Introduction

to
Criminology

By: Denief S. Vergara

Criminology

• It is derived from the Latin word “Krimen”

which can be translated to offense. and
• Logos - which means study.
• It was coined by anthropologist named Paul
Topinard in 1889.
Criminology

• Criminology is the scientific study of criminals,

criminal behavior and its causes.
• Criminology, is a body of knowledge regarding
delinquency and crime as a social phenomenon.
• It may also refers to the study of crimes and
criminals and the attempt of analyzing
scientifically their causes and control and the
treatment of criminals.
 Definition of key terms

• Crime
– It is an act or omission in violation of public laws.
• Felony
– It refers to an act or omission punishable by revised
penal code.
• Offense
– It is an act or omission punishable by special penal
law.
• Misdemeanor/infraction/delinquency
– It is act or omission in violation of simple rules and
regulation.
DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY

• The discipline of criminology has evolved in three

phases, beginning in the 18th century.
• Although crime and criminals have been around
for as long as societies have existed, the
systematic study of these phenomena did not
begin until the late 1700s.
• Prior to that time, most explanations of crime
equated it with sin.
• Sin – the violation of a sacred obligation.
First Phase

• The first phase involved when scholars first

distinguished crime from sin, they made
possible explanations of criminal behavior
that were not theological (religious).
• This, in turn, allowed for the dispassionate,
scientific study of why crime occurs.
• The development of this study is now known
as the era of classical criminology.
Second Phase

• The second phase, which began in the 19th

century, is referred to as modern criminology.
• During this era, criminology distinguished
itself as a subspecialty within the emerging
disciplines of psychology, sociology, and
economics.
• Scholars formed criminological societies and
founded criminology journals.
• Criminologists conducted empirical tests
(observations or experiments) of their
theories, rather than relying solely on
speculation, and consequently developed a
wide range of theories.
• The third phase, beginning in the second half
of the 20th century, may best be called
independent criminology.
• During this period, criminology began to
assert its independence from the traditional
disciplines that spawned it
• In Western Europe, the United States, and
Canada, criminologists expanded their
professional associations and published an
increasing number of journals.
• Criminological theories have become more
multidisciplinary (spanning various fields of
study) because independent criminologists
seek to understand crime itself rather than
study crime as one aspect of an overall
sociological or psychological theory.
THE GOALS OF CRIMINOLOGY

