Prof.

Renel P Cruz
 TOS FOR THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION

The registered criminologist can perform the competencies

under the following sub-topics:

1. Recall and explain the fundamentals of crime causation

with emphasis on biological or medical, psychological,
psychiatric, and sociological determinism
2. Enumerate and distinguish biological and psychological
theories of crime causation.
3. Apply and illustrate sociological and economic theories
in understanding the causes of crimes.
4. Explain and correlate bio-psychosocial theories of the
causes of crimes.
5. Understanding theories on female offenders.
 Set of statements devised to explain
behavior, events or phenomenon,
especially one that has been repeatedly
tested and widely accepted.
 Refers to efforts to explain or
understand the crime causation.
 In the mid-18th century, criminology arose
as social philosophers gave thought to crime
and concepts of law. Over time, several
schools of thought have developed.
 School of thought - is a term that refers to a
group of beliefs or ideas that support specific
theory.
 Theory - is a set of statements devised to
explain behaviour, events or phenomenon,
especially one that has been repeatedly
tasted and widely accepted.
 Edwin Sutherland pointed out that a school of
criminology connotes “the system of thought
which consists of an integrated theory of
causation of crime and of policies of control
implied in the theory of causation”.

 Therefore, the school of criminology implies

the following three important points:
1. The adherents of each school try to explain the
causation of crime and criminal behavior in
their own way relying on the theory
propounded by the exponent of that particular
school.

2. Each school of criminology suggests

punishment and preventive measures to suit its
ideology.

3. Each of the school represents the social attitude

of people towards crime and criminal in a given
time.
1. Pre-Classical School of Criminology
 During the period of the seventeenth century
Europe was characterized by a dominance of
religion in state activities.
 At this stage, scientific knowledge was yet
unknown. The concept of crime was vague
and obscure. Society was at the time largely
unable to explain criminal behavior.
 An explanation of criminal conduct was
therefore sought through spirits, demons,
and other unknown powers.
2. Naturalistic School of Criminology

➢ The proponents of this school argued that

crime must be explained through the use of
ideas and interpretations of objects and
events and their interrelation with the
existing world.
➢ Thus, there is no place for other worldly
powers or spirits. No matter how
unsatisfactory, the explanation must rest on
what is known or assumed to be true of the
physical and material world. This approach is
ancient as well as modern.
3. Classical School of Criminology
➢ Enlightment is a place where the Classical
School set it roots and alleged that humans
are rational beings and that crime is the
result of free will in a risk versus reward
position.
➢ Cesare Beccaria the pioneer of modern
criminology expounded his naturalistic theory
of criminality by rejecting the theory
propounded by the pre-classical school.
4. Neo-Classical School of Criminology

 The “free-will” theory of the classical school

did not survive for long due to the oversights
mentioned above. The neo-classists asserted
that certain categories of offenders such as
minors, idiots, insane or incompetent persons
had to be treated leniently irrespective of the
similarity of their criminal acts with those of
other offenders
5. Positivist School of Criminology

 In the late 1800s, the Classical School of

Criminology came under attack, thus leaving
room for a new wave of thought to come about.
(Cullen & Agnew, 2003).
 Cesare Lombroso was born in 1835 and died
seventy-four years later in 1909. (Seiter, 2011)
Lombroso was an Italian physician who founded
the Positivist School of Criminology in the
nineteenth century.
 Lombroso came up with the “Criminal Man,”
which outlined what he studied and deemed to
be the traits of a criminal.
 This school presumes that man’s behavior is
determined by factors outside his control. These
factors are either biological or cultural.
6. The Anthropological School / The Italian
School of Criminology

 This is one of the earliest positivist schools of

thinking. With the advance of time and the
development of scientific research during the
nineteenth century certain doctors in Europe
were successful in establishing that it was
neither the “free-will”(Classical) of the
offender nor his innate depravity nor evil
spirits that actuated the offender to commit
crime.
 The real cause of crime lay in the
anthropological features of the criminal.
Some proponents of this theory tried to
demonstrate the organic functioning of the
brain and established a co-relationship
between criminality and the structure and
functioning of brain.

