INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY

CRIMINOLOGY
 it is a study of all subject matters necessary in understanding and preventing
crime, the punishment and treatment of criminals;(Taft)
 derived from the Latin word CRIMEN, which means "accusation";
 derived from the Greek word LOGIA, which denote "study of";
 is the scientifc study of the nature extent, causes and control of criminal behavior
in both the indivivual and in society;
 in 1885 the Italian Law Professor RAFFAELE GAROFALO coined the term
CRIMINOLOGIA;
 French Anthropologist PAUL TOPINARD used an analogous French term
"CRIMINOLOGIE";

Criminology

 is the entire body of knowledge regarding crimes, criminals, and the effort of the
society to prevent and suppress them.
 In its narrowest sense it is the study of crime as a social phenomenon.

 refers to the scientific study of crimes, criminals, and victims, it also deals with
the prevention, and solution of crimes (RA 11131)

Republic Act 11131 (RA), otherwise known as The Philippine Criminology Profession
Act 2018, effectively repeals RA 6506 that created the Board of Examiners for
criminologists in the Philippines for other purposes.

Criminologist = is a person who is a graduate of the Degree of Criminology, who has

passed the examination for criminologists and is registered as such by the Board (RA
6506).

Registered criminologist refers to a natural person who holds a valid certificate of

registration and an updated professional identification card as criminologist issued by
the Board and the Commission pursuant to this Act (RA 11131)

Section 5. Scope of Practice. - The practice of criminology shall include, but shall not
be limited to, acts or activities performed:

a) In line with the practice of profession or occupation as a law enforcement

administrator, executive, adviser, consultant, officer, investigator, agent or employee in
any private or government agencies performing law enforcement and quasi-police
functions at the Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation
(NBI), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Bureau of Fire Protection
(BFP), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Provincial Jail, the
Bureau of Corrections (BUCOR), the Probation and Parole Administration (PPA), the
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP), other government and private banks, the Philippine Postal Corporation
(PPC), the Sea and Air Marshalls, the VIP Security, Airport and Seaport Police, the
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the Intelligence Service of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), and other intelligence service or agencies of the
government exercising similar functions;
b) In line with the practice of teaching profession such as those performed by a
professor, instructor or teacher in any university, college or school duly recognized by
the government of any of the following professional and component subjects of the
criminology program: (1) Criminal Jurisprudence and Procedure; (2) Criminalistics; (3)
Law Enforcement Administration; (4) Crime Detection and Investigation; (5) Correctional
Administration; and (6) Criminal Sociology and Ethics, and other technical and
specialized subjects in the criminology curriculum provided by the CHED;
(c) As a technician, examiner/criminalist, or specialist in dactyloscopy, questioned
document, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), lie detection, firearms identification, forensic
photography, forensic chemistry and other scientific crime detection and investigation;
(d) As a correctional administrator, executive, supervisor, or officer in any rehabilitation,
correctional, and penal institution or facility, and in any community-based corrections,
and rehabilitation agencies and/or programs;
(e) As a counsellor, consultant, adviser or researcher in any government or private
agency on any aspect of criminological research or project involving the causes of
crime, children in conflict with the law, treatment of offenders, police operations, law
enforcement administration, scientific criminal investigation or public safety and national
security administration; and
(f) As a private investigator, administrator, consultant or agent, or detective in any
private security and investigation agency organized under the laws of the Philippines.
Section 14. Qualifications of an Applicant for the Licensure Examination. - An applicant
for the licensure examination for criminologist shall satisfactorily prove that one
possesses the following qualifications:
a) Must be a citizen of the Philippines or a foreign citizen whose country/state has
reciprocity with the Philippines in the practice of criminology;
(b) Must be of good moral character, good reputation and of sound mind and body
certified by the school where he/she graduated and the barangay where he/she lives,
unless the examinee is a foreign national a certification from any professional of good
standing will do;
(c) Must hold a bachelor's degree in criminology duly accredited by the CHET) and
conferred by a school/college/university duly authorized by the government or its
equivalent degree obtained by either a Filipino or foreign citizen from an institution of
learning in a foreign country/state: Provided, That it is duly recognized and/or accredited
by the CHED;
(d) Must not have been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude by a court of
competent jurisdiction; and
(e) Those who failed five (5) times whether consecutive or cumulative in the
criminologist licensure examination, must present a certification issued by a reputable
institution duly recognized by the CHED that such applicant has satisfactorily completed
a refresher course in criminology.
Section 15. Subjects for Licensure Examination. - The licensure examination for
criminologists shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
Subjects Relative Weights
A. Criminal Jurisprudence and Procedure 20%
B. Law Enforcement Administration 20%
C. Crime Detection and Investigation 15%
D. Criminalistics 20%
E. Correctional Administration 10%
F. Criminal Sociology 15%