• The classical criminologists of the 18th

century were primarily concerned with
ending brutality and inequality against
criminals by enforcing limitations on
government power.
• They believed that criminal behavior was the
product of the offender’s rational choice, and
that crime could be prevented through the
speedy and certain application of penalties
that attached painful and unattractive
consequences to such behavior.
• Contemporary scholars believe that criminal
motivation is the product of one or more of a
complex set of factors.
• These factors are so numerous and so varied
that no system of classification can describe
the current theories of crime causation with
complete accuracy.
• However, broadly speaking, these theories may
be considered in one of the following three
categories;
– theories attributing criminal behavior to biological or
congenital (inherited) defects of the offender.
– theories relating crime to psychological factors or
mental disorders,
– And
– theories relating crime to environmental or social
factors.
• Many criminologists have suggested theories of
multiple causation involving factors from more
than one of these categories.
IMPORTANT AREAS IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF CRIMINOLOGY
• The development of criminal law and in defining
crime.
• The cause of law violation, and
• Methods used in controlling criminal behavior.
• The criminal behavior systems of criminology
involve research on specific criminal types and
patterns, such as violent crimes, theft and
others
PRINCIPAL COMPONENT
OF CRIMINOLOGY
Criminal Etiology
Criminal Etiology involved the application of
scientific analysis of the causes of crime.
An individual perpetrating a crime had no
single reason;
hence, there is no single and only explanation of
causes of crimes.
A different theory has evolved in studying the
causes of crime such as Biological, Sociological
and Psychological Theories.
Sociology of Law
Sociology of law entails the importance of law
or the criminal law as a process of formal
social control.
Criminal law seeks to protect the public from
harm by inflicting punishment upon those
who are tempted to do harm.
Thus, criminal law often strives to avoid harm
by forbidding conduct that may lead to
harmful results.
Penology
Penology, the study of criminal punishment, is a sub-
field of criminology.
Criminologists theorize about why people commit
crimes and deviate from society’s norms of behavior.
They also study how society punishes criminals
because different methods of punishment may cause
people to alter their behavior in different ways.
Thus, criminologists devise theories that not
only explain the causes of crime but also
address its prevention, control and treatment.
Today, one more are of concern in Criminology
is crime detection and investigation.
Criminologists are also engaged in studying
the criminal things.
Forensic Science, sometimes referred to as
Criminalistics, is therefore covered in the
broad field of criminology.
 WHAT IS THE
DISTINCTION
BETWEEN
CRIMINOLOGY AND A
CRIMINALISTICS?
Distinction Between Criminology and
Criminalistics
Criminology Criminalistics
social science applied science
deals more on theories use practical and technological
theories.
study of criminal people
study of criminal things.
A Criminologist is distinct
from a Criminalist.
• Question:
– Who is a Criminalist?
• Answer:
– A CRIMINALIST is a person who is trained in the
application of instruments and methods essential
in detecting and investigating crimes.
IMPORTANCE AND PURPOSES OF
STUDYNG CRIMINOLOGY
• Studying crime is very important, not only to
criminologists.
• Criminologists and non-criminologists study
crime because of various reasons.
• If we generalize these, they will fall on any of
these reasons:
• Criminology can be a source of philosophy of
life.
• The knowledge derived from studying crime is
a good foundation for an individual’s
philosophy and lifestyle.
• Criminology is a profession not only for social
service but for legal practice as well.
• People, study criminology because criminals
are legitimate object of interest.
• They should be understood in order to know
how to control them.
• Authorities should know a bit of criminology
because crime is a very expensive problem of
the society.
• The value of property lost, medical expenses,
insurances, moving costs, and intangible costs
of pain and suffering is too high as a result of
victimization.
Studying criminology is aimed
towards the following:
The primary aim is to prevent the crime
problem.
To understand crimes and criminals which is
basic to knowing the actions to be done to
prevent them.
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.
• In reality, there are many and varied purpose
of studying criminology.
• However, all these purposes fall on either of
the two (2) primary aims of studying
criminology.
– To understand crimes and criminals.
– To prevent the occurrence of crime.
NATURE AND SCOPE OF CRIMINOLOGY

• In 1889, an anthropologist named Paul Topinard,

introduces the term criminology in the English
language. He derived the word from the latin
word Crimen (Krimen) , which can be translated
to offense.
According to Prof. Cirilo Tradio, Criminology is
a body of knowledge regarding crime as a
social phenomenon.
The scope of Criminology covers:
– the making of laws
– the breaking of laws
– the reaction towards the breaking of laws
• Criminology is the study of crime and its
various aspects.
• According to Edwin Sutherland, it is the
science regarding crime and delinquency as a
social phenomenon.
• This is a field that addresses the issue of crime
and criminal behavior and attempts to define
explain and predict it.
• Understanding crime is a complicated matter
just like other social broad sciences.
• It requires therefore a systematic and
balanced knowledge in the examination of
why crime exists.
NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY
An Applied Science

• anthropology, psychology, sociology and other

natural sciences may be applied in the study
of the causes of crime while chemistry,
medicine, physics, mathematics, etc. may be
utilized in crime detection.
A Social Science

• in as much as crime is a creation of the society

and that it exists in a society, its study must be
considered a part of social science.
Dynamic

• Criminology changes as social condition

changes.
• That means the progress of criminology is
concordant with the advancement of other
sciences that has been applied to it.
Nationalistic

• the study of crime must always conform to the

existing criminal law of the land.
 Criminology is a multidisciplinary
study of crimes.

