THEORIES OF CRIME

CAUSATION

LOTHS J. SAMANTE
 If you were to find the answers of why some
people commit crimes, where would you look
for the answers? Would you search for events
that might have influence a criminal to
commit crimes? There are many approaches
or theories in the explanation of crimes in
order to come to an answer to these
questions.
 A theory is any system of ideas arranged in
rational order that produce general principles
which increase our understanding and
explanations.
 The general principles in a theory are derived
from, and representative, of particular facts, but
those principles are not dependant upon the
particular thing to be explained (Kaplan 1964).
 The function of theory is to provide puzzles for
research (Lewis Coser).
 In simple terms, theory is an explanation of
something.
 To understand criminal justice, it is necessary to
understand crime. Most policy-making in
criminal justice is based on criminological
theory, whether the people making those
policies know it or not. In fact, most of the failed
policies (what doesn’t work) in criminal justice
are due to misinterpretation, partial
implementation, or ignorance of criminological
theory. Much time and money could be saved if
only policymakers had a thorough
understanding of criminological theory.
 Theories are useful tools that help us to understand
and explain the world around us. In criminology, they
help us to understand the workings of the criminal
justice system and the actors in the system.
 Theories suggest the way things are, not the way
things ought to be. They are not inherently good or
bad; however, they can be used for good or bad
purposes.
 A theory can try to explain crime for a large social unit
or area (macro), or it can attempt to explain crime at
the individual or smaller unit level (micro).
 Because we are dealing with human behavior,
the social sciences will never be like the hard
sciences. In the hard sciences, the theory of
relativity will not change. In the social
sciences, however, we deal with probabilities.
The social scientist will say things such as, “A
severely neglected child will probably
commit, or tend to commit, delinquent acts.”
 To be used for maximum effectiveness, theories must
make sense (logical consistency), explain as much
crime as possible (scope), and be as concise as
possible (parsimony). Most important, the theory
must be true or correct (validity). Having met these
basic goals, the theory must then have some real
world applications and policy implications.
 Many theories have common traits, but differences
among them still exist. Understanding these
differences is key to understanding the often
contradictory views of crime and deviance they
purport to explain.
 A crime is crime because the law says so.
Sure, there are concerns about over
criminalization (too many laws) and under
criminalization (not enough laws), but at least
on the surface, a legalistic approach seems
practical.
 Criminological theories are primarily
concerned with etiology (the study of causes
or reasons for crime), but occasionally have
important things to say about actors in the
criminal justice system, such as police,
lawyers, correctional or jail officers and
victims.
 Every criminological theory contains a set of
assumptions (about human nature, social
structure, and the principles of causation, to
name a few), a description of the phenomena
to be explained (facts a theory must fit), and
an explanation, or prediction, of that
phenomenon.
 Criminological theories are primarily
concerned with etiology (the study of causes
or reasons for crime), but occasionally have
important things to say about actors in the
criminal justice system, such as police,
attorneys, correctional personnel, and
victims.
 When judging among the various theories,
we have to keep certain things in mind,
including predictive accuracy, scope,
simplicity, and falsifiability. We must also
remember that crime and criminality can be
discussed at many levels (social, subcultural,
family, or individual) and that a theory that
may do a good job of predicting crime at one
level may do a poor job at another level
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 An early explanation of crime is theological or
religious. Crime has been viewed as a
violation of religious doctrine. It is called a sin
- a violation of sacred obligation.

 Proponent: Frank E. Hagan

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 An individual who commits a crime has been viewed as
possessed by evil spirits or under divine wrath.

 Criminal acts were considered as indicia of basically

evil human nature suggesting adherence to Satan or
under the spell of the prince of darkness.

 This was the earliest explanation given regarding crime

and criminal behavior. Terms like demons, witches and
windigo were used for people who had turned
criminals.

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 The causes of crime have been based in
superstitious belief in which criminals were
allegedly perceived as controlled by other
worldly forces – the devil. People believed that
evil spirits or demons entered human body to
commit sins.
 The society thought that it happened due to evil
influence. Supernatural powers were considered
the best explanation behind crime and sin. It was
believed that a person did not commit crimes of
his own free will but under evil influence.
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 It deals mainly on the biological explanation
of crimes, focused on the forms of
abnormalities that exist in the individual
criminal before, during and after the
commission of the crime (Tradio, 1999).

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 Anthropological Approach – the study on the
physical characteristics of an individual
offender with non-offenders in the attempt to
discover differences covering criminal
behavior (Hooton).
 Medical Approach - the application of medical
examinations on the individual criminal
explain the mental and physical condition of
the individual prior and after the commission
of the crime (Positivist).
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 Biological Approach –the evaluation of
genetic influences to criminal behavior. It is
noted that heredity is one force pushing the
criminal to crime (Positivist).
 Physiological Approach – the study on the
nature of human being concerning his physical
needs in order to satisfy his ants. It explains
that the deprivation of the physical body on
the basic needs is an important determinant in
the commission of crime (Maslow).
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 Psychological Approach – it is concerned
about the deprivation of the psychological
needs of man, which constitute the
development of deviations of normal behavior
resulting to unpleasant emotions (Freud,
Maslow).
 Psychiatric Approach – the explanation of
crime through diagnosis of mental diseases as
a cause of the criminal behavior (Positivist).
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 Psychoanalytical Approach – the explanation
of crimes based on the Freudian Theory,
which traces behavior as the deviation of the
repression of the basic drives (Freud).

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 The objective approaches deal on the study
of groups, social processes and institutions as
influences to behavior. They are primarily
derived from social sciences (Tradio, 1999).

