INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIME

OBJECTIVES: At the end of the discussion, the student should be able to -

1. Define criminology
2. Appreciate criminology as a social science
3. Comprehend the importance of studying criminology
4. Trace the historical development of criminology
5. Have a bird’s eye view on the theories explaining crime causation.

CRIMINOLOGY – is a body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as a social

phenomenon. (General & traditional meaning)

 Criminology refer to the study of crimes and criminals and the attempt of analyzing
scientifically their causes and control and the treatment of criminals.
 Criminology is the study of crime as a social phenomenon, or of criminals – the mental
traits, habits and discipline. (Sutherland and Cressey)
 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
crimes.
 The term criminology derived from the Latin word CRIMEN which means “accusation”
and Greek work LOGIA which denote “study”. Hence, criminology is the scientific study
of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behaviour in both the individual and
in society.
 The word criminology was coined in 1885 by Raffaele Garofalo, an Italian professor, as
“CRIMINOLOGIA”. A French Anthropologist Paul Topinard used an analogous French
term “CRIMINOLOGIE”.
 It was in mid-18th century, criminology arose and became popular.

BROAD FIELD OF CRIMINOLOGY

1. 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.
2. Psychological Criminology – the science of behaviour and mental processes of the
criminal. It is focused on the individual behaviour – how it is acquired, evoked, maintained
and modified. Both the environmental and personality influence are considered, along with
the mental processes that mediate the behaviour.
3. Psychiatric Criminology – the science that deals with the study of crime through forensic
psychiatry, the study of criminal behaviour in terms of motives and drives that strongly
relies on the individual. (Psychoanalytic Theory of Sigmund Freud – traditional view) It
also explains that criminals are acting out of uncontrollable animalistic, unconscious, or
biological urge.

SUBFIELDS OR PERSPECTIVE IN CRIMINOLOGY

(According to subject matter & methods)

1. 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.
2. Applied Criminology – uses a variety of disciplines 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.
3. 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 evidenced-based crime and justice policy.

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 4. 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.
5. 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. The emphasis of study is more
on the efforts to reform jails, prisons, and other correctional facilities.
6. 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.

CRIMINOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

The first ever educational institution that offered criminology course is the Philippine
College of Criminology (PCCr), at Sta. Cruz, Manila on June 11, 1956 which is formerly known
as PLARIDEL COLLEGE. PCCr became an educational institution for scientific crime detection
in the whole of Southeast Asia, in the 1950’s. In early part of 1960’s, criminology course was
offered by the following schools:
 University of Manila
 Abad Santos College
 University of Visayas
 University of Mindanao
 University of Baguio

CRIMINALIST – a person who study criminalistics or forensic science. He is a physical scientist

who uses scientific methods and techniques to find and interpret physical evidence. They rely on
scientific findings and techniques used in a particular field and apply them within the legal
framework.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRACTITIONER – 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 counselling and correctional work in correctional institutions.

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 by the Board of Criminology.

Under R.A. No. 6505 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: dactylographer, ballistician, questioned
document examiner, correctional officer, law enforcement photographer, lie detection examiner,
probation officer, agents in any law enforcement agency, security officer, criminal investigator, or
police laboratory technician.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY OF CRIMINOLOGY

1. The making of laws

2. The breaking of the laws
3. Reaction towards the breaking of laws

DIVISIONS/AREAS OF STUDY IN PHILIPPINE CRIMINOLOGY

In the Philippines, criminology covers six principal areas identified in relation to the
licensure examination for criminologist:

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 1. Criminal Etiology which is accurately known as Criminal Sociology – include the
scientific analysis of the causes of crime and the study of criminal behaviour.
2. Sociology of Law – pertains to the study of law and its application. This is particularly
under the area called Criminal Jurisprudence and Procedures.
3. Law Enforcement – 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 – pertains to the processes of crime detection and the identification
of criminal offenders. This belongs to the area called Crime Detection and Investigation.
5. Forensic Science – 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 describe under the area known as Correctional Administration.

IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING CRIMINOLOGY

1. A source of philosophy of life.

2. A background for a profession.
3. Because criminals are legitimate objects of interest.
4. Because crime is a costly problem.

PURPOSE OF STUDYING CRIMINOLOGY

1. To prevent crime problem.

2. To understand crimes and criminals.
3. To prepare 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
Criminology is considered:
1. An Applied Science – natural sciences are used to study the causes of crime as well as
chemistry, medicine, physics etc. may be utilized in crime detection
2. A Social Science – crime is a societal creation and that it exists in a society so its study
must be considered a part of societal science.
3. A Dynamic Discipline – criminology changes as social condition changes. That means the
progress of criminology is concordant with the advancement of other sciences that have
been applied.
4. Nationalistic in Nature – the study of crime must always be in relation with the existing
criminal law within the territory.

OBJECT OF INTEREST IN CRIMINOLOGY

1. Crimes –criminal acts

2. Criminals – perpetrators of crime/violators
3. Criminal behaviour – an intentional behaviour that violates the criminal code.
4. Victims of crimes – (victimology) the offended party. The study of victims of crimes falls
under a division of criminology known as Victimology which is known as the study of
victims of crimes and their contributory role in crime causation. Victimology is the
scientific process of gaining substantial amounts of knowledge on offender characteristics
by studying the nature of victims.

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CRIME DEFINED

 An act or omission in violation of a criminal law forbidding or commanding it.

 An anti-social act; an act that is injurious, detrimental or harmful to the norms of society;
they are the unacceptable acts.
 An act which is considered undesirable due to behavioural maladjustment of the offender;
acts that are caused by maladaptive or abnormal behaviors.
 A generic name that refers to offense, felony and delinquency or misdemeanour.

OFFENSE – An act or omission that is punishable by special laws such as Republic Acts,
Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders, Memorandum Circulars, Ordinances, Rules and
Regulations.

SPECIAL LAWS – is a statute enacted by Congress, penal in character, which is not an amendment
to the revised penal code.

FELONY – is an act or omission that is punishable by the Revised Penal Code, the criminal law
in the Philippines.

DELINQUENCY/MISDEMEANOR – acts that are in violation of simple rules and regulations

usually referring to acts committed by minor offenders.

CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

1. Acquisitive and Extinctive Crimes – acquisitive crime is one which when committed, the
offender acquires something as a consequence of his criminal act. The crime is extinctive
when the result of criminal act is destruction.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Static and Continuing Crimes – static crimes are those that are committed only in one
place. Continuing crimes are crimes that are committed in several places.

5. Rational and Irrational crimes – rational crimes are those committed with intent;
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.

6. White collar crimes & 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.

7. Upper world crimes & Underworld crimes – upper world crimes are those committed
by individuals belonging to the upper class of society. Underworld crimes are committed
by members of the lower or under privilege class of society.

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 8. Crimes by imitation & Crimes of 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.

9. Service crimes – refers to crimes committed through rendition of a service to satisfy the
desire of another.

CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES ACCORDING TO THE POLICE

- For purposes of the uniform crime reporting system.

1. Index Crimes – 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 other crimes such as crimes
against morals and order example: prostitution, vagrancy, alarm and scandal, assault,
resistance to authority. Corruption to public officials, gambling, slander and libel etc.