But over the years, the study of

crime has been dominated by:
 Sociology (Sociological
Criminology)
• this is the study of crime focused on the group of
people and society as a whole.
• It is primarily based on the examination of the
relationship of demographic and group variables
to crime.
Variables are,
socioeconomic status,
interpersonal relationships,
age,
race,
gender, and
cultural groups of people
time,
place,
and circumstances surrounding the crime.
• Psychology (Psychological Criminology)
– This is the science of behavior and mental
processes of the criminal.
• Psychiatry (Psychiatric Criminology).
– the study of criminal behavior in terms of motives
and drives;
– forensic psychiatry.
 CHAPTER TWO

CRIMINAL ETIOLOGY
WHAT IS CRIME?

• In the legal point of view, it refers to any

violation or infraction of the existing policies,
laws, rules and regulations of the society.
 Criminality is a serious problem.
This maybe explained by the

following characteristics of
crime:
• It does not respect
– Age
– Sex
– Culture
– customs and tradition
– race, and
– religion of the society.
• Crime is a worldwide phenomenon.
• It occurs in all the existing economic strata.
• Its causes are multifarious.
• It is difficult to eradicate.
• People cannot avoid offending others.
• Some offensive actions are considered
abnormal behavior while some are classified
as crime.
• What therefore is the requirement before an
act is considered a crime?
 The following is the “Differentiae”
of crime:
• There is a certain external consequence or harm.
• Physical injury
• the most obvious external consequence of an offensive
action.
• The harm must be legally forbidden and
prescribed by law.
• There must be a conduct
• there must be an intentional or reckless action that
results to harmful consequence.
• “Mens Rea” must be present.
• There must be a fusion or concurrence of
mens rea and conduct.
• There must be a casual relationship between
the legally forbidden harm and the voluntary
misconduct.
• There must be legally prescribed punishment
of the misconduct.
 CLOSE
EXAMINATION OF
CRIME
 Before saying that a crime has
been committed,
• You must have a “personal knowledge” of the
its actual commission or that you must have
caught the offender “in flagrante delicto”.
• An act can only be called as crime if
• there is a law that defines it,
• prohibit its commission, and
• provides punishment for its commission.
• In a criminal act, there should be
• malicious intent – a harmful consequence
(oppressive outcome of an act) is an inherent
result.
• There should be a continuity of the criminal
act before an offender is criminally charged.
RELATIVITY OF CRIME
What are the changing concepts of
crime and criminal laws?
• Most of the existing laws define acts as crimes
when some acts were not crimes a few years ago.
• Laws differ from jurisdiction to another and so
with acts, which are considered as crimes.
• Interpretation and implementation of laws
vary in terms of:
– characteristics of crime
– status of offenders
– Age
– status of enforcers
 GENERAL
CLASSIFICATIONS OF
CRIMES
As to atrocity – severity of the
criminal act or offense
• grave offense
• less grave offense
• minor or light offense
 As to intent
• crime mala in se
– acts which are evil in themselves
• crime mala prohibita
– acts which are prohibited because the law has
defined it to be a crime.
As to Motive
• economic crimes
• sexual crimes
• political crimes
• miscellaneous crimes
As to Statistical Purpose
crimes against
property
public order
persons
security
morals
chastity
As to Penalty
• crimes punishable by
• afflictive penalties
• crimes punishable by
• correctional penalties
• crimes punishable by
• light penalties
 CRIMINOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION OF
CRIME
• Crimes are classified in order to focus a better
understanding on their existence.
• Criminologists consider the following as
criminological classification of crimes.
• Acquisitive Crime
– when the offender acquires something as a
consequence of his criminal act.
• Extinctive Crime
– when the result of the criminal act is destruction.
• Seasonal Crime
– committed only at a certain period of the year.
• Situational Crime
– committed only when given a situation conducive
to its commission.
• Episodal Crime
– serial crime, committed by series of acts within a
lengthy period of time.
• Instant Crime
– committed the shortest possible time.
• Static Crime
– committed only in one place.
• Continuing Crime
– committed in several places.
• Rational Crime
– committed with intent; offender is in full
possession of his mental faculties.
• Irrational Crime
– committed without intent; offender does not
know the nature of his act.
• White Collar Crime
– committed by a person of responsibility in the
course of his occupation.
• Blue Collar Crime
– committed by ordinary professional to maintain
their livelihood.
• Upper World Crime
– committed by individuals belonging to the upper
class of society.
• Under World Crime
– committed by members of the lower or under
privilege class of society.
• Crime by Imitation
– “copy cat” crime, committed by mere duplication
of what was done by others.
• Crime by Passion
– committed because of the fit of great emotion,
such as anger
• Occupational (service related) Crime
– committed by rendering all service to satisfy the
desire of another.
OTHER CLASSIFICATION
OF CRIMES
• Traditional Crimes
– crimes that are committed every now and then.
• Crimes due to changing society (social change)
– poverty crimes.
• Emergency Crimes
– crimes that are committed to take advantage of an
abnormal situation, or the nature of a social problem,
or the vulnerability of a person or group of persons.
 HOW ARE CRIMES
COMMITTED UNDER THE
RPC?
Crimes are committed by means of:
• Dolo
– deceit
• Culpa
– fault (when wrongful act results from imprudence,
negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill)
WHAT IS A VICTIMLESS CRIME?
Victimless crime refers to acts committed by
consenting adults in private.
In victimless crimes, the acts involve only the
participants and do not directly harm others.
Examples are:
drug addiction,
prostitution and
gambling.
 WHAT ARE INDEX CRIMES?
• Index crimes are violent crimes.
• Criminal acts that involve threats or actual
physical harm to a victim by an offender.
– It presents not only offenses that we recognize as
violent (murder, rape, robbery) or other acts involving
force and intimidation but also “violent crimes” that
are commonly considered as “social problems” such
as domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, etc.
 WHO IS A CRIMINAL?
• On the basis of the definition of crime, a criminal
may be defined in three ways:
– A Criminal is a person who has committed a crime
and has been convicted of final judgment by a
competent court.
– A Criminal is a person who violated a social norm or
one who acted an anti-social act.
– A Criminal is one who violated rules of conduct due
to behavioral maladjustment.
CLASSIFICATIONS
OF CRIMINALS
Based on Etiology

