CRIM 2 – Theories of Crime Causation

Prof. Beverly N. Yco, MSCJ

CRIMINOLOGY

- according to Edwin H. Sutherland, “criminology is the entire body of knowledge regarding crime as
a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the process of making of laws, of breaking of
laws, and the society’s reaction towards the breaking of laws.”
- a body of knowledge regarding crimes, criminals and the efforts of society to prevent and repress
them.
- the scientific study of the causes of crime in relation to man and society who set and define rules
and regulations for himself and others to govern.

Criminologist

- any person who is a graduate of the Degree of Criminology, who has passed the examination for
criminologists and is registered as such by the Board of Examiners of the Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC).
- (R.A. 11131) AN ACT REGULATING THE PRACTICE OF CRIMINOLOGY PROFESSION IN THE
PHILIPPINES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6506, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "AN ACT CREATING THE BOARD OF
EXAMINERS FOR CRIMINOLOGISTS IN THE PHILIPPINES"

Origin of the word “Criminology”

Etymologically, the term criminology came from the Latin word “crimen” meaning crime and Greek word
“Logos” which means “to study”.

In 1885, Rafael Garofalo, an Italian Law Professor coined the term criminologia.

In 1889, Paul Topinard, French Anthropologist, used the term criminology in French criminologie for
the first time

THEORY

- Set of statements devised to explain behavior, events or phenomenon, especially one that has
been repeatedly tested and widely accepted.
- Any system of ideas arranged in rational order that produce general principles which increases
which our understanding and explanation.
- Derived from and representative, of particular facts, but those principles are not dependent upon
the particular thing to be explained
- Foundation of criminology and criminal justice.

CRIME
- Refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of public law (Phil. Law Dictionary).
- It also refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it
(Reyes 2006).

ACT OF COMMISSION – when the act performed is in violation of a law forbidding it

ACT OF OMISSION – when the person failed to perform an act that is commanded by law

CRIMINAL

- In the legal sense, a criminal is any person who has been found to have committed a wrongful act
in the course of the standard judicial process; there must be a final verdict of his guilt
- In the criminological sense, a person is already considered a criminal the moment he committed a
crime .

Theories of Crime Problems

1. Crime Opportunity theory

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- Is a crime that is committed without planning when the perpetrator/offender sees that they
have the chance to commit the act at that moment and seizes it. Such acts have little or
no premeditation.
- The occurrence of a crime depends on two things: the presence of at least one motivated
offender who is ready or willing to engage in a crime, and the conditions of the environment
in which that offender is situated, to wit, opportunities for crime.

- All crimes require opportunity but not every opportunity is followed by crime. Similarly, a
motivated offender is necessary for the commission of a crime but not sufficient. A large part
of this theory focuses on how variations in lifestyle or routine activities affect the
opportunities for crime.

The crime triangle (also known as the problem analysis triangle)

DESIRE CAPABILITY
CRIME
OPPORTUNITY

A. Routine Activity Theory-

- Proposed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen
- Routine activity theory is based on the assumption that crime can be committed by anyone who has
the opportunity. The theory also states that victims are given choices on whether to be victims
mainly by not placing themselves in situations where a crime can be committed against them.
- This theory focuses on the right circumstances for a crime of opportunity to occur. The three main
components of this theory emphasize an offender, suitable target and the lack of a capable
guardian.

 Offenders are individuals who are not only capable of

committing criminal activity, but are willing to do so.

 Suitable targets can be a person or object that are seen by

offenders as vulnerable or particularly attractive.

 Capable Guardian can be a person or an object that is effective

in deterring offense to occur and sometimes crime is stopped by
simple presence of guardianship in space and time.

B. Rational choice theory (Right Realism Theory)

- Also called rational action theory or choice theory
- School of thought based on the assumption that individuals choose a course of action that is most
in line with their personal preferences. Theory assumes that all people try to actively maximize their
advantage in any situation and therefore consistently try to minimize their losses. The theory is
based on the idea that all humans base their decisions on rational calculations, act with rationality
when choosing, and aim to increase their pleasure or profit.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN CRIMINOLOGY

1. DEMONOLOGICAL THEORY
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- Asserts that a person commits wrongful acts due to the fact that he was possessed by demons.
- In the 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 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.

Demonology – came from the greek word “Daimon”, meaning “divinity, divine, power, god” and Logia
means “to study”.

2. CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY

- This school of thought is based on the assumption that individuals choose to commit crimes after
weighing the consequences of their actions. According to classical criminologists, individuals have
free will. They can choose legal or illegal means to get what they want, fear of punishment can
deter them from committing crime and society can control behavior by making the pain of
punishment greater than the pleasure of the criminal gains.
- This theory, however, does not give any distinction between an adult and a minor or a mentally-
handicapped in as far as free will is concerned. Founders of classical school of criminology are
Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham.

Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana Marchese di Beccaria) (1738-1794)

- Best known for his essay, “On Crimes and Punishment” which presented key ideas on the
abolition of torture as legitimate means of extracting confession.
- His book contains almost all modern penal reforms but its greatest contribution was the
foundation it laid for subsequent changes in criminal legislation
- His book was influential in the reforms of penal code in France, Russia, Prussia and it
influenced the first ten amendments to the US Constitution

Beccaria believed that:

a. people want to achieve pleasure and avoid pain.

b. Crime provides some pleasure to the criminal.

c. To deter crime, he believed that one must administer pain in an appropriate amount to
counterbalance the pleasure obtain from crime.

d. Famous in sayings “ Let the punishment fit the crime”

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

- his contribution to classical school of criminology is the concept of utilitarianism and the felicific
calculus.
- proposed “Utilitarian Hedonism” which explains that person always acts in such a way to seek
pleasure and avoid pain.
- founded the concept of UTILITARIANISM – assumes that all our actions are calculated in
accordance with their likelihood of bringing pleasure and pain
- 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

Utilitarianism
– is a philosophy which argues that what is right is the one that would cause the greatest good
for the greatest number of people.
- others refer to it as the greatest happiness principle or the principle of utility.
- from this principle, Bentham formulated the “felicific calculus”.
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Felicific Calculus or the Pleasure-and-Pain Principle (P.P.P)

– 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.
3. DETERRENCE THEORY
- Highlights that an individual’s choice to commit or not to commit a crime is influenced by the fear of
punishment. It also includes the idea that forced retribution for a crime should reduce crime rates.
- This theory is considered an extension of the classical approach focusing on the link between
punishment and behavior at both individual and group levels.
- It is the act preventing a criminal act before it occurs, the threat punishment of punishment and
sanctions.

What is retribution?

- Retribution is the notion that a wrongdoer should be forced to “pay back” or compensate for his
criminal acts.

Focus of deterrence theory

- For punishment to be deterrent to criminal behavior, it must be certain, swift, and severe.
- The severity must be sufficient to outweigh any rewards that the criminal may obtain from a criminal
act.

Type of Deterrence

A. Specific Deterrence- this is aimed at the wrongdoer and tries to deter him from crime by
punishing him.
B. General Deterrence- this is aimed at everyone. It deters everyone from crime by punishing the
criminal and thus establishing an example. The weakness is that it does not clearly consider the
impact of punishment on people which have not committed but it might be ready to commit
crime.

4. NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY
This theory modified the doctrine of free will by stating that free will of men may be affected by
other factors and crime is committed due to some compelling reasons that prevail. These causes are
pathology, incompetence, insanity or any condition that will make it impossible for the individual to
exercise free will entirely. In the study of legal provisions, this is termed as either mitigating or
exempting circumstances.

Gabriel Tarde
- Founder of neoclassical criminology school
- French sociologist
- Published the book “Penal Philosophy”, 1890”

5. POSITIVIST SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY

- The term “positivism”, refers to a method of analysis based on the collection of observable scientific
facts.
- Positivists believe that causes of behavior can be measured and observed.
- It demands for facts and scientific proof, thus, changing the study of crimes and criminals into
scientific approach.
- Positive theorists were the first to claim the importance of looking at individual difference among
criminals. These theorists who concentrated on the individual structures of a person, stated that
people are passive and controlled, whose behaviors are imposed upon them by biological and
environmental factors.

August Comte
- French philosopher and sociologist and is believed to be the one who reinvented the French
term sociologie.
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- he was recognized as the “Father of Sociology and Positivism”.

THE (UN) HOLY THREE (3) OF CRIMINOLOGY

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

Cesare Lombroso
- recognized as the “Father of Modern and Empirical Criminology” due to his application of
modern scientific methods to trace criminal behavior, however, most of his ideas are now discredited

- known for the concept of atavistic stigmata (the physical features of creatures at an earlier
stage of development).

