THEORIES of CRIME CAUSATION

This school of thought is based on the assumption that individuals choose to commit crimes
after weighing the consequences of their actions. According to classical criminologists,
individuals have free will. They can choose legal or illegal means to get what they want,
fear of punishment can deter them from committing crime and society can control behavior
by making the pain of punishment greater than the pleasure of the criminal gains.

This theory, however, does not give any distinction between an adult and a minor or
a mentally-handicapped in as far as free will is concerned.

FOUNDERS OF THE CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY

1) CESARE BONESANA MARCHESE DI BECCARIA (1738-1794)

- published a book entitled “On Crimes and Punishment” in 1764; this book
presented a coherent and comprehensive design for an enlightened criminal
justice system that was to serve the people
- his book contains almost all modern penal reforms but its greatest contribution
was the foundation it laid for subsequent changes in criminal legislation
- his book was influential in the reforms of penal code in France, Russia, Prussia
and it influenced the first ten amendments to the US Constitution

HIGHLIGHTS OF CESARE BECCARIA’S IDEAS REGARDING CRIMES AND THE

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
“In forming a human society, men and women sacrifice a portion of their libery so as
to enjoy peace and security.”
“Punishments that go beyond the need of preserving the public safety are in their
nature unjust.”
“Criminal laws must be clear and certain. Judges must make uniform judgments in
similar crimes.”
“The law must specify the degree of evidence that will justify the detention of an
accused offender prior to his trial.”
“Accusations must be public. False accusations should be severely punished.”
“To torture accused offenders to obtain a confession is inadmissible.”
“The promptitude of punishment is one of the most effective curbs on crime.”
“The aim of punishment can only be to prevent the criminal from committing new
crimes against his countrymen, and to keep others from doing likewise. Punishments,
therefore, and the method of inflicting them, should be chosen in due proportion to the
crime, so as to make the most lasting impression on the minds of men…”
 “Capital punishment is inefficacious and its place should be substituted life
imprisonment.”
“It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. That is the chief purpose of all
good legislation.”

JEREMY BENTHAM
- founded the concept of UTILITARIANISM – assumes that all our actions are
calculated in accordance with their likelihood of bringing pleasure and pain
- devised the pseudo-mathematical formula called “felicific calculus” which states
that individuals are human calculators who put all the factors into an equation in
order to decide whether a particular crime is worth committing or not
- he reasoned that in order to deter individuals from committing crimes, the
punishment, or pain, must be greater than the satisfaction, or pleasure, he would
gain from committing the crime

NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
This theory modified the doctrine of free will by stating that free will of men may be
affected by other factors and crime is committed due to some compelling reasons that
prevail. These causes are pathology, incompetence, insanity or any condition that will make
it impossible for the individual to exercise free will entirely. In the study of legal provisions,
this is termed as either mitigating or exempting circumstances.

POSITIVIST CRIMINOLOGY
During the late eighteenth century, significant advances in knowledge of both the
physical and social world influenced thinking about crime. Forces of positivism and
evolutionism moved the field of criminology from philosophical to a scientific perspective.
From there, a more diligent search of criminal behavior began.

Positive theorists were the first to claim the importance of looking at individual
difference among criminals. These theorists who concentrated on the individual structures
of a person, stated that people are passive and controlled, whose behaviors are imposed
upon them by biological and environmental factors.

CESARE LOMBROSO
- considered the FATHER OF MODERN CRIMINOLOGY due to his application of
modern scientific methods to trace criminal behavior, however, most of his ideas
are now discredited
 - he claimed that criminals are distinguishable from non-criminals due to the
presence of atavistic stigmata – the physical features of creatures at an earlier
stage of development
- he asserted that crimes are committed by those who are born with certain
recognizable hereditary traits
- according to his theory, criminals are usually in possession of huge jaws and
strong canine teeth, the arm span of criminals is often greater than their height,
just like that of apes who use their forearms to push themselves along the
ground
- other physical stigmata include deviation in head size and shape, asymmetry of
the face, excessive dimensions of the jaw and cheekbones, eye defects and
peculiarities, ears of unusual size, nose twisted, upturned or flattened in thieves,
or aqualine or beaklike in murderers, fleshy lips, swollen and protruding, and
pouches in the cheek like those of animal’s toes
- Lombroso’s work supported the idea that the criminal was a biologically and
physically inferior person
- according to him, there are three (3) classes of criminals:
1) born criminals – individuals with at least five (5) atavistic stigmata
2) insane criminals – those who are not criminals by birth; they become
criminals as a result of some changes in their brains which interfere with their
ability to distinguish between right and wrong
3) criminaloids - those with make up of an ambiguous group that includes
habitual criminals, criminals by passion and other diverse types