• Acute Criminal
– one who violates a criminal law by impulse or due
to fit of passion.
• Chronic Criminal
– one who acted with deliberation or
premeditation, one who plans the crime ahead of
time.
Based on Behavioral System:

• Ordinary Criminal
– considered as the lowest mammal in the criminal
profession; he was forced by opportunity pushed
to commit crime.
• Professional Criminal
– one who is engaged in criminal activities with high
degree of skill; he uses crime to maintain a living
Based on Mental Attitude:

• Active Criminal
– one who commits crime due to aggressiveness
• Passive Criminal
– one who commits crime because they are forced
by a reward or promise.
• Socialized Delinquent
– individual with defective socialization process or
development thus he lacks proper moral values or
ethical standards.
Other Classification of
Criminals:
• Accidental Criminal
– one who commits crime when the situation is
conducive
• Habitual Criminal
– one who consciously developed the habit of
committing crime due to lack of self-control.
WHAT IS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR?

• Criminal behavior is an intentional behavior

that violates the criminal law.
• Criminal behavior, therefore, is beyond normal
behavior since it is used to describe conducts
or actions that do not belong to the standard
behavior of man.
 GENERAL APPROACHES IN THE
STUDY OF CRIME
• There are numerous theories that must be
considered in studying the causes of crimes.
• There is a need, therefore, to categorize or
group these theories for the purpose of more
systematic and simplified discussion.
• The three general groups of criminological
approaches are:
– Subjective
– objective and
– contemporary approaches.
SUBJECTIVE APPROACHES

• Subjective approaches deal mainly on

the biological explanation of crimes.
• Subjective explanations are focused
on identifying the forms of
abnormalities that was experienced by
criminals before, during and after
committing the crime.
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE
SUBJECTIVE APPROACHES:
Anthropological Approach

• focused in studying the physical

characteristics of offenders in the attempt
to discover physical differences between
criminals and non-criminals. (Earnest
Hooton’s theory)
Medical Approach

• the application of medical

examinations on offenders in order
to explain the mental and physical
condition of the individual prior and
after committing a crime. (Positivist
Theory)
Biological Approach

