Module I

Introduction and Historical Setting

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module, the student should be able to:
a. define criminology;
b. appreciate criminology as a social science;
c. comprehend the importance of studying criminology;
d. trace the historical development of criminology; and,
e. have a bird’s eye view on the theories explaining crime causation.

Pre-Test: Identification
1. A multi-disciplinary science that deals with crimes, criminals, criminal behavior, and the treatment of
criminal behavior.
2. The study of crimes focused on the group of people and society as a whole, based on the examination
of the relationship of demographic and group variables of crime.
3. The study of crime through the science of behavior and mental processes of criminals.
4. The study of crimes through forensic psychiatry.
5. The scientific analysis of the causes of crime.

UNIT I
INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY

What is CRIMINOLOGY?

CRIMINOLOGY
- according to Edwin H. Sutherland, “criminology is the entire body of knowledge regarding
crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the process of making of laws, of breaking
of laws, and the society’s reaction towards the breaking of laws.”

- Criminology is a body of knowledge regarding crimes, criminals and the efforts of society to
prevent and repress them.

- The scientific study of the causes of crime in relation to man and society who set and define
rules and regulations for himself and others to govern.

- The term Criminology is derived from the Latin word crimen, which means “accusation”, and
the Greek word logia which denote “study of”. Hence criminology is the scientific study of the nature,
extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society.

The word Criminology was coined in 1885 by the Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo as
“criminologia”. At around the same time, the French term “ criminologie”. It was in the mid-18th century,
criminology arose and became popular as social philosophers gave thought to the concepts of crime
and law. Over time, several schools of thought have developed which led to the foundation of
criminology as a broad discipline.

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. It is for this reason that
criminology as a broad field can be subdivided into:
 a. Sociological Criminology- 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 such as socio-economics status, interpersonal
relationships, age, race, gender, and cultural groups of people are probed in relation to
the environmental factors that are most conducive to criminal action such as time, place,
and circumstances surrounding the crime.

b. Psychological Criminology- the science of behavior and mental processes of the criminal.
It is focused on the individual criminal behavior- how it is acquired, evoked, maintained,
and modified. Both the environmental and personality influences are considered, along
with the mental processes that mediate the behavior.

c. Psychiatric Criminology- the science that deals with the study of crime through forensic
psychiatry, the study of criminal behavior in terms of motives and drives that strongly
relies on the individual. (Psychoanalytic Theory- Sigmund Freud- traditional view). It also
explains that criminals are acting out of uncontrollable animalistics, unconscious, or
biological urges (Modern view).

Today, because of the broadness and varieties of topics covered in the field of criminology,
criminologist in modern days are also too diverse in their focus of study which led to the development
of other fields or perspectives in criminology (according to subject matter and methods) including but
not limited to the following:

a. Critical Criminology- is a perspective in criminology that deals with the genesis of crime and
the nature of social injustice and inequalities. The study focuses on law and punishment
where crime is viewed as interconnected and part of a system of social inequalities. Critical
criminologists deals on the account of contextual factors of crime such as oppression of
workers, class division, ethnic minorities, women, sexism, and racism.
b. Applied Criminology- uses a variety of discipline to examine criminality and the criminal justice
system. The study focuses more on the processes seen in the justice system and in the
enforcement of laws directed towards influencing social policies.
c. Experimental Criminology- is a perspective in criminology that heavily relies on experimental
methods of research. It focuses on random selection of social issues directed to evidence-
based crime and justice policy.
d. Comparative Criminology- is a perspective in criminology that deals with the study of the crime
problem by understanding the differences and similarities of social cultures in order to
understand crime patterns and trends.
e. Convict Criminology- is a contemporary perspective in criminology that deals with the study of
convicts and ex-convicts in order to provide answers to many issues in criminal justice where
criminal correction is a pillar in the system. Obviously, the emphasis of study is more on the
efforts to reform jails, prisons, and other correctional facilities.
f. Green Criminology- is a new field of criminology that deals with the analysis of crimes
involving a variety of environmental concerns with link to criminal activities. In other words, the
application of criminological thoughts to environmental issues.
CRIMINOLOGIST; CRIMINALIST; CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRACTITIONER, distinguished

The Criminologist

A criminologist is a person who study criminology. He is more concerned with the scientific
aspects of crimes in relation to criminal justice. He analyzes crime and criminal behaviors and
attempts to provide explanations as to who commits crime and why they do it. He also analyzes a
criminal’s behavior and the methods he or she employs and develops profiles of criminals and their
behavior using research and studies that examine psychological behavior, social issues,
environmental factors, education levels and biological factors.

A criminologist also helps make crime statistics into usable tools for law enforcement
agencies. BY developing profiles and organizing statistics into meaningful information, a criminologist
strives to develop strategies to help prevent criminal behavior.

The Criminalist

A criminalist study criminalistics or forensic science. He is a physical scientist who uses

scientific methods and techniques to find and interpret physical evidence. His interest is concerned
with criminalistics tools which includes DNA, blood, fingerprints, ballistics, etc. They rely on scientific
findings and techniques used in a particular field and apply them within a legal framework.

The Criminal Justice Practitioner

The criminal justice practitioner is a person who deals in the broad areas of law enforcement,
courts, and corrections. His work may include police work; probation or parole work; or counseling and
correctional work in correctional institutions.

