Introduction to Criminology

and Psychology of Crimes

 What is 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.

❑ In narrower sense, criminology refers to the study of crimes and

criminals.
❑ Criminologist (R.A. 6506) 4

⮚ A person who is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Criminology, who

has passed the examination for criminologist and is registered as such by
the Board of Examiners of the PRC.
► Origin of the word “Criminology” 5
Etymologically, the term criminology came
from the Latin word “crimen” meaning crime and
Greek word “Logos” which means “to study”.
In 1885, Rafael Garofalo, an Italian Law
Professor coined the term Criminologia
In 1889, Paul Topinard, French
Anthropologist, used the term criminology in French
Criminologie for the first time
 Principal Divisions of Criminology 6
1. Etiology of Crimes – the scientific analysis of the causation of crimes and
the criminal behavior
2. Sociology of Law – refers to the investigation of the nature of criminal law
and its administration
3. Penology – the study of the control of crimes and the rehabilitation of
offender
 . . . .is criminology a science? 7
► According to George Wilker:
⮚ Criminology cannot become a science because it has not yet aqcuired
universal validity.
► According to Edwin H. Sutherland:
⮚ Hoped that it will become a science in the future since the causes of crimes are
almost the same which may be biological, environmental or combination of the
two.
Nature of Criminology

1. It is applied science. (instrumentation)

2. It is a social science. (crime exists in a society)
3. It is dynamic. (continuously improving)
4. It is nationalistic. ( through the adoption of
existing penal laws in a specific country or
territory)
 Scope in the Study of Criminology

1. Study of the origin and development of criminal law

2. Study of the causes of crimes and development of criminals
3. Study of the other sciences that examine criminal behavior using
scientific methods such as:

• criminal demography – the study of the relationship

between criminality and population
►criminal epidiomology – the study of the
relationship between environment and criminality
►criminal ecology – the study of criminality in
relation to the spatial distribution in a community
►*criminal physical anthropology – the study of
criminality in relation to physical constitution of
men
►criminal psychology – the study of human
behavior in relation to criminality
►criminal psychiatry – the study of human mind
in relation to criminality
►victimology – the study of the role of the victim
in the commission of a crime
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN
CRIMINOLOGY

► School of Thought – refers to a group of beliefs or ideas that support

a specific theory.
► Theory – set of statements devised to explain behavior, events or
phenomenon, especially one that has been repeatedly tested and
widely accepted.
DEMONOLOGICAL THEORY
- asserts that a person commits
wrongful acts due to the fact that he
was possessed by demons.
CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF
CRIMINOLOGY
► this school of thought is based on the
assumption that individuals choose to commit
crimes after weighing the consequences of
their actions.
► according to classical criminologists,
individuals have free will.
► founders of classical school of criminology
are Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham.
► Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana Marchese di Beccaria) (1738-
1794)
- best known for his essay, “On Crimes and Punishment” which
presented key ideas on the abolition of torture as legitimate means of
extracting confession.
- Beccaria argued that the effectiveness of criminal justice depended
more on the certainty of punishment than on its severity.
► his book contains almost all modern penal reforms but its greatest
contribution was the foundation it laid for subsequent changes in
criminal legislation
► his book was influential in the reforms of penal code in France,
Russia, Prussia and it influenced the first ten amendments to the US
Constitution
► Beccaria believed that:
⮚ people want to achieved pleasure and pain.
16
⮚ Crime provides some pleasure to the criminal.
⮚ To deter crime, he believed that one must administer pain in an appropriate
amount to counterbalance the pleasure obtain from crime.
⮚ Famous in sayings “ Let the punishment fit the crime”
 HIGHLIGHTS OF CESARE BECCARIA’S
IDEAS REGARDING CRIMES AND THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