DIFFERENT APPROACHES UNDER THE POSITIVIST CRIMINOLOGY

A) BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
This explanation for the existence of criminal traits associates an individual’s evil
disposition to physical disfigurement or impairment.
1) GIAMBATTISTA DELA PORTA (1535-1615)
- Italian physician who founded the school of human physiognomy, the study of
facial features and their relation to human behavior; the study of judging a
person’s character from facial features to determine whether the shape of the
ears, nose and eyes and the distances between them were associated with
anti-social behavior

2) JOHANN KASPAR LAVATER (1741-1801)

 - Swiss theologian who believed that people’s true characters and inclinations
could be read from their facial features

3) FRANZ JOSEPH GALL (1758-1828)

- born in Germany, a renowned neuroanatomist and physiologist and a pioneer
in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain
- developed cranioscopy, a method to study the personality and development
of mental and moral faculties based on the external shape of the skull
- cranioscopy was later renamed as phrenology, the study that deals with the
relationship between the skull and human behavior

4) CHARLES GORING
- also stutied phrenology or craniology which deals with the study of the
external formation of the skull indicating the conformation of the brain and the
development of its various parts which is directly related to the behavior of the
criminal
- he believed that criminal characteristics were inherited and recommended
that people with such characteristics should not be allowed to reproduce
- according to him, people with epilepsy, insanity and feeblemindedness were
among those who should not be allowed to have children
5) JOHANN KASPAR SPURZHEIM (1776-1832)
- German phrenologist who was the assistant of Gall
- he was the man most responsible for popularizing and spreading phrenology
to a wide audience

PHYSIOLOGY OR SOMATOTYPE
- this refers to the study of the body build of a person in relation to his
temperament and personality and the type of offense he is most prone to commit.
- this study which searches the relationship of body build to behavior became
popular during the first half of the twentieth century.

The following are the proponents of the somatotype school of criminology:

1) ERNST KRETCHMER
- he correlated body build and constitution with characters or temperamental reactions
and mentality
- he distinguished three (3) principal types of physiques:
a) asthenic – lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders; their crimes are petty thievery
and fraud
b) athletic – medium to tall, strong, muscular, coarse bones; they are usually
connected with crimes of violence
 c) pyknic – medium height, rounded figures, massive neck, broad face; they
tend to commit deception, fraud and violence

2) WILLIAM SHELDON
- formulated his own group of somatotype:
TYPE OF PHYSIQUE TEMPERAMENT

a) endomorphic -relatively large viscerotonic – generally

digestive viscera; round body; relax and comfortable
short, tapering limbs; small person, loves luxury and
bones; smooth, velvety skin essentially extrovert

b) mesomorphic – with relative romotonic – active,

predominance of muscles, bones dynamic; walks, talks
and motor organs of the body and gestures assertively
with large wrist and hands and behaves aggressively

c) ectomorphic – relative pre- dominance cerebrotonic – introvert

of skin and its appendages which prone to allergies, skin troubles,
includes the nervous system; it has chronic fatigue, insomnia, sensitive
fragile and delicate bones; skin and sensitive to noise
with droopy shoulders, small
face and sharp nose, fine hair
and with relatively small body

HEREDITY AS A FACTOR IN CRIMINALITY

1) RICHARD DUGDALE
- he studied the lives of the members of the JUKES FAMILY and referred to ADA
JUKES as the MOTHER OF CRIMINALS
- he discovered that from among the descendants of Ada Jukes, there were 280
paupers, 60 thieves, 7 murderers, 40 other criminals, 40 persons with venereal
diseases and 50 prostitutes
- he claimed that since families produce generations of criminals, they must have
been transmitting degenerate traits down the line

2) HENRY GODDARD
- he studied the lives of the KALLIKAK FAMILY and found that among the
descendants from MARTIN KALLIKAK’s relationship with a feeble-minded lady, there
were 143 feeble-minded and only 46 normal, 36 were illegitimate, 3 epileptics, 3
 criminals, 8 kept brothels and 82 died of infancy; his marriage with a woman from a
good family produced almost all normal descendants, only 2 were alcoholics, 1 was
convicted of religious offense, 15 died at infancy and no one became criminal or
epileptic

INTELLIGENCE AS A FACTOR IN CRIMINALITY

The classic studies of the Juke and Kallikak families were among the first to show
that feeblemindedness or low-intelligence can be inherited and transferred from one
generation to the next. Numerous test were also conducted that lead to the development of
the use of IQ tests as a testing procedure for offenders. The very first results seemed to
confirm that offenders had low mental abilities and they were found to be mentally impaired.

B. PYSCHOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
This explains the psychological determinants which define behavior of a person.
This idea has long been hatched by thinkers who were consumed by the belief that it is the
psychological equivalents that prod the person to act the way he does.
There are many ways to classify psychological theories of crime causation. Some of
the theories emphasize emotional problems, mental disorders, sociopathy and thinking
patterns. But the common assumption of these theories is that there is something wrong
with the mind of the offender which caused him to commit crimes.
From among the many theories regarding the relationship of psychology and crime,
the psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud is the most notable:

1) SIGMUND FREUD
- he is recognized as the FATHER OF PSYCHOANALYSIS
- he founded the PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF CRIMINALITY in which he
attributed delinquent and criminal behavior to a conscience that is overbearing which
arouses feelings of guilt or a conscience that is so weak that it cannot control the
individual’s impulses and the need for immediate gratification
- in his theory, PERSONALITY IS COMPRISED OF THREE COMPONENTS:

a) ID – this stands for instinctual drives; it is governed by the “pleasure

principle”; the id impulses are not social and must be repressed or adapted so
that they may become socially acceptable

b) EGO – this is considered to be the sensible and responsible part of an

individual’s personality and is governed by the “reality principle”; it is
developed early in life and compensates for the demands of the id by helping
the individual guide his actions to remain within the boundaries of accepted
social behavior; it is the objective, rational part of the personality
 c) SUPEREGO – serves as the moral conscience of an individual; it is
structured by what values were taught by the parents, the school and the
community, as well as belief in God; it is largely responsible for making a
person follow the moral codes of society

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION

1) EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS THEORIES
The emotional problem theories look at the offender as having the same
psychological make-up as that of a non-offender. There is no disease or psychological
disorder present in the offender. But the offender does not cope well with his environment
and this creates frustration that results in crime. The emotional problem theories assume
that the lawbreaker does not have a great mental sickness that causes him to commit
crimes but rather, he commits crime because of everyday emotional problems that made
him unable to cope. As a result, the offender acts out criminally.

2) MENTAL DISORDER THEORIES

There are two general types of mental disorders. First, the organic disorder, where
the physiological cause can be identified, such as head injuries that left the mind blank,
senility, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Organic disorders refer to the brain’s
disorder or sickness. Second is the functional disorder, which is characterized by strange
behavior that cannot be traced to any known organic disease. Examples of functional
disorders are those people with no apparent brain sickness who hear voices that other do
not hear, or who see things that others do not see.

TYPE OF MENTAL DISORDERS

1) NEUROSES
- a common type of mental disorder used to explain criminal behavior
- also referred to as hysteria or neurasthenia
- some of the more common neuroses are:
a) ANXIETY – also known as anxiety state or anxiety reaction; characterized by
the person feeling anxious, fearful anticipation or apprehension; the person
may be irritable, have poor concentration and over reacts to things that are
annoying

b) OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR – people who suffer from this have

unwanted, intrusive and repetitive thoughts or behaviors

OBSESSION – a repetitive and irresistible thoughts or urge

 COMPULSION – a repetitive behavior that is thought to produce or prevent
something that is thought to be magically connected to the behavior

c) PHOBIA – excessive and unexplainable fear of something; generally

exaggerated fear of things that normal people do not fear with the same
degree

d) DEPRESSION – extreme feeling of low morale, sadness, loneliness, self-pity,

despair, rejection, boredom and pessimism; a person is said to be depressed
if these feelings become pervasive and can already affect all aspects of a
person’s life

d) IMPULSE DISORDER – an excessive or unreasonable desire to do or have

something; an irrational or irresistible motive; examples of this are
kleptomania, pyromania, dipsomania and others

2) PSYCHOSES
- a more serious type of mental disorder, which can be organic or functional
- psychotic people lose contact with reality and have difficulty distinguishing reality
from fantasy
- the most common type of psychosis are the following:
a) SCHIZOPRENIA – also called dementia praecox; characterized by distortions
or withdrawal from reality, disturbances of thoughts and language and
withdrawal from social contact
b) PARANOIA - gradual impairment of the intellect, characterized by delusions
or hallucination