THE FILIPINO CRIMINOLOGIST

In the Philippines, the law that defines “criminologists” and the “Practice of Profession as a
Criminologist” is Republic Act No. 6505. Under this law, a criminologist is any person who is a
graduate of the Degree of Criminology, who has passed the examination for criminologists and is
registered as such by the Board of Examiners of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

The Practice of Criminology is defined, under this law- person is deemed to be engaged in the
practice of criminology if he holds himself out to the public in any of the following capacities: as a
professor, instructor or teacher in criminology in any university, college or school duly recognized by
the government and teaches any of the following subjects: (a) Law Enforcement Administration, (b)
Criminalistics, (c) Correctional Administration, (d) Criminal Sociology and allied subjects, and (e) other
technical and specialized subjects in the criminology curriculum provided by the Department of
Education; as law enforcement administrator, executive, adviser, consultant or agent in any
government or private agency; as technician in dactyloscopy, ballistics, questioned documents, police
photography, lie detection, forensic chemistry and other scientific aspects of crime detection; as a
correctional administrator, executive supervisor, worker or officer in any correctional and penal
institution; as counselor, expert, adviser, researcher in any government or private agency on any
aspects of criminal research or project involving the causes of crime, juvenile delinquency, treatment
of offenders, police operations, law enforcement administration, scientific criminal investigation or
public welfare administration.

Also, the law provides that all certified criminologists should be exempted from taking any
other entrance or qualifying government or civil service examinations and should be considered civil
service eligible to the following government positions: (1) dactylographer, (2) ballistician, (3)
questioned document examiner, (4) correctional officer, (5) law enforcement photographer (6) lie
detection examiner, (7) probation officer, (8) agents in any law enforcement agency, (9) security
officer, (10) criminal investigator or (11) police laboratory technician.

Given the definition and description of the Filipino Criminologist, he is therefore a unique
professional who can broadly practice the works of a criminologist, the function of a criminalist, and
the role of a criminal justice practitioner.

Scope and Divisions of the Study of Criminology

The Making of Laws

This pertains to the examination of the nature and structure of laws in the society which could
be analyzed scientifically, systematically and exhaustively to learn crime causation and eventually help
fight them.

Those who specialize in this area laws are criminologists with a legal bent (may have law
degrees), and they refer to their area of study as the criminology of criminal law, or in the case of
criminologists with sociology degrees, the sociology of law. An example would be the conflict
criminologist, William Chambliss, who in 1964 wrote a famous treatise on the law of vagrancy to argue
for a ruling class domination theory of crime. Theories in this specialty area are sometimes called
theories of criminalization, not theories of crime. They involve the study of why some acts, but not
others, come to the attention of authorities, and why some acts, but not others, come to be formally
penalized by the state as crimes.

The Breaking of Laws

This pertains to the examination of the reasons of crime causation which primarily deals to
answer issues why despite the presence of laws people still commit crimes.

This is the area where most people think when they think of criminology, and it is generally
referred to as the area of Criminogenesis or Etiology (the study of causes), or crime causation.

This area is the most interdisciplinary one in criminology, and pretty much, anyone with an
interest in studying the criminal mind is welcome, regardless of whether their degree is in
anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, or sociology (although sociology dominated
criminology for most of the twentieth century). It is important to note that this specialty area is not
concerned with fighting crime or catching criminals more effectively.

It is concerned with scientific theory and method for uncovering truth. Any insights gained from
studying the criminal mind are supposed to be useful in understanding human nature and the society
we live in. There is some disagreement about this, however, with so-called clinical, applied, and praxis
(theory in action) criminology, as well as the field of criminal justice, advocating better management,
investigation, social change, and systems respectively.

Reaction Towards the Breaking of Laws

This pertains to the study of how people, the criminal, and the government reacts towards the
breaking laws because the reactions necessarily bring light to the development of modern measures
to treat criminal offenders at the same time the reaction may be contributory to criminality.
 This area is the most sociological of the three, and specialists here tend for refer to
themselves as societal reaction theorists, social response theorists, normative theorists, the relativity
of crime researchers, or less commonly as criminologists of criminal justice. Societal reaction theorists
study things like media glamorization of crime or the moral boundaries by which communities tolerate
or do not tolerate crime in their midst. Social response theorists are interested in the justifications and
consequences of different styles of reacting to crime (e.g. “lock-em-up” strategies versus mediation).

Normative theorists are interested in the determinants of norms (expectations for behavior),
since norm violations are often the root source of both deviance and crime. Relatively of crime
specialists are interested in whether there is a consensus of public opinion about the seriousness of
various criminal acts. Criminologists of criminal justice are often indistinguishable from criminal justice
specialists (criminal justice being a separate, but related discipline) in that they study things like
society’s carrying capacity (rates of imprisonment and how many prisoners prisons can hold) or police
strength (as an indicator of repressive social control).

Areas of Study in Philippine Criminology

In the Philippines, under existing laws, criminology covers six principal areas identified in
relation to the licensure examination for criminologist, which are:

1. Criminal Etiology- which include the scientific analysis of the causes of crime and the study of
criminal behavior. This is more accurately known under the area called Criminal Sociology.
2. Sociology of Law- which pertains to the study of law and its application. This is particularly
under the area called Criminal Jurisprudence and Procedures.
3. Law Enforcement- which refers to the manner in which authorities enforce the local and
national laws of the land. It is more related to matters involving police management and
administration or policing in general. It is under the area called Law Enforcement
Administration.
4. Criminal Investigation- which pertains to processes of crime detection and the identification of
criminal offenders. This belongs to the area called Crime Detection and Investigation.
5. Forensic Science- or the study regarding “instrumentation” involving the tools in crime
detection and criminal identification. This belongs to the area called Criminalistics.
6. Penology- refers to the study that deals with the punishment and the treatment of criminal
offenders. It is described under the area known as Correctional Administration.