1. In forming a human society, men and women sacrifice a

portion of their liberty so as to enjoy peace and security.
2. Punishments that go beyond the need of preserving the
public safety are in their nature unjust.
3. Criminal laws must be clear and certain. Judges must
make uniform judgments in similar crimes.
4. The law must specify the degree of evidence that will
justify the detention of an accused offender prior to his
trial.
5. Accusations must be public. False accusations should be
severely punished.
6. To torture accused offenders to obtain a confession is
inadmissible.
7. The promptitude of punishment is one of the most effective
curbs on crime.
8. 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…
9. Capital punishment is inefficacious and its place should be
substituted life imprisonment.
10. It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. That is the
chief purpose of all good legislation.
► Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
- his contribution to classical school of criminology is the concept of
utilitarianism and the felicific calculus.
- proposed “Utilitarian Hedonism” which explains that person always
acts in such a way to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
► Utilitarianism – is a philosophy which argues that what is right is
the one that would cause the greatest good for the greatest number of
people.
► others refer to it as the greatest happiness principle or the principle
of utility.
► from this principle, Bentham formulated the “felicific calculus”.
► Felicific Calculus or the pleasure-and-pain principle – is a theory
that proposes that individuals calculate the consequences of his
actions by weighing the pleasure (gain) and the pain (suffering) he
would derive from doing the action.
NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY

This theory modified the doctrine of free

will by stating that free will of men may be
affected by other factors and crime is committed
due to some compelling reasons that prevail.
These causes are pathology, incompetence,
insanity or any condition that will make it
impossible for the individual to exercise free will
entirely. In the study of legal provisions, this is
termed as either mitigating or exempting
circumstances.
POSITIVIST SCHOOL OF
CRIMINOLOGY
► The term “positivism”, refers to a method of
analysis based on the collection of observable
scientific facts.
► Positivists believes that causes of behavior can
be measured and observed.
►It demand for facts and scientific proof, thus,
changing the study of crimes and criminals into
scientific approach.
 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 Comte
– was a French philosopher and sociologist and is believed to be the
one who reinvented the French term sociologie.
- he was recognized as the “Father of Sociology and Positivism”.
 THE (UN) HOLY THREE (3) OF CRIMINOLOGY

1. Cesare Lombroso
2. Enricco Ferri
3. Raffaelle Garofalo
► Cesare Lombroso

- recognized as the “Father of Modern and

Empirical Criminology”.
- known for the concept of atavistic stigmata
(the physical features of creatures at an earlier
stage of development).
- he claimed that criminals are distinguishable
from non-criminals due to the presence of
atavistic stigmata and crimes committed by those
who are born with certain recognizable heredity
traits.
 Visible “Stigmata”

• Asymmetrical
face
• Large monkey-
like ears
• Large lips
• Receding chin
• Twisted nose
• Long arms
• Skin wrinkles

These photos were an early French

police guide to identify particular
types of criminals.
3 Classification of Criminals
►born criminals – individuals with at least five (5)
atavistic stigmata
►insane criminals – those who became criminals
because of some brain defect which affected their
ability to understand and differentiate what is
right from what is wrong.
►criminaloids - those with make up of an
ambiguous group that includes habitual
criminals, criminals by passion and other diverse
types
► Enricco Ferri
- he focused his study on the influences of psychological factors and
sociological factors such as economics, on crimes.

- He believed that criminals could not be held

morally responsible because they did not
choose to commit crimes, but rather were
driven to commit crimes by conditions in their
lives.
► Raffaelle Garofallo

- He treated the roots of the criminals’

behavior not to physical features but to their
psychology equivalent, which he referred to
as moral anomalies.
- He rejected the doctrine of freewill.
- Classified criminals as Murderers, Violent
Criminals, Deficient Criminals, and
Lascivious Criminals.
THEORIES OF
CRIME
CAUSATION
BIOLOGICAL THEORIES
► this refers to the set of theories that point to physical, physiological
and other natural factors as the causes for the commission of crimes
of certain individuals.
► This explanation for the existence of criminal traits associates an
individual’s evil disposition to physical disfigurement or impairment.
► Physiognomy – the study of facial features and their relation to
human behavior.
1. Giambiatista dela Porta
- founder of human physiognomy
- according to him criminal behavior may be
predicted based on facial features of the person.
2. Johann Kaspar Lavater
- supported the belief of dela Porta
- he believed that a person’s character is revealed
through his facial characteristics.
► Phrenology, Craniology or Cranioscopy – the
study of the external formation of the skull in
relation to the person’s personality and tendencies
toward criminal behavior.
1. Franz Joseph Gall
- he developed cranioscopy
2. Johann Kaspar Spurzheim
- assistant of Gall in the study of
phrenology.
- he was the man most responsible for popularizing and spreading
phrenology to a wide audience
► Physiology or Somatotype – refers to the study of body built of a
person in relation to his temperament and personality and the type of
offense he is most prone to commit.

