Review Notes in Introduction To Criminology & Psychology of Crimes
Review Notes in Introduction To Criminology & Psychology of Crimes
Review Notes in Introduction To Criminology & Psychology of Crimes
1. GENERALITY – Penal laws and those of public a. Material Crime – The 3 stages are present.
security and safety shall be obligatory upon all b. Formal Crime – No frustrated stage
who live or sojourn in Philippine territory, subject c. Crimes committed by mere attempts – E.g.
to the principles of public international law. Flight to Enemy’s Country, Abuses against
Chastity.
Exceptions:
a. Heads of State
b. Ambassadors ACCORDING TO THE MODE OF EXECUTION
c. Ministers plenipotentiary / Min. resident
d. Charge’s d Affairs 1. Intentional Felonies – Committed by means of
deceit.
NOTE: This is in adherence to the principle of
international law; and adherence to the principle 2. Culpable Felonies – Where the wrongful act
of reciprocity. result from imprudence (lack of foresight),
negligence (lack of skill).
2. TERRITORIALITY – Criminal laws undertake to
punish crimes committed within Philippine
ACCORDING TO GRAVITY
territory. Penal laws of the country have force
and effect only within its territory. It cannot
1. Grave Felonies – Those felonies which the law
penalize a crime committed outside the country.
imposes capital penalty and those with afflictive
penalties (Prision Mayor – Death).
Exception: Art. 2, RPC
2. Less Grave Felonies – those with correctional
penalties (1month 1 day – 6 years).
3. PROSPECTIVITY - A penal law cannot make an
3. Light Felonies – Those which the law imposes a
act punishable in a manner in which it was not
penalty of Arresto Menor (1 day to 1month) and/
punishable when committee.
or a fine of P200.00.
Exception: Whenever a new statute dealing with
the crime establishes conditions more lenient or Mala in se vs. Mala prohibita
favorable to the accused, it can be given a
retroactive effect. Crimes which are wrongful in nature are called mala
CLASSIFICATION OF FELONIES in se; mere violations of rules of convenience
designed to secure a more orderly regulation of the
ACCORDING TO STAGES IN THE COMMISSION affairs of the society are mala prohibita.
OF CRIME:
ANATOMY OF CRIME – For any crime to happen,
1. Attempted Stage – the offender commences there are three elements or ingredients that must be
the commission of the felony directly by overt present at the same time and same place. These are:
acts and does not perform all the acts of
execution because of some reasons other than 1. Instrumentality – is the means or implement
his own spontaneous desistance. use in the commission of the crime.
2. Frustrated Stage – when the offender has 2. Opportunity – The time and place conducive
performed all acts of execution which will for its commission.
produce the felony as a consequence but 3. Resistance to Temptation – The values of the
which nevertheless, do not produce the felony offender to refrain from committing an act.
by reason of causes independent of the will of
the perpetrator. FORMULA OF CRIME (By: Abrahamsen)
3. Consummated Stage – when all the elements
necessary for its execution and
Criminal Tendency + Opportunity
accomplishment are present.
CRIME=
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Resistance to Temptation
Average Monthly Crime Rate = [(Total Crime Organized Criminals – one who associates
Volume/12 months) x 100,000 with other criminals.
population]/population of region or country. Professional Criminal – one with high
degree of skill in committing crimes.
Crime Solution Efficiency = (Crime
Solved/Crime Volume) x 100%. 3. Based on Legal Classification
a.Recidivist under Article 14 (9) – The
offender at the time of his trial for one crime
j. Cyber Crimes/ Computer Crimes – shall have been previously convicted by final
judgment of another embraced in the same
Computer crime – Refers to any crime that title of the Revised Penal Code.
involves a computer and a network, where the
computers may or may not have played an b.Repetition or reiteracion under Article 14
instrumental part in the commission of the (10) – The offender has been previously
crime (Moore 2000). punished for an offense which the law
attaches an equal or greater penalty or for
Netcrime refers, more precisely, to criminal two or more crimes to which it attaches a
exploitation of the Internet. Issues surrounding lighter penalty.
this type of crime have become high-profile,
particularly those surrounding hacking, c.Habitual delinquent under Article 62 (5) –
copyright infringement, child porn, and child The offender within the period of 10 years
grooming. There are also problems of privacy from the date of his release or last conviction
when confidential information is lost or of the crimes of serious or less serious
intercepted, lawfully or otherwise. physical injuries, robo, hurto, estafa or
falsification, is found guilty of the any of said
crimes a third time or oftener.
Spam – Or the unsolicited sending of bulk
email for commercial purposes, is unlawful to
d.Quasi-recidivist under Article 160 – Any
varying degrees. As applied to email, specific
person who shall commit a felony after
anti-spam laws are relatively new, however
having been convicted by final judgment
limits on unsolicited electronic communications
before beginning to serve such sentence or
have existed in some forms for some time.
while serving such sentence shall be
punished by the maximum period prescribed
by law for the new felony.
a. Geographic Approach – It considers behavior that were not theological but with
climate as one of the factors that lead scientific study. The development of this is now
individuals to do a criminal act. known as the era of classical criminology.
b. Ecological Approach – It concerns itself
B. MODERN CRIMINOLOGY (19th Century) – This
with the biotic grouping of men thus, resulting
from migration competition and division of time criminology distinguished itself as a
labor. Migration is a conduct from one place subspecialty of the emerging disciplines of
to another which sometimes create conflict psychology, sociology and economics.
between the immigrant and the inhabitant of Criminologists conducted empirical tests of their
such place thus leading to social theories, rather than solely on speculation.
discrimination.
c. Economic Approach – Financial hardship is
C. INDEPENDENT CRIMINOLOGY (20th century) –
one of the primary causes of criminality,
therefore, it is necessary for every human Criminology begin to assert its independence
being to contemplate or consider with deep from traditional disciplines that spawned it.
regret and compassion the strong temptation Criminological theories have become more multi-
which has frequently prevailed for so many disciplinary because independent criminologists
years from want of the necessities to support seek to understand crime itself rather than study
life. crime as one aspect of an overall sociological or
d. Sociological & Cultural Approach – It is
psychological theory.
concerned with the influences on behaviour
of group life, including rules and statutes,
social classes and social mobility, subculture,
cliques and social changes.