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 Geographic Approach – this approach
considers topography, natural resources,
geographical location, and climate lead an
individual to commit crime (Quetelet).
 Ecological Approach – it is concerned with
the biotic grouping of men resulting to
migration, competition, social discrimination,
division of labor and social conflict as factors
of crime (Park).
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 Economic Approach – it deals with the
explanation of crime concerning financial
security of inadequacy and other necessities
to support life as factors to criminality
(Merton).
 Socio – Cultural Approach – those that focus
on institutions, economic, financial,
education, political, and religious influences
to crime (Cohen).
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 Modern days put emphasis on scientific
modes of explaining crime and criminal
behavior. This approach is focused on the
psychoanalytical, psychiatric and sociological
explanations of crime in an integrated theory
– an explanatory perspective that merges
concepts drawn from different sources
(Schmalleger, 1997).

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 In the eighteenth century, criminological
literature, whether psychological,
sociological, or psychiatric in bent, has
traditionally been divided into four broad
schools of thought about the causes of crime:
the Classical, Neo-Classical, Positivist and the
Chicago schools of criminology.

LJSamante
 Is a broad label for a group of thinkers of crime and
punishment in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

 Its most prominent members, Cesare Beccaria and

Jeremy Bentham, shared the idea that criminal
behavior could be understood and controlled as an
outcome of a "human nature" shared by all of
us. Human beings were believed to be hedonistic,
acting in terms of their own self-interest, but rational,
capable of considering which course of action was
really in their self-interest.

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 A well-ordered state, therefore, would
construct laws and punishments in such a
way that people would understand peaceful
and non-criminal actions to be in their self-
interest--through strategies of punishment
based on deterrence.

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 Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesara Marchese
de Beccaria) with Jeremy Bentham (1823)
who proposed “Utilitarian Hedonism”, the
theory, which explains that a person always
acts in such a way as to seek pleasure and
avoid pain, became the main advocates of
the Classical School of Criminology.

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 In his “ESSAY on Crimes and Punishment”, he
presented his key ideas on the abolition of
torture as a legitimate means of extracting
confessions. This book founded the Classical
theory of Criminology which maintains that
man is essentially a moral creature with
absolute free will to choose between good
and evil therefore tress is placed upon the
criminal himself; that every man is responsible
for his act.
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 Freewill (Beccaria) – a philosophy advocating
punishment severe enough for people to
choose, to avoid criminal acts. It includes the
belief that a certain criminal act warrants a
certain punishment without any punishment
without any variation.
 Hedonism (Bentham) – the belief that people
choose pleasure and avoid pain.

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 The criticisms against the classical school led to
the foundation of the Neo-classical school of
criminology. Under the neo-classical doctrine,
there are situations or circumstances that made
it impossible to exercise freewill are reasons to
exempt the accused from conviction.
 The Classicist maintained that human are totally
responsible for their actions. The Neoclassicist
said “not always”. They argue that freewill can be
mitigated by pathology, incompetence, mental
disorder.

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 The Neoclassical school does not represent any
break with the classical view of human nature. It
merely challenges the classical position of
absolute freewill. Because of this, it led also to
the proposition that while the classical doctrine is
correct in general, it should be modified in
certain details:
 That children and lunatics should not be regarded as
criminals and free from punishment.
 It must take into account certain mitigating
circumstances.
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 The school that composed of Italians who agreed
that in the study of crime the emphasis should be
on scientific treatment of the criminal, not on the
penalties to be imposed after conviction.
 It maintained that crime as any other act is a
natural phenomenon and is comparable to
disaster or calamity. That crime as a social and
moral phenomenon which cannot be treated and
checked by the imposition of punishment but
rather rehabilitation or the enforcement of
individual measures.

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 The Positivist School of Criminology rejected the
Classical School's idea that all crime resulted from a
choice that could potentially be made anyone. Though
they did not disagree with the Classical School that
most crime could be explained through "human
nature," they argued that the most serious crimes were
committed by individuals who were "primitive" or
"atavistic"--that is, who failed to evolve to a fully
human and civilized state. Crime therefore resulted
not from what criminals had in common with others in
society, but from their distinctive physical or mental
defects.
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 The positivists understood themselves as
scientists: while the classical thinkers were
concerned with legal reform, constructing an
environment in which crime was seen to be not in
an individual's self-interest, the positivists were
concerned with scientifically isolating and
identifying the determining causes of criminal
behavior in individual offenders.
 Cesare Lombroso and his two students, Enrico
Ferri and Rafaele Garofalo were the primary
personalities in this school of thought..

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 Cesare Lombroso (1836 – 1909) – The Italian
leader of the positivist school of criminology, was
criticized for his methodology and his attention
to the biological characteristics of offenders, but
his emphasis on the need to study offenders
scientifically earned him the “father of modern
criminology.” His major contribution is the
development of a scientific approach to the study
of criminal behavior and to reform the criminal
law. He wrote the essay entitled “CRIME: Its
Causes and Remedies” that contains his key ideas
and the classifications of criminals.
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 Born Criminals – there are born criminals
according to Lombroso, the belief that being
criminal behavior is inherited.
 Criminal by Passion – are individuals who are
easily influenced by great emotions like fit of
anger.
 Insane Criminals – are those who commit
crime due to abnormalities or psychological
disorders. They should be exempted from
criminal liability.
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 Criminoloid – a person who commits crime
due to less physical stamina/self self control.
 Occasional Criminal – are those who commit
crime due to insignificant reasons that
pushed them to do at a given occasion.
 Pseudo-criminals – are those who kill in self-
defense.