1. Ernst Kretschmer
- formulated his own body types: asthenic,
athletic, pyknik and dysplastic.
2. William Herbert Sheldon
- his body types include: ectomorph,
mesomorph and endomorph.
Physiology or Somatotype

According to Kretschmer According to Sheldon

► asthenic – characterized as thin, ► ectomorph – tall and thin and less

small and weak. social and more intellectual than the
other types.
► athletic – muscular and strong.
► mesomorph – have well-developed
► pyknic – stout, round and fat.
muscles and an athletic appearance.
► dysplastic – combination of two
► endomorph – heavy builds and slow
body types
moving.
Mesomorphic body build

large, strong, hard--Psych: active,

dynamic, assertive, forceful.
Endomorphic Body Type

fat, round--Psych: luxury, sloth,

consumption.
 Ectomorphic Body Type

frail, skinny, gangly--Psych: introverts,

cunning, stealth
► Heredity – the transmission of traits from parents to offspring.
1. Richard Louis Dugdale
- conducted a study of the Jukes family by
researching their family tree as far back 200 years. He
discovered that most of the ascendants of the Jukes were
criminals.
2. Henry Goddard
- he traced the descendants of the Martin
Kallikak from each of his two wives and found a
distinct difference in termsof quality of lives of
descendants. He coined the term “moron”.
3. Charles Goring
- he believed that criminal traits can be passed from parents
to offspring through the genes.
- he proposed that individuals who possess criminal
characteristics should be prohibited from having children.
INTELLIGENCE AS A FACTOR IN
CRIMINALITY
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.
ALFRED BINET – a French psychologist who developed the first IQ
test.

- the test measured the capacity of individual children to perform

tasks or solve problems in relation to the average capacity of their
peers.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES
► refers to the theories that attribute criminal
behavior of individuals to psychological factors,
such as emotion and mental problems.
► psychologists have considered a variety of
possibilities, defective conscience, emotional
immaturity, inadequate childhood socialization,
maternal deprivation and poor moral
development.
► Sigmund Freud
- known for his psychoanalytic theory*
- according to him, criminality is caused by the imbalance of the three
(3) components of personality: the id, the ego, and the superego.
ID – follows the pleasure principle
EGO – reality principle
SUPEREGO - the conscience
❑ Sigmund Freud – suggested that criminality may result from an
overactive conscience that results in excessive guilt feelings.
❑ a defect in the character formation of delinquents drives them to
satisfy their desires at once, regardless of the consequences.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
► sociological factors refer to things, places and people with whom we
come in contact with and which play a part in determining our actions
and conduct. These causes may bring about the development of
criminal behavior.
► Emile Durkheim
- he stated that crime is a normal part of the
societyjust like birth and death.
- proposed the concept of “anomie” or the
absence of social norms. It is characterized by
disorder due to lack of common values shared
by individuals, lack of respect for authority
and lack of appreciation for what is acceptable
and not acceptable in a society.
► Gabriel Tarde
- introduced the theory of imitation which proposes the process by
which people become criminals.
- according to this theory, individuals imitate the behavior of other
individuals based on the degree of their association with other
individuals and it is inferior or weak who tend to imitate the superior
and strong.
► Adolphe Quetelet and Andre Michael Guerry

- founder of cartographic school of

criminology.
- founder of moral statistics.
- cartographic school of criminology made use
of statistical data such as population, age,
gender, occupation, religious affiliations and
social economic status and studies their
influences and relationship to criminality.
MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
OF CRIME CAUSATION

