NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

COURSE CODE : CSS354

COURSE TITLE: SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF

OFFENDERS
CSS354 COURSE GUIDE

COURSE
GUIDE

CSS354
SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Course Team Ogunrekun Olawale Olusola (Developer/Writer) - LASU

Dr. Adeniyi T. Adegoke (Co-developer/writer) - NOUN
Prof. Abdul R. Yesufu (Programme Leader) - NOUN
Dr. Adeniyi T. Adegoke (Coordinator) - NOUN

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

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CSS354 COURSE GUIDE

National Open University of Nigeria

Headquarters
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island
Lagos

Abuja Office
No. 5 Dar es Salaam Street
Off Aminu Kano Crescent
Wuse II, Abuja
Nigeria

e-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.nou.edu.ng

Published By:
National Open University of Nigeria

First Printed 2010

ISBN:

All Rights Reserved

iii
CSS354 COURSE GUIDE

CONTENTS PAGE

Introduction ……………………………………….……………… 1
What You Will Learn in this Course ............................................... 1
Course Aims ……………………………………….….………….. 2
Course Objectives …………………………………..…………….. 2
Working through this Course …………………………………….. 2
Course Materials …………………………………………………... 3
Study Unit ………………………………………………………… 3
Textbooks and References ………………………………………. 4
Assessment File …………………………………………………… 5
Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs) ……………………………… 5
Final Examination and Grading ………………………………….. 5
Course Marking Scheme …………………………………………. 6
Presentation Schedule ……………………………………………. 6
Course Overview …………………………………………………. 7
How to Get the Most from This Course …………………………. 6
Facilitators/Tutors and Tutorials ………………………………… 9
Summary ………………………………………………………… 10

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Introduction

CSS354: Special Categories of offenders is a 3 credit unit course.lt is a

compulsory course for all undergraduate students in the field of
criminology and security studies of the university. This course is also
recommended to any other postgraduate students especially those in the
school of Arts and social sciences who may have interest in the study of
criminology. The course can also be taken as an elective or required
course by other postgraduate students whose main fields of discipline is
not criminology and security studies.

However, the course shall consist of 20 units. In the first 2 modules of

this course, we focus on the sociological and legal definition of crime
and the different types of crime that can be committed. Module 3 and 4
also try to look at the definition of offence and punishment and the
different types of offences and punishment. Module 5 focused on the
types of offenders, purpose and types of sentencing structure while the
last module tries to look at the Police and their role in the administration
of criminal justice in Nigeria.

More interestingly, the material draws its case studies from major
experiences in Nigeria and Africa with the aim of exposing the reader to
the different kinds of crime and offences and in particular the peculiar
characters of different offenders. However, having known that our study
on special categories cannot be complete if we fail to have the
knowledge of what operates in some other continents, we shall also site
examples from other parts of the world including America and Europe.

The course has no compulsory pre-requisite for it to be registered for.

The course guide informs us on what this course is all about, what
students will learn in each unit, what text materials we shall be using
and how we can make the best use of these materials. This course guide
also emphasize on the need for students to take tutor-marked assignment
so seriously. However, necessary information on tutor-marked
assignments shall be made known to students in a separate file, which
will be sent to each of them at the appropriate time. This course is also
supported with periodic tutorial classes.

What Will You Learn in This Course

CSS354: Special categories of offenders as a course in the field of

Criminology at the National open University of Nigeria focuses on a
wide range of issues that bothers on the Legal and Sociological view of
crime as well as theoretical background to crime. It also tries to put the
students through on the definition of offence and the types of offences;

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

the meaning of punishment and the types; theoretical background to

punishment.

Furthermore, detailed analysis of the types of offenders, purpose and

types of sentencing structure was also done with cases sited not only in
Nigeria and Africa but also from Europe and America. The important
role of the police in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria was
also discussed extensively to equip the students with the knowledge of
legal systems in Nigeria and its operation.

Course Aims

The overall aim of CSS354: Special categories of offenders as a course

aims to explore the background to crime and the sociological and legal
view of crime.lt also investigates the term offence and who an offender
is and the various categories of offenders. The material draws its case
studies from the local and international environments.

Course Objectives

With utmost desire to achieve the aims set out above, the course has
some set of objectives as demonstrated in all the units of the course.
Each unit has its own objectives. Objectives are always included at the
beginning of every unit to assist the student in the appreciation of what
he or she will come across in the study of each unit to facilitate his or
her better understanding of the course-CSS354: Special categories of
offenders. The student is, therefore advised to read these objectives
before studying the entire unit(s).The reason is that it is helpful to do so.
You should always look at the unit objectives after completing a unit. In
this way, you can be sure that you have done what was required of you
by the unit.

Working through This Course

In completing this course, the student is required to study the whole

units, and try to read all (or substantial number of) the recommended
textbooks, journals and other reading materials including electronic
resources. Each unit contains self assessment exercise(s) and the student
is required to submit his or her assignment for the purpose of
assessment. At the end of the course, the student(s) shall be examined.
The time of the final examination and venues shall be communicated to
all the registered students in due course by relevant school authorities-
study centre management. Below are the components of the course and
what you are required to do.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Course Materials

Major components of the course include:

1. Course Guide
2. Study units
3. Textbooks
4. Assignments File
5. Presentation Schedule

It is incumbent upon every student to get his or her own copy of the
course material. You are also advised to contact your tutorial facilitator
if you have any difficulty in getting any of the text materials
recommended for your further reading.

Study Units

In this course there are twenty units, which include:

Module 1 Definition of Crime from the Legal and Sociological

Perspective

Unit 1 Definition of Crime

Unit 2 Legal Definition of crime
Unit 3 Sociological Definition of Crime

Module 2 Theoretical Background to Crime and the Types of

Crime

Unit 1 Types of Crime 1

Unit 2 Types of Crime 2
Unit 3 Theoretical Background to Crime

Module 3 Definition and Types of Offences

Unit 1 Definition of Offence

Unit 2 Types of Offences 1
Unit 3 Types of Offences 2
Unit 4 Types of Offences 3
Unit 5 Types of Offences 4

Module 4 Theoretical Background to Punishment

Unit 1 What is Punishment?

Unit 2 Types of Punishment
Unit 3 Theoretical Background to Punishment

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Module 5 Offenders and Sentencing Structure

Unit 1 Pre-sentencing
Unit 2 Purpose of Sentencing
Unit 3 Types of Sentencing Structure

Module 6 Police and the Administration of Criminal Justice

Unit 1 Definition and Historical Background of Police

Unit 2 Functions and obstacles of Policing in Nigeria
Unit 3 Role of Police in the Administration of Criminal Justice

Textbooks and References

The following textbooks are recommended to students taking the course:

Siegel, L.J. (2006). Criminology. Belmont USA: Thompson Learning

Incorporation.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2009).

Fourth Edition Houghton Mifflin Company.

Reid, S.T (2006). Crime and Criminology. New York: McGraw-Hill

Companies Incorporation.

Diamond, John L. (1985). Kidnapping: A Modern Definition, American

Journal of Criminal Law 13.

Hillebrand, Joseph R. (1991). “Parental Kidnapping and the Tort of

Custodial Interference: Not in a Child’s Best Interest”. Indiana
Law Review 25.

Brewer, J.D. (1994). The danger from Strangers: Confronting the threat
of Assault; Norwell Mass Klumer Academic.

West Encyclopeadia of American Law (2008).

Gaines, Letal (2003). Police Administration. New York: McGraw Hill

Companies.

Brookman, F. (2005). Understanding Homicide. London: Sage

Publications Ltd.

Groth, Nicholas A. (1979). Men who Rape: The Psychology of the

Offender. New York: Plenum Press.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Lee, Ellis (1989). Theories of Rape: Inquiries into the Causes of Rape.
Taylor and Francis.

Frank Schmalleger (2006). Criminal Law Today: An Introduction with

Capstone Cases. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Ladan, M.T. (1998). Crime Prevention and Control and Human Rights
in Nigeria. Zaria Econet Publication Co Ltd.

Danbazau, A.B. (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice. Kaduna:

Nigeria Defence Academy Press.

Bohn, R.M and Haley, K.N. (2002). Introduction to Criminal Justice

(3rd Ed.). California: McGraw Hill.

Assignment File

In this file, you will find the necessary details of the assignments you
must submit to your tutor for assessment. The marks you get from these
assignments will form part of your final assessment in this course.

Assessment

There are two aspects to the assessment of the course. First are the tutor-
marked assignments; secondly, there is a written examination. ln
tackling the assignments, you are expected to apply information and
knowledge acquired during this course. The assignments must be
submitted to your tutor for assessment in accordance with the deadlines
stated in the Assignment File. The work you submit to your tutor for
assessment will count for 30% of your total course work. At the end of
the course, you will need to sit for a final three-hour examination.

Tutor-Marked Assignment

There are twenty tutor-marked assignments in this course. You need to

submit four assignments out of which the best three will be used for
your assessment. These three assignments shall make 30% of your total
course work. Assignment questions for the units in this course are
contained in the Assignment File. You should be able to complete your
assignments from the information and materials contained in your set
textbooks, reading and study units.

However, you are advised to use other references to broaden your

viewpoint and provide a deeper understanding of the subject. When you
have completed each assignment, send it, together with TMA (tutor-
marked assignment). Make sure that each

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Assignment gets to your tutor on or before the deadline. And in case

you are unable to complete your work on time, contact your tutor or
better-still your study centre manager (overseer) before the submission
deadline of assignments lapses to discuss the possibility of an extension.

Final Examination and Grading

The final examination of CSS354 shall be of three hours’ duration and

have a value of 70% of the total course grade. The examination shall
consist of questions which reflect the type of self-testing, practice
exercises and tutor-marked problems you have come across. All areas of
the course will be assessed. You are advised to revise the entire course
after studying the last unit before you sit for the examination. You will
find it useful to review your tutor-marked assignments and the
comments of your tutor on them before the final examination.

Course Marking Scheme

This table shows how the actual course marking is broken down:
Assignment Marks
Assignment 1- 20 Four assignments are to be submitted,
out of which the three best shall be
considered at 10% each, making 30%
of the overall scores
Final Examination 70% of overall course marks

Total 100% of course marks

Table 1: Course Marking Scheme

Presentation Schedule

The Presentation Schedule included in your course materials gives you

the important dates for the completion of tutor-marked assignments and
attendance at tutorials. Remember, you are required to submit all your
assignments by the due date. You should guard against falling behind in
your work.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Course Overview

This table brings together the units, the number of weeks you should
take to complete them and the assignments that follow them.

Unit Title of Work Week’s Assessment

Activity
Course Guide
Module 1 Definition of Crime from the Legal and Sociological
Perspective
1 Definition of Crime
2 Legal Definition of Crime 1 Assessment 1&2
3 Sociological Definition of Crime 2 Assessment 3
Module 2 Theoretical Background to Crime and the Types of
Crime
1 Types of Crime 1 3 Assessment 4
2 Types of Crime 2 4 Assessment 5
3 Theoretical Background to Crime 5 Assessment 6
Module 3 Definition and Types of Offences
1 Definition of Offence
2 Types of Offences 1 6 Assessment 7&8
3 Types of Offences 2 Assessment 9
4 Types of Offences 3 7 Assessment 10
5 Types of Offences 4 8 Assessment 11
Module 4 Theoretical Background to Punishment
1 What is Punishment
2 Types of Punishment 9 Assessment 12&13
3 Theoretical Background to 10 Assessment 14
Punishment
Module 5 Offenders and Sentencing Structure
1 Presentencing 11 Assessment 15
2 Purpose of Sentencing 12 Assessment 16
3 Types of Sentencing Structure 13 Assessment 17
Module 6 Police and the Administration of Criminal Justice
1 Definition and Historical 14 Assessment 18
Background of Police
2 Functions and Obstacles of 15 Assessment 19
Policing in Nigeria
3 Role of Police in the 16 Assessment 20
Administration of Criminal
Justice

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

How to Get the Best from This Course

In distance learning, the study units replace the lecturer. This is one of
the great advantages of distance learning; you can read and work
through specially designed study materials at your own pace, and at a
time and place that suits you best. Think of it as reading the lecture
instead of listening to a lecturer. In the same way that a lecturer might
set you some reading to do, the study units tell you when to read your
set of books or other materials. Just as a lecturer might give you an in-
class exercise, your study units provide exercises for you to do at
appropriate points. Each of the study units follows a common format.
The first item is an introduction to the subject matter of the unit and how
a particular unit is integrated with the other units and the course as a
whole.