Importance of Studying Criminology

Studying crime is very important. In fact, interest in crime has always been high (Bartol, 1995).
However, understanding why it occurs and what to do about it has always been a problem. The offer
of simple solutions for obliterating crime is not enough because of its complexities. But understanding
crime as a complex phenomenon can be:

1. a source of philosophy of life- The knowledge derived from studying crime is a good
foundation for an individual’s philosophy and lifestyle;
2. a background for a profession or for social service;
3. because criminals are legitimate objects of interest. They should be understood in order to
know how to control them;
4. because crime is a costly problem. The value of property lost, medical expenses, insurance,
moving costs, and intangible costs of pain and suffering is too high as a result of victimization.
 Theoretically, crimes should be studied and investigated in order to determine the causes of
social disorganization. Practically, the study will give us the ways and means of preventing crimes and
reform criminal offenders.

Purposes of Studying Criminology

Studying criminology is aimed towards the following:

1. The primary aim is to prevent the crime problem.

2. To understand crimes and criminals which are basic to knowing the actions to be done to
prevent them.
3. To prepare for a career in law enforcement and scientific crime detection.
4. To develop an understanding of the constitutional guarantees and due process of law in the
administration of justice.
5. To foster a higher concept of citizenry and leadership together with an understanding of one
moral and legal responsibilities to his fellow men, his community and the nation.

Nature of Criminology

Understanding crime is as complex as other fields of interest. As earlier stated, criminology is

a multidisciplinary science. It requires therefore a systematic and balanced knowledge in the
examination of why they exist. In such a case, criminology is considered:

1. An Applied Science because criminology as a body of knowledge has already established

universally accepted principles and concepts and these are used by other field of study.
(INSTRUMENTATION).

Anthropology, psychology, sociology and other natural sciences may be applied in the study
of causes of crime while chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, etc. may be utilized in
crime detection.
2. A Social Science because it studies crime as a social phenomenon. Crime is a social problem
which has a great impact to society.

In as much as crime is a societal creation and that it exists in a society, its study must be
considered a part of social science.

3. A Dynamic Discipline because the concepts of criminology and their applications adapt to the
changing time.

Criminology changes as social condition changes. That means the progress of criminology is
concordant with the advancement of other sciences that have been applied to it.

4. Nationalistic in Nature because the study of criminology takes into consideration the history,
the culture and the social norms and the laws of the country. Each country has its own set of
laws and crimes are defined by the laws of the country.

The study of crime must always be in relation with the existing criminal law within the territory.
OBJECT OF INTEREST IN CRIMINOLOGY

The four most common object of interest in criminology are crimes (criminal acts), criminals
(perpetrator of crime), criminal behavior and the victims of crimes (victimology).

CRIME defined

In as much as the definition of crime is concerned, many fields of study like law, sociology and
psychology have their respective emphasis on what crime is.

Crime may be defined as:

1. An act or omission in violation of a criminal law in its legal point.

- refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of public law (Phil. Law Dictionary).

- It also refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or

commanding it (Reyes 2006).

2. An anti-social act; an act that is injurious, detrimental or harmful to the norms of society; they
are the unacceptable acts in its social definition.
3. Psychologically, crime is an act, which is considered undesirable due to behavioral
maladjustment of the offender; acts that are caused by maladaptive or abnormal behaviors.

CRIME is also a generic name that refers to offense, felony and delinquency or misdemeanor.

Offense- is an act or omission hat is punishable by special laws (a special law is a statute
enacted by Congress, penal in character, which is not an amendment to the Revised Penal Code)
such as Republic Acts, Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders, Memorandum Circulars, Ordinances
and Rules and Regulations (Reyes, 1960)

Felony- is an act or omission that is punishable by the Revised Penal Code, the criminal law in
the Philippines (Reyes, 1960).

Delinquency/Misdemeanor- acts that are in violation of simple rules and regulations usually
referring to acts committed by minor offenders.

Heinous Crime-(murder, homicide, illegal drugs, rape and etc.)-capital punishment(reclusion perpetua-
life imprisonment) and non-bailarble.

CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

Crimes are classified in order to focus a better understanding of their existence. Some
criminologists view the following as:

1. Criminological Classes

a. Acquisitive and Extinctive Crimes

Acquisitive crime is one which when committed, the offender acquires something as a
consequences of his criminal act. The crime is extinctive when the result of criminal act is destruction.
 b. Seasonal and Situational Crimes

Seasonal crimes are those that are committed only at certain periods of the year while
situational crimes are those that are committed only when given a situation conducive to its
commission.

c. Episodic and Instant Crimes

Episodic crimes are serial crimes, they are committed by a series of criminal actions within a
lengthy space of time. Instant crimes are those that are committed the shortest possible time.

d. Static and Continuing Crimes

Static crimes are those that are committed only in one place. Continuing crime are crimes that
are committed in several places.

e. Rational and Irrational Crimes

Rational are those committed with intent; the offender is in full possession of his mental
faculties/capabilities while irrational crimes are committed without intent; offender does not know the
nature of his act.

f. White Collar and Blue Collar Crimes

White Collar Crimes are those committed by a person of responsibility and of upper
socioeconomic class in the course of their occupational activities. Blue Collar Crimes are those
committed by ordinary professionals to maintain their livelihood.

g. Upper World and Underworld Crimes

Upper World Crimes are those committed by individuals belonging to the upper class of
society. Under World Crime are committed by members of the lower or under privilege class of
society.

h. Crimes by Imitation and Crimes by Passion

Crimes by Imitation are crimes committed by merely duplicating of what was done by others .
Crimes by Passion are crimes committed because of the fit of great emotions.

i. Service Crimes- refers to crimes committed through rendition of a service to satisfy the
desire of another.

