Crime, Law, And

Criminal Behavior
 What is Crime, Felony, Offense and
Misdemeanor
.
Crime- refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of public law.

Felony- an act or omission punishable by law which is committed by

means of dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault) and punishable under the Revised
Penal Code.

Offense- an act or omission in violation of a special law.

Misdemeanor- a type of offense punishable under criminal law.

Classifications of
Crime
Legal Classification
Criminological Classifications of Crime
Classifications of Criminals
 Legal Classification

1. According to Law Violated:

 Felony- an act or omission punishable by law which is committed by

means of dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault) and punishable under the Revised
Penal Code.

 Offense- an act or omission in violation of a special law.

 Infraction- an act or omission in violation of a city or municipal

ordinance.
2. According to the manner of committing crime:

 By means of dolo or deceit- if the crime is committed with deliberate

intent. Thus, it is called intentional felonies.

• Freedom or voluntariness- on the part of the person to commit the act

or omission.
• Intelligence(discernment)- capacity to know and understand the
consequence of one’s act.
• Intent- ( mens rea or criminal intent ) the purpose is to use a particular
means to effect such result.
 By means of culpa or fault

• Felonies committed by means of culpa (fault)

• The act or omission of the offender is not malicious and the injury
caused by the offender is unintentional, it being the simply the incident
of another act performed without malice
-lack of fore sight
-lack of skill
-negligence
-imprudence
3. According to the stages in the commission :

 Attempted- the crime is attempted when the offender commences

the commission of a felony directly or over acts, and does not perform
all the acts of execution which should produce the felony by reason of
some cause or accident other than this own spontaneous desistance.
 Frustrated- when the offenders performs all the acts of execution
which would produce he felony as a consequence but which,
nevertheless do not produce it by reason of causes independent of the
will of the perpetrator.
 Consummated- when all the elements necessary for its
accomplishment and execution are present.
4. According to plurality

 Simple Crime- is a single act constituting only one offense.

 Complex Crime- single act constituting two or more grave felonies or

is an is a necessary means for committing the other
5. According to gravity:

 Grave felonies – are those to which the law attaches the capital
punishment or penalties which in their maximum period are afflictive.

 Less grave felonies- are those which the law punishes with penalties
and which in their maximum period are correctional.

 Light felonies- are infraction of laws for the commission of which the
penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both is
provided.
6. According to the nature of the act:

 Crimes mala in se- are acts that are inherently evil. Examples are
murder , robbery, etc.
- Revised Penal Code of The Philippines

 Crimes mala prohibita- are acts which are prohibited only because
there are laws forbidding such acts. Examples are Illegal Posession of
firearms, traffic violations, etc.
-Special Laws
 Criminological Classifications of
Crime
1. According to the result of crime :
 Acquisitive crime- if the offender acquired or gained something by
committing the crime. Examples are robbery, theft.
 Destructive crime- if the crime resulted in destruction, damage or even
death . Examples are arson, murder, homicide, damage to property, etc.
2. According to the time or period of commission:
 Seasonal crimes- are crimes that happen only during a particular season
or period of the year. Examples are violation of election law, tax law
violation, etc.
 Situational Crimes- if the crime resulted in destruction, damage or even
death. Examples are arson, murder, homicide, and damage to property,
etc.
3. According to the length of time of the commission:
 Instant crimes- are those crimes that can be committed in a very short
time. Example : bribery, theft, etc.
 Episodic crimes- are crimes committed through series of acts or
episodes and in much longer time. Example: serious illegal detention.

4. According to place or location :

 Static crimes- are committed only in one place, examples are theft and
robbery.
 Continuing crimes- are crimes that take place in more than one place or
several places. Examples: abduction, kidnapping.
5. According to the use of mental faculties:

 Rational crimes- when the offender is capable of knowing what is doing

and understanding the consequences of his actions.
 Irrational crimes- when the offender suffers from any form of mental
disorders, insanity or abnormality. Thus , the offender doesn’t know what
he is doing.

6. According to the type of offender :

 White Collar Crimes- crimes committed by those persons belonging to

the upper socio-economic status or in the course of his occupational
activities.
 Blue Collar Crimes- are those crimes committed by ordinary criminals
 Classification of Criminals

1. According to etiology

 Acute Criminal- is a person who committed crime as a result of reacting

to a situation or during a moment of anger or burst of feeling.
 Chronic Criminal- is one who committed a crime with intent or
deliberated thinking.
a. Neurotic criminal- is one who has mental disorder.
b. Normal criminal- a person who commits crime because he looks
up to, idolizes people who are criminals.
2. According to the type of offender

 Ordinary Criminal- a criminal who engages in crimes which do not

require specialized or technical skill.

 Organized Criminal- is one who possesses some skills and know how
which enable him to commit crimes and evade detection.

 Professional Criminal- a highly skilled criminals which are engaged in

a large scale criminal activities and usually operate in groups.
3. According to criminal activities:

 Professional criminal- a criminal who earns his living through criminal

activities.

 Situational criminal –a person who got involved in criminal act

because the situation presented itself.

 Habitual criminal- one who repeatedly commits criminal act for

different reasons.

 Accidental criminal- a person who accidentally violated the law due to

some circumstances
Criminal Behavior
Criminal behavior refers to conduct of an offender that leads to and
including the commission of an unlawful act.