Next is a set of learning objectives. These objectives shall let you know
what you should be able to do by the time you have completed the unit.
You should use these objectives to guide your study. When you have
finished the units, you must go back and check whether you have
achieved the objectives. lf you make a habit of doing this, you will
significantly improve your chances of passing the course. The main
body of the unit guides you through the required reading from other
sources.

Reading Section

Remember that your tutor’s job is to assist you. When you need help,
don’t hesitate to call and ask your tutor to provide it. Read this Course
Guide thoroughly

Organize a study schedule. Refer to the ‘Course overview’ for more

details. Note the time you are expected to spend on each unit and how
the assignments related to the units. Whatever method you chose to use,
you should decide on and write in your own dates for working on each
unit. Once you have created your own study schedule, do everything you
can to stick to it.

The major reason that students fail is that they get behind with their
course work. If you get into difficulties with your schedule. Please let
your tutor know before it is too late for help.

Turn to Unit 1 and read the introduction and objectives for the unit.
Assemble the study materials .Information about what you need for a
unit is given in the ‘Overview’ at the beginning of each unit. You will
almost always need both the study unit you are working on and one of
your set books on your desk at the same time.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Work through the unit. The content of the unit itself has been arranged
to provide a sequence for you to follow. As you work through the unit,
you will be instructed to read sections from your set books or other
articles. Use the unit to guide your reading.

Review the objectives for each study unit to confirm that you have
achieved them. If you feel unsure about any of the objectives, review
the study material or consult your tutor.

1. When you are confident that you have achieved a unit’s

objectives, you can then start on the next unit. Proceed unit by
unit through the course and try to pace your study so that you
keep yourself on schedule.
2. When you have submitted an assignment to your tutor for
marking, do not wait for it’s return before starting on the next
schedule. When the assignment is returned, pay particular
attention to your tutor’s comment, both on the Tutor-Marked
Assignment form and also on what is written on the assignment.
Consult your tutor as soon as possible if you have any questions
or problems.

After completing the last unit, review the course and prepare yourself
for the final examination. Check that you have achieved the unit
objectives (listed at the beginning of each unit) and the course objectives
(listed in the course Guide)

Facilitators/Tutors and Tutorials

There are between 8 and 12 hours of tutorials provided in support of this

course. The dates, time and venue of these tutorials shall be
communicated to you. The name and phone number of your tutor will be
made known to you immediately you are allocated a tutorial group.
Your tutor will mark and comment on your assignments, keep a close
watch on your progress and on any difficulties you might encounter and
provide assistance to you during the course. You must mail your tutor
marked assignments to your tutor well before the due date (at least two
working days are required).They will be marked by your tutor and
returned to you as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to contact your tutor
by telephone, e-mail, or discussion board if you need help. You will
definitely benefit a lot by doing that. Contact your tutor if:

1. you do not understand any part of the study units or the assigned
readings;
2. you have difficulty with the self-tests or exercises; and

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

3. you have a question or problem with an assignment, with your

tutor’s comments on an assignment or with the grading of an
assignment.

You should make an effort to attend the tutorials. Thus, it is the only
opportunity you have to enjoy face to face contact with your tutor and to
ask questions which are answered instantly. You can raise any problem
encountered in the course of your study. To gain the maximum benefit
from course tutorials, prepare a question list before attending them. You
will learn a lot from participating in discussion activity.

Summary

CSS354: Special Categories of offender aims to expose the reader or

student to the meaning of crime and offences and also discussed in detail
the different categories of offenders and the punishment meted out to
them and the role of the police in the administration of justice.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

Course Code CSS354

Course Title Special Categories of Offenders

Course Team Ogunrekun Olawale Olusola (Developer/Writer) - LASU

Dr. Adeniyi T. Adegoke (Co-developer/writer) - NOUN
Prof. Abdul R. Yesufu (Programme Leader) - NOUN
Dr. Adeniyi T. Adegoke (Coordinator) - NOUN

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

National Open University of Nigeria

Headquarters
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island
Lagos

Abuja Office
No. 5 Dar es Salaam Street
Off Aminu Kano Crescent
Wuse II, Abuja
Nigeria

e-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.nou.edu.ng

Published By:
National Open University of Nigeria

First Printed 2010

ISBN:

All Rights Reserved

xii
CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

CONTENTS PAGE

Module 1 Definition of Crime from the Legal and Sociological

Perspective …………………………………………… 1

Unit 1 Definition of Crime…………………………………… 1

Unit 2 Legal Definition of Crime………………………….… 5
Unit 3 Sociological Definition of Crime…………………..… 9

Module 2 Theoretical Background to Crime and the Types of

Crime……………….………………………………… 13

Unit 1 Types of Crime 1……………………………………… 13

Unit 2 Types of Crime 2……………………………………… 19
Unit 3 Theoretical Background to Crime…………………… 24

Module 3 Definition and Types of Offences…………………… 31

Unit 2 Types of Offences 1……………..…………………… 31

Unit 3 Types of Offences 2……………..…………………… 41
Unit 4 Types of Offences 3………..………………………… 53
Unit 5 Types of Offences 4………..………………………… 62

Module 4 Theoretical Background to Punishment…………… 67

Unit 1 What is Punishment? ………..……………………..… 67

Unit 2 Types of Punishment ………..……………………..… 74
Unit 3 Theoretical Background to Punishment………..…..… 80

Module 5 Offenders and Sentencing Structure……………..… 84

Unit 1 Pre-sentencing………..……………………………..… 84
Unit 2 Purpose of Sentencing………..……………………..… 91
Unit 3 Types of Sentencing Structure………..…………….… 94

Module 6 Police and the Administration of Criminal Justice ...98

Unit 1 Definition and Historical Background of Police….… 98

Unit 2 Functions and obstacles of Policing in Nigeria……… 103
Unit 3 Role of Police in the Administration of Criminal
Justice ……………………………………………….. 110

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MODULE 1 DEFINITION OF CRIME FROM THE
LEGAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE

Unit 1 Definition of Crime

Unit 2 Legal Definition of Crime
Unit 3 Sociological Definition of Crime

UNIT 1 DEFINITION OF CRIME

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What Do We Know About Crime?
3.2 Who is a Criminal?
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Sociologists argue that if we are interested in knowing why people

engage in behaviour that is detrimental to society, we should go beyond
the legal definition and include behaviour that is defined as criminal but
for which no arrests are made. The focus is on behaviour. Why do
people do what they do?

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the meaning of crime

• analyse the personalities of a criminal

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 What Do We Know About Crime?

The various sources of statistical information gave us knowledge and

information about crime. These sources of information include official
statistics, survey statistics (especially criminal victimization survey data)

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

and self report studies. Each of these sources of information offers

different kinds of information about crime (and criminal victimization).
Braithwaite (1989:44 - 49) states that there are 13 facts about crime
which criminology needs to explain and which more common – sense
knowledge can sometimes fail to appreciate:

1. Crime is committed disproportionately by males

2. Crime is perpetrated disproportionately by 15 – 25 year – olds.
3. Crime is committed disproportionately by Unmarried people.
4. Crime is committed disproportionately by people living in large
cities.
5. Crime is committed disproportionately by people who have
experienced high residential mobility and who live in areas
characterized by high residential mobility.
6. Young people who are strongly attached to their school are less
likely to engage in crime.
7. Young people who have high educational and occupational
aspirations are less likely to engage in crime.
8. Young people who do poorly at school are more likely to engage
in crime
9. Young people who are strongly attached to their parents are less
likely to engage in crime.
10. Young people who have friendships with criminals are more
likely to engage in crime themselves.
11. People who believe strongly in complying with the law are less
likely to violate the law.
12. For both men and women, being at the bottom of the class
structure-whether measured by person socio-economic status,
socio-economic status of the area of residence being unemployed
or belonging to an oppressed racial minority – increases rates of
offending for all types of crime apart from those for which
opportunities are systematically less available to the poor.
13. Crime rates have been increasing since the Second World War in
most countries, developed and developing.

These facts above given by Braithwaite sometimes did not agree with
realities. In some respects, for example, they do not quite reason with
the phenomenon of white – collar crime. That kind of law breaking
behaviour appears to be committed by older, married males. Moreover,
caution does noted to be asserted more generally about these facts given
that they are (and can only be) derived from the variety of sources of
information available about crime.

In every society, there are some types of behaviour for which actors are
rewarded. Also, there are other types of behaviour that compel the same
society to inflict punishment upon the actors. Yet there are other

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

behaviour for which society only ridicules the actors. People are
discouraged in one way or the other from engaging in acts that society
frowns at.

In modern complex societies, behaviour which are considered to be

inimical to the interest of members of that same society are regarded as
criminal act and are embodied in the criminal code. At present, the
criminal code of Nigeria forbids a person from taking the life of another.
Any person that violates this law may be hanged by the order of a court
of justice. Acts that violate the criminal laws of a country are referred to
as crimes.

Criminal behaviour and anti-social behaviour are not the same thing. An
act may be anti-social but not criminal. If during an examination, a
student is found to be copying the answers from his notebook such an
act may be anti-social but not criminal if the criminal code of such a
country does not contain a clause that says copying answers from a
notebook during an examination is a criminal offence.

3.2 Who is a Criminal?

A criminal could be said to be a person whose behaviour violates the

criminal law. However, it is the court that actually determines whether a
person could be a criminal or not.

A legal definition of a criminal therefore is that of a person who, after

court proceeding is found to have broken the criminal law. The criminal
code distinguishes between serious crimes and less serious ones.

Felony is a term used for serious offences like Armed Robbery, Murder,
rape etc. Misdemeanour refers to less serious crime like driving a car
that has not been licensed or stealing five naira from somebody. Felony
and misdemeanour are relative to time and space and one who commits
a felony is usually given a very severe punishment, sometimes the death
sentences is imposed. Incase of misdemeanour, the offender may be
asked to pay a few naira as fine and sometimes is given a few month’s
imprisonment.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, students of criminology should have a broader

knowledge of the meaning of crime and who a criminal is.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

5.0 SUMMARY

We have been able to discuss the meaning of crime as it relates to

different societies based on the socio-cultural beliefs and norms of the
society. We’ve also been able to diagnose who a criminal is from the
legal point of view due to the fact that it is the court which determines
whether a person is a criminal or not from the point of the law.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

From the legal point of view, explain who is a criminal.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Ladan, M. T. (1998). Crime Prevention and Control and Human Rights

in Nigeria. Zaria: Econet Publication Co Ltd.

Danbazau, A. B. (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice. Kaduna:

Nigeria Defence Academy Press.

Bohn R.M. and Haley, K.N. (2002). Introduction to Criminal Justice,

(3rd ed). California McGraw Hill.

Tappan, P.W. (1964), “Who is the Criminal?” in Wolfgang et al. the

Sociology of Crime and Delinquency. New York: John Whitey
and Sons WC.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

UNIT 2 LEGAL DEFINITION OF CRIME

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Legal Definition of Crime
3.2 Problems with the Legal Definition of Crime
3.3 Elements of Crime
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The problems associated with the legal definition as well as the element
of crime and factors that excuse a person from being criminally
responsible will also be analyzed.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:-

• understand crime from the legal point of view

• explain the problems with the legal definition of crime
• identify seven elements of crime.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Legal Definition of Crime

According to Tappan “ Crime is an intentional act in violation of the

criminal law, committed without defence or excuse, and penalized by
the state as a felony or misdemeanour”. (Tappan, 1964).