 The main proponents of this theory are three

Italian criminologists:
1. Cesare Lombroso
2. Raffaele Garofolo
3. Enrico Ferri
7. The Ecological School of
Criminology/Chicago School of Criminology

 The ecological school examines factors including

the environment and other social factors that
may lead to criminal behavior.

 The Chicago school (sometimes known as

the ecological school) refers to
an iconoclastic group of sociologists from
the University of Chicago whose work would
influence the development of a new science to
the discipline of sociology in the early 20th
century.
8. The Cartographic School of Criminology

➢ Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quételet (a Belgium

mathematician) and Andre-Michel Guerre (a
French statistician) in Europe during the
1830s and 1840s were the first to do detailed
statistical studies of crime. Quételet found
strong correlations between rates of crime
and such factors as illiteracy, poverty, and
similar variables.
 Earliest explanation of crime
causation.
 Assumes that individuals
commit crime because they
are possessed by evil spirits.
 An estimate of 100,000
people were prosecuted
throughout Europe for
witchcraft and sorcery.
 Common practice to use
torture to extract confession.
 People commit crimes under
demonic or evil influences.
 Many police officers and
crime investigators may have
encountered perpetrators who
have claimed that they
committed their crimes under
some demonic influences.
 Perpetrators may claim, but
none of them produced any
physical evidence. It is very
odd to have two accepted
scientific disciplines like
theology and forensic
sciences claiming the
opposite.
 The new era, ushered in by the
Enlightenment thinkers, led to
the development of the Classical
School. Cesare Beccaria became
known as the Father of Classical
Criminology.
 At a very young age he authored
his most famous work titled, On
Crimes and Punishments (1764).
He was a member of an
intellectual group known as the
Academy of Fists and the group
would gather in secret to
discuss the need for social
reform.
 Beccaria is most frequently referred to as a
punishment reformer and he staunchly
advocated the principle of "no crime without
law" and he specified the criteria for the
enactment and administration of criminal
codes.
 He felt strongly about the separation of
powers in criminal law due to the potential
for abuse and misuse. Interestingly he was
one of the first people to suggest that the
essence of crime was the harm that it did to
society.
Deterrence employs the threat of punishment
to influence behavior. It assumes that:
1. People are rational
2. people's behavior is a product of free will
3. People are hedonistic (their goal is to
increase pleasure and/or to avoid pain)
4. Three principles of punishment that became
the hallmark of Beccaria's Classical
deterrence doctrine: Swift, Severe and
Certain
Principles of Punishment According to Becarria
1. Swift - punishment must be swift to be effective.
You can't have the punishment linger or the
punishment and the crime loose their association
2. Certain - people must know they will be punished
for their illegal behavior - can't have people evade
the law for any reason
3. Severe - must be severe enough to outweigh the
rewards of the illegal action - severity and
proportionality are sometimes at odds especially
since each person is different in terms of what
constitutes a "severe" punishment.

 Punishment must also be proportionate to the harm

caused. If we lose proportionality there is little to
prevent/discourage the criminal from committing
more severe crimes and engaging is worse behavior.
 Punishment used to keep order not avenge crime.
 Beccaria was deeply opposed to the death
penalty, a rarity for his time when most believed
capital punishment was an acceptable response
to many crimes.
 Beccaria believes that punishment functions
mainly as a deterrence to dissuade future
criminals from breaking the law. Retributive
punishments which focus on the suffering of a
criminal are a waste of time; as Beccaria asks
“Can the wailings of a wretch undo what has been
done and turn back the clock?” Instead,
punishment serves “to prevent the offender from
doing fresh harm and to deter others from doing
likewise.”
 Jeremy Bentham
 A Classical School reformer who
believed that people were governed by a
pleasure/pain principle and that
punishment was only useful to bring
about a greater good to the society as a
whole. He called this pleasure/pain
principle the hedonistic calculus.
 Bentham's punishment philosophy
was: Utilitarianism, "the greatest
happiness principle." All action must
serve a purpose (the greatest happiness
principle) (all action should be judged
by its effect on the happiness of the
community)(greatest happiness for the
greatest number)
➢ 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.
 assumes that all our actions are calculated in
accordance with their likelihood of bringing
pleasure and pain.
 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”.
➢ devised the pseudo-mathematical formula called
“felicific calculus” which states that individuals
are human calculators who put all the factors
into an equation in order to decide whether a
particular crime is worth committing or not

 he reasoned that in order to deter individuals

from committing crimes, the punishment, or
pain, must be greater than the satisfaction, or
pleasure, he would gain from committing the
crime
 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.
 It views man as a reasoning actor who weights means
and ends, cost and benefits, and makes a rational
choice.