Classification of Crimes According to the Police

The Philippine National Police (PNP) classified crimes as an index or non-index crime for
purposes of the uniform crime reporting system.

1. Index Crime- are serious in nature and which occur with sufficient frequency and regularity
such that they can serve as an index to the crime situation. They are further classified into:
a. Crimes Against Person- murder, homicide, physical injury, rape
 b. Crimes Against Property- robbery and theft

2. Non- Index Crimes- are mostly violations of special laws and others crime such as crimes
against morals and order (prostitution vagrancy alarm and scandal assault resistance to
authority. Corruption of public officials, gambling, slander and liber, threat and coercion, and
trespassing), crimes against chastity (abduction, seduction, lascivious acts), other crimes
against property (estafa and falsification, malicious mischief, damage to property). These
crimes are generated from result of positive police initiated operations.

Classes of Crimes under the Revised Penal Code

Under Philippine law (Revised Penal Code), crimes as classified as:

1. Crimes against National Security and the Law of Nations. Examples are Treason, Espionage,
and Piracy
2. Crimes against the Fundamental Law of the State. Examples are Arbitrary Detention, Violation
of Domicile
3. Crimes against Public Order. Examples are Rebellion, Sedition, and Coup d’tat
4. Crimes against Public Interest. Examples are Forgery, Falsification, and Fraud
5. Crimes against Public Morals. Examples are Gambling and betting, offenses against decency
and good customs like scandals, obscenity, vagrancy, and prostitution.
6. Crimes Committed by Public Officers. Example are Malfeasance and Misfeasance
7. Crimes against Person. Examples are Murder, Rape, Homicide and Physical Injuries
8. Crimes against Properties. Examples are Robbery and Theft
9. Crimes against Personal Liberty and Security. Examples are Illegal Detention, Kidnapping,
Trespass to Dwelling, and Threat and Coercion.
10. Crimes against Chastity. Examples are Concubinage, Adultery, Seduction, Abduction, and
Acts of Lasciviousness
11. Crimes against Civil Status of Persons. Examples are Bigamy and other Illegal Marriages
12. Crimes against Honor. Examples are Libel and Oral Defamation.
13. Quasi-offenses or Criminal Negligence. Examples are Imprudence and Negligence

THE CRIMINAL/OFFENDER

The criminal is the actor in the commission of a criminal act. On the basis of the definition of crime,
a criminal may be defined in three ways:

1. A person who committed a crime and has been convicted by a court of the violation of criminal
law. (legal definition)
2. A person who violated a social norm or one who did an anti-social act. (social definition)
3. A person who violated rules of conduct due to behavioral maladjustment. (Psycho-behavioral
definition)

Classes of Criminals

While crime (acts) are classified into different classifications, criminals (actor) are also given
the appropriate classification for purposes of further elaboration and understanding about them.

Based on Etiology
 Acute Criminal is one who violates a criminal law because of the impulse or fit of passion.
They commit passionate crimes.

Chronic Criminal is one who commits crime acted in consonance of deliberated thinking. He
plans the crime ahead of time. They are the targeted offenders.

Based on Behavioral System

Ordinary Criminal is considered the lowest form of criminal in a criminal career. He doesn’t
stick to crime as a profession but rather pushed to commit crimes due to a great opportunity.

Organized Criminal is one who associates himself with other criminals to earn a high degree
of organization to enable them to commit crimes easily without being detected by authorities. They
commit organized crimes.

Professional Criminal is a person who is engaged in criminal activities with a high degree of
skill. He is usually one who practices crime as a profession to maintain a living.

M-ORTE
A-LLIA
F-RANCIA
I-TALIA
A-NELLA

“The fall of France is for Italy cry”

Duress Code: OMERTA

Based on Activities

Professional Criminals are those who practice crime as a profession for a living. Criminal
activity is constant in order to earn skill and develop abilities in their commission.

Accidental Criminals are those who commit crimes when the situation is conducive to its
commission.

Habitual Criminals are those who continue to commit crime because of deficiency of
intelligence and lack of self-control.

Based on Mental Attitudes

Active Criminals are those who commit crimes due to aggressiveness.

Passive Inadequate Criminals are those who commit crimes because they are pushed to it by
reward or promise.

Socialized Delinquents are criminals who are normal in behavior but defective in their
socialization process or development.

Based on Legal Point of View

 Habitual Delinquent is a person who, within a period of ten years from the date of his release
or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robbery, estafa, or
falsification, is found guilty of any of the said crimes or a third time offender.

Recidivist is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously
convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of the Revised Penal Code.

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Another common subject of interest in criminology is understanding the behavior of criminal

offenders. Crime in its legal definition may constitute an intentional act in violation of the criminal law
and penalized by the state a felony, offense or misdemeanor. Criminal behavior, therefore, is an
intentional behavior that violates a criminal code (Bartol, 1995).