Crime is a violation of the criminal law which is often followed by legal

punishment. A crime is an act or omission which attracts sanctions. In
studying the offender, there can be no presumption that arrested,
arraigned, indicted or prosecuted persons are criminals unless they are
also held guilty beyond all reasonable doubt of a particular offence by a
court of law.

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CSS354 SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS

3.2 Problems with the Legal Definition of Crime

However, it has been observed that the legal definition of crime has its
own problem as observed by Bohn Haley (2002).

1. Over- Criminalization: - The first problem of the legal

definition is over criminalization. This simply means the
prohibition by the criminal law of some behaviour that should not
be prohibited. Over criminalization arises primarily in the area of
victimless crimes. This includes gambling, prostitution involving
consenting adults, homosexual acts between consenting adults
and the use of some illegal drugs such as marijuana.

2. Non-Enforcement:- This is the second problem with the legal

definition of crime. This is a situation in which some behaviour
are prohibited by the criminal law, but the law is not routinely
enforced. This is very common with many white-collar and
government crimes. It is also common for Blue law which
requires stores and other commercial establishments to be closed
on Sundays. One lesson you should learn about non-enforcement
of law is that it causes disrespects for the law. People come to
believe that because criminal laws are not routinely enforced,
there is no need to routinely obey them.

3. Under-Criminalization: - This is another problem associated

with legal definition of crime. Under-criminalization is the failure
to prohibit some behaviour that, arguably, should be prohibited
by the criminal law, but are not. For instance, you might suffer
some harmful and distinctive actions or inactions that are not
criminal, which, in reality ought to be prohibited. You might even
get frustrated in your relationship with people and you feel such
act should have been regarded as crime but are not.

Looking at the legal definition of crime, Stephen (1993) stated that

crime is “an act or omission in respect of which legal punishment may
be inflicted”. Likewise Bennette (1987) is of the view that crime is an
act or omission, which may attract fine, imprisonment or even death
sentence. Therefore, in legal terms, we can say that the criminality of an
act is defined in an important way as the punishment which follows it.

3.3 Elements of Crime

From the legal point of view, a crime has not been committed unless all
seven of the following elements are present. These are Harm, legality,
Actus- reus, mens- rea,causation, concurrence and punishment.

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Let us look at each of these elements one after the other:

1. Harm: For crime to occur there must be an external consequence
or harm. The harm may be physical or verbal. For example. If
you physically slap me without any legal justification, then it can
be regarded as physical harm. If you threaten to beat or kill
another person, whether or not the threat is carried out is a verbal
harm. Also, if you write something false about me or bear false
witness against me that dishonours or injures me, it is a physical
harm. The question that comes to mind is whether the legal
element of harm is present in all crimes. For instance, if you look
at victimless offences such as prostitution, gambling, marijuana
use, one may say that before anyone engage in these acts, there is
usually an element of agreement and consent. Therefore, the
participants may not see their habits as acts of harm perpetrated
in the society. However, the family of the participants and the
moral fabric of the society is jeopardized by such behaviour
(Bohn & haley 2002)
2. Legality: As one of the element of crimes legality has two
aspects. First, the harm must be legally forbidden for an act to be
a crime. The second aspect is that the criminal law must not be
retroactive or expose facto.
3. Actus- Reus: This is a Latin word which refers to a criminal
action or inaction that causes harm. If you as an individual do not
act in situation where the law requires you to act, you are
committing a crime. Also, it is expected of a parent to provide
food, shelter, clothing and education for the children. If a parent
acts contrary to the expectation, then he is committing a crime.
We can therefore say that actus reus is the physical element or the
guilty act and it require proof. Where there is no actus reus, there
is no crime.
4. Mens Rea: - This is another Latin word that refers to a criminal
intent or a guilty state of mind. It is the mental aspect of a crime.
Here, criminal conduct is limited to intentional or purposeful
action or inaction and not the accidents. For example, if I slap
you and you did not retaliate immediately but allowed a day or
two to pass before you slapped me, it will be viewed as
intentional and purposeful. As such, you should be criminally
responsible for the outcome of your action. This is what is
regarded as mens rea
5. Causation: - This is a process where the criminal act must lead
directly to the harm without a long delay. It is a casual
relationship between the legally forbidden harm and the actus
reus. The purpose of the requirement of causation is to prevent

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people from facing the threat of criminal charges for the rest of
their lives. When the cause of a crime is known, it makes it
possible to understand the intricacies surrounding its committal.
6. Concurrence: - For any act to be considered crime there must be
concurrence between actus reus and men rea. In other words, the
criminal conducts and the criminal intent must occur together.
For example, if you invite an electrician to your house to repair
your television set, and that electrician comes to the house and
repair your television, on his way out, he picks your handset and
leaves. In this situation, you cannot accuse the electrician of
being guilty of entering your house illegally (trespass), because
that was not his initial intention. However, the electrician can be
found guilty of stealing the handset.
7. Punishment: - For any behaviour to be considered a crime, there
must be a statutory provision for a punishment or at least the
threat of punishment. Without the threat of punishment, a law is
unenforceable and is therefore not a criminal law.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, student of criminology should have a broader knowledge

of the meaning of crime from the legal point of view. Elements needed
to be considered when using legal definition of crime.

5.0 SUMMARY

We have been able to discuss the legal definition of crime and its
problems. We have also been able to look at factors that may excuse a
person from being criminally responsible for his action.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Discuss some of the limitations of the legal definition of crime.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Tappan, P.W (1964). “Who is the Criminal?” New York: John Wiley.

Danbazau, A.B. (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice. Kaduna:

Nigeria Defence Academy Press.

Ladan, M.T. (1998). Crime Prevention and Control and Human Rights
in Nigeria. Zaria: Econet Publication Co. Ltd.

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UNIT 3 SOCIOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF CRIME

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Sociological Definition of Crime
3.2 Merits and Demerits of Sociological Approach to Crime
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we shall examine the sociological approach to the study of

crime. The approach uses socio-cultural norms as the yardstick for the
definition of crime. We shall also focus attention on the merits and
demerits of this approach

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the sociological definition of crime

• identify the merits and demerits of sociological approach to
crime.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Sociological Definition of Crime

A typical definition is where crime is seen as a behaviour that violates

the norms of society. It can also be seen as anti-social behaviour. A
norms is any standard or rule regarding what human being should or
should not think, say or do, under given circumstances. Even though the
sociological definition of crime is broad, it is more encompassing than
the narrower definition of crime from the legal point of view.

Durkheim (1993) defined crime within a social context. He saw crime as

a social product, determined by social conditions, capable of being
controlled only in social terms. Crimes is therefore normal in all
societies, and “a society-exempt from crime would necessitate a
standardization of moral concept of all individuals, which is neither

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possible nor desirable”. Durkheim was of the opinion that crime is a

normal phenomenon in the society, a natural and inevitable product of
collective life and social evolution. He held that the collective
conscience of a people defines what crime is. Durkheim believed that
crime play a definite role in social life. He therefore defined
conscience”.

Selling (1938) argues that crime “is a violation of culture, norms, which
is something beyond mere violation of law perse”. He maintains that
mere violation of the criminal law state of collectivity as “an act which
offends strong and defined state of collectivity as an artificial criterion
of criminality. He suggests that, as part of the general study of human
behaviour, criminology should concern itself broadly with all anti-social
conduct injurious to the society.

A sociological approach accounts for the broader context in which crime

occurs. Sociological approach of crime will enable us to have a broader
knowledge of crime as well as understand the human condition and
societies in general. It will also allow us to better understand the
societies in which crime occurs.

According to MC Connell (2004), sociological approach to crime will

enable us to understand the economics, gender education, race, religion,
family life and all other social phenomena that are directly involved in
crime.

3.2 Merits and Demerits of Sociological Approach to Crime

MERITS

1. The act is the violation of the socio-cultural values or norms of

that group. If you go strictly by the legal definition, only those
that have been convicted are regarded as criminals. It is only
those that violate the codified rules that can be considered
criminals. These have the effect of rendering a very limited
understanding of crime, because there are some criminal acts that
are not in the codified rules.

2. In the sociological approach, emphasis is placed on the socio-

cultural forces or reactions that produce the criminal. Even
though we concentrate on the socio-cultural forces, we do not
forget the individuals, because they are clustered with other
individual who are alike in attributes in terms of theoretical or
practical definition. The uniqueness of the individual, however, is
retained by the fact that, on several attributes of the group, he or
she will appear identical.

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3. Crime itself is seen as a subject-matter of sociology. As far as

crime is a social phenomenon and sociologists are trained to deal
with social problems.

4. Other disciplines like law might define crime, but the final
definition rests in what should come from sociologist.

5. Sociologist also recognizes the functions of crime. Crimes

provide job for lawyers, police, prison officials, economics and
financial crimes commission (EFCC) official, independent
corrupt practices and other related offences commission (ICPC)
officials e.t.c

DEMERITS

1. First, norms vary form one group to another within a single

society. There is no uniform definition of anti-social behaviour.
For example, if you live in a Muslim community, you are
forbidden from eating pork. Any disobedience is a sin, and the
disobedient person will be punished. However, if you live in a
Christian community, eating pork is not an offence, rather is
regarded as a delicacy. So within the same society, the same
behaviour may be perceived differently.

2. Norms are always subject to interpretation. Each norms has a

history of how it came into existence. For example, in some
communities, children are not allowed to eat egg. It is believed
that children who eat eggs are likely to steal. On the other hand,
this is not so in another community. Infact eating eggs is allowed
for children as part of the vital food to assist them to grow
healthy.

3. Furthermore, it is good for us to note that norms change from

time to time and from place to place. For example, in Zamfara
State, the sale of alcohol is not permitted and you are not
supposed to drink alcohol. If you are caught drinking alcohol,
you will be punished according to Muslim law. However, in
Lagos State, people are allowed to sell and drink alcohol. This is
because it is socially acceptable. Such behaviour is not perceived
as an offence to anybody.

4.0 CONCLUSION

At the end of this unit, students should have a broader understanding of

crime and societies in general. You should also have a deeper
knowledge of the entire society in which crime occurs. It is hoped that

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this course will enable student to engage in critical and informed

discussions of crime as they occur in everyday life.

5.0 SUMMARY

This course has enabled students to know what constitute crime from the
sociological perspective and the merit and demerits of this approach

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Using sociological approach, discuss what you understand by crime.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Economics and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004

Danbazau, A.B (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice in Nigeria.

Kaduna: Defence Academy Press.

Bohn, R.M. and Haley K.N. (2002). Introduction to Criminal Justice.

(3rd ed.). California: McGraw Hill.

Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit Information Handbook, 2004.

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MODULE 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO

CRIME AND THE TYPES OF CRIME

Unit 1 Types of Crime 1

Unit 2 Types of Crime 2
Unit 3 Theoretical Background to Crime

UNIT 1 TYPES OF CRIME 1

1.0 Introduction
2.0 objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition of Offence
3.2 Types of Offences
3.3 Characteristics of Offenders
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Many attempts have been made to explain the concept of offences,

offender, the types of offenses and the character of the offenders. One
thing that is certain is that there are different types of crimes/offences
and offenders in every society. In this unit, we shall explain what is
offence, the types offences and the general characteristics of the
offenders.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• define offence
• explain the types of offences
• explain the characteristics of offenders.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Definition of Offences

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

(2009) defines offence as the following:

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(1) A violation or breaking of a social or moral rule, transgression;

sin.
(2) A transgression of the law; misdemeanor.
(3) A cause of transgression or wrong.
(4) Something that offends or displeases.
(5) The act of offending or displeasing.
(6) The feeling of resentful displeasure caused to give offense.
(7) The act of attacking; attack or assault: weapons of offense.
(8) An intentional unlawful act that causes damage to another and for
which the law imposes an obligation for damages.
(9) An injury or wrong done to one.

