Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
CRIMINOLOGY
- the entire body of knowledge regarding crimes,
criminals and the efforts of society to prevent and
repress them
- a body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime
as a social phenomenon; it includes within its
scope, the making of laws, the breaking of laws and
the reactions toward the breaking of laws (Edwin
Sutherland)
- 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 study of crimes, causes of crimes, the meaning
of crime in terms of law and community reaction to
crime
- the study that aims to explain the connection
between crime and the personal characteristics of
the offender including his environment
NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY
1) It is an applied science.
In the study of the causes of crimes, anthropology,
psychology, sociology and other natural sciences may be
applied. While in crime detection, chemistry, medicine,
physics, mathematics, ballistics, polygraphy, questioned
document examination may be utilized. This is called
instrumentation.
2) It is a social science.
In as much as crime is a social creation, that it
exists in a society being a social phenomenon, its study
must be considered a part of social science.
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3) It is dynamic.
Criminology changes as social condition changes. It is
concomitant with the advancement of other sciences that have
been applied to it.
4) It is nationalistic.
The study of crimes must be in relation with the
existing criminal law within a territory or country. The
question as to whether an act is a crime is dependent on the
criminal law of a state. It follows therefore that the
causes of crime must be determined from its social needs and
standards.
CRIME
- an act or omission in violation of a public law
forbidding or commanding it
CRIME OF COMMISSION
- an act that is in violation of a law forbidding it
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- performing an act that is prohibited by law
CRIME OF OMISSION
- an act that is in violation of a law commanding it
- failure to perform an act that is commanded by law
ACT
- any action with outward manifestation
- overt and physical action done in pursuance and
manifestation of a criminal design or intent
SUB-CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES
1) 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
2) OFFENSE
- an act or omission in violation of a special law
3) INFRACTION
- an act or omission in violation of a city or municipal
ordinance
ELEMENTS OF A FELONY
a) INTENTIONAL FELONIES:
- felonies committed by means of dolo (deceit)
- the act or omission is performed with deliberate
intent or malice
1) freedom or voluntariness
o when the person acted on his own accord, without
irresistible force and/or uncontrollable fear
2) intelligence
o when the person who committed the crime has the
ability to determine what is right from what is
wrong and to realize the consequences of one’s act
3) intent
o when the person knowingly and purposely committed
the crime to effect the desired result
b) CULPABLE FELONIES:
- 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 simply the incident of
another act performed without malice
1) imprudence
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o deficiency in action; failure to take the
necessary precaution to prevent the danger due to
carelessness
2) negligence
o deficiency in perception; failure to foresee the
danger
3) lack of foresight
o when the crime resulted due to the person’s
inability to predict the obvious possible outcome
of his actions
4) lack of skill
o when the crime resulted because the person does
not have the necessary skill to perform the action
safely
3) according to plurality:
a) simple crime – single act constituting only one
offense
b) complex crime – single act constituting two or more
grave felonies or an act is a necessary means for
committing the other (ex. Robbery with Homicide,
Robbery with Rape,
4) according to gravity:
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a) grave felonies – those to which the law attaches
the capital punishment or afflictive
penalties
b) less grave felonies – those to which the law
attaches correccional penalties
c) light felonies – those to which the law attaches
the penalty of arresto menor or a fine not
exceeding P200.00
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CRIME STATISTICS
- attempts to provide a statistical measure of the
level, or amount of, crime that is prevalent in
societies
- usually refers to figures compiled by the police and
similar law enforcement agencies
INDEX CRIMES
- crimes which are sufficiently significant and which
occur with sufficient regularity to be meaningful,
such as murder, homicide, physical injury, robbery,
theft and rape
NON-INDEX CRIMES
- all types of crimes not considered as index crimes
CRIME RATE
- measure of the rate of occurrence of crimes
committed in a given area and time
- the number of crimes committed among a given number
of persons
- the number of crimes committed per 100,000
population
- stated mathematically:
number of crimes
crime rate = _______________________ X 100,000
CRIME INCIDENCE
- the number of crimes reported as to index or non-
index within a given period
CRIMINAL
- in the legal sense, a criminal is any person who has
been found to have committed a wrongful act in the
course of the standard judicial process; there must
be a final verdict of his guilt