Many social scientist are attracted to studying human behavior- a focus on the psychological
makeup and mental processes of the criminal, the way the offender behaves or acts including his
activities and the causes or influences of his criminal behavior.

THE VICTIM (Offended Party)

Study of victims of crimes falls under a division of criminology known as victimology.

Victimology is simply the study of victims of crimes and their contributory role, if any, in crime
causation. It is the scientific process of gaining substantial amounts of knowledge on offender
characteristics by studying the nature of victims. (Schmalleger, 1997).

HISTORICAL SETTING OF CRIMINOLOGY

The study of criminology began in Europe during the late 1700s when concerns arose over
the cruelty, unfairness, and inefficiency of the prison and criminal court system.

During this period reformers such as Cesare Beccaria in Italy and Sir Samuel Romilly, John
Howard, and Jeremy Bentham in England, all representing the so-called classical school of
criminology, sought penological and legal reform rather than criminological knowledge.

Their principal aims were:

• to mitigate legal penalties,

• to compel judges to observe the principle of nulla poena sine lege (Latin: “due process of
law”),
• to reduce the application of capital punishment, and
• to humanize penal institutions.

They were moderately successful, but, in their desire to make criminal justice more “just,” they
tried to construct rather abstract and artificial equations between crimes and penalties, ignoring the
personal characteristics and needs of the individual criminal defendant. Moreover, the object
of punishment was primarily retribution and secondarily deterrence, with reformation lagging far
behind.

PUNISHMENT

Punishment, the infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for a misdeed (i.e., the
transgression of a law or command). Punishment may take forms ranging from capital
punishment, flogging, forced labour, and mutilation of the body to imprisonment and fines. Deferred
punishments consist of penalties that are imposed only if an offense is repeated within a specified
time.

And during 18th century the most common and most severe punishment for serious offences
was HANGING.

HANGING as Capital Punishment

What crimes carried this sentence?

During the 18th century, the number of crimes that were punished by hanging rose to about
200. Some, such as treason or murder, were serious crimes, but others what we call minor offences.
For example, Picking Pockets, Stealing of Food and Poaching Rabbits or Fish to eat were sentenced
by death (Hanging).

How was the sentence carried out?

Death by hanging could only be ordered by the Assize judges (the equivalent today’s Crown
Court)- when more serious offences would be tried.

At the start of Victorian period, executions were still carried out in public. In Bedfordshire this
was outside the gaol. There was often sympathy for the person about to be hanged and the crowd
would jeer the hangman.

At this time, the type of gallow used and the short drop resulted in death by strangulation
which could take several minutes before the victim lost consciousness.

The historians call this harsh attitude to law-making the “Body Code”. The intention at that
time was to create a strong deterrent so that crime rates would be reduce- but the system was flawed
and ineffective.

PRISON

In early 16th century, prison were used as a holding place for criminals while they awaited trial-
it was not seen as a punishment in its own right. However, prisons were horrible places, with bad
conditions, where inmates had to pay the warden for beddings and food otherwise the would have to
go without. Prisons were dirty places full or disease and many prisoners died of diseases like typhus.
CRIMINAL COURT SYSTEM

What kind of judicial system was there during olden days?

A real ordeal

Justice for the Anglo-Saxons and even after the Norman invasion of 1066 was a combination
of local and royal government. Local courts were presided over by a lord or one of his stewards. The
King’s court – the Curia Regis – was, initially at least, presided over by the King himself.

Today, going on trial in an English and Welsh court is not exactly a comfortable experience.
But it’s far better than trial by ordeal, used until almost the end of the 12th century to determine guilt or
innocence in criminal cases.

Under this system (trial by ordeal), the accused would be forced to pick up a red hot bar of
iron, pluck a stone out of a cauldron of boiling water, or something equally painful and dangerous.

If their hand had begun to heal after three days they were considered to have God on their
side, thus proving their innocence. The number of ‘not guilty’ verdicts recorded by this system is not
known.

Another, extremely popular ‘ordeal’ involved water; the accused would be tied up and thrown into a
lake or other body of water. If innocent, he or she would sink.

There were two problems with this method, which was often used to try suspected witches:
the accused was tied right thumb to left toe, left thumb to right toe, which made it almost impossible to
sink; and opinion is divided as to whether those who did sink were fished out afterwards.

William II (1087-1100) eventually banned trial by ordeal – reportedly because 50 men accused
of killing his deer had passed the test – and it was condemned by the Church in 1216.

Fighting for freedom?

Criminal and civil disputes could also be decided by trial by combat, with a win held to prove
either innocence or the right to whatever property was being disputed. Either side could employ their
own champions, so the system wasn’t perhaps as fair as it might be.
Trial by combat gradually fell into disuse for civil cases, although it wasn’t until someone involved in a
dispute in 1818 tried to insist on it that it was realized this was still, technically, an option. Trial by
combat was quickly banned, forcing litigants to rely on more conventional routes.

The Pre- Classical Period

The theoretical dimension of criminology has a long history and ideas about the causes of
crime can be found in philosophical thought over two thousand years ago. For example, in Politics,
Plato’s student, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), stated that “poverty engenders rebellion and crime (Quinney
1970)”. Religious scholars focused on causes as diverse as natural human need, deadly sins, and the
corrupting influence of Satan and other demons. The validity of such theories was founded in religious
authority and they were not viewed as theories, subject to verification through any form of systematic
observation, measurement and analysis.
The Classical Beginning

The leading theorists in criminology history started with the advocates of this classical school
of criminology, the Italian Cesare Beccaria (1738-94), argued that the law must apply equally to all,
and that punishments for specific crime should be standardized by legislatures, thus avoiding judicial
abuses of power. Both Becarria and another classical theorist, the Englishman Jeremy Bentham
(1748-1832), argued that people are rational beings who exercise free will in making choices.

