Unit 1 Overview of Criminological Theories

Unit 1 Overview of Criminological Theories

Learning Outcomes

Once this unit has been completed, the student will be able to:

1. Create a discourse paper explaining crime causation from a criminological perspective. 2. Construct a mind map representing the elements of each theoretical explanation on crime causation. 3. Make situational examples where approaches of crimes and criminality can be applied.

Learning Contents

1. Crimes: Spiritual and Natural Explanations 2. Crime Causation: Theoretical Explanations 3. The Geographical Factors to Crime

Evaluate Your Knowledge

Please answer the questionnaire below before heading into this, so you can see how much you know about criminological theories.

Directions: Read each statement below carefully. Circle the correct answer.

T= True F=False ? =Unsure

1. Physiological approach is one of the three theoretical approach of explaining criminal behavior.

2. Theory serves as the foundation of criminology and criminal justice.

3. Social consensus is considered as a general norm.

4. Biological approach explains that criminal behavior is a result of genetic influence.

5. Personality is the element that motivates behavior within individuals.

T F ?

T F ?

T F ?

T F ?

T F ?

Read and Ponder

Theory-Defined

What is a theory?

A scientifically acceptable general principle Principles offered to explain phenomena

supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something

Organized principles that explain and guide analysis

What is Criminological Theory?

The theory which explains criminal activity as well as the activity of policemen, lawyers, attorneys, judges, correctional staff, victims, and other actors within the Criminal Justice System.

What is criminal behavior, and what causes it?

The way the society will answer to these basic questions plays a vital role in how it handles crime, from designing crime reduction strategies to improving prison systems to rehabilitating offenders.

To explain the causes of crime, criminologists, and specialists in areas such as the environment, sociology, and psychology are working to formulate new and current Theories.

To gain comprehensive understanding on the criminal behavior and what causes it please read the succeeding sections:

Crimes: Spiritual and Natural Explanations

Some of the conventional reasons for the crime were based on the belief in supernatural or divine forces or the law of nature.

The Demonological Theory - individuals were thought to be possessed by good or evil spirits, which caused good or evil behavior.

Throughout the old days, people believed that supernatural beings or devils had come into the human soul and make them commit crimes against men.

Terms like demons, witches, and wendigo were used for people who had turned criminals under demonic influence.

Natural explanations

The explanations for crimes have been embedded in people's assumptions about the physical world's nature of reality. Ideas about reality were based on observations of nature but were not scientific. For example, intrinsic good and bad were believed to be in the natural world, and crimes were mostly viewed as crimes against nature and the natural order rather than crimes against victims or God. Seeking explanations for crime in the natural world provided a basis for the development of legal definitions and treatments of crime.

Crime Causation: Theoretical Explanation

The theories covered in explaining criminal behavior can be categorized into three main approaches namely:

1) Biological Theory- assumes that some people are ‘born criminals’, who are physiologically distinct from non-criminals.

2) Sociological Theory- Assumes that crime is a social phenomenon and emphasizes the cultural and social elements of criminal behavior.

3) Psychological Theory- Assumes that criminal behavior is a result of individual differences in thinking processes.

1. Biological Approach

You can learn more about biological approach and its focus by studying the section below.

The biological explanation of the causes of crime focuses on the following:

1. The physical body- body structure of the person, presence of illness, and deformities may contribute to how the person responds or act in a certain situation.

2. Inherited genes- Hereditary transmission of mental, physical, and psychological characteristics of both parents to their offspring.

3. Evolutionary factor- is a change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Factors like the degree of inbreeding and the process in which the population is smallest take this into account (natural selection, random genetic drift, mutation, population mating structure, and culture)

4. Brain Structure- Neurotransmitters, or brain chemicals, are responsible for our moods and of the general state that we are in. Injuries or damage

to the frontal lobes and other parts of the brain can and affect impulses and impulsive behaviors.

5. Role of hormones- Hormones coordinate the physiology and behavior of individuals by regulating, integrating, and controlling bodily functions. For example, the same hormones, testosterone, and estradiol, which cause gamete (egg or sperm) maturation also promote mating behavior.