- he claimed that criminals are distinguishable from non-criminals due to the presence of
atavistic stigmata and crimes committed by those who are born with certain recognizable heredity traits.

- according to his theory, 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.

- 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 work supported the idea that the criminal was a biologically and physically inferior
person

Three (3) classes of criminals according to Lombroso

a. born criminals – individuals with at least five (5) atavistic stigmata

b. 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.

c. criminaloids - those with makeup of an ambiguous group that includes habitual criminals,
criminals by passion and other diverse types

Enricco Ferri

- born in Mantua, Italy, in 1856

- published his dissertation entitled Criminal Sociology in 1878
- an acknowledged leader of the positivist school of criminology
- student of Lombroso at the University of Turin4coined the term “born criminal”
- He focused his study on the influences of psychological factors and sociological factors
such as economics, on crimes.
- He believed that criminals could not be held morally responsible because they did not choose to
commit crimes, but rather were driven to commit crimes by conditions in their lives.

The following are the classification established by Ferri:

1. Born or Instinctive Criminal. One who carries from birth, through unfortunate heredity from
his ancestors, a reduced resistance to criminal stimuli and also an evident and developed
tendency to crime.
2. Insane Criminal. One who is affected by a clinically identified mental disease or by
neuropsychopathic condition which groups him with the mentally disease.
3. Passional Criminal- One who, in two varieties, the criminal through passion (a prolonged
and chronic mental state), or through emotion (emotion (explosive and unexpected mental
state), represents a type at the opposite pole from the criminal due to congenital tendencies.
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4. Occasional Criminal. One who constitutes the majority of lawbreakers and is the product of
family and social milieu more than of abnormal personal physiomental condition.
5. Habitual Criminal. The criminal by acquired habit, who is mostly a product of the social
environment in which, due to abandonment by his family, lack of education, poverty, and
bad companions, already in his childhood begins as an occasional offender.

Raffaelle Garofallo

- Born of Italian nobility in Naples 1852

- Third of the leading exponents of positivism
- Professor of criminal law at the University of Naples
- Known principally in the United States for his major work, Criminology
- He treated the roots of the criminals’ behavior not to physical features but to their psychology
equivalent, which he referred to as moral anomalies.
- He rejected the doctrine of freewill.
- Classified criminals as Murderers, Violent Criminals, Deficient Criminals, and Lascivious
Criminals.

Four Types of Criminals on the Basis of Moral Deficits

1. Murderer
The man in whom altruism is wholly lacking and whose sentiments of both pity and probity
are absent, and such a criminal will steal or kill as the occasion arises.
2. Violent Criminal
Those characterized by the lack of pity (may also commit crimes of passion, sometimes
under the influence of alcohol; such crimes are indicative of inferior innate moral capacities;
certain environments contribute to crimes against property)
3. Thief
Those thieves who lacks probity (such offenses are committed by a small minority of the
population)
4. Lascivious Criminal
A large group of sexual offenders whose conduct is characterized less by the absence of the
sentiment of pity than by a low level of moral energy and deficient moral perception.
Rafaelle Garofalo rejected the doctrine of free will believed that crime and criminal behavior
can be understood only by using scientific methods, and that science deals with universals.

6. CONFLICT THEORY
- Is a theory propounded by Karl Marx that claims society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to
competition for limited resources. It holds that social order is maintained by domination and
power, rather than consensus and conformity. According to conflict theory, those with wealth
and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and
powerless.
- Max’s conflict theory focused on the conflict between two primary classes. The bourgeoisie
represents the members of society who hold the majority of the wealth and means. The
proletariat includes those considered working class or poor. With the rise of capitalism, Marx
theorized that the bourgeoisie, a minority within the population, would use their influence to
oppress the proletariat, the majority class.

7. CRITICAL THEORY
- was first defined by Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School of sociology in his 1937 essay
Traditional and Critical Theory.
- Critical theory upholds the belief that a small few, elite of the society, decide laws and the
definition of crime; those who commit crimes disagree with the laws that were created to keep
control of them.

THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION

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1. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES
- this refers to the set of theories that point to physical, physiological and other natural factors as the
causes for the commission of crimes of certain individuals.
- This explanation for the existence of criminal traits associates an individual’s evil disposition to
physical disfigurement or impairment.

a. Physiognomy – the study of facial features and their relation to human behavior.

1. Giambiatista dela Porta

- founder of human physiognomy

- according to him criminal behavior may be predicted based on facial features of the person.