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 Enrico Ferri (1856 – 1929) – He was the best-
known Lombroso’s associate,
parliamentarian, accomplished public
lecturer, brilliant lawyer, editor, and scholar.
Although he agreed with Lombroso on the
biological bases of criminal behavior, his
interest in socialism led him to recognize the
importance of social, economic, and political
determinants.
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 His greatest contribution was his attack on the
classical doctrine of free will, which argued that
criminals should be held morally responsible for their
crimes because they must have made a rational
decision to commit the crime.
 He believed that criminals could not be held morally
responsible for their crimes because they did not
choose to commit crimes but, rather, were driven to
commit them by conditions in their lives. He also
claimed that strict adherence to preventive measures
based on scientific methods would eventually reduce
crime and allow people to live together in society with
less dependent on penal system (Adler, 1995).
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 Raffaele Garofalo (1852 – 1934) – Another
follower of Lombroso, an Italian nobleman,
magistrate, senator, and professor of law. Like
Lombroso and Ferri, he rejected the doctrine of
free will and supported the position that the only
way to understand crime was to study it by
scientific methods. Influenced on Lombroso’s
theory of atavistic stigmata (man’s inferior/
animalistic behavior), he traced the roots of
criminal behavior not to physical features but to
their psychological equivalents, which he called
“moral anomalies”.
LJSamante
 According to his theory, natural crimes are
found in all human societies, regardless of the
views of the lawmakers, and no civilized
society can afford to disregard them.
 Natural crimes, according to Garofalo, are
those that offend the basic moral sentiments
of probity (respect for property of others) and
piety (revulsion against the infliction of
suffering on others) (Adler, 1995).
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 Murderers – those who are satisfied from
vengeance/revenge.
 Violent Criminals – those who commit very
serious crimes.
 Deficient Criminals – those who commit
crime against property.
 Lascivious Criminals – those who commit
crime against chastity.

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 Gabriel Tarde (1843 – 1904) – he formulated one
of the earliest sociological theories of criminal
behavior, who served fifteen years as provincial
judge and then placed in charge of Frances’
National Statistics. He rejected the Lombrosian
theory of biological abnormality, which was
popular in his time, arguing that criminals were
normal people who learned crime just as others
learned legitimate trades. He formulated his
theory in terms of laws of imitation – principles
that governed the process by which people
became criminals.
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 In his thesis, individuals emulate behavior
patterns in much the same way that they copy
styles of dress. Accordingly, patterns for
emulation takes place: (1) individuals imitate
others in proportion to the intensity and
frequency of their contacts; (2) inferiors imitate
superiors; (3) when two behaviors clash, one may
take place of the other, as when gun largely
replaced knives as murder weapons. Tarde’s work
served ad basis for Edwin Sutherland’s theory of
differential associating.

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 Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917) - He
advocated the “Anomie Theory”, the theory
that focused on the sociological point of the
positivist school which explains that the
absence of norms in a society provides a
setting conductive to crimes and other anti-
social acts. According to him, the explanation
of human conduct lies not in the individual
but in the group and the social organization.
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 The Chicago School arose in the early 20th century through the work of Robert
Ezra Park, Erness Burgess, and other urban sociologists at the University of
Chicago.
 In the 1920’s, Park and Burgess identified five concentric zones that often exists
as cities grow, including the “zone in transition”, which was identified as most
volatile and subject to disorder.
 In the 1940’s, Henry McKay and Clifford R. Shaw focused on Juvenile Delinquents,
finding that they were concentrated in the zone of transition.

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THE RATIONAL
CHOICE
PERSPECTIVES/
THEORIES

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 Building on classical theory, crime is seen as a
choice that is influenced by its costs and
benefits—that is, by its “rationality.”
 Crime will be more likely to be deterred if its
costs are raised (e.g., more effort required, more
punishment applied), especially if the costs are
certain and immediate.
 Information about the costs and benefits of crime
can be obtained by direct experiences with
punishment and punishment avoidance, and
indirectly by observing whether others who
offend are punished or avoid punishment.
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 The rational choice perspectives was influenced
by the Classical Criminology, a school of thought
based upon utilitarian notions of free will and the
greatest good for the greatest number.
 At its core, classical criminology refers to a belief
that a crime is committed after an individual
weighs the pros and cons. The decision to
commit a crime is a rational decision, and is best
countered through a deterrence-based system.

LJSamante
1. Rational Choice Theory
2. Deterrence Theory
3. Routine Activities Theory
4. Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design (CPTED)
5. Expected Utility Principle

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1. Beccaria, Cesare: (1738-1794) Italian nobleman,
prominent in the eighteenth century, wrote On
Crimes and Punishment (1764).
2. Bentham, Jeremy: (1748-1832) Jurist and
philosopher, prominent in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, advocated abolishing the death
penalty.
3. Cohen, Lawrence E.: Collaborated with Marcus
Felson in developing the routine activities theory.
4. Felson, Marcus: Collaborated with Lawrence Cohen
in developing the routine activities theory.

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 This is the 1980s formulation of classical
criminology.
 While the beliefs of rational choice theory can be
traced back to eighteenth-century philosopher
Cesare Beccaria, this version adds a new
dimension that emphasizes the expanding role of
the economist in criminological thought. The
emphasis is placed on the expected reward for
committing a crime, and other associated costs
and benefits surrounding criminal activity.

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 Rational Choice Theory adopts a Utilitarian
belief that man is a reasoning actor who
weighs means and ends, costs and benefits,
and makes a rational choice.
 In particular, it assumes that the rational
decision is always the decision that will
maximize gain and minimize pain for each
individual: the felicitation principle that
underpinned the penal policy of deterrence.
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 The position of RCT is that criminal behavior
is no different from noncriminal behavior in
that it is conduct that persons intentionally
choose to undertake (i.e., they are not
compelled or forced to do crime), and the
reason that they choose to commit crime is
that they think it will be more rewarding and
less costly for them than noncriminal
behavior.
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 RCT takes the position that offenders are not
compelled to commit crime because of some
extraordinary motivation: Offenders do not
have different personalities than non-
offenders; neither were they socialized into a
criminal belief or cultural system whose
norms require crime (Cornish & Clarke, 1986;
Kubrin et al., 2009).