► environmental factors such as the kind of rearing or family

upbringing, quality of teaching in school, influences of peers and
friends, conditions of the neighborhood, and economic and other
societal factors are believed to be contributory to crime and criminal
behavior.
► SOCIAL STRUCTURE THEORIES
- refers not only to the physical features of the
communities but also to the way society is organized.
- include such things as level of poverty and
unemployment and the amount of crowded housing which
are believed to affect behavior and attitudes of individuals
which in turn contribute to their commission of crimes.
- also called social environment
- includes social disorganization theory, strain theory and
cultural deviance theory.
1. Social Disorganization Theory
- popularized by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay.
- according to this theory, crimes in urban areas are more
prevalent because residents have impersonal
relationships with each other.
- increase in the number of broken families and single
parenthood are also very common in disorganized
communities.
- another feature of disorganized community is poverty
as evidenced by poor living conditions such as rundown
houses, unsanitary and unsighty streets and high
unemployment rates.
This theory focuses on the development of high-crime areas
associated with the disintegration of conventional values caused by
rapid industrialization, increased migration, and urbanization.
2. Strain Theory*
- strain refers the individual’s frustration, anger
and resentment.
- holds that crime is a function of the conflict
between the goals people have and the means they
can use to legally obtain them. This also 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.
3. Cultural Deviance Theory

- gives emphasis on the concept of culture and

sub-culture.
- according to this theory, because people in
the lower class feel isolated due to extreme
deprivation or poverty, they tend to create a
sub-culture with its own set of rules and
values. This is characterized by deviant
behavior which result in criminal behavior
among its members.
► SOCIAL PROCESS THEORY
- refers to a group of theories which point to the
individual’s socialization process as the cause for
the commission of crimes. These theories cite
interaction with people and experiences and
exposure to different element in the environment
as primary factors to criminality.
- under this theory is the social learning theory
which in turn has three (3) sub-theories:
differential association theory, differential
reinforcement theory and neutralization theory.
1. *Differential Association Theory
- formulated by Edwin Sutherland
- this theory states that criminal behavior is learned through
socialization.
- criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a
process of communication.
* LEARNING
2. Differential Reinforcement Theory
- according to this theory, individual’s behavior depends on how
people around him react toward s his behavior.
- an act that is rewarded is repeated; an act that is punished will be
avoided.
3. Neutralization Theory
- introduced by David Matza and Gresham Sykes.
- sometimes referred to as “drift theory”
- according to this theory, people know when they are doing
something wrong, however, they rationalize and justify their actions.
This rationalizing is what we called “neutralization”.
► SOCIAL REACTION THEORY*
- more commonly called labeling theory.
- it states that people become criminals when significant members of
society label them as such and they accept those labels as a personal
identity.
► SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES
- maintain that everyone has the potential to
become criminal but most people are controlled
by their bonds to society.
- social control refers to the agencies of social
control such as family, school, religion or church,
government and laws and other identified
authorities in society.
- there are two (2) sub-theories: containment
theory and social bond theory.
1. Containment Theory

- proposed by Walter Reckless

- he stated that inner and outer containments
help prevent juvenile offending.
- containment means the forces within and
outside the individual that has the power to
influence his actions.
- inner containments include positive self-
concept, tolerance for frustration and an ability
to set realistic goals.
- outer containments include family.
2. Social Bond Theory*
- propagated by Travis Hirschi
- this theory views crime as a result of individuals with weakened
bonds to social institutions.
- according to this theory, there are four (4) elements of social bonds:
attachment, commitment, involvement and belief.
► attachment – refers to the degree to which an
individual care about the opinions of others.
► commitment – refers to an individual’s
investment of enrgy and emotion in
conventional pursuits, such as getting good
grades.
► involvement – refers to the amount of time
an individual spends on a conventional
pursuit.
► belief – refers to acceptance of the norms of
conventional society.
CRIMES AND CRIMINALS

► crime – 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).
CRIME OF COMMISSION – when the act performed is in violation
of a law forbidding it

CRIME OF OMISSION – when the person failed to perform an act

that is commanded by law
 DESIRE CAPABILITY

CRIME

OPPORTUNITY

TRIANGLE OF CRIME/ELEMENTS OF CRIME

CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

LEGAL CLASSIFICATIONS:
1. According to law violated

(Violation of the (Violation (Violation of a city

RPC) of SPL’s) or municipal
ordinance)
2. According to the manner of committing crime:

(Intentional
(Culpable Felonies)
felonies)
3. According to the stage in the commission:
► Attempted – the crime is attempted when the offender
commences the commission of a felony directly by overt
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 offender performs all the acts of
execution which would produce the 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 – is a single act constituting
two or more grave or less grave felonies, or when
the offense is a necessary means for committing
the other.