 The foundation of rational choice theory is behavioral

choice of the person to engage in criminal activity
based on intent/premedication and that the possible
benefits outweigh the risk.

 Rational choice theory implies that criminals are

rational in their decision-making, and despite the
consequences, that the benefits of committing crime
outweigh the punishment.
Criminology: Rational Choice Theory Explained by Mark Bond Ed.D
 Law violating behavior is a product of careful
thought and planning.
 Offender choose crime after both personal and
situational factors.
 Before deciding to commit a crime the
reasoning criminal evaluates the risk of:
• Apprehension
• Seriousness of expected punishment
• Potential value of the criminal enterprise
• His/her ability to succeed
• The need of criminal gain
Strategies for Controlling Crime Flow from
Premise

1. General Deterrence – people will commit

crime if they perceive that the benefits
outweigh the risk. Crime is a function of the
severity, certainty, and speed of
punishment.
2. Specific Deterrence – if punishment is
severe enough, criminal will not repeat their
illegal act.
3. Incapacitation – keeping known criminals
out of circulation will reduce crime rate.
Rational Choice Theory and Crime by Bill McCarthy a
nd Ali R Chaudhary
 Offenses can be expected if there is a
motivated offender and a suitable target that
is not protected by capable guardians.
 People may become crime victims because
their lifestyle increases their exposure to
criminal offenders. (Siegel et. al., 2007)
 Viewed that some people may actually initiate
the confrontation that eventually leads to
their injury or death.

o Active Precipitation – occurs when victim acts

provocatively, use threats or fighting words,
or first attacks the offender.
o Passive Precipitation – occurs when the victim
exhibits some personal characteristics that
unknowingly either threatens or encourages
the attacker.
 During the late nineteenth century, the
scientific method was beginning to take hold
in Europe. Rather than rely on pure thought
and reason, contemporary scientists began to
use careful observation and analysis of
natural phenomena in their experiments. This
movement inspired new discoveries in
biology, astronomy, and chemistry.
 Charles Darwin’s (1809–1882) discoveries on
the evolution of man encouraged a
nineteenth-century “cult of science.”
 Auguste Comte (1798–1857), considered the
founder of sociology, applied scientific
methods to the study of society. According to
Comte, societies pass through stages that can
be grouped on the basis of how people try to
understand the world in which they live
The Two (2) Main Elements of Positivism
 All true knowledge is acquired through direct
observation and not through conjecture or
belief. Statements that cannot be backed up
by direct observation—for instance, “all
babies are born innocent”— are invalid and
worthless.
 The scientific method must be used if
research findings are to be considered valid.
This involves such steps as identifying
problems, collecting data, forming
hypotheses, conducting experiments, and
interpreting results
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
society just like birth and death.
 proposed the concept of “anomie”
 From the Greek word “nomos” which means
without 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.
 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.

1. 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.
a. 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
unsightly streets and high unemployment rates.
b. 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.
 Criminality is the direct result of negative
affective states (anger, frustration,
depression, disappointment and other
adverse that derive from strain).
 Strain is caused by:
1. Failure to achieve positively valued goals.
2. Disjunction of expectations and
achievements
3. Removal of positively valued stimuli
4. Presentation of negative stimuli
c. 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
results in criminal behavior among its members.
 Combination of strain and disorganization
principles into a portrayal of a gang-
sustaining criminal subculture.

