THEORIES 😊
Theory of crime Advocator/s
Demonological Theory
Neo-Classical Theory
Classical Theory Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy
Biological Trait Theory
Critical Theory
Raffaele Garofalo, Enrico
Positivists Theory Ferri and Cesare Lombroso
Anomie Theory
Psychoanalytical Theory
Psychodynamic theory
Somatotyping Theory
Differential
Association Theory
Strain Theory
Cartographical School of
Criminology
General Inferiority Theory
Evolution Theory
Labeling Theory Frank Tannenbaum, Edwin
Master Status Theory
Differential Opportunity
Theory
Social Learning Theory
Social Psychological Theory
Human Ecology Theory
Ecological Theory
Containment Theory
Conflict Theories
Conflicting Group Theories
Concept/s
- Individuals were thought to be possessed by good or
____________ evil spirits, which caused good or evil.
- Children and lunatics cannot calculate pain and
____________ pleasure, therefore, must be exempted from criminal
liability.
- Utilitarian Hedonism which explains that a person
always acts in such a way as to seek pleasure and
Bentham avoid pain. (Bentham)
- Men are rational being who has the freewill to
choose between good or evil. (Beccaria)
Certain biological and mental traits present at birth
make people more prone to crime.
- Crime is a product of the imbalance in the society.
- Criminals are like sick people who requires
rehabilitation rather than the imposition of punishment.
Emile Durkheim - Crime is an important ingredient to all healthy
societies.
Sigmund Freud Crime is a symbolic expression of one’s inner tension
which a person but fails to control.
Crime is a product of childhood experiences and
repression.
- explains personality in terms of conscious and
unconscious forces, such as unconscious desires and
beliefs.
- commonly hold that childhood experiences shape
personality.
William Sheldon - Heredity is the primary determinant of one’s
behavior and
- body physique is a reliable indicator of one’s
personality.
Edwin Sutherland - Criminal behavior is learned through social
interaction in the process of communication.
Robert King Merton - It maintains that the failure of a man to achieve a
higher status of life caused them to commit crimes in
order for that status or goal to be attained.
- Frustration leads to criminality.
Adolphe Quetelet - Crimes against person increase during summer and
crimes against property increase during winter.
Earnest Hooton - Criminals are originally inferior and that crime is the
result of the impact of the environment.
Charles Darwin - Humans, like other animals, are parasites.
- Man is an organism having an animalistic behavior
that is dependent on other animals for survival.
Thus, man kills and steals to live.
- Behavior becomes criminal if it is labeled as such.
Lemert and
Howard Becker - One’s behavior depend on how other people react to
their activities.
- Sub-theory of labeling theory.
Lloyd Ohlin - It explains that society leads the lower class to want
things and society does things to people.
- Crime is learned through observation.
- Crime is learned through imitation.
Robert Ezra Park - It maintains that crime is a function of social change
that occurs along with environmental change.
- It maintains that isolation, segregation, competition,
conflict, social contract, interaction and social
hierarchy of people are the major influences of
criminal behavior and crimes.
Crime is a product of societal changes or
transformation.
Walter Reckless - This theory is a form of control, which suggests that
a series of both internal and external factors
contributes to criminal behavior.
William Chambliss Laws are for the rich and not for the poor, thus, the
poor violate laws.
George Vold Conflict between the minority (poor) and the rich are
translated into criminal laws reflecting the desires of

Theory of Criminalization
Social Class Conflict Theory Karl Marx and Frederick
Chicago School/
Social Disorganization
Theory
Capitalism Theory
Gang Theory
Subculture Theory
Walter Miller Theory
Delinquency and Opportunity Richard Cloward and Lloyd
Theory
Neutralization Theory
Genetics Theory
Frustration Aggression
Theory
Social Control Theory
Social Bond Theory
the rich and not of the poor.
The rich and the powerful influence legislation.
Austin Turk Criminality is essentially a status that is conferred or
ascribed by persons in authority to individuals who
engage in a particular set of behaviors. Criminality
is a definition applied by individuals with the power
to do so.
Character of every society is determined by its
Engel particular mode of economic production
The rich have the power to create criminal law that
only benefits them and not the poor.
The rich have the power to control the society.
Henry Mckay Poverty and economic deprivation produces
Clifford R. Shaw criminality.
Economically stable environments have lesser crime
rates, while those economically deprived have high
crime rates.
William Bonger The ruling class creates laws that reflect and protect its
interest in capitalist societies; laws are designed to
protect the accumulation of private profit.
Gangs originate from childhood playgroups and they
commit crimes for recognition.
Albert Cohen - He claims that the lower class cannot socialize
effectively as the middle class in what is considered
appropriate middle class behavior. Thus, the lower
class gathers together to share their common values
forming a subculture that rejects middle class values.
STATUS FRUSTRATION leads to criminality.
They commit crimes to gain higher status.
Walter Miller lower class is a separate culture whose expectations
and values are different from those of the middle
class. (FOCAL CONCERNS – trouble, toughness,
smartness, excitement, fate, autonomy)
Delinquency is the result of great disparity between
Ohlin what youths are taught to want and what is actually
available to them.
Children commit crimes because the legitimate means
are not possible thus they result to illegitimate
means.
Gresham Sykes - It maintains that an individual will obey or disobey
societal rules depending upon his or her ability to
rationalize whether he is protected from hurt or
destruction.
- people who have abnormal genetic structure or
chromosomal activities commit crimes and
delinquency (SUPER MALES – XYY
CHROMOSOMES)
- people who are frustrated become aggressive
(violent) and commit crimes.
Ivan Nye Delinquency is natural, conformity, on the other hand,
is not all natural, it must be explicitly taught and
encouraged, usually by parents.
Chil:dren with more freedom are prone to delinquency.
3 kinds of Control:
A. Internal – child’s conscin
B. Direct – literal control
C. Indirect – affection
Travis Hirschi Sub-theory of social control.
Ties of the society prevent crime
a. Attachment- care about others
b. Commitment – investment on activities
c. Involvement – time spent on conventional
activities
d. Belief – acknowledgement of what is right
and wrong.