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 By Thomas Hobbes (1588–1678), Cesare
Beccaria (1738–1794), and Jeremy Bentham
(1748–1832)
 A core principle of classical school and rational
choice theories. This theory states that crime
can be controlled through the use of
punishments that combine the proper
degrees of certainty, severity, and celerity.
 Deterrence is a key element in the U.S. justice
system.
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 Deterrence is a factor in preventing individuals from
committing criminal acts, it most likely is not the
deciding factor. Most people will not commit criminal
acts because they believe it is wrong to do so, and
because they have been socialized to follow the
norms of society.

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 Proponents of deterrence believe that people
choose to obey or violate the law after
calculating the gains and consequences of
their actions. Overall, however, it is difficult
to prove the effectiveness of deterrence since
only those offenders not deterred come to
the notice of law enforcement. Thus, we may
never know why others do not offend.

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1. Severity: The more severe a punishment, it is thought, the more likely that a
rationally calculating human being will desist from criminal acts. To prevent
crime, therefore, criminal law must emphasize penalties to encourage citizens to
obey the law. Punishment that is too severe is unjust, and punishment that is not
severe enough will not deter criminals from committing crimes.
2. Celerity: swiftness with which criminal sanctions are applied after the
commission of crime.
3. Certainty: probability of apprehension and punishment for a crime (e.g., “There
is a 1% chance I will get caught, and if so, they would never throw me in jail”)

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1. General Deterrence. General deterrence is the doctrine that a community or a society of
people can be deterred from committing a criminal act after having witnessed the
punishment of an individual or individuals for having committed that act. It can be defined as
the impact of the threat of legal punishment on the public at large. General deterrence
results from the perception of the public that laws are enforced and that there is a risk of
detection and punishment when laws are violated.
2. Specific deterrence can be seen as the impact of the actual legal punishment on those who
are apprehended. Specific deterrence results from actual experiences with detection,
prosecution, and punishment of offenders. The belief is that if an individual is punished for a
criminal act, then that individual will be less likely to violate the law in the future.

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 Perceptual Deterrence. This concept applies to an
individual offender, and refers to what he or she
believes the likelihood of arrest to be, and how severe
he or she believes the punishment for a crime will be if
caught. The perceptions of the individual are often
very different from the actual reality experienced.
 Absolute Deterrence. This refers to the amount of
crime that has been prevented simply due to the fact
that a formal system is in place so that an individual
could be legally punished for committing a criminal
act.
 Marginal Deterrence: A relatively more severe penalty
will produce some reduction in crime.
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 By Lawrence E. Cohen
 This theory states that for crime to be
committed, three elements must be present:
an available target, a motivated offender,
and a lack of guardians.
 Routine activity theories look at people and
their routines, both offenders and victims. As
a result, some of the blame in a criminal
incident may be placed on the victim.
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 By Marcus Felson
 This refers to a set of practices designed to make
potential criminal targets less attractive.
 The belief that crime is a rational act is used to make a
potential target less attractive to a criminal, and thus
not a “rational” target.

LJSamante
 Economic theory which states that people will act in a
manner that increases their benefits and reduces their
losses.
 This ties in closely with classical criminology and, by
definition, rational choice theory, where people seek to
increase their pleasure and reduce their pain.

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 THE BIOLOGICAL,
PSYCHOLOGICAL,
SOCIOLOGICAL AND
STRUCTURAL
THEORIES
LJSamante
 Biological Theories of Crime Causation are
based on the beliefs that criminals are
physiologically different from non-criminals
and that structure determines functions.
 In other words, criminals behave differently
because, structurally, they are different.
 The POSITIVISTS (Italian/Positivist
Criminology) shared a hope that criminal
behavior could be controlled if at first could
be understood.
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 A view of crime, also referred to as biological
positivism, that claims that criminal behavior
is the result of biological or inborn defects or
abnormalities.
 This view directly conflicts with classical
criminology, which claims that criminal
activity is the result of free will.
 Under a biological perspective, deterrence is
of little value.
LJSamante
1. Lombroso, Cesare: (1836-1909) First to use scientific method in
criminology, wrote The Criminal Man (1876).
2. Eysenck, Hans J.: Proposed the biosocial “arousal” theory.
3. Ferrero, William: Co-authored Female Offender (1958 [1897]) with
Lombroso.
4. Goring, Charles: (1870-1919) British criminologist, proposed the idea
that criminals are shorter, weigh less, and “mentally defective,” wrote
The English Convic: A Statistical Study (1913).
5. Hooton, E.A.: (1887-1954) Anthropologist and neo-Lombrosian,
proposed the idea that crime is caused by physical inferiority, wrote
Crime and the Man (1939).
6. Mednick, Sarnoff: Developed the best-known and most systematically
stated and tested modern biosocial theory.