CLASSES OF CRIMES UNDER THE REVISED PENAL CODE

1. Crimes against National Security and the Law of Nations. Examples treason, espionage
and piracy.
2. Crimes against public order. Examples rebellion, sedition, coup d’etat.
3. Crimes against public interest. Examples forgery, falsification, fraud
4. Crimes against the fundamental law of the state. Examples arbitrary detention, violation of
domicile.
5. Crimes against public morals. Examples gambling and betting, offenses against decency
and good customs like scandals, obscenity, vagrancy and prostitution.
6. Crimes committed by public officers. Examples committed by public officers. Examples
malfeasance and misfeasance.
7. Crimes against person. Examples murder, rape, homicide and physical injuries.
8. Crimes against properties. Examples robbery, theft
9. Crimes against personal liberty and security. Examples illegal detention, kidnapping,
trespass to dwelling, threat, coercion.
10. Crimes against civil status of persons. Examples bigamy and illegal marriages.
11. Crimes against chastity. Examples concubinage, adultery, seduction, abduction, acts of
lasciviousness.
12. Crimes against honor. Examples libel, oral defamation.
13. Quasi-offenses or criminal negligence. Examples imprudence and negligence.

THE CRIMINAL/OFFENDER
The criminal is the actor in the commission of a criminal act.

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

CLASSES OF CRIMINALS BASED ON ETIOLOGY

1. Acute Criminal – is one who violates a criminal law because of the impulse or fit of passion.
They commit passionate crimes.
2. 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.

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CLASSES OF CRIMINALS 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 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.
 Professional Criminals – is a person who is engaged in criminal activities with a high
degree of skill. He is usually one who practice crime as a profession to maintain a living.

CLASSES OF CRIMINALS 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 control.

CLASSES OF CRIMINALS BASED ON MENTAL ATTITUDE

 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 behaviour but defective in their
socialization process or development.

CLASSES OF CRIMINALS BASED ON LEGAL POINT OF VIEW

 Habitual Delinquent – is 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.

HISTORICAL SETTING OF CRIMINOLOGY

The history of criminology dates back from the works of criminological thinkers or
theorists in criminology. The origins of criminology are usually located in the late 18 th century
writings of those who sought to reform criminal justice and penal systems that they perceived as
cruel inhuman and arbitrary. These old systems applied the law unequally, were subject to great
corruption, and often used torture and the death penalty indiscriminately.
A timeline is hereby presented below for a better portrayal of criminology in the past to the
present times:
THEORY MOTIVE
Demonology : 5,000 BC – 1692 AD Demonic Influence
Astrology : 3500BC – 1630 AD Zodiac/Planetary Influence
Theology : 1215 BC - present God’s Will
Medicine : 3000 BC - present Natural illness
Education : 1642 - present Academic underachievement/bad teachers
Psychiatry : 1795 - present Mental illness
Psychoanalysis : 1895 - present Subconscious guilt/defense mechanism
Classical school of criminology : 1690 Freewill / reason/ hedonism
Positivist school of criminology : 1840 Determinism/beyond control of individual

