Introduction to

Criminology
JERISSA B. ALANO, RCrim
CRIMINOLOGY: Its origin, nature
and scope of the study
ORIGIN OF THE WORD “CRIMINOLOGY”
It came from the Latin word Crimen which
literally means accusation and Logia
means to study, is the scientific study of
the nature, extent, causes, and control of
criminal behavior in both the individual
and in society.
ORIGIN OF THE WORD “CRIMINOLOGY”
The term criminology was coined in 1885
by Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo
as criminologia. Around the same time,
but later, French anthropologist Paul
Topinard used the analogous French term
criminologie.
 WHAT IS CRIMINOLOGY?
• According to EDWIN SUTHERLAND
“Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a
social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the process of
making laws (Sociology of Law), of breaking laws (Criminal
Etiology) and the reaction toward the breaking of the laws
(Penology).”

According to REPUBLIC ACT 11131

CRIMINOLOGY – refers to the scientific study of crimes,
criminals, and victims, it also deals with the prevention,
and solution of crimes.
 NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY – “SAND”

1. Criminology is a
SOCIAL SCIENCE – Since
crime is a social
phenomenon, it is but
basic to note that study
of crimes requires that
study of the human
society thus,
criminology is a social
science.
 NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY – “SAND”

2. Criminology is an APPLIED
SCIENCE – Study of crimes does
not end with pure intellectual
discovery it requires the
application of the various fields
of study in order to help in
policy making towards the
creation of more responsive
programs for crime prevention
as well as in the solution of
crimes in our society.
 NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY – “SAND”

3. Criminology is NATIONALISTIC
– Crimes are defined by laws
and in other countries by
common laws. In the Philippines
crimes are defined according to
our law such as the criminal
law. Laws in different countries
may varies depending on their
culture, belief, religion and
others, as such crimes in
different countries may also
varies.
 NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY – “SAND”

4. Criminology is Dynamic - As
societal condition changes so
with crimes. Modern technology
has brought a lot of changes in
the way people live. This
innovation has also brought
changes in our laws thus, the
concept of what crimes are also
changed.
PRINCIPAL DIVISION OF CRIMINOLOGY
or BRANCHES OF CRIMINOLOGY
 CRIMINAL ETIOLOGY – is the study of the cause or
origin of crime. It study the primary reasons for
crime commission.

 SOCIOLOGY OF LAW – attempt at scientific analysis

of the condition which the penal/criminal laws has
developed as a process of formal or social control.

 PENOLOGY – branch of criminology which focus on

the prevention of crime and delinquency as a form of
social reaction to criminality.
Other fields of studies related to
criminology:
a. CRIMINAL DEMOGRAPHY – the study of the
relationship between criminality and population
b. CRIMINAL EPIDEMIOLOGY – the study of the
relationship between environment and
criminality.
c. CRIMINAL ECOLOGY – the study of criminality in
relation to the spatial distribution in a
community.
d. CRIMINAL ANTHROPOLOGY – the study of
criminality in relation to physical constitution of
Other fields of studies related to
criminology:
e. CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY – the study
of human behavior in relation to
criminality
f. CRIMINAL PSYCHIATRY – the study of
human mind in relation to criminality
g. VICTIMOLOGY – the study of the role
of the victim in the commission of a
crime.
OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN
CRIMINOLOGY
 CRIME
- It is an act committed or omitted in
violation of public law forbidding or
commanding it.
- It is an act or omission punishable by
law.
ELEMENTS OF CRIME
 MOTIVE
- It is the desire or reason why the
perpetrator wants to commit the
crime.

- It is the will that pushes him to do

something that is against the law.
 INSTRUMENTALITY
- It is the means or ways of the
perpetrator in committing the
crime.

- These may be objects that aid the

perpetrator for the successful
commission of an offense.
 OPPORTUNITY
- It is the chance given,
unconsciously, by the victim to the
perpetrator to commit the crime.
- These are acts done by the victim
or situations occurred, that attracts
the perpetrator and gives the
chance of victimizing the victim.
Acts or Law
Omission Violated

Criminal Law CRIME

Special Penal
City/Municipal/
Laws
Provincial
Ordinances
Revised Penal
OFFENSE Code

INFRACTION
FELONY
 CRIMINOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION OF CRIME
1.) As to the result:
a. Acquisitive crime – when the offender
acquires something as a consequence
of his criminal act.