- in the criminological sense, a person is already
considered a criminal the moment he committed a
crime
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a) acute criminals – persons who violate criminal law
because of the impulse of the moment, fit of
passion or anger
b) chronic criminals – persons who acted in
consonance with deliberated thinking, such as:
b.1) neurotic criminals – persons whose actions
arise from the intra-psychic conflict between
the social and anti-social components of his
personality
b.2) normal criminals – persons whose psychic
organization resembles that of a normal
individual except that he identifies himself
with criminal prototype
2) on the basis of behavioral system:
a) ordinary criminals – the lowest form of criminal
career; they engage only in conventional crimes
which require limited skill
b) organized criminals – these criminals have a high
degree of organization that enables them to commit
crimes without being detected and committed to
specialized activities which can be operated in
large scale businesses
c) professional criminals – these are highly skilled
and able to obtain considerable amount of money
without being detected because of organization and
contact with other professional criminals
3) on the basis of activities:
a) professional criminals – those who earn their
living through criminal activities
b) accidental criminals – those who commit criminal
acts as a result of unanticipated circumstances
c) habitual criminals – those who continue to commit
criminal acts for such diverse reasons due to
deficiency of intelligence and lack of control
d) situational criminals – those who are actually not
criminals but get in trouble with legal
authorities because they commit crimes intermixed
with legitimate economic activities
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REVISED PENAL CODE (ACT 3815)
- the book that contains the Philippine criminal law
- effectivity of the RPC is 1 January 1932
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However, penal laws may be given retroactive effect when it
is favorable to the accused.
4) It is specific and definite.
Criminal law must give a strict definition of a
specific act which constitutes an offense. Where there is
doubt as to whether a definition embodied in the Revised
Penal Code applies to the accused or not, the judge is
obligated to decide the case in favor of the accused.
Criminal law must be construed liberally in favor of the
accused and strictly against the state.
5) It is uniform in application.
An act described as a crime is a crime no matter who
committed it, wherever committed in the Philippines and
whenever committed. No exceptions must be made as to the
criminal liability. The definition of crimes together with
the corresponding punishment must be uniformly construed,
although there may be a difference in the enforcement of a
given specific provision of the penal law.
6) There must be a penal sanction or punishment.
Penal sanction is the most essential part of the
definition of the crime. If there is no penalty to a
prohibited act, its enforcement will almost be impossible.
The penalty is acting as a deterrence and as a measure of
self-defense of the state to protect society from the threat
and wrong inflicted by the criminal.
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EVOLUTION OF CRIMINAL LAWS
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- the law of homicide provided for the restitution to the
victim’s heirs
- law enforcement and judicial functions were placed in
the hands of commanders of military garrisons
3) CODE OF DRAKON
- knows as the “ultimate in severity”
- codified by Drakon, the Athenian lawgiver of the
seventh century BC
Highlights of the Code of Drakon:
- death was the punishment for almost every offense
- murderers might avoid execution by going into exile; if
they return to Athens, it was not a crime to kill them
- death penalty was administered with great brutality
4) LAWS OF SOLON
- Solon was appointed archon and was given legislative
powers
- Solon repealed all the laws of the Code of Drakon,
except the law on homicide
- Solon was one of the first to see that a lawgiver had
to make laws that applied equally to all citizens and
also saw that the law of punishment had to maintain
proportionality to the crimes committed
Highlights of the Laws of Solon:
- the thief was required to return stolen property and
pay the victim a sum equal to twice its value
- for the crime of temple robbery, the penalty was death
- for rape of a woman, the penalty was a fine of certain
amount
5) ROME’S TWELVE TABLES
- Roman law began with the Twelve Tables which were
written in the middle of the sixth century BC
- the Twelve Tables were the foundation of all laws in
Rome and written in tablets of bronze
- the Twelve Tables were drafted by the Decemvirs, a
body of men composed of patricians
Highlights of the Twelve Tables:
- if a man break another’s limb and does not
compensate the injury, he shall be liable to
retaliation
- a person who committed arson of a house or a stack
of corn shall be burned alive
- judges who accepted bribes as well as those who
bribed them were subject to execution
- any act of treason was punishable by crucifixion
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CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
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“The promptitude of punishment is one of the most
effective curbs on crime.”