LJSamante
1. Physiognomy (facial features)
2. Phrenology (measurements of human skull)
3. Criminal Anthropology
4. The Body-Type Theories
5. Biosocial Theory
6. Biosocial Arousal Theory
7. Evolutionary Theory (Heredity Factors:
Genetics and Crime)

LJSamante
 This is the study of the relationship between
the facial features and human conduct of a
person in relation to his crime.
 Beccaria and Lavater stated that the way to
discover the character of person is by:
▪ Observation of his physical appearance
▪ Measurement of the outward appearance
 By Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) and
Johann Caspar Spurzheim (1776-1832)
 This is the study of external formation of
the skull that indicates the conformation
of the brain and the development of its
various parts in relation to the behavior
of the criminal.
 Is the study of “criminal” human beings (theory of the “born
criminal”) which stated that Crime is caused by biological
inferiority which is indicated by the physical characteristics
associated with criminality.
 Atavism. Part of the theory developed by Lombroso in which a
person is a “born criminal.” Atavistic or primitive man is a
throwback to an earlier stage of human evolution, and will commit
crimes against society unless specifically restrained from doing so.
 Stigmata. Characteristics claimed by Lombroso that could be
used to identify the “born criminal.” They include things such as
extra fingers or toes, large lips, receding chins, excessive skin
wrinkles, and large monkey-like ears.
 Born Criminal. One of the criminal types identified by
Lombroso. This type of criminal is the most dangerous, and can
be identified through their stigmata or identifying
characteristics.
 Criminaloid. One of the criminal types identified by Lombroso.
The criminaloid is motivated by passion, and will commit
criminal acts under the proper circumstances.
 Insane Criminal. One of three criminal types identified by
Lombroso. The insane criminal type includes idiots, imbeciles,
epileptics, psychotics, and the mentally unstable. These
criminals are unable to control their actions; however, they do
not possess the stigmata or identifying characteristics of the
born criminal.
 Sheldon is an influenced of the Somatotype
School of Criminology, which related body built
to behavior. He became popular of his own
Somatotyping Theory. His key ideas are
concentrated on the principle of “Survival of the
Fittest” as a behavioral science. He combines the
biological and psychological explanation to
understand deviant behavior.
 Sheldon’s “Somatotyping Theory” maintains the
belief of inheritance as the primary
determinants of behavior and the physique is a
reliable indicator of personality.
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1. Endomorphy – a type with relatively predominance
of soft, roundness through out the regions of the
body. They have low specific gravity. Persons with
typically relaxed and comfortable disposition.
2. Mesomorphy – athletic type, predominance of
muscle, bone and connective tissue, normally heavy,
hard and firm, sting and tough. They are the people
who are routinely active and aggressive, and they
are the most likely to commit crimes.
3. Ectomorphy – thin physique, flat chest, delicacy
through the body, slender, poorly muscled. They
tend to look more fatigue and withdrawn.
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 The idea of somatotyping was originated from the work of
a German Psychiatrist, Ernest Kretschmer (1888 – 1964),
who distinguished three principal types of physique as:
 Asthenic – lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders
 Athletic – medium to tall, strong, muscular, course
bones
 Pyknic – medium height, rounded figure, massive neck,
broad face
 Kretschmer related these body physiques to various
psychotic behavioral patterns: Pyknic to manic
depression, asthenics and athletics to schizophrenia.
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 Earnest Hooton’s Theory (1887 - 1954), An
Anthropologist who reexamined the work of
Goring and found out that:
 “TALL THIN MEN tend to commit forgery and fraud
 UNDERSIZED MEN are thieves and burglars
 SHORT HEAVY PERSON commit assault, rape and
other sex crimes
 MEDIOCRE (AVERAGE) PHYSIQUE flounder around
among other crimes.”
 He also contended that criminals are originally
inferior; and that crime is the result of the
impact of environment.
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 Theories that examine the combined
effects of biology, behavior, and the
environment on criminal behavior.
 Believe that physical, environmental
and social conditions work in concert to
produce human behavior.
 The biosocial view is that behavior is a
product of interacting biological and
environmental events
 This theory states that an individual’s
level of arousal works in conjunction
with the social environment.
 Those with low levels of arousal are less
likely to learn appropriate ways to deal
with aggression and violence and thus
are more prone to commit crime.
 A broad-based view that certain types of
criminal behavior are genetic and
passed down from one generation to
the next through evolutionary
processes of natural selection and
survival.
 The common household expressions like
“ it is in the blood” and “like father like
son” are usually heard and said
whenever there are several members of
the family who are criminals.
 the old biblical injunction that "the sins
of the fathers shall be visited on the
sons."
FEEBLEMINDED GIRL QUAKER WOMAN

 489  4, 967
 143 – feebleminded  2 – alcoholic
 36 – illegitimate  1 – convicted for religious
 3 – epileptics offense
 3 – criminals  15 – died infancy
 8 – keep brothels  No criminal or epileptic
 82 – died in infancy  All are mentally normal
 46 - normal
 Ada Juke – known as
“margaret” – mother of
criminals
 1,200 descendants
 280 paupers
 140 criminals
 50 habitual thieves
 300 infants prematurely
born
 7 murderers
 50 prostitutes
 440 contaminated with
sexual disease
 30 prosecuted for
bastardies
 The 19th-century view
of "degeneracy"
(roughly synonymous
with "bad heredity")
led theorists to
conceive of social
problems such as
insanity, poverty,
intemperance, and
criminality — as well as
idiocy.
 Additional 715 Juke descendants:
 378 more prostitutes
 170 additional paupers
 118 other criminals

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 Sir Jonathan Edwards was a famous
preacher during the colonial period.
When his family tree was traced,
none of the descendants was found
to be criminal.
 Became President of Princeton
University.
 practically no lawbreakers
 more than 100 lawyers, 30 judges
 13 college presidents and hundred and more
professors
 60 physicians
 100 clergymen, missionaries, and theological
professors
 80 elected to public office, including 3 mayors, 3
governors, several members of congress, 3 senators,
and 1 vice president
 60 have attained prominence in authorship or
editorial life, with 135 books of merit
 75 army or navy officers
 THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL
THEORIES