DELUSION – false belief

HALLUCINATION – false perception

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR – a false belief that you are greater than

everybody else

DELUSIONS OF PERSECUTION – a false belief that other people are

conspiring to kill, harm or embarrass you
C) SOCIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
Sociological factors refers to things, places and people with whom we come in
contact with and which play a part in determining our actions and conduct. These causes
may bring about the development of criminal behavior
1) EMILE DURKHEIM
- one of the founding scholars of sociology
- published a book, “Division of Social Labor”, which became a landmark work on the
organization of societies
- according to him:
a) Crime is as normal a part of society as birth and death
b) Crime is part of human nature because it has existed during periods of both
poverty and prosperity
c) As long as human differences exists, which is one of the fundamental
conditions of society, it is but natural and expected that it will result to
criminality
- One of his profound contributions to contemporary criminology is the concept of
anomie, the breakdown of social order as a result of loss of standards and values

2) GABRIEL TARDE
- introduced the Theory of Imitation, which governs the process by which people
become criminals
- The Theory of Imitation is explained by the following patterns:
a) Pattern 1: individuals imitate others in proportion to the intensity and frequency of
their contact
b) Pattern 2: inferiors imitate superiors
c) Pattern 3: when two behavior patterns clash, one may take the place of the other

3) ADOLPHE QUETELET
- He repudiated the free will doctrine of the classicists
- He founded what is known as the CARTHOGRAPHIC SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY,
together with ANDRE MICHAEL GUERRY
- This study used social statistical data and provided important demographic
information on the population, including density, gender, religious affiliations and
social economic status
- He found a strong influence of age, sex, climate condition, population composition
and economic status in criminality

4) ENRICO FERRI
- a member of the Italian parliament
- he believed that criminals could not be held morally responsible because they did
not choose to commit crimes but was driven to commit them by conditions of their
lives
SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND CRIME CAUSATIONS
The study of sociology provides many ideas and opinions that help in understanding
why a person becomes a criminal.

SOCIAL NORMS
- Also called rules of conduct
- shared standard of behavior which in turn require certain expectations of behavior in
a given situation
- Socially accepted and expected behavior or conduct in society
- set of rules that govern an individuals behavior and actions

SOCIALIZATION
- refers to the learning process by which a person learns and internalizes the ways of
society so that he can function and become an active part of society

CULTURE
- refers to the system of values and meanings shared by a group of individuals
including the embodiment of those values and meanings in a material object
- refers to the way of life, modes of thinking, acting and feeling
- it is a design of living that is transmitted from one generation to the next

MODERN EXPLANATIONS OF CRIMES AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

A) SOCIAL STRUCTURE THEORIES
1) SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY
- focuses on the conditions within the urban environment that affect crime rates
- Links crime rate to neighborhood ecological characteristics
- Views crime-ridden neighborhoods as those in which residents are uninterested in
community matters; therefore, the common sources of control – family, school,
church, and barangay authorities – are weak and disorganized
- Also called differential social organization

2) STRAIN THEORY
- holds that crime is a function of the conflict between the goals people have and the
means they can use to legally obtain them
- argues that the ability to obtain these goals is class dependent: members of the
lower class are unable to achieve these goals which come easily to those belonging
to the upper class
- Consequently, they feel anger, frustration and resentment, referred to as STRAIN
- The commission of crimes with the aim of achieving these goals results from this
conflict
3) CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY
- combines the elements of both strain and disorganization theories
- theorizes that in order to cope with social isolation and economic deprivation,
members of the lower class create an independent subculture with its own set of
rules and values

B) SOCIAL PROCESS THEORIES

1) SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
- believes that crime is a product of learning the norms, values and behaviors
associated with criminal activity

a) DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY

- formulated by Edwin Sutherland
- believes that criminality is a function of a learning process that could affect
any individual in any culture
- His theory is outlined as follows:
i. criminal behavior is learned;
ii. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a
process of communication;
iii. the principal part of learning of criminal behavior occurs within an
intimate personal group;
iv. when criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes techniques in
committing the crimes which are sometimes very simple, the specific
direction of motives, drives, rationalization and attitudes;
v. the process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal
and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are
involved in any other learning

b) DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT THEORY

- according to this theory, people strike a balance between being “all-deviant”
and “all-conforming”
- Behavior persists depending on the degree to which it was rewarded or
punished

2) SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY

- maintains that all people have the potential to violate the law and that modern
society presents many opportunities for illegal activities
- argues that people obey the law because behavior and passions are being controlled
by internal and external forces
3) SOCIAL REACTION THEORY
- Also called LABELING THEORY
- holds that people enter into law-violating careers when they are labeled for their acts
and organize their personalities around the labels.
- Negative labels have dramatic influence on the self-image of offenders.