 People in all strata (social status) of society

same the same success goals but those in the
lower-class have limited means of achieving
them.
 Delinquent behavior of lower class youth is
actually a protest against the norms and
values of middle-class U.S. culture. Because
the social conditions make them incapable of
achieving success legitimately.
2. 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.
 These theories assume that people are born
with no tendency to commit crimes but that
they learn to be aggressive through their life
experiences.
 According to Albert Bandura, Social Learning
Theory suggest that people learn from one
another, via observation, imitation, and
modeling.
Types of Social Learning Theories

a. 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.
1. Criminal behavior is learned
2. Learning is a by-product of interaction
3. Criminal techniques are learned
4. Perceptions of legal code influence motives and
drives
5. Differential associations may vary in frequency,
duration, priority and intensity
6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess
definitions favorably to the violations of law over
definitions unfavorable to the violation of law.
7. The process of learning criminal behavior by
association with criminal involves all of the
mechanisms involved in any other learning process.
b. 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.

c. 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”.
3. 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.
4. 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.
a. 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.
b. 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.
a. attachment – refers to the degree to which
an individual care about the opinions of
others.
b. commitment – refers to an individual’s
investment of energy and emotion in
conventional pursuits, such as getting good
grades.
c. involvement – refers to the amount of time
an individual spends on a conventional
pursuit.
d. belief – refers to acceptance of the norms of
conventional society.
 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.
 This theory viewed that both
thought and behavior have
biological and social bases.

 It believes that it is the

interaction between
predisposition and environment
that produces criminality.
1. Biochemical Factors
➢Relationship between anti-social behavior and
biochemical makeup/body chemistry can govern
behavior and personality.

1.1. Hormonal Levels

➢Antisocial behavior allegedly peaks in the teenage
years because hormonal activity is as its highest
level during this period
➢Research also suggest that increased levels of the
male androgen testosterone are responsible for
excessive levels of violence among teenage boys.
2. Neurological Dysfunction

➢ Focused on the neurological, or brain and

nervous system, structure of offenders.

➢ Imbalance in the nervous system’s chemical

and hormonal activity has been linked to
anti-social behavior and drug abuse. (Siegel
et.al., 2007).

2.1. Minimal Brain Dysfunction

➢ Damage to the brain itself that causes anti-
social behavior injurious to the individual’s
lifestyle and social adjustment.
3. Genetic Influences
➢ Individuals who share genes are alike in
personality regardless of how they are reared,
whereas rearing environment induces little or
no personality resemblance.

➢ Cesare Lombroso believed that antisocial

behavior have genetic basis.

3.1. Parental-Child Similarities

➢ Criminal fathers produce delinquents sons
who grow up to have delinquent children
themselves.
3.2. Siblings and Twin Similarities
➢ The behavior of twins and non-twin siblings
found out that the twins who share more
genetic material are also more similar in their
behavior.

3.3. Adoption Studies

➢ Adoptees share many of the behavioral and
intellectual characteristics of their biological
parents despite the social and environmental
conditions found in their adoptive homes.
SCHULSINGER (1972)
 found criminality in adoptive
boys to be higher when
biological fathers had
criminal records.

HUTCHINGS AND MEDNICK

(1977)
 studied 1, 145 male
adoptees with criminal
records and found the
criminality of the biological
father was a major predictor
of the child’s behavior.
Evolutionary Theory

➢ Explains the existence of aggression and violent

behavior as positive adoptive behaviors in human
evolution. These traits allowed their bearers to
reproduce disproportionately, which has had an
effect on human gene pool.

Example: A child witnessed that his father beats

her mother, then the child will do the same as he
grows.
Arousal Theory
➢ Environmental factors influence the brain’s
level of arousal. It explains that aggression is
a function of the level of individual’s needs
for stimulation.
➢ Thrill is a motivator of crime.