The Neo- Classical Era

Criminologists of the early nineteenth century argued that legal punishment that had been
created under the guidance of the classical school did not sufficiently consider the widely varying
circumstances of those who found themselves in the gears of the criminal justice system. Accordingly,
they proposed that those who could not distinguish right from wrong, particularly children and mentally
ill persons, should be exempted from the punishments that were normally meted out to mentally
capable adults who had committed the same crimes. Along with the contributions of a later generation
of criminologists, known as the positivists, such writers argued that the punishment should fit the
criminal, not the crime.

Positivist Determinism

Later in the nineteenth century, the positivist school of criminology brought a scientific
approach to criminology, including findings from biology and medicine. The leading figure of this
school was the Italian Cesare Lombroso (1836-1909). Influenced by Charles R. Darwin’s theory of
evolution, Lombroso measured the physical features of prison inmates and concluded that criminal
behaviour correlated with specific bodily characteristics, particularly cranial, skeletal, and neurological
malformations. According to human population. Subsequent generations of criminologists have
disregarded harshly with Lombroso’s conclusions on this matter. However, Lombroso had a more
lasting effect on criminology with other findings that emphasized the multiple causes of crime,
including environmental causes that were not biologically determined. He was also a pioneer of the
case-study approach in criminology.

Cartographical Thought

Other late-nineteenth century developments in criminology included the work of statisticians in

the cartographic school, who analysed data on population and crime. These included Lambert
Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874) of France and Andre Michel Guerry of Belgium. Both of these
researchers compiled detailed, statistical information relating to crime and also attempted to identify
the circumstances that predisposed people to commit crimes.

The Socialist Criminology

The writings of French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) also exerted a great influence
on criminology. Durkheim advanced the hypothesis that criminal behaviour is a normal part of all
societies. No society, he argued, can ever have complete uniformity of moral consciousness. All
societies must permit one deviancy, including criminal deviancy, or they will stagnate. He saw the
criminal as an acceptable human being and one of the prices that a society pays for freedom.
 Durkheim also theorized about the ways in which modern, industrial societies differ from non-
industrial ones. Industrial societies are not as effective at producing what Durkheim called collective
conscience that effectively controls the behaviour of individuals. Individuals in industrial societies are
more likely to exhibit what Durkheim called anomie- a Greek word meaning “without norms”.
Consequently, modern societies have had to develop specialized laws and criminal justice systems
that were not necessary in early societies to control behaviour.

During the twentieth century, the sociological approach to criminology became the most
influential approach. Sociology is the study of social behaviour, systems, and structures. In relation to
criminology, it may be divided into social- structural and social process approaches.

Social- structural approaches to criminology examine the way in which social situations and
structures influence or relate to criminal behaviour. An early example of this approach, the ecological
school of criminology, was developed in the 1920s and 1930s at the University of Chicago. It seeks to
explain the crime’s relationship to social and environmental change. For example, it attempts to
describe why certain areas of a city will have a tendency to attract crime and also have less-vigorous
police enforcement. Researchers have found that urban areas in transition from residential to business
uses are most often targeted by criminals. Such communities often have disorganized social networks
that foster a weaker sense of social standards.

Another social- structural approach is the conflict school of criminology. It traces its roots to
Marxist theories that saw crime as ultimately a product of conflict between different classes under the
system of capitalism. Criminology conflict theory rather that out of consensus. It holds that laws are
made by the group that is in power, to control those who are not in power. Conflict theorists propose,
as do other theorists, that those who commit crimes are not fundamentally different from the rest of the
population. They call the idea that society may be clearly divided into criminals and non-criminals a
dualistic fallacy, or a misguided notion. These theorists maintain, instead, that the determination of
whether someone is a criminal or not often depends on the way society reacts to those who deviate
from accepted norms. Many conflicts theorists and others argue that minorities and poor people are
more quickly labelled as criminals than are members of the majority and wealthy individuals.

Critical Criminology also called radical criminology, shares with conflict criminology a debt to
Marxism. It came into prominence in the early 1970s and attempted to explain contemporary social
upheavals. Critical criminology relies on economic explanations of behaviour and argues that
economic and social inequalities cause criminal behaviour. It focuses less on the study of individual
criminals, and advances the belief that existing crime cannot be eliminated within the capitalist system.
It also asserts, like the conflict school, that law has an inherent bias in favor of the upper or ruling
class, and that the state and its legal system exist to advance the interests of the ruling class. Critical
criminologist argue that corporate, political, and environmental crimes are under reported and
inadequately addressed in the current criminal justice system.

Feminist criminology emphasizes the subordinate position of women in society. According to

feminist criminologist, women remain in a position of inferiority that has not been fully rectified by
changes in the law during the late twentieth century. Feminist criminology also explores the ways in
which women’s criminal behaviour is related to their objectification as commodities in the sex industry.

Social- process criminology theories attempt to explain how people become criminals. These
theories developed through recognition of the fact that not all people who are exposed to the same
social-structural condition become criminals. They focus on criminal behavior as learned behavior.