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 One of the main explanations to crimes
and criminalities is based on
psychological theories, which focus on
the association among intelligence,
personality, learning, and criminal
behavior. Thus, in any discussion
concerning crime causation, one must
contemplate psychological theories.
 The psychological approach to
understanding crime, like the biological,
focuses on the differences between
criminals and noncriminals.
Psychological explanations all assume
that criminal behavior results from
underlying psychological problems.
 Psychological theories say that criminal
behavior is a result of individual differences in
thinking processes. There are many different
psychological theories, but they all believe
that it is the person's thoughts and feelings
that dictate their actions. As such, problems
in thinking can lead to criminal behavior.
1. Failures in psychological development
2. Learned behaviors of aggression and
violence
3. Inherent personality traits
4. Relationship of criminality to mental
illness
 When examining psychological theories
of crime, one must be cognizant of the
four major theories.
1. Psychodynamic theory
2. Behavioral theory
3. Cognitive theory
 Proponents of Psychodynamic Theory suggest
that an individual’s personality is controlled by
unconscious mental processes that are
grounded in early childhood.
 This theory was introduced by Sigmund Freud
(1856–1939), the founder of psychoanalysis.
 Imperative to this theory are the three elements
or structures that make up the human
personality: (1) the id, (2), the ego, and (3) the
superego.
1. One can think of the id is as the primitive part of a
person’s mental makeup that is present at birth. It
represents the unconscious biological drives for
food, sex, and other necessities over the life span.
2. The ego, which is thought to develop early in a
person’s life.
3. The superego, develops as a person incorporates
the moral standards and values of the community;
parents; and significant others, such as friends and
clergy members.
 In sum, psychodynamic theory suggests that criminal
offenders are frustrated and aggravated. They are
constantly drawn to past events that occurred in their
early childhood. Because of a negligent, unhappy, or
miserable childhood, which is most often characterized by
a lack of love and/or nurturing, a criminal offender has a
weak (or absent) ego.
 Research suggests that having a weak ego is linked with
poor or absence of social etiquette, immaturity, and
dependence on others.
 Research further suggests that individuals with weak egos
may be more likely to engage in drug abuse.
 Behaviorism (also called behavioral psychology) refers
to a psychological approach which emphasizes scientific
and objective methods of investigation.
 Behaviorism is a learning theory that studies
observable and measurable behavioral changes, which
result from stimulus-response associations made by the
learner. This theory stems from the work of Pavlov who
studied animal behavior, and was able to condition a
dog to associate the ringing of a bell with food.
Pavlovian conditioning is known as classical
conditioning.
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1. Developed through learning
experiences
2. The environmental
experiences
3. The mass media.

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 In recent years, significant gains have been
made in explaining criminal behavior within
the cognitive theory framework.
 In this theory, psychologists focus on the
mental processes of individuals.
 Cognitive theorists attempt to understand
how criminal offenders perceive and mentally
represent the world around them

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1. Stage 1 is concerned about obedience and
punishment.
2. Stage 2 is characterized by individualism,
instrumentalism, and exchange.
3. In Stage 3, the individual recognizes that he or she
is now a member of society.
4. In stage 4, the premise is based on law and order.
5. Stage 5 is referred to as the social contract.
6. Stage 6 is often termed principled conscience.

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1. Personality Theory
2. Intelligence Theory

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 Personality can be defined as something that
makes us what we are and also that which
makes us different from others.
 The psychological concept of “personality”
has been defined as stable patterns of
behaviour, thoughts or actions that
distinguish one person from another.

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 The term ‘personality’ is generally used to refer to
relatively stable characteristics of a person that
make their behaviour consistent across situations
(but many other definitions are possible, depending
on the approach being taken).
 Hans Eysenck (1964) put forward a theory of
criminal behaviour based on a very influential
theory of personality he had earlier devised and
which he continued to develop throughout his
career.
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THE STRUCTURAL/
SOCIOLOGICAL
THEORIES

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 Sociological theories explore relationships
among groups and institutions and envision
crime as the result of social processes, as the
natural consequence of aspects of social
structure, or as the result of economic and
class struggle.
 It emphasize poverty, lack of education,
absence of marketable skills, and subcultural
values as fundamental causes of crime.
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 These focuses on the following major
sociological theories of crime and
delinquency:
1. Strain Theories
2. Social Learning Theories
3. Control Theories
4. Social Conflict Theories
5. Labelling Theory
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 Strain theory is a sociology and criminology
theory developed in 1957 by Robert K. Merton.
 The theory states that society puts pressure
on individuals to achieve socially accepted
goals though they lack the means, this leads
to strain which may lead the individuals to
commit crimes. Examples being selling drugs
or becoming involved in prostitution to gain
financial security.
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 It maintains that the failure of man to achieve
a higher status of life caused them to commit
crimes in order for that status/goal to be
attained. He argued that crime is a means to
achieve goals and the social structure is the
root of the crime problem.
 Merton’s explanation to criminal behavior
assumes that people are law abiding but
when under great pressure will result to
crime.
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 Strain may either be Structural and Individual Strain.
 Structural Strain refers to the processes at the societal level
which filters down and affects how the individual perceives
his or her needs, i.e. if particular social structures are
inherently inadequate or there is inadequate regulation, this
may change the individual's perceptions as to means and
opportunities.
 Individual Strain refers to the frictions and pains
experienced by an individual as he or she looks for ways to
satisfy his or her needs, i.e. if the goals of a society become
significant to an individual, actually achieving them may
become more important than the means adopted.
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 The following are the STRAIN Theories:
1. Anomie Theory
2. Institutional Anomie Theory
3. General Strain Theory
4. Differential Opportunity Theory
5. Social Disorganization Theory
6. Urban Ecology Theory
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 Anomie, in contemporary English, means a condition or
malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or
diminution of standards or values. When applied to a
government or society, anomie implies a social unrest,
similar to the use of the word anarchy.
 A state of normlessness or norm confusion within a society.
The term was coined by David Emile Durkheim to explain
suicide in French society, and later applied by Robert Merton
and others to other forms of deviance and crime in American
society.
 The word comes from Greek, namely the prefix a- “without”,
and nomos “law”- literally, “without law”.
 Also known as Means – EndsTheory in the 1940’s (Merton)