Example: when arousal level is extremely low

and feels bored, person engages in activities
that will increase his arousal level.
 the study of facial features / characteristics and
their relation to human behavior.
 GIAMBIATISTA DELA PORTA - Founder of
human physiognomy. According to him criminal
behavior may be predicted based on facial
features of the person.
 JOHANN KASPAR LAVATER - A Swiss
theologian, regarded the lack of beard in man,
the swirly eye or angry eye and weak chin
serve as clues to unfavorable personality or
characteristic traits of an individual.
◦ supported the belief of dela Porta
◦ he believed that a person’s character is
revealed through his facial characteristics.
 the study of the external formation of
the skull in relation to the person’s
personality and tendencies toward
criminal behavior.
◦ FRANZ JOSEPH GALL - he
developed “cranioscopy” which was
later renamed as phrenology.
◦ JOHANN KASPAR SPURZHEIM -
An assistant of Gall in the study of
phrenology; He was the man most
responsible for popularizing and
spreading phrenology to a wide
audience
 refers to the study of body
build of a person in relation
to his temperament and
personality and the type of
offense he is most prone to
commit.
ERNST KRETSCHMER
 he distinguished three (3)
principal types of physiques:
asthenic, athletic, pyknik
and dysplastic.
 ASTHENIC – characterized as
thin, small and weak.
 ATHLETIC – muscular and
strong.
 PYKNIC – stout, round and
fat.
 DYSPLASTIC – combination
of two body types
WILLIAM HERBERT SHELDON
 formulated his own group of somatotype:
ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph and their
corresponding temperaments.
 ENDOMORPHIC – relatively large digestive
viscera; round body; short’ tapering limbs;
bones; smooth, velvety skin.
 Temp: VISCEROTONIC – generally relax and
comfortable small person, loves luxury and
essentially extrovert.
 MESOMORPHIC – with relative predominance
of muscles, bones and motor organs of the
body with large wrist and hands
 Temp: ROMOTONIC – active, dynamic; walks,
talks and gestures assertively and behaves
aggressively
 ECTOMORPHIC – relative pre- dominance of
skin and its appendages which includes the
nervous system; it has fragile and delicate
bones; with droopy shoulders, small face and
sharp nose, fine hair
 Temp: CEREBROTONIC – introvert prone to
allergies, skin troubles, chronic fatigue,
insomnia, sensitive skin and sensitive to
 noise and with relatively small body
 EARNEST HOOTON (1887 -
1954)
◦ “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;
◦ Whereas 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.
 Cesare Lombroso
 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.
 According to his theory (Atavism),
criminals are usually in possession
of huge jaws and strong canine
teeth, the arm span of criminals is
often greater than their height, just
like that of apes who use their
forearms to push themselves along
the ground.
➢ Lombroso’s work supported
the idea that the criminal was
a biologically and physically
inferior person.

➢ Other physical stigmata

include deviation in head size
and shape, asymmetry of the
face, excessive dimensions of
the jaw and cheekbones, eye
defects and peculiarities, ears
of unusual size, nose twisted,
upturned or flattened in
thieves, or aquiline or beaklike
in murderers, fleshy lips,
swollen and protruding, and
pouches in the cheek like
those of animal’s toes.
 Lombroso’s Three (3)
classes 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 makeup
of an ambiguous group that
includes habitual criminals,
criminals by passion and other
diverse types
 HEREDITY – the transmission of
traits from parents to offspring.
 KARYOTYPE STUDIES - examination
and comparison of chromosomes.
 Example of a normal
male karyotype, denoted 46,XY
 46 refers to the total number of
chromosomes.
 XY indicates a male karyotype; XX
would indicate a female karyotype.
 A normal
human karyotype consists of 22
pairs of autosomes and two sex
chromosomes. Note the similar
size and striped (banding) pattern
between each of the pairs.
NATURE THEORY (Henry
Goddard, William Healy,
Augusta Bronner) - it argues
that intelligence is largely
determines genetically, that
ancestry determines I.Q.,
and that low intelligence, as
demonstrated by low I.Q., is
linked to criminal behavior
 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.
◦ He discovered that from
among the descendants of
Margaret Ada Jukes, there
were 280 paupers, 60 thieves,
7 murderers, 40 other
criminals, 40 persons with
venereal diseases and 50
prostitutes
 HENRY HERBERT 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.
◦ MARTIN KALLIKAK’s relationship
with a feebleminded lady, there
were 143 feeble-minded and only
46 normal, 36 were illegitimate, 3
epileptics, 3 criminals, 8 kept
brothels and 82 died of infancy.
◦ His marriage with a woman from a
good family produced almost all
normal descendants, only 2 were
alcoholics, 1 was convicted of
religious offense, 15 died at infancy
and no one became criminal or
epileptic.
 He coined the term “moron”.
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.
FRANCIS GALTON

 he developed “EUGENICS” or the

science of improving a human
population by controlled
breeding to increase the
occurrence of desirable heritable
characteristics. Developed
largely as a method of
improving the human race.
 JONATHAN EDWARDS
FAMILY TREE
 Sir Jonathan Edwards was a
famous preacher during
colonial period. His family
tree was traced, none of the
descendants was found to
be criminal. Out of his
pedigree many became
presidents of the United
States, governor, members
of Supreme Court, famous
writers, preachers and
teachers
Biopsychosocial Model of Crime Causation

