deemed criminal is
largely one of which group’s holds political power. Major revolutions often turn the law – abiding citizen
of the old regime into outlaws under its successor.
 This is important because it shows that the conflict concerning the definition of crime is not
between nations or even major political factions, but between groups holding disparate norms.
This is particularly true in a pluralistic society such as that of the Philippines and other nations.

 There is substantial evidence that every major society has its “dangerous” or “criminal” class.
The DACOITS And THUGGEES in India, the RAPPAREES of Ireland, the ETA in Japan –
each in its own time and society were forced into this undesirable one.

 The minority class is first regarded with suspicion. To protect itself , it is compelled to adopt
contrasting set of norms.

 The minority is then labeled, “dangerous”. In American History, an overlapping succession of

classes have, in one degree or another, found themselves in this role: the Indian of frontier
days, the immigrant Irish, Italians, Puerto Ricans and Negroes.

 The position of all these groups in society have certain features in common:
o They have often been described as “lower classes”, which mean among other things,
that they are impoverished and poorly represented in the political establishment
o They hold to religious and other patterns of behavior that are foreign to the classes in
power

o They are readily identifiable by appearance, dialect, customs, or dress as different from
the average citizen
o They dwell on the “wrong side” of the stockade, tracks or city limits; and to venture
into their territory is considered dangerous

 As their educational system is “sub standard”, they are labeled as intellectually inferior, poor
job risks, irrational and even violent.

 In general, the social majority is predisposed toward these classes in such a way that high
rates of criminal activity are produced by way of a self – fulfilling prophecy.

 It is not unusual to find specific legislation and law enforcement measures designed to keep
such groups “in line”.

 RACIAL MINORITIES
The social mechanism whereby the dominant society makes this minority “crime prone” were
outlined underlying racial prejudice, which tends to lower the self – esteem of the minority due to
the following:
 Poor housing conditions
 Inferior educational facilities
 Maintenance of a high unemployment rate
 Family disorganization and a culture of poverty
 Isolation and containment of the minority communities located in the most crowded parts of
the cities, and
 The increasing gap between officials charged with law enforcement and members of the feared
minority resulting in a loss of respect for the law and occasionally in open warfare in the
streets.

The definition of crime and enforcement of statutes may thus become crucial instruments in the
labeling of a minority group as criminal and dangerous, a process that may lead to further repressive
measures against the deviant population.

 DIFFERENTIAL IDENTIFICATION THEORY by DANIEL GLASSER

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 It maintained that a person pursues criminal behavior to the extent that he identifies
himself with real or imaginary persons from whose perspective his criminal behavior seems
acceptable.

A person with the susceptibility of becoming a thief will consider thieves as ideal
people to identify themselves. The identification need not be in intimate personal association but it
may be done by identifying themselves with characters in movies, radios or televisions.

 IMMITATION – SUGGESTION THEORY of GABRIEL TARDE

Delinquency and criminal matters are earned and adopted. The learning process may
either be conscious type of copying (imitation) or unconscious copying (suggestion) of confronting
pattern behavior.

The pattern of crime may easily fade, may last for a long time and maybe transmitted from
generation to generation. It may also spread from the place of origin going outward to the
periphery.

 DIFFERENTIAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION THEORY

This is sometimes referred to as social disorganization. There is social disorganization when
there is breakdown and changes; conflict of values between the new and the old; when there is
condensed influence of the social institutions over behavior; and when there is declining influence of a
solid moral and ethical front.

Some individuals accordingly break through the lines of social control, and society has
difficulty in maintaining effective social order.

There is social disorganization when there is lack of well – defined regulation to

behavior, a breakdown of rules and the absence of definite role for the adolescent to play.

 CONFLICT OF CONTROL THEORY by THORSTEN SELLIN

It emphasized that the multiplicity of incompatible culture is the main source of social
disorganization.

The high crime and delinquency rates of certain ethnic or racial group are explained by their
exposure of children to varied cultures.

The more intricate the culture becomes, the greater is the chance that the worms of various
groups will be in conflict.

 CONTAINMENT THEORY BY WALTER C. RECKLESS

This argues that criminality is brought about by the failure of the group to contain the
behavior of its members and that of effective containment of the individual into the value of
system and structure of society will minimize the crime.

Containment is better accomplished when the group is homogenous, isolated, undisturbed by

migration and cultural conflict.

A group of people coming from a common ancestry isolated from outside influence,
living in harmony and in cohesion, having a common religion, exercises maximum containment over
the behavior of the members.

 UTILITARIANISM
Refers to the theory of JEREMY BENTHAM and JOHN STUART MILL that the over all
utility or benefit produced by an action ought to be the standard by which we judge the worth or
goodness of moral and legal action.