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 This theory focused on the sociological point of
the positivist school which explains that the
absence of norms in a society provides a setting
conducive to crimes and other anti-social acts.
According to (Durkheim), the explanation of
human conduct lies not in the individual but in
the group and the social organization.
 He also maintained that crime is an “important
ingredient of all healthy societies because crime
make people more aware of their common
interest and help to define appropriate, moral,
or lawful behavior.”
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 Durkheim proposed the following principles:
 Crime is a natural thing in the society,
 The concept of wrong is necessary to give
meaning to right,
 Crime help society for changes – it means that a
society to be flexible to permit positive deviation
must permit negative deviations as well.

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 This theory was created by Steven Messner and Richard
Rosenfeld.
 The premise of the theory is that American society is set up
in such a way so as to give prestige and priority to economic
institutions. This means that the accumulation of wealth and
individual success are people’s highest priorities. Prioritizing
economic institutions weakens the ability of other social
institutions (family, education, government) to control crime
that occurs in response to the lack of access to or failure in
the economic sphere. Therefore, a high level of criminal
activity is a natural result of the setup of American society.

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 A micro-level social psychological revision of Agnew’s strain
theory. According to this theory, criminal and deviant acts
are one possible adaptation to stress.
 The three major types of deviance-producing strain are:
failure to achieve positively valued goals, removal of
positively valued stimuli, and confrontation with negative
stimuli.
 Deviance is most likely to occur when the response of the
individual to any of these stressors is anger.
 Factors such as peer associations, beliefs, attributions of
causes, self control, and self-efficacy will affect each
individual’s reaction to stress.
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 Lloyd Ohlin (1928) advocated the DOT –
Differential Opportunity Theory. This theory
explained that society leads the lower class to
want things and society does things to people.
 Ohlin claimed that there is differential
opportunity, or access, to success goals by both
legitimate and illegitimate means depending on
the specific location of the individual with in the
social structure. Thus, lower class groups are
provided with greater opportunities for the
acquisition of deviant acts.

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 In criminology, the Social Disorganization
Theory was one of the most important theories
developed by the Chicago School, related to
ecological theories.
 This theory “argues that crime occurs when the
mechanisms of social control are weakened”.
 The theory that crime and other deviant
behavior is most likely to occur where social
institutions are not able to direct and control
groups of individuals.
 It is argued that gangs will arise spontaneously
in social contexts that are weakly controlled.
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 Some criminologists think that the concept of
social disorganization just reflects middle-
class failure to comprehend organization
different from their own.
 Social disorganization theory pioneered by
Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay
suggested that disorganized communities
characterized by poverty, population
heterogeneity, and residential mobility
weakened the effectiveness of social controls
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 This theory is advocated by Robert Ezra Park (1864 -
1944). Park is a strong advocate of the scientific
method in explaining criminality but he is a
sociologist.
 Human Ecology is the study of the interrelationship of
people and their environment.
 This theory maintains that crime is a function of social
change that occurs along with environmental change.
It also maintains that the isolation, segregation,
competition, conflict, social contract, interaction and
social hierarchy of people are the major influences of
criminal behavior and crimes.
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 In general, social learning theories proposes
that both criminal and conforming behavior
are acquired, maintained, or changed by the
same process of interaction with others. The
difference lies in the conforming or deviant
direction or balance of the social influences
such as reinforcement, values and attitudes,
and imitation.

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1. Social Learning Theory
2. Differential Association Theory
3. Differential Reinforcement Theory

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 Ronald Akers and Robert Burgess (1966)
developed the Social Learning Theory to
explain deviancy by combining variables
which encouraged delinquency (e.g. the
social pressure from delinquent peers) with
variables that discouraged delinquency (e.g.
the parental response to discovering
delinquency in their children).

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 Social learning theory is the theory that
people learn new behavior through overt
reinforcement or punishment, or via
observational learning of the social actors in
their environment. If people observe positive,
desired outcomes in the observed behavior,
they are more likely to model, imitate, and
adopt the behavior themselves.

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 DAT – Differential Association Theory, advocated by
Edwin Sutherland (1883 - 1950), which maintain that
the society is composed of different group
organization, the societies consist of a group of
people having criminalistic tradition and anti-
criminalistic tradition. And that criminal behavior is
learned and not inherited. It is learned through the
process of communication, and learning process
includes technique of committing the crime, motive
and attitude.
 Differential Association theory states that criminal
behavior is learned behavior and learned via social
interaction with others.
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 Sutherland has been referred to as “The
most Important Criminologist of the
Twentieth Century” because his
explanation about crime and criminal
behavior can be seen as a corrected
extension of social perspective.
 For this reason, he was considered as
the “Dean of Modern Criminology.”
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 The concept refers to the potential rewards
and punishments for committing or not
committing a criminal or deviant act. This
process includes a consideration of
punishments and rewards that have been
received in the past, as well as present and
future rewards and punishments.
 Developed by Ronald Akers.