 Crime causation is an integration or

combination of both the “bio”, “psycho”, and
the “socio”.
Pre-Menstrual Syndrome
 Katharina Dalton’s study of
“Menstruation and Crime”
found that nearly half of the
crimes of her sample of
female inmates had occurred
during menstruation or pre-
menstruation. This is called
as “Pre-Menstrual Syndrome”
 In Schauss’ study comparing
nutritional differences of
delinquents and non-
delinquents, the surprising
major difference found was that
delinquents drank more milk.

 Low blood sugar

(HYPOGLYCEMIA) also has been
claimed to be linked to impaired
brain function and violent crime.
Battered Child Syndrome
➢A medical diagnosis based on
evidence indicating that the child has
been subjected to a pattern of
serious and unexplained abuse.

Battered Woman Syndrome

➢A psychological term used to
describe women who are stuck
within or have recently left a violent
relationship characterized by the
cycle of violence.
Three basic stages where women becomes
victims of abused:

1. Tension between the pair

2. Cycle of violence
3. Honeymoon or loving contrition

Note:
The cycle repeats itself and violence
becomes more intense, the tension building
stage lengthens, and the honeymoon stage
decreases or disappears entirely.
Postpartum Stress Syndrome
➢ Causes feeling of anxiety and self-
doubt.
➢ The woman sometimes feels
exhausted and overwhelmed
despite she really wants to be a
perfect mother and a wife.

Postpartum Psychosis
➢ Caused by multiple factors, and if
not treated in time may harm
themselves and a child.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES
➢ Refers to the theories that attribute
criminal behavior of individuals to
psychological factors, such as
emotion and mental problems.
Sometimes called as psychogenic
approaches.

CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY
➢ The science of behavior and mental
processes of the criminal. It is
focused on the individual criminal
behavior, how it is acquired,
evoked, maintained, and modified.
Both the environmental and
personality influences are
considered, along with the mental
processes that mediate the
behavior.
CRIMINAL PSYCHO-DYNAMICS
➢ The study of mental processes
of criminals in action, the
study of the genes,
development and motivation of
human behavior that conflicts
with accepted norms and
standards of society; This
study concentrates on the
study of individuals as
opposed to general studies of
mass populations with respect
to their general criminal
behavior.
SIGMUND FREUD
➢ Father of Psychoanalysis
 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.
 according to him there are
three parts of personality:
 ID – this stands for instinctual
drives; it is governed by the
“pleasure principle”; the id impulses
are not social and must be
repressed or adapted so that they
may become socially acceptable

 EGO –this is considered to be the

sensible and responsible part of an
individual’s personality and is
governed by the “reality principle”; it
is developed early in life and
compensates for the demands of the
id by helping the individual guide
his actions to remain within the
boundaries of accepted social
behavior; it is the objective, rational
part of the personality
 SUPEREGO – serves as the
moral conscience of an
individual; it is structured by
what values were taught by
the parents, the school and
the community, as well as
belief in God; it is largely
responsible for making a
person follow the moral
codes of society
EROS - the most basic human
drive present at birth (the instinct
to preserve and create life). An
expressed sexually.
CONFLICTS BETWEEN EROTIC
ATTRACTION, RESENTMENT,
RIVALRY
a. OEDIPUS COMPLEX - a stage
of development when male
begin to have sexual feelings
for their mother.
b. ELECTRA COMPLEX - a stage
of development when girls
begin to have sexual feelings
for their fathers.
 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.
 People travel through stages of moral
development and that is possible that serious
offenders have a moral orientation that
differs from those law-abiding citizens.

 Criminals were found to be lower in their

moral judgment development than non-
criminals of the same social background.
 Refers to the socialization and social learning
that helps to explain the ways in which
children growing up in a violent family learn
violent roles and, subsequently, may play out
the roles of victim or victimizer in their own
adult families.
 Criminal and antisocial parents tend to have
delinquent and anti-social children.
 Focuses on assortative mating. Female
offenders tend to cohabit with or get married
to male offenders.