2 KINDS OF COMPLEX CRIME:

1. compound crime (delito compuesto)
2. complex crime proper (delito
complejo)
5. According to gravity:
►Grave felonies - are those to which the law
attaches the capital punishment or penalties
which in any of their period are afflictive.
►Less grave felonies - are those which the law
punishes with penalties 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 ► Crimes mala prohibita – are acts
are inherently evil. which are prohibited only because
there are laws forbidding such
acts.
Examples: Murder, Robbery, etc.

Examples: Illegal Possession of F/A,

Traffic Violations, etc.
❑ CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS
OF CRIME:

1. According to the result of the crime:

► Acquisitive crime – if the ► Destructive crime – if the crime
offender acquired or gained resulted in destruction, damage or
something by committing the even death.
crime.

Examples: arson, murder and

Examples: robbery, estafa, bribery, etc. homicide, damage to property, etc.
2. According to the time or period of commission:
► Seasonal crimes – are crimes that ► Situational crimes – are crimes
happen only during a particular committed when the situation is
season or period of the year. conducive to the commission of
the crime and there is an
opportunity to commit it.
Examples: violation of election law,
Examples: pickpocketing, theft, etc.
tax law violations, etc.
3. According to the length of time of the commission:
► Instant crimes – are those crimes ► Episoidal crimes – are crimes
that can be committed in a very committed through series of acts or
short time. episodes and in much longer time.

Example: theft Example: serious illegal detention

4. According to place or location:
► Static crimes – are committed ► Continuing crimes – are crimes
only in one place. that take place in more than one
place or several places.
► examples: abduction, kidnapping,
► examples are theft and robbery
etc.
5. According to the use of mental faculties:
► Rational crimes – when the ► Irrational Crimes – when the
offender is capable of knowing offender suffers from any form of
what he is doing and mental disorders, insanity or
understanding the consequences of abnormality. Thus, the offender
his actions. doesn’t know what he is doing.
6. According to the type of offender:
► White Collar Crimes – crimes ► Blue Collar Crimes – are those
committed by those persons crimes committed by ordinary
belonging to the upper socio- criminals as a means of livelihood.
economic status or in the course of
his occupational activities.
 CLASSIFICATIONS 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 crimes 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 ad 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.
CRIME STATISTICS
► refers to the measure of the level or amount of
crimes.

►compilation of data pertaining to crimes

►the measure of the level or amount of crimes

► it uses the terms index crimes and non-index
crimes in classifying crimes.
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
⭶ crimes that are not classified as index crimes

- all other crimes not enumerated as index crimes

STATISTICAL FORMULA:
1. Crime Solution Efficiency (CSE) – percentage
of solved cases out of the total number of reported
crime incidents handled by the police for a given
period of time. It is a general measure of law
enforcement agency’s investigative capability or
efficiency.
2. Crime Rate – the number of incidents in a given
period of time for every 100, 000 inhabitants of
an area/place.
EXAMPLE:

If the population in municipality A is 195, 000 and the crime

volume is 2, 540, what is the crime rate?
a. 1230.6 c. 1465.2
b. 1302.6 d. 1203.5
3. Average Monthly Crime Rate (AMCR) – the average number of
crime incidents occurred per month for every 100, 000 inhabitants in
a certain area.
4. Variance (or % change) – one way of analyzing crime trends. It
measures the percentage change over a given period of time.
Ex. Murder cases numbered 180 in 2010 and 220 in 2011. What was the
percent increase?

a. + 22.2% c. + 20.2%
b. + 22.0% d. + 20.1%
5. Crime Analysis
a. Percentage Share of Crime Volume of a Certain Area
Ex. If Metro Manila accounts for 26% of the national total
crime volume of 84, 875, how many crimes were reported
to the police?
a. 20, 250 c. 32, 644
b. 22, 068 d. 22, 858
b. Percentage Share of the Occurrence of a Type of Crime
Study of Criminal Law