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 A classification of theories that claim to
ask not why do people commit criminal
acts, but why do they not commit
criminal acts? These theories assume
everyone has the desire to commit
criminal and deviant acts, and seeks to
answer why some people refrain from
doing so.
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1. Containment Theory
2. Delinquent Subculture Theory
3. Drift Theory
4. Neutralization Theory
5. Self-Control Theory
6. Social Control (or Social Bonding) Theory

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 A broad analysis of the relationship between
personal and social controls is found in Walter
Reckless (1899 – 1988) Containment Theory.
 This theory is a form of control, which suggests
that a series of both internal and external factors
contributes to criminal behavior .
 The Containment Theory assumes that for every
individual there exists a containing external
structure and a protective internal structure,
both of which provide defense, protection or
insulation against crime or delinquency.

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 Albert Cohen (1918) advocated the this theory.
 Cohen claims that the lower class cannot socialize
effectively as the middle class in what is considered
appropriate middle class behavior. Thus, the lower
class gathered together share their common
problems, forming a subculture that rejects middle
class values. Cohen called this process as reaction
formation. Much of this behavior comes to be called
delinquent behavior; the subculture is called a gang
and the kids are called delinquents. He put emphasis
on the explanation of prevalence, origins, process and
purposes as factors to crime.
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 This theory states that people can ‘drift’ or float
back and forth between obeying and breaking the
law.
 People can use techniques of neutralization as
excuses to break the law when other forms of social
control are weak.
 When social control is stronger, the offender will
drift or float back to law-abiding behavior.
 Developed by David Matza in 1964.

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 Gresham Sykes (1922) advocated it.
 The theory 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 become law abiding if they feel they
are benefited by it and they violate it if these
laws are not favorable to them.

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Aspecific type of control theory
developed in 1990 by Michael
Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi in
which self-control is the key
factor in understanding criminal
and deviant acts.
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 In criminology, Social Control Theory (or Social
Bonding Theory) as represented in the work of
Travis Hirschi fits into the Positivist School, Neo-
Classical School, and, later, Right Realism. It
proposes that exploiting the process of
socialization and social learning builds self-
control and reduces the inclination to indulge in
behavior recognized as antisocial. It was derived
from Functionalist theories of crime and
proposes that there are four types of control:.

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1. Direct: by which punishment is threatened or
applied for wrongful behavior, and compliance is
rewarded by parents, family, and authority figures.
2. Indirect: by which a youth refrains from delinquency
through the conscience or superego.
3. Internal: by identification with those who influence
behaviour, say because his or her delinquent act
might cause pain and disappointment to parents and
others with whom he or she has close relationships.
4. Control through needs satisfaction: if all an
individual's needs are met, there is no point in
criminal activity.
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 The view that society is divided into two or more groups with
competing ideas and values.
 The group(s) with the most power makes the laws and
controls society.
 Groups lacking the formal power to make the rules still
maintain their own group norms, and continue in their
behavior which is now viewed as criminal by the larger
society.
 This perspective explains both law and criminal justice (why
some acts are legally defined as criminal), as well as criminal
and deviant behavior (why some individuals commit acts
defined as criminal).
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 The following are among the Social Conflict
Theories:
1. The Social Class Conflict and Capitalism
Theory
2. The Instrumentalist Theory
3. Consensus Theory
4. Functionalist Theory

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 Karl Marx, Frederick Engel, Willem Bonger (1818
-1940) are the proponents of the Social Class
Conflict and Capitalism Theory.
 Marx and Engel claim that the ruling class in a
capitalist society is responsible for the creation
of criminal law and their ideological bases in the
interpretation and enforcement of the laws. All
are reflected in the ruling class, thus crime and
delinquency are reflected on the demoralized
surplus of population, which is made up of the
underprivileged usually the unemployed and
underemployed.
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 Willem Bonger, a Marxist-Socialist, on the
other hand, placed more emphasis on
working bout crimes of economic gain. He
believes that profit -motive of capitalism
generates an egoistic personality. Hence,
crime is an inevitable outcome.

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 Earl Richard Quinney (1934), is a Marxist criminologist
who advocated the Instrumentalist Theory if capitalist
rule. He argued that the state exist as a device for
controlling the exploited class – the class that labors
for the benefit of the ruling class. He claims that upper
classes create laws that protect their interest and t the
same time the unwanted behavior of all other
members of society.
 Quinney’s major contribution is that he proposed the
shift in focus from looking for the causes of crime
from the individual to the examination of the Criminal
Justice System for clues.
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 In general, this theory states that laws
are a result of, and a reflection of,
general agreement in society. Views of
right and wrong, which can be reflected
through folkways and mores, influence
the laws and rules which govern a
society.

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 Similar to consensus theory, but this
theory also looks at how the law acts to
resolve everyday disputes in society; and
how it acts to serve everyone, not just
the powerful.
 The law also serves a symbolic function
and discourages deviant behavior.

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 Frank Tennenbaum, Edwin Lemert, Howard
Becker (1822 - 1982) are the advocates of the
Labeling Theory (or Social Reaction Theory) –
the theory that explains about social reaction
to behavior. The theory maintains that the
original cause of crime cannot be known, no
behavior is intrinsically criminal, and behavior
becomes criminal if it is labeled as such.

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 This theory attempts to define criminology
and criminal justice based upon the
experiences, understanding, and view of the
world as perceived by women. It tries to
counter most theories of criminology that
have been developed, tested, and applied by
men to men, which have only incorporated
women as an afterthought. (Freda Adler,
1975)
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 Inequality in power and material well-
being create conditions that lead to
street crime and corporate crime.
Capitalism and its market economy are
especially criminogenic because they
create vast inequality that impoverishes
many and provides opportunities for
exploitation for the powerful. (Willem
Bonger) LJSamante
 Crime is caused by suffering,
which is linked to injustice rooted
in inequality and daily personal
acts of harm. Making “war on
crime” will not work. Making
peace is the solution to crime.
(Richard Quinney)
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