Social Homogamy – convicted people tend to

choose each other as mates because of
physical and social proximity.

Phenotypic Assortment – people examine each

other’s personality and behavior and choose
partners who are similar to themselves.
 It claims that all human personality may be
seen in three dimensions such as
psychoticism, extroversion, and neuroticism.

 It also claims that criminals become

conditioned slowly and appear to care little
whether their asocial actions bring
disapproval.
 The predatory street crime is committed by
showing how human nature develops from
the interplay of psychological, biological, and
social factors.

 The main concept of this theory states that

the interaction of genes with environment
that some individuals form the kind of
personality likely to commit crimes.
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
 anti-social behavior has to develop
and is not simply the manifestation
of some underlying or primordial
condition.

 As research on criminal careers has

evolved, two distinct viewpoints have
taken shape: life course view and the
latent trait view.
Life Course Theory
➢ views criminality as a dynamic
process, influenced by a
multitude of individual
characteristics, traits, and
social experiences.
➢ As people travel through the
life course, they are constantly
bombarded by changing
perceptions and experiences,
and as a result their behavior
will change directions,
sometimes for the better and
sometimes for the worse.
LIFE COURSE THEORIES

Age of Onset/ Continuity of Crime

 Most life course theories assume that the

seeds of a criminal career are planted early
in life and that early onset of deviance
strongly predicts later and more serious
criminality.
Continuity and Desistance
 What causes some kids to begin offending at
an early age?
 Research shows that poor parental discipline
and monitoring seem to be a key to the early
onset of criminality and that these influences
may follow kids into their adulthood.
 The psychic scars of childhood are hard to
erase
The Five (5) Life Domains
1. Self. Irritability and/or low self-control.
2. Family. Poor parenting and no marriage
or a bad marriage.
3. School. Negative school experiences and
limited education.
4. Peers. Delinquent friends.
5. Work. Unemployment or having a bad job.
Latent Trait Theories
 hold that human development is controlled by a stable
propensity or “master trait,” present at birth or soon after.
 Latent trait theories hold that some underlying
condition present at birth or soon after controls
behavior. Suspect traits include low IQ, impulsivity,
and personality structure. This underlying trait
explains the continuity of offending because, once
present, it remains with a person throughout his or
her life.
 Some latent trait theorists maintain that this master trait is
inflexible, stable, and unchanging throughout a person’s
lifetime while others recognize that under some circumstances a
latent trait can be altered, influenced, or changed by
experiences and interactions.
 Latent trait theory claims that people do not change, criminal
opportunities change; maturities brings fewer opportunities,
early social control like proper parenting can reduce criminal
propensity.
 Robert J Sampson and John H Laub in their work
(1993), “Crime in the Making” identify the turning
points in a criminal career.

 They found out that the stability of delinquent

behavior can be affected by the events that occur
in later life, even after a chronic delinquent
career has been undertaken.

 They also state that children who enter

delinquent careers are those who have trouble at
home and school and maintain deviant friends.
 In age-graded theory, the type of crime
committed by a certain individual is in
consonance with his age governs or dictates
the type of crime to be committed by him.

 Aging-out Process, it is also known as

desistance or remission.

• the tendency for youth to reduce the

frequency of their offending behavior as
they aged and is thought to occur among all
groups of offenders
 It focus on different factors affecting child’s
social development over the life course.

 Holds that commitment and attachment to

conventional institutions, activities and
beliefs insulate youths from delinquency-
producing influence in their environment.

 Therefore, using this model, the role of

parents is very important since they are the
first teachers.
 Michael R Gottfredson and Travis W Hirschi (1935
- 2017) in their work, “General Theory of Crime”.
 It modified and redefined some of the principles
articulated in Hirschi’s Social Control Theory by
integrating the concepts of control with those
biosocial, psychological, routine activities, and
rational choice theories.
 Crime is a rational and predictable; people
commit crime when it promises rewards and
minimal threat or pain.
 Perception of coercion can begin in early life
when children experience punitive form of
discipline including both physical attacks
including negative commands.

Interpersonal Coercion – is direct, involving the use

or threat of force and intimidation from parents,
peers, and law enforcement officer.