How does the biological approach explain the causes of criminal behavior?

According to biological explanation, criminal behavior exists due to the following biological factors such as:

1. Particular genes- Genetic defect 2. Neurological deficits- Low IQ 3. Low serotine activity- Hormonal Imbalance 4. Malnutrition- lack of food or eating unhealthy foods and poor diet. 5. Environmental pollutants- such as lead poisoning, arsenic, mercury, etc. may affect brain functioning and health.

2. Sociological Approach

What is the focus of sociological theory?

Sociological Theory points out the relationship between social structure and criminal behavior. In this approach, its emphases are on the effects of social condition on a person’s propensity to crime.

The sociological approach emphasizes the areas of studies related to criminal behavior such as Language, Ethnicity, Class, and behavior.

Sociological Theory focused on the aspect to explain criminal behavior:

1. Social Inequality-represents the difference in social positions or statuses in a group or society with unequal opportunities and rewards. 2. Influence of Peers- when you choose to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do because you want to feel accepted and valued by your friends. 3. Social Disorganization- defined as an inability of community members to achieve shared values or to solve jointly experienced problems (Bursik, 1988). 4. Consequences for an individual of being unable to achieve social success 5. Role of Criminal Subculture- such as pre-adolescent peer-group.

How do psychological approach explains crime causation?

3. Psychological Approach

There are various psychological theories, but everyone agrees that behaviors are determined by the thoughts and emotions of the person.

In psychological theories of crimes, four main concepts are present which will help you to gain an understanding of crimes and criminality. Such theories stem from:

1. Failures in psychological development- Some people have problems because they have not developed or grew as others normally do such as underdeveloped conscience.

2. Learned behaviors of aggression and violence-If someone is surrounded by violence and aggression, they are more likely to become violent and aggressive themselves because they have learned that those behaviors are okay. For example, violent parents taught a child that it's normal to work out your frustrations by being violent against others.

3. Inherent personality traits- for example, a reckless child could lead him to criminal ways.

4. Relationship of Criminality to mental illness- people committed crimes due to mental disorders. For example, a kleptomaniac has an uncontrollable impulse to steal.

Aside from those enumerated above, there are also other factors to why crimes and criminality exist such as below:

The Geographical Factors to Crime

Correlated climate, wind, velocity, atmosphere pressure, rainfall, nature, and other geographic factors to the existence and development of crimes and criminality.

1. North and South Pole – according to Adolf Quetelet “Thermic law of delinquency”. Early philosophers believed that the weather affected the biological and psychological makeup of individuals, and thus of cultures, with temperate climates making for temperate personalities and hotter climates making for more aggressive personalities. 2. Approach to the equator – according to Montesquieu (Spirit of Laws, 1748) criminality increase in proportion as one approach the equator and drunkenness increase as one approaches the North and South Pole.

3. Season of the year – a crime against a person are more in summer than rainy seasons while crime against property is more during rainy seasons.

4. Soil Formation – more crimes of violence are recorded in fertile level lands than hilly rugged terrain.

5. The month of the year – The more incidences of violent crimes during warm months from April up to July compared to other months.

6. Temperature –the number of arrest increase quite regularly with the increase in temperature.

7. Humidity and Atmosphere Pressure – this explains that low and high humidity are both vitally and emotionally depressing to the individuals.

8. Wind Velocity – explains that during high wind, the number of arrests was less.

Now that you have successfully completed your readings on the overview of criminological theories, you can start the learning activities below. Good Luck!

Learning Activities

Applying What You’ve Learned in This Unit

Activity # 1 Direction: Write a discourse paper explaining crime causation in Three (3) criminological perspective. (Not less than 200 words per approach). Use the space below in making your discourse. For scoring refer to rubrics in Appendix B.1 on page 119.

Discourse Writing

Activity # 2 Direction: Make a summary on what you have learned from the criminological theories in this module by completing the mind map below. Connect the boxes by drawing lines linking each concept. You may add boxes if necessary. For scoring refer to Appendix B.2 in page 121. First Level: Theories Second Level: Concept Third Level: Definition

Theoretical explanation on crime causation

Activity # 3 Direction: Define and supply situational examples of the term enumerated below. Use the space provided for your answer. For scoring refer to

Appendix B.3 on page 123.