Following are examples of case laws on criminal behavior:

-Sexual acts with a 10 year old child clearly constitute criminal behavior.
The evidence of the appellant's prior sexual acts was properly considered
by the trial court as criminal behavior. [State v. Robinson, 1998 Tenn.
Crim. App. LEXIS 1325 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998)].
-A trial court may utilize criminal behavior shown by a preponderance
of the evidence to enhance a sentence without violating federal or state
due process. [State v. Robinson, 1998 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1325
(Tenn. Crim. App. 1998)].
 Measuring Crime
 The measurement of crime is an important topic, but it is frequently
overlooked by criminologists. This slight is unfortunate, since accurate
crime data are needed to adequately test theories of offending and
victimization as well as to assess the effectiveness of public policies.
 The three main sources of crime data include official reports from the
police, surveys of victims, and self-reports from offenders.
 Measuring crime is necessary for various reasons. Some of these
reasons include describing crime, explaining why crime occurs, and
evaluating programs and policies. It is also needed for risk assessment
of different social groups, including their potential for becoming
Concept of Uniform
Reporting
 The Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) is a statistical recording system
utilized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI. The UCR began in 1930,
when Congress gave the U.S. Attorney General the power to survey the amount
of crime occurring in the United States.

 The initial UCR contained particular characteristics which allowed for the
tracking of crime in the United States.

 These characteristics included: Monthly aggregate crime numbers Gathered five

categories of assault data Gathered weapon data, which was limited to murder,
robbery, and aggravated assault Indicated data for eight major crimes and
twenty-one offenses Over the years, Congress started to recognize the
importance of the FBI's ability to gather enhanced categories of data.
 Therefore, in 1988, the FBI started to utilize a crime information gathering
system called the National Incident Based Reporting System, or NIBRS. NIBRS
is still a part of the UCR, but it is a more thorough report. Characteristics of the
UCR/NIBRS system include:

 Individual incident reports for eight major crimes and thirty-eight offenses,
which further breaks down the details of the incident such as the victim, the
offender, and the property involved. Distinction between attempted crimes and
fulfilled crimes. Weapon data for all violent crimes. Details of arrests for eight
major crimes and forty-nine offenses
 The UCR Program includes data from more than 18,000 city, university and college,
county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies. Agencies participate
voluntarily and submit their crime data either through a state UCR program or directly to
the FBI's UCR Program.

 The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program generates reliable statistics for use in law
enforcement. It also provides information for students of criminal justice, researchers, the
media, and the public. The program has been providing crime statistics since 1930.
PNP Unit Crime Periodic
Report(UCPER)
 PURPOSE
-To promote consistency in the recording of crime incidence, these
guidelines prescribe a uniform procedure for the Philippine National Police
in reporting and collecting crime data including cases reported to other law
enforcement agencies involved in the Criminal Justice System Further,
these data shall be the working basis for policies and programs on various
anti-criminality measures.
 SITUATION
-For the past years, generating statistical crime data on various crimes
Committed in the regions/provinces has been a growing Concern Of the
Philippine National Police (PNP).
2 mechanisms were in place, such as:
 The National Crime Reporting System (NCRS)- which is concerned
more with the details of the crime, to witness victim's data, offender's
data, among others.
 Police Regional Office Periodic Report (PROPER) is mainly concerned
simply, with WHAT HAPPENED, WHERE, TO WHOM, WHY and
the results Of investigation.
 Crime Statistics provide a mathematical measure of the level or amount
Of crime that is prevalent in societies It usually refers to figures
compiled by the Police and similar law enforcement agencies.
However, it is well known that many, if not most crime incidents are
not recorded and reported accordingly The study conducted by IJNDP,
IRC Of DI and the recent survey made by DIDM show that there is a
need to undertake measures to address the gaps in the present crime
For purposes of uniformity, the following terms shall be operationally
defined and used
a) CRIMES - include felonies which are violations of the Revised Pena'
Code and offenses which are violations of special laws.
b) CRIME VOLUME — the number of crime incidents committed in a
given area over a period Of time which include the index and non-index
crimes. CV = Index Crimes + Non-index Crimes
c) POPULATION — the number of inhabitants in a given area. The figure
to be used is the medium assumption as per the records from the
National Statistics Office (NSO).
d) CRIME RATE — is the number of crime incidents in a given period of
time for every 100,000 inhabitants of an area. Crime Volume Crime
Rate = Population/100,000.
e.) INDEX CRIMES — are crimes which are serious in nature and which
occur with Sufficient frequency and regularity such that they can serve as
an index to the crime situation.

f.) SOLVED CASES - NAPOLCOM M c.No 94-017 provides that:

-A case shall be considered solved when some elements beyond police
control prevent the arrest of the offender, such as when the victim refuses
to prosecute after the offender is identified Or the offender dies or
absconds.
-The arrest of one offender can solve several crimes or several offenders
may be arrested in the process of solving one crime.
g.) CRIME SOLUTION EFFICIENCY - is the percentage of solved cases
out of the total number of crime incidents handled by law enforcement
agencies for a given period of time. Solved Cases CSE = x 100% Crime
Volume.

h.) CLEARED CASE - A case shall be considered cleared when at least

one of the offenders has been identified.
Concept of Crime mapping and
Crime Trends
Crime mapping is used by analysts in law enforcement agencies to map,
visualize, and analyze crime incident patterns. It is a key component of
crime analysis and the CompStat policing strategy. Mapping crime, using
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allows crime analysts to identify
crime hot spots, along with other trends and patterns.

Crime Trend is defined as a significant change in the nature of selected

crime types within a defined geographical area and time period. It is the
measure of significant changes in an area’s crime pattern over time.