b. Extinctive crime – when the end result

of a criminal act is destructive.
2.) As to the time or period of
commission:
a. Seasonal crime – those committed only
during a certain period of the year like
violation of tax law.

b. Situational crime – those committed only

when given the situation conducive to its
commission.
3.) As to the length of time of
commission:
a. Instant crime – those committed in the
shortest possible time.

b. Episodic crime – those committed by a

series of acts in a lengthy space of time.
4.) As to the place of
commission :
a. Static Crimes – crimes that are
committed only in one place.

b. Continuing Crimes – crimes that are

committed in several places
5.) As to the use of mental
faculty:
a. Rational crime – those committed with
intent and offenders are in full possession of
their sanity.

b. Irrational crime – those committed by

persons who do not know the nature and
quality of their act on account of the disease of
their mind.
6.) As to the type of offenders:

a. White collar crime – those committed by

persons of respectability and upper socio-
economic class in the course of their
occupation activities.

b. Blue collar crime – those committed by

ordinary professional criminals to maintain
their livelihood.
7.) As to the standard of living of the
criminals:

a. Crime of the upper world – those

committed with a high degree of skill.

b. Crime of the underworld – those

committed through limited ability.
 OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIMES
a. Crimes by Imitation - crimes committed
by merely duplicating those done by others.
b. Crimes by Passion – crimes committed
because of the fit of great emotion.
c. Service Crimes – crimes committed by
rendering service to satisfy the desire of
another.
d. Traditional Crime- committed every now
and then
 OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIMES
e. Crimes Due to Social Change- poverty crimes.
ex. Prostitution
f. Emergency Crime- committed to take
advantage of an abnormal situation
g. Victimless Crime- act committed by consenting
persons in private, there is no intended victim.
h. Index Crime - pertain to crimes against person
and property.
i. Non-Index Crime - on the other hand, are
violations of special laws such as illegal logging
or local ordinances.
Total Crime Volume = Index + Non-
index
Crimes.
Average Monthly Crime Rate = [(Total
Crime Volume/12 months) x 100,000
population]/population of region or
country.
Crime Solution Efficiency = (Crime
Solved/Crime Volume) x 100%.
 Cyber Crimes/ Computer Crimes
Computer crime – Refers to any crime that
involves a computer and a network, where
the computers may or may not have played
an instrumental part in the commission of
the crime
Netcrime refers, more precisely, to criminal
exploitation of the Internet.
Spam – Or the unsolicited sending of bulk
email for commercial purposes, is unlawful
to varying degrees.
CRIMINAL
 CRIMINAL
CRIMINAL, in the legal sense, refers to any person
who has been found to have committed a wrongful
act in the course of the standard judicial processes.
There must be a final verdict of his guilt.

In the criminology sense, a person is already

considered as criminal the moment he committed
any anti-social act even without conviction.
CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
OF CRIMINALS:
1. Based on Etiology
Acute Criminal – one who violates a
criminal law because of the impulse
or fit of passion

Chronic Criminal – one who commits

crime in consonance with deliberate
thinking.
 CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
OF CRIMINALS:
2. Based on Behavioral System
• Ordinary Criminal – the lowest
form of criminal in a criminal
career
• Organized Criminals – one who
associates with other criminals.
• Professional Criminal – one with
high degree of skill in
 3. Based on Legal Classification

a. Recidivist under Article 14 (9) –

The offender at the time of his trial
for one crime shall have been
previously convicted by final
judgment of another embraced in
the same title of the Revised Penal
Code.
 3. Based on Legal Classification
b. Quasi-recidivist under Article
160 – Any person who shall commit
a felony after having been
convicted by final judgment before
beginning to serve such sentence
or while serving such sentence
shall be punished by the maximum
period prescribed by law for the
 3. Based on Legal Classification