1. Sociological Factor

Example:

2. Season of the year

Example:

3. Geographical Factors

Example

4. Failures in psychological development

Example

5. Humidity and Atmosphere Pressure

________________________________________________________________ Example

Activity # 4 Direction: In the blank to the left of the item statement, place the letter of your answer that is best indicated by the words contained in the choice below.(1 point per item)

Multiple Choice A= Biological Approach B= Sociological Approach C= Demonological Theory D=Geographical E= Natural F= Supernatural G= Psychological

1) Theories of crime saw criminals as physically different from non-criminals. 2) Suggest that genes may be partly responsible for criminal behavior. 3) The idea that crimes are caused by demonic possessions. 4) Temperate was used to explain the causes of crimes and criminality. 5) People have an inherent mental illness that causes them to commit crimes. 6) The crime was learned as the person is surrounded by criminals. 7) Crimes explain through differences in the opportunity of a group in a community. 8) Factors such as malnutrition were explained as the root cause of crime. 9) Friends were thought to be influential in criminal behavior. 10)Criminal behavior is thought to be inherited. 11)Crimes are thought to be the act of witchcraft. 12)Criminal neighborhood leads as the reason for crime causation. 13)Explains that rainy or summer season may contribute to types of crimes committed. 14)Mutation of genes as crime causation. 15)Crimes are committed other than demonic possession but on the real phenomena. 1)___________

2)___________ 3)___________

4)___________

5)___________

6)___________

7)___________

8)___________

9)___________

10)___________ 11)___________ 12)___________ 13)___________

14)___________ 15)___________

Activity # 5 Direction On the line to the left are example statement in Column I, write the letter of the biological factors presented in Column II. Use each formula only once.

Column I

______1. Mating behavior ______2. Hereditary ______3. Impulses and actions ______4. Mutating Genes ______5. Illness and deformities Column II

a. Physical body b. Inherited genes c. Evolutionary factor d. Brain Structure e. Role of hormones

Congratulations! You did a great job. If you fail to complete the tasks, or having difficulty in completing the activity, you may send your clarifications via text message or through phone calls on the contact indicated on this course module.

Please let us know your insights or thoughts about the activity on the space provided.

You had just completed this module. You are now ready for Unit 2.

Unit 2

Schools of Thought: Origin of Criminological Theories

Learning Outcomes

Once this unit has been completed, the student will be able to: 1. Make a graphic organizer of the development of the School thought of Criminology. 2. Create a Vein Diagram of the similarities and differences in the schools of thought Schools of thought. 3. Synthesize the approaches of the schools of thought in criminology.

Learning Contents

1.Pre-Classical School of Criminology 2.Classical School of Thought: Age of Enlightenment (18th century) 3.The Neo-Classical School of Criminology 4.The Positivist/Italian School

Evaluate Your Knowledge

Please answer the questionnaire below before heading into this, so you can see how much you know about crime theories.

Direction: Write the matching letter of your choice on the space provided.

______1. This school of criminology is concerned with offenders' motivations and characteristics. a. classical b. critical c. positivist d. spiritual ______2. The positivist school of criminology focuses on the _____ rather than the _____. a. offender; offense c. offense; offender b. offender; law d. law; offense ______3. Classical criminology uses this idea to explain that offenders choose to break the law. a. evolution b. spiritualism c. free will d. deterrence ______4. Lombroso identified physical abnormalities that he called _____ that he claimed represented the primitive features of a biological throwback. a. atavisms b. abnormalities b. hedonism d. altruisms ______5. The positivist school of criminology focuses on this rather than on the offense. a. law b. offender c. victim d. system ______6. What do we call the idea that people seek pleasure and avoid pain? a. Hedonism b. Rationality c. Utility d. Moral Anomaly ______7. When did the classical school of criminology originate? a. The Enlightenment c. The Middle Ages b. Classical antiquity d. Late antiquity ______8. Which of the following is NOT a central tenet of the classical school of criminology? a. Irrationality b. Hedonism c. Punishment d. Human rights

Read and Ponder

Schools of Thought in Criminology

Some of the prominent schools of thoughts in criminology will be discussed below:

This school was in its youth in the 17th -18th Century. The main proponent of this school is Saint Thomas Aquinas.