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Phrenology : 1770 - 1885 Bumps on head
Cartography : 1800 - present Geographic location/climate
Mental testing : 1895 - present Feeble mindedness/retardation/low IQ
Osteopathy : 1892 - present Abnormalities of bones or joints
Chiropractic : 1895 - present Misalignment of spine/nerves
Imitation : 1843 - 1905 Mind on mind crowd influence
Economics : 1818 - present Poverty/economic need/consumerism
Case study approach : 1909 - present Emotional/social development
Social work : 1903 - present Community/individual relations
Sociology : 1908 - present Social/environmental factors
Castration : 1907 - 1947 Secretion of androgen from testes
Ecology : 1927 - present Relation of person with environment
Transsexualism : 1937 - 1969 Trapped in body of wrong sex
Psychosurgery : 1935 - 1959 Frontal lobe dysfunction/need lobotomy
Culture conflict : 1938 - 1980 Conflict of customs from old country
Differential association : 1939- present Learning from bad companions
Anomie : 1938 - present State of normlessness/ goal means gap
Differential opportunity : 1961 - present Absence of legitimate opportunities
Alienation : 1938 - 1975 Frustration/feeling cut off from others
Identity : 1942-1980 Hostile attitude/crisis/sense of sameness
Identification : 1950 - 1955 Making heroes out of legendary criminals
Containment : 1961 - 1971 Outer temptation/inner resistance balance
Prisonization : 1940 - 1970 Customs and folkways of prison culture
Gang formation : 1927 - present Need for acceptance, status, belonging
Behaviour modification : 1938 - 1959 Reward/punishment programming
Social defense : 1947 - 1971 Soft targets/absence of crime prevention
Guided group interaction: 1958 - 1971 Absence of self-responsibility
Interpersonal Maturity : 1965-1983 Unsocialized, subcultural responses
Sociometry : 1958-1969 One’s place in group network system
Dysfunctional Families : 1958-present Members “feed off” other’s neurosis
White collar crime : 1945-present Cutting corners/bordering on illegal
Control theory : 1961-present Weak social bonds/natural predispositions
Strain theory : 1954-present Anger, relative deprivation, inequality
Subcultures : 1955-present Criminal values as normal within group
Labeling theory : 1963-1976 Self-fulfilling prophecies/name-calling
Neutralization : 1957-1990 Self-talk, excuses before behavior
Drift : 1964-1984 Sense of limbo/living in two worlds
Reference groups: 1953-1978 Imaginary support group
Operant conditioning : 1953-1980 Stimuli-to-stimuli contingencies
Reality therapy : 1965-1975 Failure to face reality
Gestalt therapy : 1969-1975 Perception of small part of “big picture”
Transactional analysis : 1961-1974 No communication between inner parent-
adult-child
Learning disabilities : 1952-1984 School failure/relying on “crutch”
Biodynamics : 1955-1962 Lack of harmony with environment
Nutrition and diet : 1979-present Imbalance in mineral/vitamin content
Metabolism : 1950-1970 Imbalance in metabolic system
Biofeedback : 1974-1981 Involuntary reactions to stress
Biosocial criminology : 1977-1989 Environment triggers inherited “markers”
The New Criminology : 1873- 1983 Ruling class oppression
Conflict Criminology : 1969-present Structural barriers to class interests
Critical Criminology : 1973-present Segmented group formations
Radical Criminology : 1976-present In articulation of theory/praxis
Left Realism : 1984-present Working class prey on one another
Criminal Personality : 1976-1980 53 errors in thinking

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 Criminal Pathways Theory : 1979-present Critical turning/tipping points in life events
Feminism : 1980-present Patriarchal power structures
Low self-control theory : 1993-present Impulsiveness, sensation-seeking
General strain theory : 1994-present Stress, hassles, interpersonal relations

THE THREE CRIMINOLOGY SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

Prior to modern age, crime and criminal behaviour had been explained for over a thousand
years by spiritualist notion (Spiritualist Theory). St Thomas Aquinas (1225-74), a theologian,
argued that there is a God-given Natural Law that is revealed by observing through the eyes of
faith: the natural tendency of people to do good rather than evil. Therefore those who violates the
criminal law are not only criminals but also SINNERS thus crime not only harms VICTIMS but
also the OFFENDER because it damage their essential “HUMANNESS” or the natural tendency
to do good.
Central to spiritualist was DEMONOLOGY/DEMONOLOGY THEORY where it was
proposed that criminals were possessed by demons that forced them to do wicked things beyond
control. Criminal activity is of course rarely attributed these days to the influence of devils from
hell BUT rather attributed through the suggestions and concepts of AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
& MODERN CRIMINOLOGY schools of thought.