2. Johann Kaspar Lavater

- supported the belief of dela Porta

- he believed that a person’s character is revealed through his facial characteristics.

b. Phrenology, Craniology or Cranioscopy – the study of the external formation of the skull in
relation to the person’s personality and tendencies toward criminal behavior.

1. Franz Joseph Gall

- he developed cranioscopy which was later renamed as phrenology.

2. Johann Kaspar Spurzheim

- assistant of Gall in the study of phrenology.
- he was the man most responsible for popularizing and spreading phrenology to a wide
audience

c. Physiology or Somatotype
- This theory relates to the distinctive body type to personality characteristics and relates
criminal behavior to the body types (Morin, R., 2014). People are born with an inherited
body type based on skeletal frame and body composition
- Somatotyping is the classifying of the people into type according to body build.
- 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.

1. Ernst Kretschmer
- He distinguished three (3) principal types of physiques: asthenic, athletic, pyknik and
dysplastic.
a. asthenic – characterized as thin, small and weak.
b. athletic – muscular and strong.
c. pyknic – stout, round and fat.
d. dysplastic – combination of two body types

2. William Herbert Sheldon

formulated his own group of somatotype: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph.
a. Ectomorph
 tall and thin and less social and more intellectual than the other types.
 thin and fragile
 flat-chested, fragile, lean, lightly muscled, small shouldered and thin
 likely to commit suicide
b. Mesomorph
 have well-developed muscles and an athletic appearance.
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 Muscular and athletic

 Hour glass-shaped when they’re female, or rectangular- shaped in males.
 Have excellent posture, they gain muscle easily and they have thivk skin.
 Most prone to commit crime or other deviant behavior
c. Endomorph
 heavy builds and slow moving.
 Soft and fat
 Underdeveloped muscles and round physique
 Have difficulty of losing weight
 Likely to be mentally ill

d. Y Chromosome Theory

- This theory holds that criminal have an extra Y chromosome that gives them an XYY
chromosomal makeup rather than an XY makeup. This creates a strong compulsion within within them
to commit crimes and being known as “super male”. According to studies the proportions of XYY males
in the prison population is higher than general male population.

Jacob’s Syndrome (JS) This condition is also called XYY karyotype, or YY syndrome. It is a genetic
condition in which a male has an extra Y chromosome. According to the National Institutes of Health,
XYY syndrome occurs in 1 out of every 1,000 boys.

Turner syndrome (TS), also known 45X, is a genetic condition in which a female is partly or completely
missing an X chromosome. Turner syndrome occurs in between one in 2,000 and one in 5,000 females at
birth.

X and Y Chromosomes – Also known as Sex Chromosomes

XX- Female Chromosome

XY – Male Chromosome

e. Heredity
- the transmission of traits from parents to offspring.
- Also called as Genetics
- Genetics explain the causes of crime. In a family studies focus on the history and background
of families it was found out that families with criminal backgrounds, are said to be more likely
to produce children with criminal tendencies also, almost as though crime is a gene carried
through generations. Characteristics and traits of a person can be inherited through genes
and it is argued that criminal behavior may be an inheritable, polygenic trait much like eye
color, height and skin tone etc.

1. Family Studies
 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.
 Henry Goddard
 he traced the descendants of the Martin Kallikak from each of his two wives and
found a distinct difference in termsof quality of lives of descendants. He coined the
term “moron”.
 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.
 Osborne and West (1982)

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 They undertook the study of families and family history comparing of sons and
fathers, criminal fathers and non-criminal convictions.
 Findings:
1. The Fathers with criminal convictions meant that 40% of sons also have
criminal convictions.
2. Even when a father had no trace of a criminal conviction, still 13% of sons did.
Genes do not completely determine criminality but yet still may have an
influence.
3. Criminality is higher in sons with criminal fathers, it is still necessary to
understand as to why 60% of them did not commit crimes and why 13% of sons
of non-criminal fathers did (Ainsworth, 2000)

2. Adoption Studies

 Hutchings and Mednick (1975)