A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY (18TH CENTURY) –
It was not until in 18th century when authors
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY. began to condemn the frequent use of torture
and the widespread imposition of capital
The issues of crime and punishment have punishment and other brutal and degrading
aroused interest and discussion since ancient times. sanctions.
Scriptures dating from the 10th century BC prohibit
certain acts and provide consequences for those who It asserts that human beings are endowed with
absolute free will to choose right from wrong.
disobey these rules. In the 5th century BC Greek
Human beings are fundamentally rational, and
historian Thucydides wrote about the usefulness of most human behaviour is the result of free will
the death penalty. With the development of coupled with rational choice.
Christianity in the 1st century AD, questions of crime
and punishment were almost always discussed in Cause of Crime: Crime is the result of a rational
religious terms. decision based on a calculation of costs and
benefits.
Demonological Theory - It maintains that criminal
behaviour was believed to be the results of evil Rational Choice Theory – Argues that criminals,
spirits and demons something of natural force and like other people, weigh costs/ risks and benefits
controls behaviour. when deciding whether or not to commit crime
and think in economic terms.
Implication for Criminals: Brutal corporal
punishments designed to placate the gods, cleanse Implication to Criminals: Swift, certain, severe
the community, and identify individuals as deviant. punishment within the framework of a rational
legal system will deter criminal behaviour.
a. The born or instinctive criminal; theories, which had begun in the era of modern
b. Insane criminal; criminology. Large-scale surveys of victims and self-
c. Passionate criminal/ innate criminal; report surveys of criminals provided data on crime
and criminals independent of police and correctional
d. Involuntary criminal;
records. In keeping with the new multidisciplinary
e. Occasional criminal; nature of criminology, public and private funding
f. Habitual criminal. encouraged the formation of multidisciplinary groups
of researchers to engage in data collections.
3. Raffaele Garofalo – Italian lawyer whose major
contribution is the concept of natural crime.
According to him, natural or true crime is the
conduct that is against the average moral sense
of the community. The true criminal is one who
BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
lacks the basic altruistic sentiments of pity and
honesty. He acknowledged certain forms of
criminal behavior might be encouraged by social
and environmental factors. Charles Buckman Goring – A British criminologist
who recorded the facial and other measurements of
several thousand criminals and non-criminals. In his
book “ The English Convict” (1913), he concluded
THE CHICAGO SCHOOL – It arose in the early 20th
that Lombroso’s findings had no adequate scientific
century with the works of urban sociologists at the
support and that the statistical evidence disproved
University of Chicago. They adopted a social
the existence of a biological criminal type.
ecology approach to studying cities, and postulated
that urban neighborhoods with high levels of poverty Two Types of Biological/ Biosocial Theories:
often experience breakdown in the social structure
and institutions such as family and schools. a. Genetic Factors – The traits transmitted from
parents to offspring.
Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess (1920s) – b. Neurological Abnormalities – Irregularities in
Identified five concentric zones that often exist as neurological development that might undermine
cities grow, including the “zone in transition” which certain self-controls hat inhibit criminality. It may
was identified as most volatile and subject to occur in the structure of the brain or in the
disorder. classical composition of the brain.
Jean Piaget - A Swiss psychologist proposed that process by which an individual progresses from basic
children evolve through 4stages of cognitive needs such as food and sex to the highest needs of
development which is also the moral development. what he called self-actualization—the fulfillment of
one's greatest human potential
a. From birth to age 2 – experience the world only
through their senses & motor abilities; Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
b. Between 2-7 – At this age, children are
egocentric, that is, they believe that others Self-Actualization
experience the same reality that they do; Self-Esteem
c. From 7 to adolescence – The child learns to think Need of Love & Belongingness
logically and to organize and classify objects; Safety Needs
d. From adolescence – The child develops the Physiological Needs
ability to think logically about the future and to
understand theoretical concepts.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME
a. a motivated offender;
b. suitable target or victim; a. Pyknic (stout) – They tend to commit
c. lack of capable guardian. deception , fraud, etc.;
b. Athletic (muscular) – They are usually
connected with crimes involving violence;
c. Asthenic (slender) – Their crimes usually
involve properties like theft.
1. Johann Kaspar Lavater – “Physiognomy “ – 2. David Abrahamsen – In his book “Crime and
A theory based upon the idea that the the Human Mind” (1945), explained the causes of
assessment of the person’s outer appearance, crime by this formula (CB = CT + S / PMRT).
primarily the face, may give insights into one’s
character or personality. 3. Sir Cyrill Burt – In his book “Young Delinquent”
(1925) discussed the theory of general
2. Franz Joseph Gall (1810) – “Phrenology” – emotionality. He posits that crime can be traced
A theory which claims to be able to determine to either in excess or a deficiency of a particular
character, personality traits and criminality on instinct account for the tendency of many
the basis of the shape of the head. criminals to be weak willed or easily led.