PURPOSES OF STUDYING CRIMINOLOGY

• To prevent the crime problem
• To understand crimes and criminals
• To prepare for a career in law enforcement and scientific crime detection
• To develop an understanding of the constitutional guarantees and due process of
law in the administration of justice.
• To foster a higher concept of citizenry and leadership together with an
understanding of one moral and legal responsibilities to his fellowmen, his
community and the nation.
SCOPE OF CRIMINOLOGY
• The making of laws – This pertains to the examination of the nature and
structure of laws in the society which could be analyzed scientifically and
exhaustively to learn crime causation and eventually help fight them.
• The breaking of laws – It is concentrated in the scientific analysis of the causes
of crimes. In short, it determines the varied reasons why laws are violated
• The reaction towards the breaking of laws – This involves the study of the
reaction of people and government towards the breaking of laws.

PRINCIPAL COMPONENT OF CRIMINOLOGY

In studying criminology, there are three important components namely:

1. Criminal Etiology (Origin)-Deals with the scientific study of the causes of crimes. It
tries to find explanations as to what causes a criminal behavior in an individual and
determine the different factors that contribute to crime causation.
2. Sociology of Law- Refers to the study of the nature of criminal law and its
administration. It is the scientific analysis of the conditions under which criminal laws
develop as a process of social control.
3. Penology- is the study of the control of crimes and the rehabilitation of the offender.
It is a branch of criminology which deals with the treatment, management and
administration of inmates.

NATURE OR CHARACTERISTIC OF CRIMINOLOGY

1. As an Applied Science – In the study of the causes of crimes; anthropology,
psychology, sociology and other natural sciences may be applied. While in crime
detection, chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, ballistics, polygraphy,
questioned document examination may be utilized.
2. Criminology as a Social Science - Since crime is a social creation and that it
exists in the society, its study therefore is considered part of social science.
3. Criminology is Dynamic - Criminology changes as social condition changes. It
is concomitant with the advancement of other sciences that have been applied to
it.
4. Criminology is Nationalistic - The study of crimes must be in relation with the
existing criminal law within a territory or country. This is so because the power to
define and punish crime is enjoyed by the State as cited by the Supreme Court in
People vs. Santiago.

Scope of the study of criminology

As mentioned, the study of criminology is related to other sciences and fields of study.

FACTORS ENHANCING CRIMINALITY

 Criminal demography - study of the relationship between criminality and
population
 Criminal epidemiology - study of the relationship between environment and
criminality
 Criminal ecology - study of criminality in relation to the spatial distribution in a
community
 Criminal physical anthropology - study of criminality in relation to physical
constitution of men
 Criminal psychology - study of human behavior in relation to criminality
 Criminal psychiatry - study of human mind in relation to criminality
 Victimology - study of the role of the victim in the commission of a crime

Victim maybe classified as:

 Primary victim - those who directly suffered as a result of the crime
 Secondary victim - those who suffered indirectly, such as the spouse, children,
parent, brothers, sisters or relative of the victim.
 Tertiary or remote victim - those who become victim psychologically because they
become afraid of the effects of crime by watching television, newspaper listening to
witness testimony.