 Findings:
1. Even if the adoptive or biological father did not have a record of criminal
behavior, their sons still had one about 10% of the time.
2. With an adoptive father with a criminal record, 11% of the time sons would
too and a biological father with criminal record 21% of the time as did their
sons. The significant 36% where both parents had traced criminal records.
3. No relationship between the number of convictions of adoptive parents and
their adopted children.
4. There is a significant correlation between the number of criminal convictions
of biological parents and their offspring, although this did not include violent
crimes.
5. There is a genetic influence on criminality but other factors such as
environment must be considered.
 Bohman et al, 1982
 Findings:
1. Criminality may not be genetically inherited but other traits may be. Traits
such as alcoholism and addiction and addiction can be genetically inherited
and research shows that genes are responsible for about half the risk of
alcoholism and addiction. These traits are associated with violent behavior
which can help to explain the genetic link to crime.
2. Although genetics has an influence, it may not be crime which is inherited but
other genes which may lead to criminal behavior. Adoptive children may have
been adopted months after birth and the possibility of their early life
experiences contributing to criminal behavior in later life.
3. Stress then being the inherited gene causing behavioral disorders in
offspring.

3. Twin Studies

 Findings:
1. An inheritable trait may increase the risk of criminal behavior. They compare the
concordance rate of MZ and DZ twins to assess the role of genetic and environmental
influences. To support the biological approach, the concordance rate of MZ twins would
be higher than DZ twins, (Tehrani & Mednick, 2000).
2. Karl Christiansen undertook a study of twins Studies which support this statement
where concordance for MZ was 35% and only 13% for DZ, his studies were based on
twins he gathered from Denmark between 1880 and 1910, He studied their police and
court records through these years. MZ concordance rate was higher, the difference
between MZ and DZ is that MZ are identical which may suggest this had an influence
on the results. Being identical may mean they are treated similarities may also mean
they mimic each other throughout life and so any criminal behavior may also be
mimicked but the behavior isn’t solely influenced by genetics. The fact DZ twins are
different sex twins most of the time, may mean that gender has more of an influence on
criminal behavior than genetics do.

INTELLIGENCE AS A FACTOR IN CRIMINALITY

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The classic studies of the Juke and Kallikak families were among the first to show that
feeblemindedness or low-intelligence can be inherited and transferred from one generation to the next.
Numerous test were also conducted that lead to the development of the use of IQ tests as a testing
procedure for offenders. The very first results seemed to confirm that offenders had low mental abilities
and they were found to be mentally impaired.

ALFRED BINET
– A French psychologist who developed the first IQ test.
- The test measured the capacity of individual children to perform tasks or solve problems in
relation to the average capacity of their peers.

2. PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

- refers to the theories that attribute criminal behavior of individuals to psychological factors, such as
emotion and mental problems.
- This theory has a general perspective that looks to the psychological functioning, development, and
adjustment of an individual in explaining criminal or deviant acts. Under this approach, the criminal
act itself is important only in that, it highlights an underlying issue. It focus on the association among
intelligence, personality, learning and criminal behavior. It further explain criminal behavior, in part,
as factors affecting individuals such as negative childhood experiences, or incomplete cognitive
development.

What are the probes of the psychological theory?

a. Charles Goring (1870-1919)

Findings:
a. There are relationship between crime and flawed intelligence. Goring examined more than
3,000 convicts in England.
b. Criminals are more likely to be insane, to be unintelligent, and to exhibit poor social
behavior.

b. Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904)

Findings:
a. Maintained that individuals learn from each other and ultimately imitate one another.
b. Out of 100 individuals, only 1 was creative or inventive and the remainder were prone
imitation (Jacob,2004)

A. Psychoanalytic Theory

- Sigmund Freud he is recognized as the FATHER OF PSYCHOANALYSIS

- 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:

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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.

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B. Behavioral Theory
It focuses on behavior modelling and social learning. It maintains that all human behavior –
including violent behavior –is learned through interaction with the social environment.
Behaviourists argue that people are not born with a violent disposition. Rather, they learn to
think and act violently disposition as a result of their day to day experiences (Bandura, 1977)

Four factors help produce violence

1. A stressful event or stimulus –like threat, challenge or assault –that heightens arousal
2. Aggressive Skills or techniques learned through observing others;
3. A belief that aggression or violence will be socially rewarded (by, for example, reducing frustration.
Enhancing self-esteem, providing material goods or earning the praise of other people); and
4. A value system that condones violent acts within certain social contexts. Early empirical tests of these
four principles were promising (Bartol, 2002)

C. Cognitive Theory
This theory signifies that an individual perception and how it is manifested affect his or her
potential to commit crime (Jacoby, 2004). It focus on how people perceive their social
environment and learn to solve problems. The moral and intellectual development perspective is
the branch of cognitive theory that is most associated with the study of crime and violence.