It is based on the principle of Demonology, witchcraft, and supernatural power. The main postulates of this school are as under:

1. Crime is committed due to the instigation of the devil or some evil spirit. 2. The influence of the spirit impels us to commit a crime. 3. It laid down the primary focus of crime causation to religion and spirituality. The good fortune or evil/good supernatural forces lead a human being towards the ill use of the free will. 4. Crime is the net result of the demonic possession and the consequences thereof; evil abuse of the free will. 5. The Christian idea of Original Sin which says that all human beings were considered born sinners. So the questions such as what causes crime are of no value. 6. Naturalism and spiritualism formed the backbone of its crime causation. It is also known as the deterministic approach to crime causation. These ideologies altogether excluded the individual responsibility in the commission of the crime.

Because not only human actions are governed by nature but even human passion. Pre-Classical School of Criminology

What are the schools of thought that explain the origin of criminal behavior?

1. Classical School 2. Neo-Classical School 3. Positivist School

Let us now discuss each school.

Classical School of Thought: Age of Enlightenment (18th century)

Roy is interested in criminology, previously in his class in the Introduction to Criminology course he heard about the barbaric system of law, punishment, and justice that existed. This is before the period of Enlightenment. But what the traditional classical school is about is still not quite clear to him.

To understand classical school, Roy’s teacher tells him to remember the five key principles of the classical school namely:

1. Rationality: The classical school assumes that people have free will and that they choose to commit crimes. For example, if Roy decides to steal some candy at the store, he is not forced to, based on some pre-destiny. He chooses to steal that candy. Not only that, he thinks about it beforehand and says to himself

2. Hedonism: The classical school also assumes that people seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. For example, when Roy looks at the candy in the store, he thinks about how it will please him, so he steals it.

3. Punishment: Remember how we said that a key idea was the idea of hedonism, pleasure-seeking, and pain avoidance? Well, that informs punishment, according to the classical school. The classical school of criminology believes that punishment works as a deterrent to crime.

4. Human rights: Roy has learned that before the classical school of criminology, punishments could be very harsh indeed. It was not uncommon to torture someone who was only suspected of a crime, and the punishments once convicted could be horrifying.

5. Legality. Criminal Justice Process must be predictable. Laws and punishment should be known to the public. Roy must know when he committed crimes the punishment is already knowing.

According to the classical school of criminology, individuals have the rights which need to be respected by society. That means that they should not torture or institute an unreasonably harsh punishment. For example, if Jordan gets caught stealing the candy, we wouldn't expect that his punishment would involve cutting his handoff. The theory doesn’t give distinction on the age of the individual and the handicap.

Proponents of this Schools: Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham

The main proponents of this school are Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. It is important to note that Beccaria is known as the father of the classical school of criminology.

He presented his key ideas on the abolition of torture as a legitimate means of extracting confessions. The Classical theory maintains that man is essentially a moral creature with absolute free will to choose between good and evil therefore tress is placed upon the criminal himself; that every man is responsible for his actions.

Freewill (Beccaria) – a philosophy advocating punishment severe enough for people to choose, to avoid criminal acts. It includes the belief that a certain criminal act warrants a certain punishment without any variation. Cesare Beccaria in his “ESSAY on

Crimes and Punishment”

Three deterrence concepts that were the cornerstone of the classical deterrence doctrine of Beccaria:

Swift ➢ Punishment should not be delayed ➢ You can't have the punishment linger or the punishment and the crime lose their association. Certain ➢ People must know they will be punished for their illegal behavior. ➢ People can’t evade the law for any reason

Severe ➢ Punishment must outweigh the rewards of the illegal action. ➢ Proportionality are sometimes at odds especially since each person is different in terms of what constitutes punishment

Jeremy Bentham and The Panopticon Prison

➢ Best known as the founder of utilitarianism/Hedonism.