An Offender

An offender is a person who committed a crime, although what

constitute a crime differs by culture and the legal jurisdiction. Offenses
include rape, burglary, robbery, etc. Despite the torrent of the punitive
state, people in conflict with the law are made up as clients of criminal
justice. Offenders are the people who flouts particular relationship of
justice. Offenders are found around the police station, prisons and court.
The crime committed may be civil, that is, between the plaintiff and the
defendant or between the state and the accused in case of its criminal
severity.

It is sometimes argued that anybody that violate the criminal law should
be deemed a criminal, regardless of whether or not he is apprehended,
tried and punished by a court of law. As said earlier “a criminal is
generally believe to be any one convicted of a crime.” However, there is
a difference between someone who has merely been convicted of a
single crime and someone with a pattern of criminal behaviour.
Repetitive criminals may be psychopaths or sociopaths. Criminality has
been existing from the creation of earth.

Pritchard (1837) observed that criminal offenders are people who lacked
the ability to form attachments to others and who were unable to
experience normal human affection or emotions. These individuals had
little regard for the feelings or rights of others. A good number of these
offenders are not reported or they escape police prosecution or
conviction by the law courts on account of corruption on the part of the
police and court officials. It should be emphasized at this point that there
are exception in the legal definition of a criminal. It is not all people
who violate the criminal law that are found guilty and punished
accordingly. For example, the law excuses certain categories of persons,
i.e imbeciles, moron etc similarly by virtue of the position certain
person occupy, they have immunity against criminal actions such as
diplomats, Governors and President.

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3.2 Types of Offences

The following are the broad categories of offenses:-

(1) Crimes against persons:

Murder
Assault and battery
Sexual battery
Kidnapping
Extortion

(2) Crimes against Public Morality:

Fornication and illicit Cohabitation
Adultery
Incest
Prostitution
Obscenity
Gambling
Intoxication
Drug abuse
Profanity
Indecent Exposure
Pornography

(3) Crimes against Justice and Public Administration:

Bribery
Perjury
Obstruction of Justice
Resisting Arrest
Escape
Criminal Contempt

(4) Victimless Crimes:

Gambling
Illegal Sex Acts between Consenting Adults
Drug Abuse

(5) Crimes against Property or Habitation:

Larceny (theft)
Burglary
Arson

(6) Crimes against Public Order:

Disorderly Conduct
Breach of Peace
Vagrancy

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(7) White - Collar Crimes:

Tax Fraud
Bankruptcy Fraud
Insider Trading
Computer Crimes
Insurance Fraud

(8) Crimes Committed by Government Authorities:

Civil Rights Violations
Public Brutality
Political Bribe Taking
Genocide
Torture

3.3 Characteristics of Offenders

Researchers have indicated that there are certain social characteristics

associated with those people who are arrested and prosecuted by the
criminal justice system. Although self-report studies dispute this
offender profile, the appearance of these categories of people can be
explained in a number of ways.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: refers to criminal offences committed

by 14 - 17 years old. According to Matza, D. (1964) that children
commits offence as a result of influence from their peer group and on
assuming adult roles and responsibilities their criminal career stops.
However, a small hard core of persistent offenders remains to continue
their criminality into Adulthood. Many factors have been observed to
be the causes of Juvenile Delinquency such as poverty, a large family,
parents with criminal records and low intelligence in the child. In
essence, age is a variable most often associated with crimes, most of
which are committed by young people (Juvenile).

SEX DIFFERENCES:- A second demographic factor associated with

crime is gender. Historically, crime rates for men have been
significantly higher than those for women, with the exception of those
crimes that by definition are committed predominantly by women such
as prostitution. The following are the explanation given for the sex-ratio
of criminality.

Sex-role socialization: It means that the males develop attitudes and

skills which aid their criminality. According to Reid (2006), aggression,
technical knowledge and confidence to walk city street late at night
whereas, the girls are socialized into more passive behaviour and are
expected (by parent and teacher) to conform to norms and morals more
strictly than boys. He observed that most offences committed by

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females are non-violent, with theft, including shoplifting, remaining as

women’s biggest category of serious crime. Recently, there have been a
rise in the proportion of women convicted of violent crimes. Greater
emancipation of women, leading to increased self confidences and
assertiveness have accounted for this rise.

Domestic responsibilities is one of the reason for low reduction of many

women to commit crimes. In Nigeria, crimes such as burglary, steeling
cars, and theft etc required mobility, freedom and employment which
are not available to many of them.

CLASS DIFFERENCES:- Most of the crimes committed by the

working classes are reported than the middle class. Several reason
accounted for this discrepancy. Middle - class crime is under-reported
by the police because middle class people are treated differently than
working-class people when a crime is committed. The elaborated
language code, education and status of a middle-class person are often
regarded favourably by the police, who may not regard such people as
immediate suspects.

Middle class crimes are not as visible as working class crimes and are
therefore less likely to be reported. Such crimes include embezzlement,
fraud and tax offences. This type of crime is referred to as white - collar
crime. This under-representation in the official statistics was first
described extensively by E. Sutherland in the 1940’s. Sutherland
observed that pilfering from work has passed unnoticed or were dealt
with internally.

RACE AND ETHNICITY:- Race and ethnicity are of other factors

often associated with crime. Members of race or ethnicity are prone to
crime if there is discrimination in the National Policy. For example in
South Africa discrimination created a political revolt of the blacks.
Gilroy, P. (1983) claims that ethnic minority crimes are often conscious,
deliberate political acts in the fight against racism and that many belief
about blacks and crime.

It has also been found that more offences are committed in Urban areas
than in Rural localities. This may be because there is greater
opportunity to commit crimes in cities, as there are more cars, larger
shops, banks etc. More so, informed methods of social control operate
more strongly in the rural areas, as people tend to know each other better
and are reluctant to commit offences against their neighbours. This may
mean that much rural crime is committed by people from outside the
locality. Policing in rural and urban areas may be different too.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, a student of criminology will be able to discuss the

meaning of offence and who an offender is and the types of offences
from the legal point of view.

5.0 SUMMARY

We’ve been able to discuss in detail the meaning of an offence, the

definition of an offender and the different types of offences.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What are the characteristics of offenders?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2009). (4th

ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company.

Siegel, L. J. (2006). Criminology. Belmont, USA: Thomson Learning

Inc.

Reid, S.T (2006). Crime and Criminology. New York: The McGraw -
Hill Companies Inc.

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UNIT 2 TYPES OF CRIME 2

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Concept of Crime
3.2 The Causes of Violent Crime
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we shall examine the concept of crime from many angles.lt
has been researched that the causes of violence are many but we shall try
to examine some of these causes.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the concept of crime

• discuss the causes of violent crime.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The Concept of Crime

The concept of crime formulates the basis for a study of criminal

behaviour. The word is difficult to explain for not all agree on how it
should be defined. Social scientists argue that if we are interested in
knowing why people engage in behaviour that is detrimental to society,
we should go beyond the legal definition and include behaviour that is
defined as criminal but for which no arrests have been made. Accused
persons who are not prosecuted because of legal technicalities should be
included.

The concept of crime must be examined more closely, the definition of a

crime must be precise, unambiguous and useable. It must classify who
is and who is not a criminal. Crime is an act defined by law. Unless the
elements specified by criminal law are present and proved beyond a
reasonable doubt, a person should not be convicted of a crime.

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Crime is an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law

(statutory and case law), committed without defense or justification and
sanctioned by the law as felony or misdemeanor. To be convicted of a
crime, a person must violate the criminal law. Criminal law comes from
three sources: Constitution, Statutes and Court Decisions.

Individuals are not always held responsible for acts that cause harm or
injury to others; the law recognizes some excruciating circumstances.
An act or omission of an act is not a crime if the individual has a legally
recognized justification or defense for the act. For example, a person
faced with the possibility of being killed might use the defense of
justifiable homicide.

Group and individuals within society differ in their definition of crime,

some would equate crime with all antisocial behaviour. Others would
argue that crimes are acts such as racism, sexism and imparadism that
violate basic human rights. Similarly, some use moral rather than legal
criteria to define what is or is not a crime. Although there is no
universally accepted definition the most common one - the breaking of
law - officially labels people and separate society into criminal
categories.

Criminality is a social status determined by the way in which an

individual is perceived and treated by legal authorities. Generally, the
law designates as criminal any behaviours that violate the strongly held
norms of society. Everyone would agree, for example, that the law
should protect property from theft and vandalism. There would also be
universal agreement that society must protect its citizens from bodily
harm (rape, assault and murder). But although there may be consensus
in society on certain laws, the political nature of the law making and
enforcement process has important negative implications for those
caught up in them.

3.2 The Causes of Violent Crime

There are various reasons advanced for the causes of violence:

(1) PERSONAL TRAITS AND MAKEUP

Psychologists discovered that murderous youths suffer signs of major

neurological impairments (such as abnormal EEGS, multiple
psychomotor impairments and severs seizures) low intelligence as
measured on standard IQ tests, psychotic close relatives, and psychotic
symptoms such as paranoia, illogical thinking and hallucinations.

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Lewis, D. O. (1998) finds that death row inmates have a history of

mental impairment and intellectual dysfunction. Abnormal personality
structures including such traits as depression, impulsivity, aggression,
dishonesty, pathological lying, lack of remorse, borderline personality
syndrome and psychopathology have been associated with various forms
of violence.

(2) HUMAN INSTINCT

The work of Sigmund Freud demonstrated that human aggression and

violence are produced by instinctive drives. Freud maintained that
human possess two opposing psychological drives that interact to
control behaviour, eros the life instinct which drives people forward,
self-fulfillment and enjoyment and thanatos; the death instinct which
produces self - destruction. Thanatos can be expressed externally (as
violence and sadism) or internally (as suicide, alcoholism or other self -
destructive habits).

Lorenz, K. C was a biologists and an anthropologists. He speculated that

instinctive violence - promoting traits may be common in the human
species. His argument was based on the fact that aggressive energy is
produced by inbred instincts that are independent of environmental
forces. Lorenz found that humans possess some of the same aggressive
instincts as animals. But among lower species, aggression is rarely fatal
when a conflict occurs. This inhibition against killing members of their
own species protects animals from self- extinction. Human lacking this
inhibition against fatal violence are capable of killing their own kind in
war or as a result of interpersonal conflicts. He stated that as technology
develops and more lethal weapons are produced, the extinction of the
human species becomes a significant possibility.

(3) EVOLUTIONARY FACTORS

Many criminologists especially evolutionary theorists have found out

that violent behaviour is committed predominately by males.
Historically, sexually aggressive males have been the ones most likely to
produce children. Their offspring carry genes that support aggression.
They argued that in all species, the males competitive success is
determined by their being dangerous and aggressive enough to scare off
rivals. Among humans, just the reputation for being dangerous can last a
life time.

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(4) SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Many people who are substance abuser are prone to violent behaviour
patterns. Siegel, L. J (2006) linked Substance Abuse to violent
behaviour. He stated that it has been linked in one of three ways:

(a) Psychopharmacological Relationship

Alcohol abuse has long been associated with all forms of violence
because drinking reduces cognitive ability, making miscommunication
more likely while at the same time limiting the capacity for rational
dialogue and compromise. Researches have shown that appropriately
half of all sexual assaults are associated with the perpetrator’s and / or
victims alcohol consumption.

(b) Economic Compulsive Behaviour

Researches have support the claim that drug users / dealers resort to
violence to obtain the financial resources to support their habit. Addicts
commit crimes to support their habit and some may result in violence
confrontations.

(c) Systemic Link

According to Siegel, L. J (2006), He asserted that violence escalates

when drug - dealing gangs flex their muscle to dominate territory and
drive out rivals. Criminology studies of gangs that sell drugs show that
their violent activities may result in a significant proportion of all urban
homicides.