 JEREMY BENTHAM, the main figure on Utilitarianism, propagated a distinct PARSONIAN Twist.
PARSONS was an influential sociologist during the 1940s and 1950s, sometimes called that “transition
figure” between classical and contemporary sociology.

 According to PARSONS, q utilitarian person is an actor, not a knower. They have wants, needs,
passions interests, or goals and these are what the personality system is organized around.

 Society not only allows these goals to be accomplished or thwarted, but it can, if It wanted,
shape the goals that people want, and therefore their personalities. The trick Is to set up the
social system so that people don’t even notice their wants are being shaped.

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  It is called “normative social control” and it is much more important to utilitarian that you keep
the whole social system going for the most people most of the time in terms of the larger
constellation of wants, rather than crackdown on a few criminals with abnormal wants.

 This reflects something of the utilitarian idea of the greatest good for the greatest number, and
it also explain why the classical school thinkers were more concerned with reforming the laws
than with thinking about what makes the individual criminals commit crimes.

 It is also a form of laissez – faire economics quite suitable to capitalism. If you set up the
whole social system so there’s some collective equivalent of individual self – interest, then
people will individually pursue their own best interest.

 OTHER NON – CRIMINOGENIC CAUSES OF CRIMES

Failure of the school in character development of the children and the youth. The responsibility
of the school in the character development of children is complimentary to the home. Second to the
home, the school has close contact with children for a long period of time so that it has a
powerful encouragement in the life of the child and has much to do with future life and career of
children.
 Primary purpose of the School:
o To instill and inculcate civic and patriotic responsibility in children
o Functions as an agency social control over the mores and cultures of society
o It provides technical competence to children for their future employment
o It is a place where initial verification can be manifested towards criminal behavior

 Relationships between school and delinquency and crimes:

o Among delinquents, there is excessive percentage of juvenile with poor school
adjustments
o A high proportion of delinquents express dislike for the school in general
o Truancy from school is strongly related to delinquency
o There is relatively high – rate of delinquency in the right – after – school – hours

 THE TEACHING OF RELIGION may sometimes be discredited from its objectives and purpose
 The significance of religion to criminality has always been considered on how much it helps in
combating delinquency. This is due largely to the fact that religion has always supported
morality, decency, love of mankind and above all, love of God.

 Misbehavior and wrongdoing therefore has not only been see as wrong in the eyes of the law
but likewise in the eyes of God.

 MASS COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA developing an artificial environment of crimes and

delinquency to influence the public and violate the law.
 There is no reservation that with the perfection of the modern technology in mass
communication media, newspapers, radio, motion picture, comic books and television have
been the most effective means of disseminating information to the whole public in the country
today.

 Simultaneously, this creates public opinion character and a particular type of society that they
may ultimately create on the basis of artificial environment that media develops in the mind of
the people.

 Media, of course has always been visualized for the public good but sometimes they may boost
development of criminal behavior.

 PRINT MEDIA is considered a factor to criminality

 It encourages crime by constant advertisement of crime
 It glorifies criminal leaders and consequently increasing their status
 It impedes in the administration of justice by “trial by publicity” and by giving raw and
unprocessed information to the public
 It creates public panic in regards to crime preventive procedure, and
 It recurrently advances information to the criminals regarding the plans of the police and law
enforcers.

 MOVIES, TELEVISION AND RADIO is a cause to criminality due to the following reasons:
 It put on shows crime techniques and criminal pattern of behavior
 It stimulates desires for easy money and luxury and suggest questionable method of getting it
 It encourages the spirit of bravado and toughness
 It arouses passionate sexual desire for sexual offenders and facilitates daydreaming of criminal
role
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 COMIC BOOKS & OTHER LITERATURES are crime producing due to the following concerns:
 Comic books sometimes fail to uphold respect for law, e.g. criminals are presented as heroes or
victims or prosecution while law enforcement officers are presented as a comic cop, a brute
behind his badge of stupid bungler

 Pornographic comic books and other literature are provoking peculiar interest in sex,
aggression, cruelty and deceit. They furnish realization for these ideas, which are more harmful
ethically than the impulses they release.

 Stories of comic books and other literatures sometime suggest lucrative opportunities for crime
in certain localities

 CIRCUMSTANCES that may bring about increased delinquency and criminal behavior:
 There are too many laws and ordinances that are enacted and dishonored

 The police and other law enforcement agencies are enforcing the laws injudiciously and the
people are impressed with the idea that they can break the law with impunity from punishment
and arrests

 Indulgence of the courts to impose firm penalties which encourage commission of crimes

 There are laws that are too unpopular that even the most decent citizens are violating it

 Poor prison system which falls short to reform and rehabilitate prisoners and on the other hand,
prisoners are learning more crime pattern inside the prison

 Inadequate number of policemen and law enforcers to deter from committing crimes

 Unsympathetic attitude of the public in helping their police in combating criminalities

 Political interference of those occupying higher positions in the government

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