c. Repetition or reiteracion under

Article 14 (10) – The offender has
been previously punished for an
offense which the law attaches an
equal or greater penalty or for two
or more crimes to which it
attaches a lighter penalty.
 3. Based on Legal Classification
d. Habitual delinquent under
Article 62 (5) – The offender within
the period of 10 years from the
date of his release or last
conviction of the crimes of serious
or less serious physical injuries,
robo, hurto, estafa or falsification,
is found guilty of the any of said
 4. Classification of Criminals by
Lombroso:
a. Born Criminals – Atavism describes
one having shifty eyes, elongated
jaws and no mustache.
b. Criminal by Passion – individuals
who are easily influenced by great
emotions.
c. Insane Criminals – those who
commit crimes due to mental
 4. Classification of Criminals by
Lombroso:
d. Criminoloids – one who commit
crime due to less self control. Those
suffering from defects that are
psychological.
e. Occasional Criminal – one who
commit crimes due to insignificant
reasons that pushed them to do at a
given occasion.
 5. Types of Criminals by Garofalo:
a. Murderers – those who are
satisfied from vengeance
b. Violent Criminals – those who
commit very serious crimes.
c. Deficient Criminals – those who
commit crimes against property.
d. Lascivious Criminals – those who
commit crimes against chastity.
 Victimology
A branch of the study of
criminology which deals with the
study of an individual who
somehow, one way or the other,
has contributed to the commission
of a crime or offense making
himself a party in crime and at the
same time a crime victim of his
CRIMINAL LAW
 WHAT IS CRIMINAL LAW?

Is a branch of public law, which

defines crimes, treats of their
nature and provides for their
punishment.
 Title 8: CRIMES AGAINST PERSON

ART. 246 PARRICIDE

Any person who shall kill

his father, mother,
or child whether legitimate
or illegitimate, or
any of his ascendants,
or descendants,
or his spouse,
shall be guilty of parricide.

Reclusion Perpetua to Death

SOURCES OF CRIMINAL LAW
1.) ACT NO. 3815 – An act revising the
penal code and other penal laws,
otherwise known as “The Revised
Penal Code” – the primary source of
criminal law in the Philippines;
2.) SPECIAL LAWS which are PENAL in
nature (Special Penal Law – CA’s, BP’s,
R.A.’s, P.D’s, etc.)
3.) Presidential Decrees issued during
Martial Law
CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL
LAW
 GENERALITY
Penal laws and those of public security
and safety shall be obligatory upon all
who live or sojourn in Philippine territory,
subject to the principles of public
international law.
Exceptions:
a. Heads of State
b. Ambassadors
c. Ministers plenipotentiary / Min.
resident
 TERRITORIALITY

Criminal laws undertake to punish crimes

committed within Philippine territory. Penal
laws of the country have force and effect only
within its territory. It cannot penalize a crime
committed outside the country
 Article 2. Application of its
provisions
the provisions of this Code shall be enforced
not only within the Philippine Archipelago,
including its atmosphere, its interior waters
and maritime zone, but also outside of its
jurisdiction, against those who:
1. Should commit an offense while on a
Philippine ship or airship
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or
currency note of the Philippine Islands or
obligations and securities issued by the
Government of the Philippine Islands;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with
the introduction into these islands of the
obligations and securities mentioned in the
presiding number;
4. While being public officers or employees,
should commit an offense in the exercise of
their functions; or
5. Should commit any of the crimes against
national security and the law of nations,
defined in Title One of Book Two of this Code.
 PROSPECTIVITY
A penal law cannot make an act
punishable in a manner in which it was
not punishable when committee.

Exception: Whenever a new statute

dealing with the crime establishes
conditions more lenient or favorable to
the accused, it can be given a retroactive
effect.
How Felony is Committed?
a. There must be an act or omission;
b. The act or omission must be in violation
of law; and
c. The act is committed either by dolo
(malice) or culpa (fault)
CLASSIFICATION OF FELONIES
ACCORDING TO STAGES
IN THE COMMISSION
OF CRIME
 CONSUMMATED FELONY

It is considered consummated when

the elements necessary for its
execution and accomplishment is all
present.
 FRUSTRATED FELONY
It is frustrated when the offender has
performed all the acts of execution, which
will produce the felony as a consequence,
but which, nevertheless, do not produce
the felony by reason of causes
independent of the will of the
perpetrator.
 ATTEMPTED FELONY
There is an attempt when the offender
commenced the commission of the felony
directly by overt acts and does not
perform all the acts of execution, which
could produce the felony by reason of
some causes or accident other than this
own spontaneous desistance.
 Manners of Committing Crime
a. Material Crime – The 3 stages are
present.
b. Formal Crime – No frustrated stage
c. Crimes committed by mere
attempts – E.g. Flight to Enemy’s
Country, Abuses against Chastity.
 ACCORDING TO THE MODE OF
EXECUTION