(5) IMPROPER SOCIALIZATION AND UPBRINGING

Socialization is an interactional process in which an individuals

behaviour and attitude are modified to conform with the member’s
expectation of the groups to which one belongs. Hence improper
socialization and upbringing is responsible for the onset of violent acts,
such absent or deviant parents, inconsistent discipline, physical abuse
and lack of supervision have all been linked to persistent violent
offending. Also a number of research studies have found that children
who are clinically diagnosed as abused later engage in delinquent
behaviours, including violence at a rate significantly greater than that of
children who were not abused.

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(6) EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE

People who are constantly exposed to violence at home at school or in

environment may adopt violent methods themselves. People are
exposed to violence when they associate with violent peers. It can also
occur if people are forced to live in violent, dangerous neighborhoods.

(7) CULTURAL VALUES/SUBCULTURE OF VIOLENCE

It has been observed that violence is the product of the beliefs, values
and behaviours that develop in the nation’s poorest and most
disorganized areas. Regions or areas that experience violence seem to
cluster together. To explain this phenomenon, crimonologists have used
the concept that some areas contain an independent subculture of
violence. The subculture’s norms are separate from society’s central,
dominant value system. In this subculture, a patent theme of violence
influences lifestyles, the socialization process and interpersonal
relationships. Even though they share some of the dominant cultural
values, they expect that violence will be used to solve social conflicts
and dilemmas. In subgroups, violence has become legitimized by
customs and norms.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, student of criminology and security studies should have a
broader knowledge of the meaning of crime from different points of
view.lt is equally important for the students to be aware of the remote
and fundamental causes of crime.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have been able to discuss the meaning of crime from
different point of view. It is only when the causes of violent crime are
known that solution will be provided for it.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What are the causes of violent crime?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Siegel, L. J. (2006). Criminology. Belmont, USA: Thomson Learning

Inc.

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UNIT 3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO CRIME

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Theoretical Perspective on Crime
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we shall examine theoretical perspectives on crime, non

sociological theories of crime, sociological theories of crime. We shall
focus attention on the Strain or Motivational theory, Control or Bond
theory, Cultural Deviance theory Differential Association theory,
Theories of the Sub-Cultural Nature of Crime.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• understand the non sociological theories of crime

• examine the various types of sociological theories of crime.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Theoretical Perspectives on Crime

Crime has been variously explained by many people. In this section we

shall classify all of them either Non sociological or sociological:

NON SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME

American law is based on the classical school of criminology. The

classical schools believed that human being are naturally pleasure loving
and would use their free will (liberty) to choose acts that bring
pleasure(hedomism) to them as against those that will bring pain and
suffering. Thus human being can be held responsible for either of the
action taken. Human actions are not determined by inside forces but can
be seen as matters of conscious decision and freewill. Deviance behavior
derives from the individual deliberate of wrong over right. They viewed
criminal as lacking will power or a sense of morality and are therefore as

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a menace to society. Therefore to deter others from criminal behaviors,

the school advocated for painful punishment for the criminal acts
punishment should fit the seriousness of the crime and these
punishments should be applied to similar offenders.

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

The first biological theories was Cesare Lombroso (1836-1909)a human

physician who worked in prisons. He rejected freewill as an explanation
of behaviors and replaced it with biological determine.

1. He believed that some people were born criminals and could be

identified by their body structure and facial features. He studied
Italian army recruits, asylum and prison inmates. He subjected
them to scientific scrutiny and he declared that criminals have a
distinctive physique – low foreheads, prominent jaws and
cheekbones, protruding ears, excessive hairlines, and usually long
arms that taken together make them resemble the apelike
ancestors of human beings.

William Sheldon (1949) a psychologists and physician took a different

track, positing that body structure might predict criminality. He
developed a classification of three body types which are called (1)
Endomorphs (soft and round and usually fat) (2) Mesomorphs (muscular
and athletic) and (3) Ectomorphs (skinny and fragile). He argues that
the mesomorphs were more often delinquents than the other types.

Another theoretical explanation of deviance is the chromosomal

deficiency hypothesis. In the early 1960’s a certain human male was
found to have an extra Y chromosome. Instead of having an XY
combination, he possessed an XYY combination. The individual with
XYY chromosome were said to be tall, aggressive, antisocial males,
with low IQs and severe acne. These set of individual were believed to
be found in greater proportions in mental institutions or prisons than in
the general population.

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES

The psychological explanations of deviance focus on cases of individual

abnormality, this time involving personality problems. Generally,
deviants and criminals are considered sick or maladjusted. Crime results
from mental illness or psychological abnormality. Many early
psychiatric studies found offenders to be generally psychopathic or
emotionally ill. Some personality traits are hereditary but most
psychologists believe that temperament is shaped primarily by social
experiences

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SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME

The following are fundamental perspectives on Crime that dominate

sociological, scene.

1. Strain or Motivational theory

2. Control or Bond theory
3. Cultural Deviance theory
4. Differential Association theory
5. Family Factors theory
6. Theories of the Sub-Cultural Nature of Crime

CONTROL OR BOND THEORY

The words control theory was coined by Travis Hirschi. He based his
assumption on the fact that deviant acts may result when an individual’s
bond to society is weak or broken. He claims that the essence of social
control lies in people’s anticipation of the consequences of their
behavior. In a situation whereby an individual has little to lose from
deviance, he is most likely to become rule-breaker.

There are four elements according to Travis Hirschi that bond and
conformity arises from four types of social controls:

1. Attachment. Individual bonds to his family, peer group, schools

e.tc. Encourages conformity with societal rules and regulations.
2. Opportunity. If individuals perceive legitimate opportunity in
the society, they tend to conform with rules and regulations. But
if the opportunities or successes are not open to them, then they
may drift more toward deviance.
3. Involvement. Involvement in various life activities and
interaction with other people reduce deviant behavior. For
example, a person that is employed tend to be conformist than a
person that is not employed or drop out.
4. Belief. Strong beliefs in moral values, cultural norms and respect
for authority restrain individuals from deviance. By contrast,
people with a weak conscience are more vulnerable to temptation
of deviance.

Travis Hirschi argued that it depend upon the nature and quality of each
of these four elements in a particular case, they produce either
conformity or non-conforming behavior.

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LABELLING

The central contribution of symbolic-interaction analysis is labeling

theory. It was primarily associated with Howard S. Becker although
other people like Erving Guffaw also contributed. The labeling theory
asserts that deviance and conformity result, not so much from what
people do but from how others respond to the actions. Labeling theory
seeks to understand how an individual or a group interacts with others in
a way that results in their becoming defined or labeled as deviant
(McGee) Frank Tanenbaum defined labeling as the process of making
the criminal, therefore, is a process of tagging, defining, identifying,
segregating, describing, emphasizing, evoking the very traits that are
complained of (Eamon 2004).

Howard Becker (1963) asserts what occurs in the labeling process

“social group creates deviance by making the rules whose infraction
constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and
labeling them as outsiders. From this point of view, deviance is not a
quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the
application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender. The deviant
is one to whom that label has been successfully applied; deviant
behavior is behavior that people so label.

Most of the time, it is official agents of social control like the police, the
courts, mental institutions and schools that do the labeling of the
deviants. Labels like ‘trouble maker’ Lustler, Kook or Blockhead etc.
that stick to a person, often for the like (Becker 1963).

Therefore, the theory of labeling is based on two assumptions.

2. For someone to be called deviant, it means he must have broken

the law or rules. But rule breaking per say is not sufficient to
label the deviant.
3. It is the reactions of the society to the deviant behavior especially
if the social norm violated and detected that define or labeled as
deviance. Hence, the perpetrator is labeled deviant and this label
leads to social disapproval and host of other consequences.
4. Once it has been acquired, it becomes extremely difficult to shed
the label. The labeled person tends to behave in the expected
manner.

STRAIN OR MOTIVATIONAL THEORY

Robert Merton (1930 – 2003), the Harvard sociologist modified

Durkheim concept of Anomie and applied it explicitly to deviant
behavior. The word anomie according to Durkheim is used to describe a

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social context in which the moral order has broken down for an
individual or group, a situation in which normal social structural
constraints or behaviour become inoperative. Merton identifies two
important and related elements in any society, cultural goals and
institutionalized means. Cultural goals are the things a society’s
normative system defines as worth being and having. The
institutionalized means are the ways a society accepts as legitimate for
attaining the cultural goals. (McGee). Anomie arises when individuals
are unable to obtain the goals they have been taught to strive for with
means that the society puts as their disposal. The following are the
Merton’s mode of individual adaption from Anomie.

Conformity. Conformity is taken or pursuing of conventional goals by

approved means that is, accepting both cultural goals and cultural means
of achieving them.

Those who achieve success that is those who gain wealth and prestige
through talent and hard work have pursued it through the conventional
goals by approved means. But not everyone who desires conventional
way has the opportunity to attain it.

INNOVATION

Innovators are deviants who desire to achieve success but the legitimate
means may have been blocked for them, perhaps they were denied
educational opportunities or acquisition of skilled trades. Therefore
resulted in using forbidden means to achieve it. These people accept the
goal or success while rejecting the conventional means of becoming
rich. They make money through illegal ways. Examples are burglaries,
Robbers, Drug trafficking, Prostitution etc.

RITUALISM

People who lose sight of the goal while slavishly adhering to the means
are ritualists. They resolve the strain of limited success by abandoning
cultural goals in favour of almost compulsive efforts to live respectably.
Ritualists concentrate on obeying all the rules of the system rigidly and
without question. Some civil service bureaucrats fall into the category.
They are honest in character.

RETREATISM

Retreatism is the rejection of both the cultural goals and the accepted
means of material success. It is the inability to succeed. Retreatists are
alcoholics, Drug-addicts, street or area boys who are alienated from
society. They do not believe in hard work, honest investment and

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education, even in seeking wealth. They are unwilling or unable to

compete and drop out entirely.

REBELLION

Rebellion is the rejection of both conventional goals (cultural definition

of success) and approved means (the normative means of achieving it).
They seek to change the goals and the institutions that support them.
They go advocating for radical alternatives to existing social order.

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY

Edwin H. Sutherland (1883 – 1950) in his book “Principles of

Criminology” published in 1939 proposed the theory of differential
association to explain criminal behavior. Its basic assumption is that
criminal behavior, like any other social behavior, is learned through
association with others. He argued that either physiological or inherited,
not the product of warped psychology.

Sutherland argued that any person’s tendency toward conformity or

deviance depends on the relative frequency of association with others
who encourage conventional behaviours or norm violation. He stressed
that if criminal behavior is learned as any other behavior is learned, then
it learned through association with others especially interaction within
intimate personal groups. Since by interaction and association with
others, motives, attitudes, values, norms and rationalization are taught.
Therefore, differential association means the differences in the people
with whom one associate will determine how we behave. How much we
deviate from or conform to the norms depends on the people we
associate with.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, students of criminology should be able to know the

theoretical perspectives on crime.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, it has been classified by existing researches on

crime that both sociological and non sociological tools have
been used to investigate the background to crime and the
different approaches to curbing this crime.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Critically examine the labeling theory.

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7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Bohn, R.M. and Haley, K.N. (2002). Introduction to Criminal

Justice, (3rd ed.). California: McGraw Hill.

Siegel, L.J. (2006). Criminology. Belmont, USA: Thompson

Learning Inc.

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MODULE 3 DEFINITION AND TYPES OF OFFENCES

Unit 1 Definition of Offence

Unit 2 Types of Offences 1
Unit 3 Types of Offences 2
Unit 4 Types of Offences 3
Unit 5 Types of Offences 4

UNIT 1 TYPES OF OFFENCES 1

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Corruption
3.2 Computer Crime
3.3 False Pretense
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

More than a decade ago the concepts corruption computer crime, False
Pretence came into our language to designate criminal acts against a
person or person’s property by an offender. It involves violation of
criminal law. Technically crime is composed of two elements, the act
itself and criminal intent. Intent is another matter of degree ranging
from willful conduct to negligence in which a person does not
deliberately set out to hurt anyone but acts in a manner that may
reasonably be expected to cause harm. Juries weigh the degree of intent
in determining the seriousness of a crime.