Edwin H. Sutherland (1883-1950), a US sociologist and criminologist who first presented his
ideas in the 1920s to 1930s, advanced the theory of differential association to explain criminal
behavior. He emphasized that criminal behavior is learned in interaction with others, usually in small
groups, and that criminals learn to favor criminal behavior over non- criminal behavior through
association with both forms of behavior in different degrees. As Sutherland wrote, “When persons
become criminal, they do so because of contacts with criminal patterns and also because of isolation
from anti-criminal patterns”
Although his theory has been greatly influential, Sutherland himself admitted that it did not
satisfactorily explain all criminal behavior. Later theorist have modified his approach in an attempt to
correct its shortcomings.

Control Theory, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, attempts to explain ways to train people to
engage in law- abiding behavior. Although there are different approaches within control theory, they
share different views that humans require nurturing in order to develop attachments or bonds to
people and that personal bond are key in producing internal controls such as conscience and guilt and
external controls such as shame. According to this view, crime is the result of insufficient attachment
and commitment to others.

Walter C. Reckless developed one version of control theory, called containment. He argued
that a combination of internal psychological containments and external social containments prevents
people from deviating from social norms. In simple communities, social pressure to conform to
community standards, usually enforced by social ostracism, was sufficient to control behavior. As
societies became more complex, internal containments played a more crucial role in public laws.
Furthermore, containment theorists have found that internal containments require a positive self-
image. All too often, a sense of alienation from society and its norms forms in modern individuals, who,
as a result, do not develop internal containment mechanisms.

The sociologist Travis Hirschi has developed his own control theory that attempts to explain
conforming, or lawful, rather than deviant, or unlawful, behavior. He stresses the importance of the
individual’s bond of society in determining conforming behavior. His research has found that
socioeconomic class has little to do with determining delinquent behavior, and that young people who
are not very attached to their parents or to school are more likely to be delinquent than those who are
strongly attached. He also found that youths who have a strongly positive view of their own
accomplishments are more likely to view society’s laws as valid constraints on their behavior.

Political criminology is similar to the other camps in this area. It involves study into the forces
that determine how, why, and with what consequences societies chose to address criminals and crime
in general. Those who are involved with political criminology focus on the causes of crime, the nature
of crime, the social and political meanings that attach to crime, and crime-control policies, including the
study of the bases upon which crime and punishment is committed and the choices made by the
principals in criminal justice.

Although the theories of political criminology and conflict criminology overlap to some extent,
political criminologists deny that the terms are interchangeable. The primary focus points in the new
movement of political criminology similarly overlap with other theories, including the concerns and
ramifications of street crime and the distribution of power in crime-control strategies. This movement
has largely been a loose, academic effort.

CRIMINOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippine Legal System

In the Philippine context, the study of crimes and criminal behavior is very recent. However,
criminology in general can be traced back along with the development of the Philippine criminal code
and the legal system. For instance, pre- Spanish codes such as the Code of Kalantiao and the
Maragtas Code have little influence to the present legal system but set rules on controlling crimes and
punishment of criminals in the Philippines prior to the colonization period

The legal system was a hybrid, reflecting the country’s cultural and colonial history. The
system- combined elements of Roman civil law of Spain, Anglo- American common law introduced by
the United States, and the customary systems used by minorities. The influence of Spanish law was
slowly fading but was clearly evident in private law, including family relations, property matters, and
contracts. The influence of American law was most visible in constitutional and corporate law, and
taxation and banking. Evidentiary rules also were adopted from the American system. In the Muslim
areas of the south, Islamic law was employed.

Philippine law dates to the nation’s independence from Spain at the end of the nineteenth
century. Statutes were enacted by the colonial Philippine legislature (1900-35), the commonwealth
legislature (1935-46), and of the republic, beginning July 4, 1946. Many modern laws were patterned
after the United States, and United States case law was cited and given persuasive effect in Philippine
courts. As of the mid-1980s, there were twenty-six codes in effect. These included the 1930 Revised
Penal Code, in effect since January 1, 1932, and the civil code, which replaced the Spanish civil code
on July 1, 1950. In addition, numerous presidential decrees issued during and after the martial law
period (1972-81) had the effect of law. During this area, President Marcos issued more than 2000
decrees. Although some were rescinded by Aquino during her first year in office. Rule by Presidential
Decree ended in February 1987 with ratification of the constitution.

Substantive criminal law was embodied in the Revised Penal Code, as amended, and based
chiefly on the Spanish penal code of 1870, which took effect in 1887. The penal code sets forth the
basic principles affecting criminal liability, established a system of penalties, and defined classes of
crimes.

Scientific Studies in Philippine Criminology

While Philippine Criminology rooted from the experiences of violence brought about by the
pre- Spanish era to the second world war up to the Martial law years and to the EDSA revolution, the
earliest known scientific work of a criminologist in the country can be drawn from the studies
conducted by Ignacio Villamor- Criminality in the Philippines, 1903-1908 which was published in 1909,
originally written in Spanish. Villamor’s work focused on the analysis of the crime date from 1903 to
1908 which were based on court cases.

According to recent studies (Gutierrez, 2009), Villamor looked into the variables that may be
related to the distribution, increase, and decrease of crime volume. Some of the variables included are
the province where the crime took place, background of the offender including sex, marital status,
education, and occupation, the legal classification of crimes such as crimes against persons, property,
and morals. Court-based data on crime during the Spanish period from 1865 to 1885 were also
reviewed according to the report.

Another Villamor’s work was Crime and Moral Education, published in 1924. In this book, he
argued that the most appropriate solution to crime is moral education (Gutierrez, 2009).

