Crim.

1
M ODULE 1
(First Prelim- First Week)
Maam CJ Chris Ramtom   

Chapter I- Introduction and Historical Setting

Chapter Objectives:
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to:
 Define criminology.

 Know the different definitions of criminology.

The following are the definitions of criminology:

 Criminology is a body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as a social

phenomenon.
Delinquency is a violation of simple rules and regulations that is usually committed by
minor offenders.
Ex. Status offenses- are acts that only juveniles can commit and are only adjudicated in a
juvenile court.
Crime is an act or omission punishable by law.

 Criminology may refer to the study of crimes and criminals and the attempt of analysing
scientifically their causes and control and the treatment of criminals.

 According to Sutherland and Cressey, Criminology is the study of crime as a social

phenomenon, or of criminals- the mental traits, habits and discipline.

 Elliott and Merill- Criminology is the study of crimes and its treatment.

 Taft- Criminology is the study of all subject matters necessary in understanding and
preventing crime, the punishment and treatment of criminals.

Etymological word of criminology:

Criminology is derived from the Latin word crimen which means accusation and the
Greek word logia which means study of.
Note: Criminology as defined by its etymological word is a study of accusation.

Personalities who coined the word criminology:

 Rafaelle Garofalo – coined the word criminology as criminologia.

 Paul Topinard- coined the word criminology as criminologie

Note: It was in the mid-18th century when criminology arouse and became popular as social
philosophers gave thought to the concepts of crime and law.

 Criminology is a multidisciplinary study of crimes (Bartol, 1995). This means that many
disciplines are involved in the collection of knowledge about criminal activity including
psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, neurology, political science and
economics. But over the years, sociology, psychology and psychiatry have dominated the
study of crime.

Criminology as a broad field are subdivided into:

a. Sociological criminology (sociology)- the study of crime focused on the group of

people and society as a whole. Focus on studying the relationship of people within the
society with respect to those sociological factors like gender, race, age and etc..

b. Psychological criminology (psychology)- the science of behavior and mental

processes of criminals. Study on how the behavior is acquired, evoked, maintained
and modified.
c. Psychiatric criminology (psychiatry)- science that deals with the study of crime
through forensic psychiatry, the study of criminal behavior that strongly relies on the
individual. The theory that best explains this psychiatric criminology is the
Psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud wherein according to him there are three
faculties of human mind; the id- pleasure principle, the ego-reality principle and the
superego which is the conscience of mind.

Stay Safe and God Bless! 

#Maam CJ Chris Ramtom   