A. CLASSICAL SCHOOL – advocated by Cesare Marquis de Beccaria Bonesana or simply

known as CESARE BECCARIA born on March 15, 1738 in Milan Italy. He died in 1794
but he is remembered today as a “Father of the Classical Criminal Theory”. He said that,
man is fundamentally a biological organism with INTELLIGENCE and RATIONALITY
that control his behaviour. Before man does something, he tries to determine the amount
of PAIN he will suffer and the amount of PLEASURE he will receive. Beccaria was an
Italian philosopher and politician best known for his treatise ESSAY ON CRIMES &
PUNISHMENTS.
 This is a treatise on legal reforms that is widely considered as one of the founding
texts of Classical Criminology, proposing reforms to the criminal justice system.
Its contents in particular are:
1. The prompt administration of clearly prescribed and consistent punishments.
2. Well-publicized laws made by the legislature rather than individual courts or
judges.
3. The abolition of torture in prison.
4. The use of penal system to deter would-be offenders, rather than simply
punishing those convicted.
3 MAIN POINTS IN BECCARIA’S THEORY:
 Freewill
 Rationality
 Manipulability

 SUMMARIZED POINTS OF CLASSICAL SCHOOL

1. People have free will to choose how to act.

2. Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian theory that man is a HEDONIST, seeks
pleasure and avoid pain, and RATIONAL CALCULATOR, man is weighing
up the costs (pains) and benefits (pleasure of the consequence of his act).

3 COMPONENTS OF DETERENCE

 Celerity – speed with which a punishment is applied

 Certainty – concept of making a punishment sure to happen whenever a crime is
committed.
 Severity – amount of pain to be inflicted.

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 FORMS OF DETERRENCE

a. Specific Deterrence – applied to the individual who committed an offense. The

idea is to apply just enough pain to offset the amount of pleasure gained from
the offense.
b. General Deterrence – applies to other potential offenders by showing them that
a punished individual would not gain from his or her offense.

3. The more swift and certain the punishment, the more effective in deterring
criminal behaviour.
4. Punishment can deter people from committing crime.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE CLASSICAL THEORY

1. Unfair
2. Unjust
3. Punishment is not individualized
4. It considers only the injury caused and not the mental condition of the offender.

JEREMY BENTHAM
 A lawyer and father of Utilitarianism born on Feb. 15, 1748 in London
 The theory of Utilitarianism is a philosophy which states that a moral act is one which
produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
 He said that actions were right if they tend to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest
number of people.
 The whole point of the penal system was to make the pain of punishment worse than the
pleasure given by committing an offense.
 One of his project designed is the Panoptican prison a design which allows a watchman
to observe all inmates of an institution without being able to tell whether or not they are
being watched.
 Bentham’s Advocacies:
 Individual and economic freedom
 The separation of the church and state
 Freedom of expression
 Equal rights for women
 Right to divorce
 Decriminalizing of homosexual acts.
 Abolition of slavery and death penalty
 Abolition of physical punishment including children.

B. NEO-CLASSICAL SCHOOL
 this school accept the fact that crime is committed in accordance with the free will
of man BUT it should be modified since children and lunatics should not be
regarded as criminals and free from punishment.
 In classical school, human are totally responsible for their actions But in
NEOCLASSICAL “not always”.
 Free will can be mitigated by pathology, incompetence, mental disorder.

NEO-CLASSICAL SCHOOL MAINTAINS THE FOLLOWING:

1. People must be protected from actions that would kill them, take their liberty and violate
their privacy. They must never be arbitrarily arrested and must always be informed of the
reason for imprisonment.
2. Innocence must be presumed until proved guilty.

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3. People have a right to reasonable bail and trial by jury.
4. It accepts mitigating circumstances.
5. People are more often deterred from committing a crime when it is more certain that they
will be caught, rather than due to the severity of the punishment.
6. It has less of a punitive tone and seeks to rehabilitate people than to punish them.

C. POSITIVIST/ITALIAN SCHOOL
 The Italian School of criminology was founded by the POSITIVIST TRIO: Cesare
Lombroso and his 2 students, Enrico Ferri & Rafaele Garofalo.
 Cesare Lombroso is an Italian professor and criminologist born on Nov. 6, 1835 in
Verona who became popular for his studies and theories in the field of
CHARACTEROLOGY – the relation between mental and physical characteristics
of a person.
 Lombroso is considered today As Father of Modern Criminology.

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