• the evaluation of genetics in

explaining criminal behavior; under
this approach, heredity is the main
factor that push people to commit
crimes. (Positivist Theory)
Physiological Approach

• focused on the study of the nature of

human beings – how they satisfy their
physical needs;
• this approach explains that the cause of
crimes is the deprivation of the physical
body from the basic needs of life.
(Maslow’s Theory)
Psychological Approach

• explains that development of criminal

behavior (deviations of normal behavior
resulting to unpleasant emotions) is
caused by deprivation from
psychological needs of man. (Theories of
Freud and Maslow)
Psychiatric Approach

• cause of the criminal behavior,

according to this approach, is mental
disease as diagnosed by a trained
authorized person. (Positivist Theory)
Psychoanalytical Approach

• explanation of crime is based on the

Freudian Theory – this theory states
that criminal behavior is caused by
repression (suppression) of the basic
drives. (Freud’s Theory)
OBJECTIVE APPROACHES

• These approaches deal on the study of

groups, social processes and
institutions as factors that influence
the human behavior.
• They are primarily derived from social
sciences.
Geographic Approach

• topography, natural resources,

geographical location, and climate
are factors that lead a person to
commit crime. (Adolph Quetelet
Theory)
Ecological Approach

• the biotic grouping of men resulting

to migration, competition, social
discrimination, division of labor, and
social conflict are factors that cause
crime. (Ezra Park’s Theory)
Economic Approach

• financial insecurity and inadequacy of

the necessities to support life are
important factors to criminality.
(Robert King Merton’s Thoery)
Socio-Cultural Approach

• causes of crimes can be traced

from the effects of institutions,
economics, education, politics,
and religion to the people.
(Albert Cohen’s Theory)
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES

• Criminologists today put emphasis on scientific

explanation of crime and criminal behavior.
• Contemporary approaches are focused on the
psychoanalytical, psychiatric, and sociological
explanations of crime in an integrated theory.
• Integrated theory is an explanatory statement
that combines ideas or concepts from different
sources.
THEORIES OF CRIME
Demonological Theory

• Individuals were thought to be possessed

by good or evil spirits, which caused good
or evil spirits
Neo-Classical Theory

• Children and lunatics cannot calculate pain

and pleasure, therefore, must be
exempted from criminal liability.
Classical Theory

• Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham

• Utilitarian Hedonism which explains that a
person always acts in such a way as to
seek pleasure and avoid pain. (Bentham)
• Men are rational being who has the
freewill to choose between good or evil.
(Beccaria)
Positivists Theory

• Raffaele Garofalo, Enrico Ferri and Cesare

Lombroso
• Criminals are like sick people who requires
rehabilitation rather than the imposition
of punishment.
Anomie Theory

• Emile Durkheim
• Crime is an important ingredient to all
healthy societies.
Psychoanalytical Theory

• Sigmund Freud
• Crime is a symbolic expression of one’s
inner tension which a person but fails to
control.
Somatotyping Theory

• William Sheldon
• Heredity is the primary determinant of
one’s behavior and
• body physique is a reliable indicator of
one’s personality.
Differential
Association Theory

• Edwin Sutherland
• Criminal behavior is learned
through social interaction in the
process of communication.
Strain Theory

• 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.
Cartographical School of Criminology

• Adolphe Quetelet
• Crimes against person increase during
summer and crimes against property
increase during winter.
General Inferiority Theory

• Earnest Hooton
• Criminals are originally inferior and
that crime is the result of the impact
of the environment.
Evolution Theory

• 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.
Labeling Theory

• Frank Tannenbaum, Edwin Lemert and

Howard Becker
• Behavior becomes criminal if it is
labeled as such.
Differential Opportunity Theory

• Lloyd Ohlin
• It explains that society leads the
lower class to want things and
society does things to people.
Human Ecology Theory

• 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.
Containment Theory

• Walter Reckless
• This theory is a form of control, which
suggests that a series of both internal and
external factors contributes to criminal
behavior.
 THANK YOU……..!

1 GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR MIDTERM

EXAMINATION