In this unit, we shall be looking at the offenses such as corruption,

computer crime and false pretence and its various implications.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• discuss corruption and its different types

• explain computer crime
• explain the word false pretense.
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Corruption

The word corruption is from the latin word corruptus, the past participle
of corrumpere to destroy (com means intensive while rumpere, to
break). Corruption is defined according to Oxford Dictionary, the
process of being corrupt, or condition of being corrupt, a deformed or
alter form of a word or phrase, dishonest or impurity. Corruption may
be looked at from the following angles.

(1) Political Corruption:- It is the dysfunction of a political system

or institution in which government officials, political, official or
employees seek illegitimate personal gain through actions such as
bribery, extortion etc.
(2) Corporate Corruption:- It is the abuse of power by corporate
managers against shareholders or consumers. For example,
EFCC investigated the cases of corruption that involved personal
enrichment of shareholders and depositors money by the bank
executives.
(3) Putrefaction: Literally means the decomposition of recently -
living bio - matter. However, with the Nigeria State it could be
used as an imagery to typify the existing decomposing state of
our national fabric ravaged by corruption.
(4) Data Corruption:- An unintended change to data in storage or in
transit corruption (linguistics) the change in meaning to a
language or a text introduced by cumulative errors in
transcription as changes in the language speakers’
comprehension.
(5) Bribery:- As an aspect of corruption, it takes place in many
places such as in politics, business or even in sport. Bribery was
defined as corruption in the administration of justice. The
modern concept of bribery includes the voluntary gift or receipt
of anything in value in order to carry out an official task.
(6) Police Corruption:- There are numerous forms of Police
Corruption. They range from taking small gifts or payment from
business people and the populace. In Nigeria, issue of corruption
among the police cut across the all ranks. The junior policemen
extort money in the open place along the major roads from
especially the commercial motorists. To the extent that if these
motorists refuse to give them it has resulted to cases of killing of
innocent people. The cases of Senior Policemen Corruption is
different ranging from misappropriation and embezzlement of
police allocation and even collecting bribes from offenders and in
some case set them free without prosecuting them in the law
court.

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In many occasions in Nigeria, Police have been subject of ridicule

because of their actrocities during election. Police are used to harass the
opponent and they also involve in the rigging of election. Extortion
refers to obtaining property from others by wrongful use of actual or
threatened force, fear, or violence or the corrupt taking of a fee by a
public officer.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Why is the fight against corruption in Nigeria not working?

CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

Corruption is defined as an illegal act of using one’s own position in

one’s own interests or to one’s own personal advantage. Many people
have argued that corruption has become embedded in our society. The
major causes of corruption in Nigeria are the following:

(1) Weak Government Institutions.

(2) Poor Pay Incentives.
(3) Lack of Openness and Transparency in Public Services.
(4) Absence of key and Corruption Tools.
(5) Ineffective Political Processes.
(6) Culture and Acceptance of Corruption by the Populace.
(7) Absence of Effective Political Financing.
(8) Poverty.
(9) Ethnic and Religions Difference.
(10) Resource Scramble.

The fight against corruption in Nigeria is not working because of

the following factors:

(1) Insincerity of Government

(2) Pre bargaining and Negotiation: highly placed officials caught of
corrupt practices are made to part with some of their looted funds
and are thereafter set free.
(3) Low deterrent: the punitive measures for corruption practices
need to be strengthened.
(4) Lack of Virile Political and Social Movements to tackle
corruption. The majority of the people are yet to be mobilized in
the fight against corruption.
(5) Lack of access to public information. A lot of secrecy still
pervades Government documents.
(6) Insecurity of Informants. There is need to enact laws to protect
informants as well as reward them.
(7) Low public participation in Governance.

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(8) Corrupt Electoral System.

(9) Nepotism.
(10) Systemic Disorder.
(11) Weak Government Institutions

One of the major challenges that has faced the Nigerian Nation over
the year is the issue of corruption and its debilitating ancillaries -
bribery, graft, fraud and nepotism. The genesis of this dilemma can be
traced to when oil took over from groundnuts in the North, cocoa in the
West and rubber in the East and became the nation’s main sources of
National income. The earning from the sales of crude oil opened
Nigeria to inflow of large sums of money. The military government at
that time were involved in many gigantic projects especially
infrastructures such as roads, bridges, airports etc. Huge amount was
spent on Festac 77. The result of this was huge contracts were awarded
without regard for normal processes. Government also spent money on
projects without much control paving the way for corruption to take
place.

Corruption in Nigeria undermines democratic institutions, retards

economic development and contributes to government instability.
Corruption attacks its foundation of democratic institutions by distorting
electoral processes, preventing the rule of law and creating bureaucratic
quagmires whose only reasons for existence is the soliciting of bribes.
Economic development is stunted because outside direct investment is
discouraged and small business within the country often find it
impossible to overcome the start up costs required because of
corruption.

Kofi Annan equally asserted that “corruption hurts the poor

disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development.
undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services and
discouraging foreign investment and aid.

AGENTS ESTABLISHED FOR COMBATING CORRUPTION IN

NIGERIA

(i) ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION

(EFCC)

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was formed

in 2003. It is a Nigeria law enforcement agency that investigates
financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud), corruption,
money laundering etc. It was established partially in response to
pressure from the Financial Action Taskforce on money laundering
(FATF), which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries non - cooperative

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in the International Community’s efforts to fight money laundering. The

Agency has addressed financial corruption by prosecuting and
convicting a number high profile corrupt individuals ranging from
Nigeria’s former chief law enforcement officer to several Bank Chief
Executives.

(2) INDEPENDENT CORRUPT PRACTICES AND OTHER

OFFENCES COMMISSION (ICPC)

Independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission

was inaugurated on September 29, 2000 by the Nigeria President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR).The commission is at the hub of Nigeria’s
fight against corruption. The main duty of the commission is to receive
complaints, investigate and prosecute offenders. Other duties include
education and enlightenment of the public about and against corruption
and related offences. The commission also has the task of reviewing
and modifying the activities of the public bodies, where such practices
may aid corruption.

The government’s campaign against corruption manifests also in the

setting up of the Due process office. This office oversees and demands
that standard processes be followed in the execution of government
activities and projects, thereby blocking avenues for bribery and
corruption. They investigate official act already done or to be done or
with the corrupt intent to influence the action of a public official or any
person involved with the administration of public affairs.

3.2 Computer Crime

The widespread use of computers to record business transactions has

encouraged some people to use them for illegal purpose. Computer
crime encompasses a broad range of potentially illegal activities.
Generally, however, it may be divided into two types of categories (1)
Crimes that target computer networks or devices directly. Examples are:
(a) Malware (Malicious code) (b) Denial of service attacks (c) Computer
virus (2) Crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the
primary target of which is independent of the computer network or
device. Example of this are: (a) Cyber stalking (b) Fraud and Identity
theft (c) Phishing scams (d) Information warfare.

SPECIFIC COMPUTER CRIMES

(1) SPAM

It is the unsolicited sending of bulk email for commercial purposes, it is

unlawful to varying degrees.

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(2) FRAUD

Computer fraud is any dishonest misrepresentation of fact intends to let

another to do or refrain from doing something which causes loss. In this
context, the fraud will result in obtaining a benefit by:

(a) Altering computer input in an unauthorized way. This requires

little technical expertise and is not an uncommon form of theft by
employees altering the data before entry or entering false data, or
by entering unauthorized instructions or using unauthorized
processes.
(b) Altering, destroying, suppressing or stealing output usually to
conceal authorized transactions, this is difficult to detect.
(c) Altering or deleting stored data or
(d) Altering or misusing existing system tools or software packages
or altering or writing code for fraudulent purpose. This requires
real programming skills and is not common.

Csonka, (2006) also stated that other forms of fraud which are facilitated
using computer system include bank fraud, identify theft, extortion and
theft of classified information.

(3) OBSCENE OR OFFENSIVE CONTENT

Generally, obscene or offensive content are always distasteful. In some

instances there offensive materials or contents may be illegal.
Communication which have offensive contents are unlawful. It is in
sensitive area in which the courts can become involved in arbitrating
between groups with entrenched beliefs.

(4) HARASSMENT

Harassment has direct obscenities and derogatory comments which are

direct to specific individual. It may be directed to race, gender, religion,
nationality sexual orientation. The medium of these harassment are
through chat rooms, through newsgroups and by sending hate e-mail to
interested parties. Infact, any comment that may be found derogatory or
offensive is considered harassment.

(5) DRUG TRAFFICKING

Internet facilities have become a medium of selling illegal substances by

the Drug Traffickers. Some drug traffickers arrange deals at internet
cafes, use courier web site to track illegal packages of pills and swap
recipes for amphetamines in restricted access chat rooms.

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(6) CYBERTERRORISM

A cyberterrorist is someone who intimates or coerces a government or

organization to advance his or her political or social objectives by
launching computer-based attack against computer, network and the
information stored on them. Parker (1983) defined cyberterrorism as an
act of terrorism committed through the use of cyberspace or computer
resources.

Cyberterrorism may also include simple propaganda in the internet,

carrying out an actual attack using the internet or computer resources
and as well as hacking activities tending to cause fear among people,
demonstrate power, collecting information relevant for running peoples’
lives robberies, blackmailing etc.

According to Siegel, L. J. (2006), He categorizes computer crime into

the followings:

1. Theft of services, in which the criminal uses the computer for

unauthorized purposes or an unauthorized user penetrates the
computer system. Included within this category is the theft of
processing time and services not entitled to an employee.
2. Use of data in a computer system for personal gain.
3. Unauthorized use of computer employed for various types of
financial processing to obtain assets.
4. Theft of property by computer for personal use or conversion to
profit. For example, using a computer to illegal copy and sell
software.
5. Making the computer itself the subject of a crime. For example,
when a virus is placed on it to destroy data.

The following are several common computer crime techniques (Siegel

2006).

1. The Trojan Horse: one computer is used to reprogram another

for illicit purpose.
2. The Salami Slice: An employee sets up a dummy account in the
company’s computerized records. A small amount - even a few
pennies - is subtracted from customers’ accounts and added to the
account of the thief. Even if they detect the loss, customers do
not complain because a few cents is an insignificant amount to
them. The pennies picked up higher and they eventually amount
to thousands of dollars in loses.
3. Super - Zapping: Most computer programs used in business
have built on antitheft safeguards. However employees can use a
repair or maintenance program to supersede the antitheft

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program. Some tinkering with the program is required but the

Super - Zapper is soon able to order the system to issue cheque to
his or her private account.
4. The Logic Bomb: A program is secretly attached to the
company’s computer system. The new program monitors the
company’s work and waits for a sign of error to appear, some
illogic causes the logic bomb to kick into action and exploit the
weakness. The way the thief exploits the situation depends on his
or her original intent - theft of money or defense secrets,
sabotage, or the like.
5. Impersonation: An unauthorized person uses the identity of an
authorized computer user to access the computer system.
6. Data Leakage: A person illegally obtains data from a computer
system by leaking it out in small amounts.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Explain common computer crime techniques.

3.3 False Pretenses

To obtain property by false pretenses is when a person or persons

obtains property by lying about a past or existing fact. This offence
consists of obtaining title to personal property of another by an
intentional false statement of past or existing fact with intend to defraud
the other. False pretenses is a statutory offense in most jurisdiction.
The subject matter of false pretenses is not limited to tangible personal
property - statutes include intangible personal property and services.
For instance in some countries it applies to obtaining “any money,
goods, property, services choose in action or any other thing of value.