3. 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” or the absence of social norms. It is characterized

by disorder due to lack of common values shared by individuals, lack of respect for
authority and lack of appreciation for what is acceptable and not acceptable in a society.

 Gabriel Tarde

- introduced the theory of imitation which proposes the process by which people
become criminals.

- according to this theory, individuals imitate the behavior of other individuals based on
the degree of their association with other individuals and it is inferior or weak who tend to
imitate the superior and strong.

 Adolphe Quetelet and Andre Michael Guerry

- He repudiated the free will doctrine of the classicists

- founder of cartographic school of criminology.

- founder of moral statistics.

- cartographic school of criminology made use of statistical data such as population, age,
gender, occupation, religious affiliations and social economic status and studies their
influences and relationship to criminality.

MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION

- environmental factors such as the kind of rearing or family upbringing, quality of teaching in school,
influences of peers and friends, conditions of the neighborhood, and economic and other societal
factors are believed to be contributory to crime and criminal behavior.

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 CRIM 2 – Theories of Crime Causation
Prof. Beverly N. Yco, MSCJ

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
- Founded by Robert Agnew (1992)
- 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.

c. Subcultural Theory
- By Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960)
- This theory is linked to anomie and strain exemplifying concepts of status frustrations and
differential opportunity.

d. 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.

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.

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.

b. Differential Reinforcement Theory

- according to this theory, individual’s behavior depends on how people around him react
toward s his behavior.
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 CRIM 2 – Theories of Crime Causation
Prof. Beverly N. Yco, MSCJ

- an act that is rewarded is repeated; an act that is punished will be avoided.

Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement

 Positive Reinforcement
- the behavior results in something good –some positive consequence like money,
the pleasurable feelings associated with drug use, attention from parents, from approval
from friends, or an increase in social status

 Negative Reinforcement
-The behavior results in the removal of something bad –a punisher is removed or
avoided.
(Example: Suppose one’s friends have been calling her a coward because she
refuses to use drugs with them. The individual eventually takes drugs with them, after
which time they stop calling her a coward. The individual’s drug use has been negatively
reinforced.)

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 as labeling theory.
A. Labelling 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.

What are the two effects of labelling?

 The Creation of a stigma –a public record of the deviant act caused the denounced
person to be ritually separated from a place in the legitimate order of society through
successful degradation ceremonies.
 The Effect of self –image –stigmatized offenders may begin to reevaluate their own
identities around the label.

B. Conflict Theory
- The view that society is divided into two or more groups with competing ideas and
values. The group (s) with the most power makes the laws and control society. Groups
lacking the formal power to make the rules still maintain their own group norms, and
continue in their behavior, which is now viewed as criminal by the larger society.

C. Marxist Theory
Marxist theories argue that those who own the means of productions (e.g., factories,
business) have the greatest power. This group –the capitalist class –uses its power for its
own advantage. Capitalists work for the passage of laws that criminalize and severely
sanction the “street” crimes of lower –class persons, but ignore or mildly sanction the
harmful actions of business and industry (e.g., pollution, unsafe working conditions).

D. Feminist Theory
This theory focus on gender differences in power as a source of crime. It address two
issues: why are males more involved in most forms of crime than females, and why do
female engage in crime. Most theories of crime that the causes of female crime differ
somewhat from the causes of the male crime.

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 CRIM 2 – Theories of Crime Causation
Prof. Beverly N. Yco, MSCJ

E. Displacement Theory
Crime displacement is the relocation of crime (or criminals) as a result of police crime
prevention efforts. Crime displacement has been linked to problem –oriented policing, but it
may occur at the other levels and for other reasons. Community –development efforts may
be a reason why criminals move to other areas for their criminal activity.
The displacement theory argues that by removing the opportunity for crime or seeking
prevent a crime by changing situation in which it occurs does not actually prevent crime but
merely moves it to a new environment with less obstacles. Crime displacement is one
probable explanation the criminal pattern changes in a certain system. A practical and
common belief about crime displacement is that if perpetrators have the ability, mobility and
flexibility to exploit the wekest link in the chain, they will do so to commit the crime (Ekwall &
Lumsden, 2007)

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.

 Belief – refers to acceptance of the norms of conventional society.

 Involvement – refers to the amount of time an individual spends on a conventional
pursuit.
 Attachment – refers to the degree to which an individual care about the opinions of
others.
 Commitment – refers to an individual’s investment of energy and emotion in
conventional pursuits, such as getting good grades.

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