1. Intentional Felonies –
Committed by means of deceit.
2. Culpable Felonies – Where the
wrongful act result from
imprudence (lack of foresight),
negligence (lack of skill).
Elements of Crime by Dolo
a. Freedom - the ability to do whatever
one wishes
b. Intelligence - the ability to know
what is right and wrong
c. Intent - use of particular means to
effect a particular result
 Elements of Crime by
Culpa
a. Freedom - the ability to do whatever
one wishes
b. Intelligence - the ability to know
what is right and wrong
c. Negligence/Imprudence (Lack of
Skill/ Foresight)
 ACCORDING TO GRAVITY
1. Grave Felonies – Those felonies which
the law imposes capital penalty and those
with afflictive penalties (Prision Mayor –
Death).
2. Less Grave Felonies – those with
correctional penalties (1month 1 day – 6
years).
3. Light Felonies – Those which the law
 Mala in se vs. Mala
prohibita
Crimes which are wrongful in
nature are called mala in se; mere
violations of rules of convenience
designed to secure a more orderly
regulation of the affairs of the
society are mala prohibita.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CRIMINOLOGY
In the 5th century BC Greek historian
Thucydides wrote about the usefulness of
the death penalty. The issues of crime and
punishment have aroused interest and
discussion since ancient times.
Scriptures dating from the 10th century BC
prohibit certain acts and provide
consequences for those who disobey these
rules. With the development of Christianity
in the 1st century AD, questions of crime
and punishment were almost always
 DEMONOLOGICAL THEORY
- Demonology is one of the earliest theories in
criminology. In ancient times, people believed that
evil spirits or demons entered human body to
commit sins. This was the earliest explanation
given regarding crime and criminal behavior. Terms
like demons, witches and windigo were used for
people who had turned criminals. The society
thought that it happened due to evil influence.
Supernatural powers were considered the best
explanation behind crime and sin. It was believed
that a person did not commit crimes of his own
free will but under evil influence.
The Three Stages Of
Criminology
 A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
(18th Century)
- When scholars first
distinguished crime from sin
they made possible explanation
of criminal behavior that were
not theological but with
scientific study. The
development of this is now
 A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
(18th Century)
- It asserts that human beings are
endowed with absolute free will
to choose right from wrong.
Human beings are
fundamentally rational, and
most human behaviour is the
result of free will coupled with
 A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
(18th Century)
1. Cesare Bonesana, Marchese di
Beccaria – An Italian jurist that
published book on “Essay of Crime
and Punishment”. He criticized the
use of torture and secret judicial
proceedings and advocated
abolition of the death penalty.
 A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
(18th Century)
2. Jeremy Bentham – A British
philosopher who proposed the
systematic codification of criminal
law. He urged lawmakers to base
crimes and punishments on the
principle of utility – that is the
greatest good for the greatest
 A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
(18th Century)
Neo-classical Theory – This
maintains that there are some
situations or circumstances that
maid it impossible to exercise
freewill thus, humans are not
always responsible for their actions
(E.g. Children,Insane, Imbecile).
B. MODERN CRIMINOLOGY (19th
Century)
- This time criminology distinguished
itself as a subspecialty of the
emerging disciplines of psychology,
sociology and economics.
- Criminologists conducted empirical
tests of their theories, rather than
solely on speculation.
B. MODERN CRIMINOLOGY (19th
Century)
THE ITALIAN SCHOOL/ POSITIVISM – The
term Positivism refers to a method of
analysis based on the collection of
observable scientific facts. It
maintained that crime as any other act
is a natural phenomenon and is
comparable to disaster or calamity.
B. MODERN CRIMINOLOGY (19th
Century)
- Crime is a social and moral
phenomenon which cannot be
treated and checked by the
imposition of punishment but
rather rehabilitation or the
enforcement of individual
measures.
 Cesare Lombroso
In his book “The Criminal Man” (1876), he
asserted that:
a. Criminals could be identified by observing
certain physical traits, including a long lower jaw,
asymmetric cranium and other detectable
conditions;
b. These traits do not cause criminal behavior,
but they revealed an inherent propensity to
crime;
c. The propensity towards crime was the result of
 Enrico Ferri