False pretense is defined under common law as a representation of a

present or past fact which the thief knows to be false and which he
intends will and does cause the victim to pass title of his property. It is
the acquisition of title from a victim by fraud or misrepresentation of a
material past or present fact.

It is important that the victim of the false pretenses must actually be

deceived by misrepresentation and fact that the victim is deceived must
be a major (if not the only) factor of the victim’s transferring title to the
defendant. Simply making a false promise or statement is not sufficient.
It is not a defense to false representation. No matter how gullible the
victim, if he / she was in fact deceived the offense has been committed
on the other hand the offense requires the victim believe the
representation to be true. If the person to whom the representation has
been made has doubts or serious misgivings about the truth of the

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representation but nonetheless goes through with the transaction he has

not been deceived - he has basically assumed the risk of a false
representation.

The misrepresentation has to be affirmative. A failure to disclose a fact

does not fit this misrepresentation in common law, unless there is a
fiduciary duty between the thief and victim. Courts have also held that
representation be of a present or past is more foolish. People who
deceive using present facts are more dangerous than those who deceive
by false promises. At trial, the prosecution must show not only that the
misrepresentation was false, but that the thief knew of the falsity.
Additionally, the thief must intend to defraud. Moreover, opinion and
puffing are not considered misrepresentation as they color the facts but
do not misrepresent them.

Additionally, title must pass between parties. So, deceiving a third party
to pass property for specific purpose, courts have held that this is larceny
by trick in that larceny by trick simply uses a deception to deprive the
owner of possession, not title.

4.0 CONCLUSION

At the end of this unit, students should have a broader understanding of

corruption and it’s different types. You should also have a deeper
knowledge of computer crime.lt is hoped that the students in this course
will have wider knowledge of the false pretense.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have been able to describe fully what is meant by False
pretense, Corruption and Computer Crime. Efforts have also been made
to explain causes and of corruption? Why the fight against corruption in
Nigeria is not working? Now, better understanding of specific computer
crimes and computer crime techniques have been developed. Concept
of false pretense was extensively explained.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. What is False Pretenses?

2. What are the causes of Corruption?
3. List and discuss the specific Computer Crime.

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7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Gaines, Letal (2003). Police Administration. New York: McGraw Hill

Companies.

Siegel, L. J. (2006). Criminology. USA: Thomson Wadsworth Learning

Inc.

Reid, S. T. (2006). Crime and Criminology. New York: McGraw Hill

Companies Inc.

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UNIT 2 TYPES OF OFFENSES II

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Kidnapping
3.2 Assault and Battery
3.3 Robbery
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Virtually every society in the world applies more stringent normative

controls to issues of crimes. Criminal offenses ranging from that which
involves the theft of property belonging to others, to more serious
violent offences. In this unit, attempt will be made to explain what is
kidnapping, reason for kidnapping. Assault and battery are considered
offense against individual. Robbery as a crime / offense has been
known to be of more violent crime than victim being injured with
weapon.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• understand what Kidnapping is

• explain the types of Kidnapping
• differentiate Assault and battery
• discuss the types of Battery
• explain the word Robbery and its types.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Kidnapping

Originally the word Kidnapping means the stealing of children since

‘Kid’ is a child in Scandinavian languages but now applies to adults as
well.

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Kidnapping is the taking of a person against his / her will (or from the
control of a parent or guardian) from one place to another under
circumstances in which the person so taken does not have freedom of
movement, will or decision through violence, force, threat or
intimidation. Although it is not necessary that the purpose be criminal
(since all Kidnapping is a criminal felony) the capture usually involves
some related criminal act such as holding the person for ransom, sexual
and / or sadistic abuse or rape. It includes taking due to irresistible
impulse and a parent taking and hiding a child in violation of court
order. An included crime is false imprisonment. Any harm to the
victim coupled with kidnapping can raise the degree of felony for the
injury and can result in a capital (death penalty) offenses in some
countries even though the victim survives. (Hill, G. N and Hill, K. T.
2005).

Kidnapping can also be defined as the forcible and unlawful abduction

and conveying away of a man, woman or child from his or her home,
without his or her will or consent and sending such person away, with an
intent to deprive him of some rights.

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away of a person against the

person’s will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a
confinement without legal authority. This may be done for ranson or in
furtherance of another crime.

Kidnapping is a common law offense requiring:

(a) That one person takes and carries a minor away.

(b) By force or fraud.
(c) Without the consent of the person taken and
(d) Without lawful excuse.

It would be difficult to kidnap without also committing false

imprisonment which is the common law offense of intentionally or
recklessly detaining the victim without lawful authority. The use of
force to take and detain will also be regarded as an assault and other,
related offenses may also be committed before, during or after the
detention. Most kidnapping status recognize different types and levels of
kidnapping and assign punishment accordingly.

(1) First-degree kidnapping occurs when a person abducts another

person to obtain ransom which lasts for more than 12 hours and
the abductor intends to injure the victim, to accomplish or
advance the commission of a felony; to terrorize the victim or a
third person; or to interfere with a governmental or political

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function. An abduction that results in death is also first - degree

kidnapping.
(2) Second – degree kidnapping occurs when a person abducts
another person which lacks the aggravating circumstances in first
degree kidnapping. Both first degree and second degree
kidnappings have two keys elements. There are asportation and
aggravating circumstances. Kidnapping laws are similar to laws
on lawful or felonious restraint, parental kidnapping and false
imprisonment. These crime cover the range of unlawful
movement.

KIDNAPPING VERSUS ABDUCTION

According to Black’ Law Dictionary, the crime of kidnapping is labeled

abduction when the victim is a woman and of a child is often called
child stealing, particularly when done not to collect a ransom but rather
with the intention of keeping the child permanently. It can refer to
children being taken away without their parent’s consent but with the
consent of the child.
However the offense of kidnap in the case of a competent minor requires
the absence of consent from the minor. This means that a parent
commits kidnapping if he takes the child against its will but if a 3rd party
takes the child away from the parents with the child’s consent the 3rd
party does not commit the offense of kidnapping.

TYPES OF KIDNAPPING

(1) Bride kidnapping is a term often applied loosely, to include any

bride ‘abducted’against the will of her parents the ‘abductor’.

(2) Child Abduction is the abduction or kidnapping of a child (or

baby) by an older person.

(3) Express kidnapping is a method of abduction where a small

ransom that a company or family can easily pay is requested.

(4) Tiger kidnapping is taking a hostage to make a loved one or

associate of the victim do something. For example a child is
taken hostage to force the shopkeeper to open the safe. The term
originates from the usually long preceding observation like a tiger
does on the prowl.

(5) Dognapping is the crime of taking a caime from its owner. A

person who is convicted for kidnapping is usually sentenced to
prison for a certain number of years. In some cases, the term of
imprisonment may be the remainder of the offender’s natural life.

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In jurisdiction that authorize the death penalty, a kidnapper is charged

with a capital offense if the kidnapping results in death. Kidnapping is
also severely punished because it is a dreaded offense. It usually occurs
in connection with another criminal offense or underlying crime. It
involves violent deprivation of liberty and it requires a special criminal
boldness. Furthermore, the act of moving a crime victim exposes the
victim to risks above and beyond those that are inherent in the
underlying crime.

(6) Carjacking; a specialized form of kidnapping. It occurs when one

person forces a driver out of the drivers seat and steals the victim.
Carjacking is a felony whether the aggressor keeps the victim in
the car or force the victim from the car.

(7) Unlawful restraint cases. Felonious or unlawful restraint also

known as simply kidnapping, is the lawful restraint of a person
that exposes the victim to physical harm or places the victim in
slavery. It is a lesser form of kidnapping because it does not
require restraint for a specified period or specific purpose (such
as to secure money or commit a felony). False imprisonment is a
relatively offensive, harmless restraint of another person. It is
usually a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in jail.
Parent kidnapping is the abduction of a child by a parent. The
law on parent kidnapping varies from country to country. Some
countries define it as a felony, others as a misdemeanor.

KIDNAPPING AND THE MILITANCY IN NIGERIA

Niger – Delta is the region or part of Nigeria where oil are deposited in
large quantity. Due to exploration of the crude oil, there have been
deforestation, spillage of oil in the river making it difficult for the
indigenes whose main occupation is fishing. There have been serious
agitation over the control of their resources and the activities of
expatriate in the area.

Kidnapping has been part of method adopted by the militants to drive

their point. The rate of kidnapping has taken an alarming dimension
now such that it has spread from Niger Delta to all eastern parts, because
it has become a big business. Kidnapping of expatriates in the Niger
Delta is one of weapon employed by the various ethnic militias
operating in the area, but it has been extended to kidnapping children of
prominent citizens in the area.

We can differentiate some types of kidnapping in Niger Delta:

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(1) Ethnic militia who employ kidnapping as the major weapon of

agitation from oppression, exploitation and environmental
degradation.
(2) The militants who were dislodged from their Niger Delta bases
but committing the crime of kidnapping as a means of survival.
(3) These set of people are not militants but general trend of
Nigerians who like to go into any business that they consider
lucrative at the moment.

The possibility of apprehending kidnappers by the law enforcement

officers in Nigeria are very remote which encourages the trade
especially in Easter parts. Nigerian police are well trained to detect the
kidnapper and the victim of kidnapping but the issue of corruption and
extortion at the checkpoint have override the sense of duty.

According to Jamiu (2009), the only antidote to kidnapping is for the

culprits to be apprehended and allow the law to take its course, as is
done in advanced countries. The National Assembly should enact laws
concerning kidnapping and its punishment.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. What do you understand by the concept kidnapping?

2. List and discuss the types of robberies you know.

3.2 ASSAULT AND BATTERY

ASSAULT

An assault involves: An intentional, unlawful threat or ‘offer’ to cause

bodily injury to another by force;

(1) An act that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent,

harmful or offensive contact.
(2) Act consists of a threat of harm accompanied by an apparent,
present ability to carry out the threat.
It should be noted that an assault can be completed even if there
is no actual contact with the victim and even if the offender had
no actual ability to carry out the apparent threat. For example, a
person who threaten to slap another person in the course of minor
disagreement may be liable for assault even though the person
had actual intention to slap.

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BATTERY

A battery is a harmful or offensive touching of another. It is the willful

or intentional touching of a person against that person’s will by another
person, or by an object or substance put in motion by that other person.It
should be noted that an offensive touching can constitute a battery even
if it does not cause injury, and could not reasonably be expected to cause
injury. For example, if a person splits on another person, he has
committed a battery even though there is little chance that the splitting
will cause any injury except person’s dignity. Under modern statutory
schemes, battery is often divided into grades that determine the severity
of punishment.

(1) Simple battery may include any form of non - consensual harmful
or insulting contact, regardless of the injury caused. Criminal
battery requires an intent to inflict an injury on another, as
distinguished from a tortuous battery.
(2) Sexual battery may be defined as non - consensual touching of
the intimate parts of another. Sexual battery may mean oral, and
or virginal penetration of another by any other object.
(3) Family - violence battery may be limited in its scope between
persons within a certain degree of relationship, statutes for this
offense have been enacted in response to increasing awareness of
the problem of domestic violence.
(4) Aggravated battery generally is seen as a serious offense of
felony grade, involving the loss of the victim’s limb or some
either type of permanent disfigurement. As successor to the
common - law crime of mayhem, this is sometimes subsumed in
the definition of aggravated assault.

The main distinction between the two offenses is the existence or non
existence of a touching or contact. While contact is an essential element
of battery, there must be an absence of contact for assault. Sometimes,
assault is defined loosely to include battery.

Assault and battery are offenses in both Criminal and Tort Law hence
they can give rise to criminal or civil liability. In Criminal Law, an
assault may additionally be defined as any attempt to commit a battery.
Intention is an essential elements of both offenses. Generally, it is only
necessary for the defendant to have an intent to do the act that causes the
harm. In other words, the act must be done voluntarily. Although an
intention to harm the victim is likely to exist, it is not a required element
of either offense. There is an exception to this rule for the attempted
battery type of criminal assault. If a defendant who commits this crime
does not have an intent to harm the victim, the individual cannot be
guilty of the offense.