EVOLUTION OF CRIMINAL LAWS

A) PREHISTORIC CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Primitive Tribes
- punishment may be in the form of ostracism and expulsion
- adultery may be punished by the aggrieved husband who
may kill the adulterer and his own offending wife
- crime may be avenged by the victim himself or by the
victim’s family
►
 B) THE EARLY CODES
1)CODE OF HAMMURABI
- Hammurabi, the king of Babylon during the
eighteenth century BC, is recognized as the first
codifier of laws
- it provides the first comprehensive view of the laws
in the early days.
- the Code was carved in stone.
- the “law of talion”, or the principle of “tit for tat”,(an
eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth) appears
throughout the Code
- under the principle of the law of talion, the
punishment should be the same as the harm
inflicted on the victim
2) THE HITTITES
⭶ the Hittites existed about two centuries after Hammurabi and
eventually conquered Babylon.
⭶ capital punishment was used for many offenses, except for homicide or
robbery
3) CODE OF DRAKON
- knows as the “ultimate in severity”
- codified by Drakon, the Athenian lawgiver of the
seventh century BC
- death was the punishment for almost every offense
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
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
► CRIMINAL LAW
- that branch of public law which defines crimes treats of their nature
and provides for their punishment.
► Revised Penal Code or Act No. 3815 – book that contains the
Philippine Criminal Law and different special laws and decrees which
are penal in nature
► Revised Penal Code (RPC) 11
5
It is called as RPC because the old penal code which
took effect in the country on July 14, 1887 and was in force
until Dec. 31, 1931 was revised by the Committee created by
Administrative Order No. 94 of the Department of Justice,
dated Oct. 18, 1927, composed of Anacleto Diaz as Chairman,
Alex Reyes and Mariano de Joya as members.

The RPC was approved on Dec. 8, 1930 and took

effect on January 1, 1932.
► Principal Parts of the RPC 11
It is composed of two books, book one which is 6
composed of article 1-113 and book two covering article 114-
367.

⮚ Articles 1-20 – principles affecting criminal liability

⮚ Articles 21-113 – penalties including criminal and civil

liability

⮚ Articles 114-367 – felonies with corresponding penalties

grouped into 14 titles.
► Characteristics of the RPC 11
1. Generality – the law is applicable to all persons within the territory 7
irrespective of sex, race, nationality or civil status except:

a. Heads of state
b. Foreign diplomats, ambassadors, who are
duly accredited to our country
c. Foreign troops permitted to march within
the territory
 11
2. Territoriality - the RPC is applicable to felonies committed
within the Philippine territorial jurisdiction. 8
❑ Philippine archipelago – all the islands that comprise
the Philippines
❑ Interior water – all bodies of water that connect all
the islands such as bays, rivers and streams
❑ Maritime zone – the twelve (12) Nautical Mile limit
beyond our shore measured at low tide
3. Prospectivity - the provisions of the RPC cannot be applied if the act
is not yet punishable on the time the felony was committed. However,
it may have a retroactive effect if it is favorable to the accused who is
not a habitual delinquent.
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.
IMPORTANT TERMS TO
REMEMBER
PSYCHOPATHY OR ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY
- personality that is characterized by an inability to learn from
experience, lack of warmth and no sense of guilt.
- referred to as “manie sans delire” or madness without confusion by
the French physician Philippe Pinel
- “moral insanity” by James Prichard
- “irresistible atavistic impulses” by Gina Lombroso-Ferrero
HYPOGLYCEMIA
– a condition that occurs when the level of blood sugar
falls below an acceptable range.

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG)
- a tracing made by an instrument that measures the
cerebral functioning by recording brain wave activity with
electrodes that are placed on the scalp.
ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH (EEG)
- A device that can record the electronic impulses given
off by the brain, commonly called brain waves.
AGING OUT PHENOMEMNON
- The process by which individuals reduce the frequency of their
offending behavior as they age. It is also known as spontaneous
remission, because people are believed to spontaneously reduce the
rate of their criminal behavior as they mature. Aging out is thought to
occur among all groups of offenders.
ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)
- A psychological disorder in which a child shows developmentally
inappropriate impulsivity, hyperactivity, and lack of attention.
CHIVALRY HYPOTHESIS
- The idea that low female crime and delinquency rates are a
reflection of the leniency with which police treat female offenders.
Electra complex
- A stage of development when girls begin to have sexual feelings for
their fathers.
JUST DESERT
- The philosophy of justice that asserts that those who violate the
rights of others deserve to be punished. The severity of punishment
should be commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.
SERIAL MURDER
- The killing of a large number of people over time by an offender
who seeks to escape detection.

MASS MURDER
- The killing of a large number of people in a single incident by an
offender who typically does not seek concealment or escape.