“The aim of punishment can only be to prevent the
criminal from committing new crimes against his countrymen,
and to keep others from doing likewise. Punishments,
therefore, and the method of inflicting them, should be
chosen in due proportion to the crime, so as to make the
most lasting impression on the minds of men…”
“Capital punishment is inefficacious and its place
should be substituted life imprisonment.”
“It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them.
That is the chief purpose of all good legislation.”
JEREMY BENTHAM
- founded the concept of UTILITARIANISM – assumes that
all our actions are calculated in accordance with
their likelihood of bringing pleasure and pain
- devised the pseudo-mathematical formula called
“felicific calculus” which states that individuals
are human calculators who put all the factors into
an equation in order to decide whether a particular
crime is worth committing or not
- he reasoned that in order to deter individuals from
committing crimes, the punishment, or pain, must be
greater than the satisfaction, or pleasure, he would
gain from committing the crime
NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
POSITIVIST CRIMINOLOGY
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human social development, and those who followed his
writings became known as positivists. Those who embraced
positivism relied on the strict use of empirical methods –
factual, firsthand observations, and measurement of
conditions and events – to test hypotheses.
Positive theorists were the first to claim the
importance of looking at individual difference among
criminals. These theorists who concentrated on the
individual structures of a person, stated that people are
passive and controlled, whose behaviors are imposed upon
them by biological and environmental factors.
AUGUST COMPTE
- considered the FATHER OF POSITIVIST SCHOOL OF
CRIMINOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY
- applied scientific methods in the study of society
from where he adopted the word “sociology”
- his work prompted scientific studies of human social
behavior
CESARE LOMBROSO
- considered the FATHER OF MODERN CRIMINOLOGY due to
his application of modern scientific methods to
trace criminal behavior, however, most of his ideas
are now discredited
- he claimed that criminals are distinguishable from
non-criminals due to the presence of atavistic
stigmata – the physical features of creatures at an
earlier stage of development
- he asserted that crimes are committed by those who
are born with certain recognizable hereditary traits
- according to his theory, criminals are usually in
possession of huge jaws and strong canine teeth, the
arm span of criminals is often greater than their
height, just like that of apes who use their
forearms to push themselves along the ground
- other physical stigmata include deviation in head
size and shape, asymmetry of the face, excessive
dimensions of the jaw and cheekbones, eye defects
and peculiarities, ears of unusual size, nose
twisted, upturned or flattened in thieves, or
aqualine or beaklike in murderers, fleshy lips,
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swollen and protruding, and pouches in the cheek
like those of animal’s toes
- Lombroso’s work supported the idea that the criminal
was a biologically and physically inferior person
- according to him, there are three (3) classes of
criminals:
1) born criminals – individuals with at least five
(5) atavistic stigmata
2) insane criminals – those who are not criminals by
birth; they become criminals as a result of some
changes in their brains which interfere with their
ability to distinguish between right and wrong
3) criminaloids - those with make up of an ambiguous
group that includes habitual criminals, criminals
by passion and other diverse types
A) BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
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- cranioscopy was later renamed as phrenology, the
study that deals with the relationship between the
skull and human behavior
4) CHARLES GORING
- also studied phrenology or craniology which deals
with the study of the external formation of the
skull indicating the conformation of the brain and
the development of its various parts which is
directly related to the behavior of the criminal
- he believed that criminal characteristics were
inherited and recommended that people with such
characteristics should not be allowed to reproduce
- according to him, people with epilepsy, insanity
and feeblemindedness were among those who should
not be allowed to have children
PHYSIOLOGY OR SOMATOTYPE
- this refers to the study of the body build of a
person in relation to his temperament and
personality and the type of offense he is most prone
to commit.
- this study which searches the relationship of body
build to behavior became popular during the first
half of the twentieth century.