Hedonism/Utilitarianism (Bentham) –the greatest happiness principle "Every activity should serve an aim (the greatest principle of happiness) (the effect on the happiness of the community should all be judged) (the greatest happiness of many people). The belief that people choose pleasure and avoid pain. According to Bentham’s utilitarianism theory, people are guided by a desire for pleasure and aversion to pain.

The Panopticon Prison

The panopticon is a type of hierarchical structure and control mechanism developed in the 18th century by Jeremy Bentham an English philosopher and social theorist.

The term panopticon derives from the Greek word panoptes which means "allseeing".

The Neo-Classical School of Criminology

Neoclassical Criminology can be defined, simply, as a school of thought that assumes criminal behavior as situationally dynamic and individuallydetermined. Neoclassical theories of crime suggest that crime prevention, reduction, or eradication can take place more strictly child-rearing practices, increased fines, and/or improved supervision and protection. Neoclassical thought is normally aligned with socially conservative policies on crime prevention. The primary explanation for this is that such ideas support rising violent forms of policing, zero-tolerance, probation, and extended jail sentences for all crimes.

Neo-classicism places great emphasis on free will and human rationality; it simply slightly refinement these ideas to work in the world and daily criminal justice

systems operations. This model provided an insight into potential forces that could undermine free will. Social security systems have taken on this characteristic of social actions in all advanced industrial societies.

The neo-classical school of criminology argued that situations or circumstances that made it impossible to exercise free will are reasons to exempt the accused from conviction. This school of thought maintains that while the classical doctrine is correct in general, it should be modified in certain details, that children and lunatics should not be regarded as criminals and free from punishment, it must take into account certain mitigating circumstances.

The Positivist/Italian School

How do Positivist/Italian School views crimes in its context?

➢ Empirical objectivity for criminal behavior assessment and quantification. ➢ Crime as a social and moral phenomenon that cannot be treated and checked by the imposition of punishment but rather rehabilitation or the enforcement of individual measures. ➢ Explains that criminals behave differently and have their own distinct set of characteristics than non-criminals.

What are the three main types of Positivism? 1. Biological positivism 2. Psychological positivism 3. Social positivism

1. Biological Positivism If the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin was scientifically applicable to animals, the same approach would apply to "man" as to "animal". It meant that animals must adapt to their surroundings, which would produce a new species over time. Biological Positivism is a philosophy that takes the traits and actions of a person that makes them criminal. The theory states that people are born criminals and others are not.

What are the Classes of Biological Positivism?

1.1 Physical characteristics ➢ Criminals are biologically distinguishable from law-abiding citizens. 1.2 Intelligence ➢ Intelligence is closely related to aggression and crime. 1.3 Other medical factors

➢ Such as hormonal imbalance (Testosterone and adrenaline link to violence and aggression) 2. Psychological Positivism ➢ The focus is on the quest is aimed at the mind for causes of crime and therefore find conceptions of the 'criminal mind' or 'criminal personality. 3. Social positivism ➢ This explains that in a given environment or the surrounding social or cultural system social factors such as low levels of education, deprivation, and negative influences on subculture may predispose that person to a crime.

Who are the proponents of the Positivist Schools of Criminology?

Cesare Lombroso and two students, Enrico Ferri and Rafaele Garofalo (the Holy Three in Criminology) advocated this school.

Cesare Lombroso- Father of Modern Criminology

➢ The biological characteristics of offenders ➢ He wrote the essay entitled “CRIME: Its Causes and Remedies” that contains his key ideas and the classifications of criminals. ➢ Conducted intensive study of physical characteristics of his patients and later on of criminals, he came to a definite conclusion that criminals were physically inferior in the standard of growth and therefore, developed a tendency for inferior acts. ➢ Generalized that criminals are less sensitive to pain and therefore they have little regard for the sufferings of others. ➢ He identified a list of physical features he believed to deviate from the “normal” population. These included an asymmetrical face, monkey-like ears, large lips, receding chin, twisted nose, long arms, skin wrinkles, and many more. (Atavistic features) Enrico Ferri (1856 – 1929)

➢ He was the best-known Lombroso’s associate. ➢ His greatest contribution was his attack on the classical doctrine of free will, which argued that criminals should be held morally responsible for their crimes because they must have made a rational decision to commit the crime. ➢ Ferri found that biological reasons were not the mere basis for the explanation of criminality.

