Theories of Crime Causation
Theories of Crime Causation
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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.
- according to him criminal behavior may be predicted based on facial features of the person.
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.
- he developed cranioscopy
- 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.
Physiology or Somatotype
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asthenic – characterized as thin, small ectomorph – tall and thin and less social
and weak. and more intellectual than the other
athletic – muscular and strong. types.
pyknic – stout, round and fat. mesomorph – have well-developed
dysplastic – combination of two body muscles and an athletic appearance.
types endomorph – heavy builds and slow
moving.
frail
skinny,
gangly--Psych: introverts
cunning
stealth
Mesomorphic
large, strong,
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hard--Psych: active
dynamic
assertive
Forceful
Endomorphic
Fat
round--Psych: luxury
sloth
consumption
- 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 terms of 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.
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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.
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.
Sigmund Freud
- 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
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
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- he stated that crime is a normal part of the society just like birth and death.
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- includes social disorganization theory, strain theory and cultural deviance theory.
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- 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.
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
- according to this theory, individual’s behavior depends on how people around him react
toward s his behavior.
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- an act that is rewarded is repeated; an act that is punished will be avoided.
3. Neutralization 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”.
- it states that people become criminals when significant members of society label them as such
and they accept those labels as a personal identity.
- 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
- 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.
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.
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involvement – refers to the amount of time an individual spends on a conventional pursuit.
crime – refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of public law (Phil. Law Dictionary).
CRIME OF OMISSION – when the person failed to perform an act that is commanded by law
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Classification of Crimes
FELONY
OFFENSE
Violation of SPL
INFRACTION
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Violation of a city or municipal ordinance
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4. According to plurality:
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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.
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.
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Crimes mala in se – are acts that are inherently evil.
Crimes mala prohibita – are acts which are prohibited only because there are laws forbidding
such acts.
Acquisitive crime – if the offender acquired or gained something by committing the crime.
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Examples: robbery, estafa, bribery, etc.
Seasonal crimes – are crimes that happen only during a particular season or period of the year.
Situational crimes – are crimes committed when the situation is conducive to the commission of
the crime and there is an opportunity to commit it.
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Instant crimes – are those crimes that can be committed in a very short time.
Example: theft
Episodial crimes – are crimes committed through series of acts or episodes and in much longer
time.
Continuing crimes – are crimes that take place in more than one place or several places.
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Rational crimes – when the offender is capable of knowing what he is doing and understanding
the consequences of his actions.
Irrational Crimes – when the offender suffers from any form of mental disorders, insanity or
abnormality. Thus, the offender doesn’t know what he is doing.
White Collar Crimes – crimes committed by those persons belonging to the upper socio-
economic status or in the course of his occupational activities.
Blue Collar Crimes – are those crimes committed by ordinary criminals as a means of livelihood.
Classifications of criminals
1. According to etiology
b. Chronic criminal – is one who committed a crime with intent or deliberated thinking.
2. Normal criminal – a person who commits crimes because he looks up to, idolizes people who
are criminals.
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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
A .Professional criminal – a criminal who earns his living through criminal activities.
B .Situational criminal – a person who got involved in criminal act because the situation
presented itself.
c. Habitual criminal – one who repeatedly commits criminal act for different reasons.
d. Accidental criminal – a person who accidentally violated the law due to some
circumstances.
OTHER THEORISTS
1. Charles Darwin’s Theory (1809 - 1882) - In the theory of evolution, he claimed that humans,
like other animals, are parasite. Man is an organism having an animalistic behavior that is dependent on
other animals for survival. Thus, man kills and steal to live.
2. Charles Goring’s Theory (1870 - 1919) - The medical officer in prison in England who accepted
the Lombroso’s challenge that body physique is a determinant to behavior. Goring concluded that there
is no such thing a physical chemical type. He contradicted the Lombroso’s idea that criminality can be
seen through features alone. Nevertheless, Goring accepted that criminals are physically inferior to
normal individuals in the sense that criminals tend to be shorter and have less weight than non-
criminals.
3. Earnest Hooton’s Theory (1887 - 1954) - An Anthropologist who reexamined the work of
Goring and found out that “Tall thin men tend to commit forgery and fraud, undersized men are thieves
and burglars, short heavy person commit assault, rape and other sex crimes; where as mediocre
(average) physique flounder around among other crimes.” He also contended that criminals are
originally inferior; and that crime is the result of the impact of environment.
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4. Adolphe Quetelet (1796 - 1874) - Quetelet was a Belgian Statistician who pioneered
Cartography and the Carthographical School of Criminology that placed emphasis on social statistics. He
discovered, basing on his research, that crimes against persons increased during summer and crimes
against property tends to increase during winter.
INFORMATION
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