- Lombroso’s student who

considered social factors such as
population trends, religion, and the
nature of family.
 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
senseof the community.
 THE CHICAGO SCHOOL
It arose in the early 20th century with
the works of urban sociologists at the
University of Chicago. They adopted a
social ecology approach to studying
cities, and postulated that urban
neighborhoods with high levels of
poverty often experience breakdown in
the social structure and institutions
such as family and schools.
Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw

theorized that as people migrated from

rural locations to urban centers; their
poverty forced them into districts that
were in the fringe of industrial zones.
This area is characterized by high
levels of social disorganization
C. INDEPENDENT CRIMINOLOGY
(20th century)
Criminology begin to assert its
independence from traditional
disciplines that spawned it.
Criminological theories have become
more multidisciplinary because
independent criminologists seek to
understand crime itself rather than
study crime as one aspect of an
overall sociological or psychological
 BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME
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
that Lombroso’s findings had no adequate
scientific support and that the statistical
evidence disproved the existence of a
biological criminal type.
 Two Types of Biological/ Biosocial
Theories:
a. Genetic Factors – The traits
transmitted from parents to offspring.
b. Neurological Abnormalities –
Irregularities in neurological
development that might undermine
certain self-controls hat inhibit
criminality. It may occur in the
structure of the brain or in the
classical composition of the brain.
 KALLIKAK FAMILY TREE
- This study was made possible by Henry H.
Goddard, a prominent American
psychologist and eugenicist in the early
20th century and was known especially for
his 1912 work, “The Kallikak Family: A
Study in the Heredity of Feeble-
Mindedness”. Goddard developed the
pseudonym Kallikak by combining a Greek
root “beauty” (kallos) with one meaning
“bad” (kakos). He also introduced the term
 JUKE FAMILY TREE
- This study accomplished by Richard
Dugdale. The 19th-century view of
“degeneracy” (roughly synonymous with
“bad heredity”) led theorists to conceive
social problems such as the following:
1. Insanity,
2. Poverty,
3. Intemperance,
4. Criminality, and
5. Idiocy
SIR JONATHAN EDWARDS FAMILY TREE

- Base on the study, Sir Jonathan

Edwards was a famous preacher
during the colonial period when his
family tree was traced; none of the
descendants was found to be
criminal.
PHYSIOGNOMY
GIAMBATTISTA DELLA PORTA
- Della Porta introduced the
study of facial features and
their relations to human
behavior which he called
human physiognomy. An
example of his study was
his conclusion that a thief
has large lips and sharp
vision.
PHYSIOGNOMY
JOHANN KASPAR LAVATER
- He studied the facial
features of criminals to
determine whether the
shape of the ears, nose and
eyes and the distances
between them were
associated with anti-social
behavior.
- Wrote a book on
physiognomy based on the
PHRENOLOGY
FRANZ JOSEPH GALL
- Founder of Phrenology
- Study of the bumps in the
head and the shape of the
skull to determine whether
these physical attributes
were linked to criminal
behavior.
- He called it first
cranioscopy, which studies
the cranium to determine
PHRENOLOGY
JOHANN KASPAR SPURZHEIM
- Study of the bumps in the
head and the shape of the
skull to determine whether
these physical attributes
were linked to criminal
behavior.
- Spurzheim changed the
word cranioscopy to
PHRENOLOGY.
 SOMATOTYPING THEORY
WILLIAM H. SHELDON
- Sheldon is an influence of the Somatotype
School of Criminology, which related body
built (physique) to behavior.
- Using anthropometric methods, Sheldon
studied the photographed bodies of some
4,000 men from front view, side view, and
back view.
- He divided the physique of men through
the contribution of three fundamental
SOMATOTYPING THEORY
ECTOMORPH
- body type is characterized
by long arms and legs and a
short upper body and narrow
shoulders, and supposedly
has a higher proportion of
nervous tissue. They also
have long and thin muscles.
SOMATOTYPING THEORY
MESOMORPH
- body type is characterized
by a high rate of muscle
growth and a higher
proportion of muscular
tissue. They have large
bones, solid torso combined
with low fat levels. It is also
noted that they have wide
shoulders with a narrow
SOMATOTYPING THEORY
ENDOMORPH
- body type is characterized
by an increased amount of
fat storage, due to having a
larger number of fat cells
than the average person, as
well a higher proportion of
digestive tissue. They have a
wide waist and a large bone
structure.
 ERNST KRETSCHMER
a. ASTHENIC – This person is skinny, with
ribs easily counted and slender body type.
This type usually commits crime known as
petty theft and crimes against property.
b. ATHLETIC – This person has broad
shoulders, powerful legs and muscular
body type. This type usually commits with
violent crimes.
c. PYKNIC – This person is stout, has short
stubby hands and with round body. This
type usually commits deception, and fraud.
d. DYSPLASTIC OR MIXED TYPE – The person
has a body type that is less clearly evident
having any predominant type
(unclassifiable). Any person with this body
type usually commits an offense against
decency and morality.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
CRIME
MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES –
It describe a sequence of
development stages that people
pass through when acquiring the
capacity to make moral judgment.
 Jean Piaget
• From birth to age 2 – experience the world
only through their senses & motor
abilities;
• Between 2-7 – At this age, children are
egocentric, that is, they believe that
others experience the same reality that
they do;
• From 7 to adolescence – The child learns
to think logically and to organize and
classify objects;
• From adolescence – The child develops the
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES
Propose that people internalize
moral codes more through the
process of socialization – learning
behaviors through interaction with
others.
 PERSONALITY THEORIES
Attempt to explain how people
acquire predispositions toward
certain behavior.
 PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
SIGMUND FREUD
- This theory contends the idea that the
human mind (psyche) is composed of three
(3) psychic structures:
a. SUPEREGO – the conscience of the mind
b.EGO – the mediator between the superego
and id
c. ID – part of the psyche which is the source
of human instincts (wants and needs) and
is very aggressive and demanding)
- The superego of a person is
influenced by family, school, and
religious values, his peers and work
associates. If the Id is very strong,
the Ego, losses its control and the
superego becomes weak, crime will
result. Thus, criminality is the result
of the conflict of the 3 psychic
structures.
 PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT

Eros = the most basic human drive present

at birth (the instinct to preserve and create
life). An expressed sexually.
Oral stage = usually during the first year of life
when the child attains pleasure by sucking and
biting.
Anal stage = focus on the elimination of bodily
wastes during the second and third years of life.
Phallic stage = during the third year when
 PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT

Eros = the most basic human drive

present at birth (the instinct to
preserve and create life). An expressed
sexually.
Oral stage = usually during the first
year of life when the child attains
 PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
Anal stage = focus on the elimination
of bodily wastes during the second and
third years of life.
Phallic stage = during the third year
when child focus their attention on their
genitals.
Oedipus complex = a stage of
development when male begin to have
sexual feelings for their mother.
Electra complex = a stage of
development when girls begin to have
sexual feelings for their fathers.
Latency = begins at age 6. Feelings of
sexuality are expressed until the genital
stage begins at puberty; this marks the
beginning of adult sexuality.
Fixated person = exhibit behavior traits
characteristics of those encountered
during infantile sexual development e.g.
an infant who does not received enough
oral gratification during the first year of life
is likely as an adult engage in such oral
behavior as smoking, drinking, or drug abuse
and others.
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME

Gabriel Tarde (1880s) – A French

sociologist whose basic theory on
the causes of crime was founded on
laws of imitation.
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME

Emile Durkheim – A French

sociologist who used the term
“Anomie” to describe the feelings
of alienation and confusion
associated with breakdown to
social bonds.
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME

Socio-Structural Theories: The

principal goal of these theories is
to explain why poorer people
engage in crime more frequently
than wealthy individuals.
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME
Robert Merton – An American
sociologist who developed the
“Structural Strain Theory”. He posits
that people who aspire to the cultural
norm of economic achievement but are
denied the education, capital, or other
means to realize those ends will
 Merton’s Response to Strain:
a. Innovation – Illegitimate means are
resorted to when legal means are not
available to achieve his goal;
b. Retreatism – The person gives up the
pursuit of economic success and
engages in self-destructive behavior,
such as drug
abuse;
c. Rebellion – Engages in revolutionary
activities or in attempts to reform the
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME
Edwin Sutherland – He developed the
“Differential Association Theory”. It
contends that people whose
environment provides the opportunity
to associate with criminals will learn
these skills and will become criminals
in response to strain.
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME
Subcultural Theories - Sub cultural
theorists maintain there is so-called
lower class culture that emphasizes
toughness, excitement, fate and
autonomy. Members of these groups
will be disproportionately involved in
crime because they acquire and follow
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME

Travis Hirshi – An American sociologist

who developed the “Social Control
Theory”
(1960’s). This theory focuses on the
question “why most people do not
commit crimes”.
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIAL THEORIES OF CRIME

Labeling Theory – This theory views

that youths may violate the law for a
variety of reasons, including poor
family relations, peer pressure,
psychological abnormality, and pro-
delinquent learning experiences.