Ferri's greatest contribution to criminology is his "Law on Criminal Saturation." This theory presupposes the synthetic result of the crime with three key factors:

1. Physical or geographical; 2. Anthropological; and 3. Psychological or social.

Raffaele Garofalo (1852 – 1934)

Another follower of Lombroso, an Italian nobleman, magistrate, senator, and professor of law. Like Lombroso and Ferri, he rejected the doctrine of free will and supported the position that the only way to understand crime was to study it by scientific methods. Influenced on Lombroso’s theory of atavistic stigmata (man’s inferior/ animalistic behavior), he traced the roots of criminal behavior not to physical features but to their psychological equivalents, which he called “moral anomalies”.

He stressed that lack of compassion leads to crimes against individuals and a lack of integrity for property crimes. Regarding the classification of suspects, Ferri was refused and the offenders were categorized into four major categories: 1. Murders whom he called “endemic” criminals; 2. Violent criminals who are affected by environmental influences such as prejudices of honor, politics, and religion 3. Criminals lacking in the sentiment of probity; and 4. Lascivious or lustful criminals who commit crimes against sex and chastity.

Distinctions between Classical School and Positive School.

Distinction Classical School Positive School.

Defining Crime defined crime in legal terms rejected the legal definition of crime and preferred sociological definition.

Explanation of Crime reliance on free-will theory as an explanation of crime biological determination

Nature of Punishment believed in deterrent and definite punishment for each offense and equal punishment for all criminals committing the same offense.

The Focus of the School focus greater attention on crime, namely, the act rather than the criminal treatment methods for criminals instead of punishment and held that criminals be punished not according to the gravity of his crime but according to the circumstances associated with it. emphasis on the personality of the offender rather than his criminal act

Now that you have successfully completed your readings on School of Thoughts origin of criminological theories, you can start the learning activities below. Good Luck!

Learning Activities

Applying What You’ve Learned in This Unit

Activity #1 Direction: Make a summary on what you have learned from the School of thought in this module by completing the mind map below. Connect the boxes by drawing lines linking each concept. You may add boxes if necessary.

Activity #2 Direction: Using the Venn Diagram, compare and contrast the Classical and Positivist Schools of Thought. For scoring refer to Appendix B.2 on page 121.

Classical Venn Diagram VS Positivist

Similarity

Activity #3 Direction: Make a summary on what you have learned from the school of thought by synthesizing the concept presented below. Use the space provided. For scoring refer to Appendix B.3 in page 122.

1. Freewill

2. Moral Anomalies

3. Biological Determinism

4. Psychological Determinism

5. Sociological Determinism

______1. The school of taught rejected the legal definition of crime and preferred sociological definition. ______2. The ideology that takes on a person's characteristics and behavior which makes them criminal. ______3. The focus is on the quest is aimed at the mind for causes of crime and therefore find conceptions of the 'criminal mind' or 'criminal personality. ______4. Factors such as a low level of education were regarded as a negative influence on the person that pushes him to criminality. ______5. A school of thought that believes in child-rearing practice my influences criminal behavior.

1. Jeremy Bentham

________________________________________________________________ 2. Cesare Lombroso

________________________________________________________________ 3. Enrico Ferri

________________________________________________________________ 4. Raffaele Garofalo

Activity #4 Direction: Matching type. On the left-hand side of each sentence write the letter of your answer. Use each letters once.

a. Neoclassical b. Social positivism c. Psychological

Positivism d. Biological

Positivism e. Positivist

Activity #5 Direction: Give the contribution of the following names enumerated below. Use the space provided. For scoring refer to Appendix B.3 in page 122

5. Cesare Beccaria

Congratulations! You did a great job. If you fail to complete the tasks, or having difficulty in completing the activity, you may send your clarifications via text message or through phone calls on the contact indicated on this course module.

Please let us know your insights or thoughts about the activity on the space provided.

You had just completed this module. You are now ready for Unit 3.