With the establishment of the Bilibid prison in 1865 by the Spanish government where Filipino
prisoners were confined, the controlled environment of the prison presented a conducive setting for
scientific studies and experimentation. Several scientific studies were conducted in the Bilibid prison at
the beginning of the American regime.
 The earliest known study involving the Filipino Criminal was the work of an American
anthropologist Daniel Folkmar in 1903 when he conducted anthropometric measurement among
selected Bilibid inmates in an attempt to classify the racial or ethnic types that can be found in the
Phiippines. His work was an influence of Cesare Lombroso’s anthropometric work The Criminal Man in
Europe in 1876. Folkmar’s studies resulted in the publication of the book- Album of Philippine Types
Found in Bilibid Prison in 1903, Chistians and Moros, including a Few Non- Christians , with published
photograph of some 80 prisoners.

Another historical figure in criminological studies in the country was a Filipino scholar in the
person of Sixto De Los Angeles, a medical doctor and professor at the University of the Philippines
who, in 1919, published Studies on Criminal Anthropology in the Philippines, also originally written in
Spanish. The published work featured the findings of his clinical studies of inmates at the Bilibid prison
conducted in 1917. His book on Legal Medicine/ Forensic Medicine established his work over the
decades as the leading Filipino forensic expert in the country, and became a major reference in legal
medicine for generations of students in medicine and law.

Criminology Education in the Philippines

In terms of Criminology Education, as early as June 11, 1956, the Philippine College of
Criminology (PCCr), the school had already a four-year course leading to the degree of Bachelor of
Science in Criminology (BSCrim). Among the subjects offered in its baccalaureate program are
Political Science and Criminalistics (in ballistics, polygraphy and criminal interrogation), Law,
Corrections, Police Ethics, Probation, Computer Science and other Liberal Arts subjects. From then
on, the school was considered as the pioneering criminology school in the Philippines.

With the passage of Republic Act 6506, an Act Creating the Board of Examiners for
Criminologists in the Philippines, many colleges and universities opted to offer BS Criminology, initially
under the field of Arts and Science.

Today, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is in control of the Programs for
Criminal Justice Education in the Philippines. Under CHED, there are more than 400 criminology
schools nationwide with continuous proliferation by state universities and colleges with their local and
private counterparts.

Learning Activities for Module I

Do a research for the examples of classification of crimes under Criminological Classes and
justify your answer why it will fall under this classification.

1. Acquisitive and Extinctive Crimes

2. Seasonal and Situational Crimes
3. Episodic and Instant Crimes
4. Static and Continuing Crimes
5. Rational and Irrational Crimes
6. White Collar and Blue Collar Crimes
7. Upper World and Underworld Crimes
8. Crime by Imitation and Crimes of Passion
9. Service Crime
Assessment for Module I

I. Essay/ Discussion

1. What is Criminology? Why it is called a multidisciplinary science? (5 points)

2. What are the dominating sciences or fields in the study of crime? Explain each. (9 points)
3. Discuss the scope or coverage of criminology as a science. (6 points)
4. Enumerate the purposes of studying Criminology. (5 points)
5. Is criminology an art or science? Explain. (5 points)
6. When do we consider a person a criminal? (2 points)
7. Explain each of the nature of criminology. (8 points)
8. State the importance of studying criminology. (5 points)
9. What are the objects of interest in criminology? (3 points)
10. Define crime in its legal definition. (2 points)

II. Identification/ Simple Recall

1. A multi-disciplinary science that deals with crimes, criminals, criminal behavior, and the
treatment of criminal behavior.
2. The study of crimes focused on the group of people and society as a whole, based on the
examination of the relationship of demographic and group variables to crime.
3. The study of crimes through the science of behavior and mental processes of criminals.
4. The study of crimes through forensic psychiatry.
5. The scientific analysis of the causes of crimes.
6. The study that deals with the punishment and treatment of criminal offenders.
7. Acts or omissions punishable by the Revise Penal Code.
8. The general term used to refer to offenses, felonies, delinquency and misdemeanor.
9. An act or omission punishable by Special Laws.
10. A person who committed a crime and has been convicted by final judgment by a competent
court.

III. True or False

1. Criminology is not a science by an art.

2. Criminology is a dynamic discipline because it changes as technology advances.
3. Criminology is both an applied and a social science.
4. Criminology is a field that deals with the study of crimes only.
5. Criminology includes the study of human conduct such as criminal activities and the causes
and influences of one’s criminal behavior.
6. Crime may constitute an intentional act in violation of a criminal law.
7. Crime is an anti-social act because it violates social norms.
8. Crime by imitation is also called a crime of passion.
9. An acute criminal is one who plans the commission of the crime and a targeted offender.
10. The lowest form of criminal in the criminal career is an ordinary criminal.
11. The aim of criminal psychology is to explain crime through the study of criminal behavior.
12. Misdemeanors and delinquencies are crimes.
13. Criminal behavior is dependent on the socially accepted norms of conduct.
14. Illegal detention, kidnapping and abduction are crimes against persons in accordance with
law.
15. Those who practice crime as a profession are considered professional criminals.
16. A chronic criminal is one who plans a head of time the commission of the crime.
17. White-collar crime is an ordinary crime.
18. Episodic crimes are also called serial crimes.
19. Etiology means the scientific study of the causes of events or phenomenon like crime.
20. One who commits crime due to opportunity is an accidental criminal.