Impersonal Coercion – involves pressures beyond

individual control, such as economic, and social
pressures caused by unemployment, poverty.
 Expands the concept of personal control as
predisposing element for criminality.

 Control imbalances produce deviant and

criminal behaviors.

 Deviance increases when there is control

deficit and with excessive control.
 The roots of crime are diverse and a
discipline like economics, predicated on
rational behavior, may be of something
disadvantage in explaining a phenomenon
largely viewed as irrational
 Social Scientists argued that crime is closely
related to work, education and poverty and
youth unemployment, and crime are by-
products or even measures of social
exclusion.
 Blue-collar criminals often have limited
education and possess.
 The economic model of crime is a standard
model of decision making where individuals
choose between criminal activity and legal
activity on the basis of the expected utility
from those acts.

 It is assumed that participation on the

criminal activity is a result of an optimizing
individual responding to incentives.
 Factors that individual’s decision to engage in
criminal activities:

1. Expected gains from crime relative to

earnings from legal work
2. Chance of being caught and convicted
3. Extent of punishment
4. Opportunities in legal activities
 Viewed crime as a product of law
enforcement polices and to a labeling process
theory.
 He saw connection between criminality and
the inequities found in the capitalist system.
1. Poor legitimate labor market opportunities
of potential criminals such as low wages
and high rates of unemployment, increase
the supply of criminal activities.

2. Sanction to deter crime.

 Terrie Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy
posited that there were two discreet types of
delinquents:
1. Adolescence-limited offenders
2. Life-course persistent offenders
Adolescence-limited offenders, constitutes the
lion’s share of delinquents, indeed 90% of
offenders are this type.
 These offenders are able to stifle any
antisocial impulses that they may have and
are therefore generally law-abiding citizens.
 However, as their name implies, this offender
engage in delinquency for a brief period
during their teen years.
 They engage in rebellious but not violent
forms of delinquency during the difficult
stage of puberty.
 Life-course persistent offenders, have receive
much more empirical attention because they
are the most threatening to society.
 According to Moffitt, two type of
neuropsychological defects, verbal and
executive functions give rise to assortment of
anti-social behavior.
- Verbal functions relates to verbal intelligence
- Executive functions relates to behavioral
deportment
- these are children with ADHD
 application to various subfields of
criminology (e.g., the study of
violent crime, gangs, drug
offenses, policing, corrections)
 The feminist school of criminology is a school
of criminology developed in the late 1960s
and into the 1970s as a reaction to the
general disregard and discrimination of
women in the traditional study of crime.
 It is the view of the feminist school of
criminology that a majority of criminological
theories were developed through studies on
male subjects and focused on male
criminality, and that criminologists often
would "add women and stir" rather than
develop separate theories on female
criminality.
 Feminist criminology focuses on women
offenders, women victims, and women in the
criminal justice system in order to understand
the causes, trends, and results of female
criminality. Key issues within the feminist
school of criminology include the role of sex
and sexism in sentencing and imprisonment,
the role of victimization in women's lives, and
the increase in the number of incarcerated
women despite declining crime rates
 Women are involve in more crime due to the
increasing participation of women in social
movements since the 1970’s.
 The empowered women are involved in more
serious violent crime than non-empowered
women due to the masculinity.
 It argued that the involvement of criminal
activities is increased when women have
different opportunities.
 Increasing opportunities of women reduced
the rate of violent offending, but increased
the rates of property crimes.
 Marginality (low salary, inadequate job, lower
class position, family victimization) of woman
penetrates criminality in contemporary
societies.
 Those women are motivated to commit crime
as a rational response to poverty and
economic uncertainty that they perceive.
 Also known as Marxist Feminists.
 Holds that gender inequality stems from the
unequal power of men and women and
subsequent exploitation of women by men.
 The male exploitation acts as a trigger for
female criminal or delinquent behavior.
 Argues that in a patriarchal society, women
are treated leniently than men because
women are believed to be born biologically
inferior and in need of protection from men.
 Women viewed as physically weak and
inherently sexual, are most frequently
victimized through the use of rape and
domestic violence.
 A psychoanalytic theory that proposes very
young girls feel deprived and envious that
they do not have a penis.
 It is a stage of development experienced only
by female children and occurs when a girl
first notices the differences in male and
female anatomy and longs to have a penis of
her own.