1) ERNST KRETCHMER
- he correlated body build and constitution with
characters or temperamental reactions and mentality
- he distinguished three (3) principal types of
physiques:
a) asthenic – lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders;
their crimes are petty thievery and fraud
b) athletic – medium to tall, strong, muscular,
coarse bones; they are usually connected with
crimes of violence
c) pyknic – medium height, rounded figures, massive
neck, broad face; they tend to commit deception,
fraud and violence
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2) WILLIAM SHELDON
- formulated his own group of somatotype:
1) RICHARD DUGDALE
- he studied the lives of the members of the JUKES FAMILY
and referred to ADA JUKES as the MOTHER OF CRIMINALS
- he discovered that from among the descendants of Ada
Jukes, there were 280 paupers, 60 thieves, 7 murderers,
40 other criminals, 40 persons with venereal diseases
and 50 prostitutes
- he claimed that since families produce generations of
criminals, they must have been transmitting degenerate
traits down the line
2) HENRY GODDARD
- he studied the lives of the KALLIKAK FAMILY and found
that among the descendants from MARTIN KALLIKAK’s
relationship with a feeble-minded lady, there were 143
feeble-minded and only 46 normal, 36 were illegitimate,
3 epileptics, 3 criminals, 8 kept brothels and 82 died
of infancy; his marriage with a woman from a good
family produced almost all normal descendants, only 2
were alcoholics, 1 was convicted of religious offense,
15 died at infancy and no one became criminal or
epileptic
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The classic studies of the Juke and Kallikak families
were among the first to show that feeblemindedness or low-
intelligence can be inherited and transferred from one
generation to the next. Numerous test were also conducted
that lead to the development of the use of IQ tests as a
testing procedure for offenders. The very first results
seemed to confirm that offenders had low mental abilities
and they were found to be mentally impaired.
B. PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
1) SIGMUND FREUD
- he is recognized as the FATHER OF PSYCHOANALYSIS
- he founded the PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF CRIMINALITY in
which he attributed delinquent and criminal behavior to
a conscience that is overbearing which arouses feelings
of guilt or a conscience that is so weak that it cannot
control the individual’s impulses and the need for
immediate gratification
- in his theory, PERSONALITY IS COMPRISED OF THREE
COMPONENTS:
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adapted so that they may become socially
acceptable
2) RAFAELLE GAROFALO
- proposed that people commit crime due to some psychic
or MORAL ANOMALY, a deficiency in moral sensibilities
- he believed that certain people are morally less
developed than others due to environmental,
circumstantial and organic reasons
1) NEUROSIS
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- a common type of mental disorder used to explain
criminal behavior
- also referred to as hysteria or neurasthenia
2) PSYCHOSIS
- a more serious type of mental disorder, which can be
organic or functional
- psychotic people lose contact with reality and have
difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy
- the most common type of psychosis are the following:
CRIMINAL PERSONALITY
- studies show that aggressive youth have unstable
personality structures often marked by hyperactivity,
impulsiveness and instability
PSYCHOPATHICPERSONALITY OR
ANTISOCIAL /SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY
- believed to be dangerous, aggressive, antisocial
individuals who act in callous manner, who neither
learn from their mistakes nor are deterred by
punishment
- they lack emotional depth, are incapable of caring for
others, and maintain an abnormally low level of anxiety
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- they lack moral conscience, and therefore they have no
concept of what is right and wrong and legal and
illegal
C) SOCIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM
1) EMILE DURKHEIM
- one of the founding scholars of sociology
- published a book, “The Division of Labor in Society”,
which became a landmark work on the organization of
societies
- according to him:
a) crime is as normal a part of society as birth and
death
b) crime is part of human nature because it has
existed during periods of both poverty and
prosperity
c) as long as human differences exists, which is one
of the fundamental conditions of society, it is
but natural and expected that it will result to
criminality
- one of his profound contributions to contemporary
criminology is the concept of anomie, the breakdown of
social order as a result of loss of standards and
values
- according to him, the explanation of human conduct and
human misconduct lies not in the individual himself but
in the group and social organization
- his ideas had become what is known as the ANOMIE THEORY
2) GABRIEL TARDE
- introduced the Theory of Imitation, which governs the
process by which people become criminals
- according to him, individuals emulate behavior patterns
in much the same way that they copy styles of dress
- the Theory of Imitation is explained by the following
patterns:
a) Pattern 1: individuals imitate others in
proportion to the intensity and frequency of their
contact
b) Pattern 2: inferiors imitate superiors
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c) Pattern 3: when two behavior patterns clash, one
may take the place of the other
4) ENRICO FERRI
- a member of the Italian parliament
- he believed that criminals could not be held morally
responsible because they did not choose to commit
crimes but was driven to commit them by conditions of
their lives
- a follower of Lombroso, who was actually the one who
coined the term “born criminal” which was extensively
used by Lombroso
- he proposed that the commission of a crime was caused
by a number of factors including physical (race,
geographics, temperature and climate), anthropological
(age, sex, organic and psychological) and social
(customs, religion, economics and population density
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- focuses on the conditions within the urban environment
that affect crime rates
- links crime rate to neighborhood ecological
characteristics
- views crime-ridden neighborhoods as those in which
residents are uninterested in community matters,
therefore, the common sources of control – family,
school, church, barangay authorities – are weak and
disorganized
- also called differential social organization
2) STRAIN THEORY
- holds that crime is a function of the conflict between
the goals people have and the means they can use to
legally obtain them
- argues that the ability to obtain these goals is class
dependent: members of the lower class are unable to
achieve these goals which come easily to those
belonging to the upper class
- consequently, they feel anger, frustration and
resentment, referred to as STRAIN
- the commission of crimes with the aim of achieving
these goals result from this conflict
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a) DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY
- formulated by Edwin Sutherland
- believes that criminality is a function of a
learning process that could affect any individual
in any culture
- his theory is outlined as follows:
i. criminal behavior is learned;
ii. criminal behavior is learned in interaction
with other persons in a process of
communication;
iii. the principal part of learning of criminal
behavior occurs within an intimate personal
group;
iv. when criminal behavior is learned, the
learning includes techniques in committing
the crimes which are sometimes very simple,
the specific direction of motives, drives,
rationalization and attitudes;
v. the process of learning criminal behavior by
association with criminal and anti-criminal
patterns involves all of the mechanisms that
are involved in any other learning
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- negative labels have dramatic influence on the self-
image of offenders
- says people become criminals when significant members
of society label them as such and they accept those
labels as a personal identity
- assumes that whether “good” or “bad”, people are
controlled by the reactions of others
VICTIMOLOGY
- the study of victimization, including the relationships
between victims and offenders, the interactions between
victims and the criminal justice system -- that is, the
police and courts, and corrections officials -- and the
connections between victims and other societal groups
and institutions, such as the media, businesses, and
social movements
- the study of the victims of crime, and especially of
the reasons why some people are more prone to be
victims
VICTIM PATTERNS
- gender, age, marital status, income, victim-offender
relationships and ecology are some factors that affect
victimization risks
GENDER
- males are more likely to become victims of robbery and
assault
- females are more likely to be victims of sexual assault
- when men are victims of violent crimes, the perpetrator
is usually described as a stranger
- females are more likely to be victimized by people they
know, like relatives, husbands or boyfriends
AGE
- young people face a much greater victimization risk
than older persons
- adolescents often stay out late at night, go to public
places and hang out in places where crime is most
likely to occur
- teens face a high victimization risk because they spend
a great deal of time in the presence of their
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adolescent peers, the group most likely to commit
crimes
INCOME
- the poor are the most likely to become victims of
crimes because they live in areas that are crime prone
MARITAL STATUS
- unmarried or never married people are victimized more
often than married people
- unmarried people tend to be younger, and young people
have the highest victim risk
- married people and widows have much lower victimization
rates because they interact with older people and are
more likely to stay home at night and avoid public
places
VICTIM-OFFENDER RELATIONSHIPS
- women seem much more likely than men to be victimized
by acquaintances; a majority of female assault victims
know their assailants
ECOLOGY
- most victimizations occur in large, urban areas
- rural and suburban victim rates are lower
- most incidents occur during the evening hours
- the most likely site for victimization is an open,
public area such as street, park, parking area and the
like