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CONSENT

Whereas defendant has the plaintiffs consent to commit an act of assault

or battery, the plaintiff may not later bring a lawsuit. The most typical
context for consent occurs in sports. Consent also exists in the context
of authorized medical or surgical procedures. Consent must be given
voluntarily in order to constitute a defense.

POLICE CONDUCT

A Police officer is privileged to apply the threat of force or if necessary

to apply actual force, in order to effect a lawful arrest. A defendant who
suffers injury as the result of reasonable force exerted by the Police to
effect a lawful arrest will not be able to sustain a lawsuit against the
arresting officers for assault or battery.

SELF-DEFENSE

It is reasonable for a person to make use whatever degree of force

necessary to protect himself from bodily harm whether this defense is
valid is usually determined by a jury. An act of self - defense must
ordinarily be proportionate to the threat. A person who initiates a fight
cannot claim self - defense unless the opponent responded with a greater
and unforeseeable degree of force. When an aggressor retreats and is
later attacked by the same opponent, the defense may be asserted. The
use of Deadly force in response may be justified if it is initially used by
the aggressor. But the degree of force used is reasonable depends upon
the circumstances. The usual test applied involves determining whether
a reasonable person in a similar circumstance would respond with a
similar amount of force. Factors such as age, size and strength of the
parties are also considered. Furthermore, A plaintiff may be expected to
withdraw from the threat, if possible, before engaging in forcible
resistance. However if the plaintiff is in his own home and the
defendant is not a member of the plaintiff’s household, a plaintiff will
typically not be required to further withdraw from the threat once the
plaintiff has retreated to his own home.

DEFENSE OF OTHERS

Both defense of others and self - defenses are similar. Defending a

person in distress is a valid defense and which occurs in the context of
one family member. The defender’s right to claim the defense of others
depend upon whether the person protected had a justified claim of self -
defense. Other jurisdictions do not permit this defense unless there was
an actual threat or battery against the other person.

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VOLUNTARY (MUTUAL) COMBAT

Voluntary combat between two people especially between the plaintiff

and defendant for the sake of fighting and not as a means of self -
defense (it is unlikely that either will be able to sue the other) the
plaintiff may not recover for an assault or battery unless the defendant
beat the plaintiff excessively or used unreasonable force.

DEFENSE OF PROPERTY

Individuals are allowed to use a reasonable amount of force or threat to

protect their property from theft and damage. The priviledge to defend
ones property is more limited than that of self - defense because society
places a lesser value on property than on the integrity of human beings.
There is no privilege to use force that may cause death or serious injury
against trespasser unless the trespass itself threatens death or serious
injury. But in some cases however deadly force might be justified if it is
used to prevent or stop a felony. If possession of real or personal
property is in dispute, the universal rule is that force cannot be used.
The dispute must be settled by a court.

DISCIPLINE

Assault and Battery are sometime legally allowed in application of

restraint in order to discipline others. For example, parents are legally
authorized to apply reasonable physical discipline upon their children.
Even school teachers are permitted to apply a certain level of physical
restraint or discipline against their students. Equally, the staff of a
mental health facility may have legal authority to apply reasonable
restraint to prevent a patient from causing harm to himself, to others, or
to property.

PUNISHMENT

The law considers an assault and battery to be an invasion of the

personal security of the victim for which the wrongdoer is required to
pay for damages. The determination of the amount of damages to which
a victim might be entitled if a defendant is found civilly liable is usually
made by a jury. Generally, a plaintiff is entitled to compensatory
Damages that compensate for injuries that are both directly and
indirectly related to the wrong.

Examples of compensatory damages include damages for pain and

suffering, damages for medical expenses and damages for lost earnings
resulting from the victim’s inability to work. Normal damages, given

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although there is no harm at all or merely a slight one, may also be

awarded in an assault and battery action.

If a defendant is found criminally liable, the punishment is

imprisonment, a fine or both. When the offense is committed with an
intent to murder or do serious harm. It is called aggravated assault and
battery. An aggravated assault and battery is often committed with a
dangerous weapon and it is punishable as a felony generally.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4

List and Discuss the defenses of Battery.

ROBBERY

Robbery is considered a violent crime because it involves the use of

force to obtain money or goods. Robbery is punished severely because
the victim’s life is put in jeopardy, infact, the severity of punishment is
based on the amount of force used during the crime, not the value of the
items taken. Thus robbery is not just a property crime but also a crime
against the person, a crime that might result in personal violence. The
use of or threat of force must be such that it would make a reasonable
person fearful. (Reid, 2006).

The distinction is difficult to make between theft and robbery. For

example, if a person picked a wallet from other person pocket without
his knowledge, the act may be classified as either larceny, theft or
robbery. But robbery, for example, is the situation when a person or
persons take by violence the property, of the victim. Sometime it may
involve struggling between the victim and the offender. Some
jurisdictions classify robbery according to the degree of force used or
threatened thus, a country might define armed robbery as a more serious
crime than robbery without a weapon. The issue of weapon has been
defined in various ways. Weapon does not necessarily means a gun, a
knife or some other obviously dangerous instrument. A toy pistol or
even hands may meet the weapon requirement.

Asportation is an important element of robbery. Asportation means “the

taking away” the property must be taken or carry away. Another
element in robbery, is that the perpetrator threaten to use force or in
some other way intimidates the victim

According to Reid (2006) explains the robbery status as follows:-

i. A person commits the offense of robbery if in the course of

committing a theft, the:

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(a) Uses physical force on the person of another and such person is
aware of such force, or
(b) threatens another with or purposely puts him in fear of immediate
use of physical force.

ii. An act shall be deemed “in the course of committing a theft” if it

occurs in an attempt to commit theft, in an effort to retain the
stolen property immediately after its taking or in immediate flight
after the attempt or commission.
iii. Robbery is a class B felony except that if the defendant:

(a) Was actually armed with a deadly weapon, or

(b) Reasonably appeared to the victim to be armed with a deadly
weapon or
(c) Inflicted or attempted to inflict death or serious injury on the
person of another, the offense is a class B felony except that if the
defendant was actually armed with a deadly weapon, and the
deadly weapon was a firearm he shall be sentenced in accordance
with the criminal code.

TYPES OF ROBBERIES

Researches carried out have shown that Robberies are of many types
such as:

1. Robbery of people who, as part of their employment, are in

charge of money or goods. This category includes robberies in
jewelry stores, banks, offices and other places in which money
changes hands.
2. Robbery in an open area: These robberies include street
mugging, purse snatchings, and other attacks. Street robberies
are common in Urban cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt etc.
3. Commercial robbery: This type of robbery occurs in business
ranging from banks to liquor stores. Banks have been target for
armed robbers in Nigeria recently although it is becoming
difficult because of awareness and increasing higher level of
security.
4. Robbery on private premises: This type of robbery involves
breaking into people’s house. The trend of night robberies has
taken a new dimension because robbers do take away heavy
properties except money, jewelries handset, etc because of police
check points and tight security measures.
5. Robbery after a short, preliminary association. This type of
robbery comes after a chance meeting - in a bar, at a party or after
a sexual intercourse encounter.

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6. Robbery after a longer association between victim and

offender. An example of this type of robbery would be an
intimate acquaintance robbing his paramour and then fleeting the
jurisdiction.
7. Carjacking. This is a completed or attempted theft of a motor
vehicles by force or threat of force. Incidence of car snatchers
have reduced in the country. Carjackers after snatching cars do
keep the Car Owners in the booth of the cars and they will be
driven away from the spot with intention that the cars do or do
not have security. After a while he will be thrown away from the
booth into the bush.

TYPES OF ROBBERS

As we have different types of robberies, there are equally different types

of personality involves in the robberies. The following are the types of
robbers according to Conklin, J (1972).

1. PROFESSIONAL ROBBERS: These robbers have a long-term

commitment to crime as a source of livelihood. This type of
robber plans and organizes crimes prior to committing them and
seeks money to support a hedonistic lifestyle. Professional
robbers some are exclusively robbers and some combine other
criminal acts. Planning and skill are the trademarks of the
professional robbers, who usually operates in groups with assign
role. Professional usually steal large amounts from commercial
establishments.
2. OPPORTUNIST ROBBERS: These robbers steal to obtain
small amounts of money when an accessible target presents itself.
They are not committed to robbery but will steal from cab
drivers, drunks, elderly and other vulnerable persons if they need
some extra spending money. These are juvenile gang who are
seldom organized and spend little time discussing weapon use
getaway plans or other strategies.
3. ADDICTS ROBBERY: These people steal to support their drug
habits. They have a low commitment to robbery because of its
danger but a high commitment to theft because it supplies needed
funds. The addict is less likely to plan crime or use weapons than
the professional robber but as more cautious than the opportunist.
Addicts choose targets that present minimal risk. However, when
desperate for funds, they are sometimes, careless in selecting the
victim and executing the crime.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

Students who have gone through this unit should be able to explain the
crimes committed by individuals such as kidnapping, assault and battery
and robbery. You should be able to explain the current crime rates as it
involves kidnapping especially in the eastern part of the country and
Nigeria as a whole.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have been able to explained in detail what is meant by

Murder, Assault and Battery and Kidnapping. The difference between
Assault and Battery and the types of Battery. We are able to explain the
types of Kidnapping. Examples of Kidnapping was drawn for Nigeria
with emphases on Niger Delta. Murder as a crime were extensively
dealt with.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Differentiate between Assault and Battery.

2. Discuss the different types of Kidnapping you know.
3. Analyze the rate of Kidnapping and Militancy in Nigeria.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Diamond, John L. (1985). Kidnapping: A Modern Definition American

Journal of Criminal Law 13.
Hillebrand, Joseph R. (1991). “Parental Kidnapping and the Tort of
Custodial Interference: Not in a Child’s Best Interests” Indiana
Law Review 25.
Jamiu, H. (2009). The Rising Wave of Kidnapping in Nigeria,

Brewer, J. D. (1994). The Danger from Strangers: Confronting the

Threat of Assaul. Norwell: Mass Klumer Academic.
Reid, S. T. (2006). Crime and Criminology. New York: McGraw Hill
Companies Inc.
Siegel, L. J. (2006). Criminology. USA: Thomson Wadsworth
Learing Inc.
Conklm, J. (1972). Robbery and the Criminal Justice System. New
York: Lippincon.
West’s Encyclopedia of American Law (2008). (2nd ed.). The Gale
Group.

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UNIT 3 TYPES OF OFFENSES III

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Homicide
3.2 Rape
3.3 Burglary
3.4 Arson
3.5 Treason

4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Most sociologists include three elements in a working definition of

crime (offence):

1. The actor must violate the penal code through either omission or
commission of an act.
2. The actor must have acted voluntarily and
3. The kind and degree of social injury to the state must be
specified.
In criminal matters, the charges are brought on behalf of the
‘people of Nigeria’ emphasizing the idea that the action inflicted
a social injury on all the citizens of the political jurisdiction.
Based on the above background we will be looking at these
offences - Homicide, Rape, Burglary, Arson and Treason.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• know the different types of offences

• the motive behind committing this offences
• and the punishment meted out to the offenders.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Homicide

(Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to

the act of human killing a human being. A common form of homicide
for example, would be minder. It can also describe a person who has
committed such an act, though this use is rare in Modern English.
Homicide is not always an illegal act so although homicide is often used
as a non-criminal homicide. Homicide do not always involve a crime.
Sometimes the law allows homicide by allowing certain defenses to
criminal charges one of the most recognized is self-defense which
provides that a person is entitled to commit homicide to protect his or
her own life from a deadly attack.

Homicides may also be non-criminal when conducted with the sanction

of the state. The most obvious examples is capital punishment, in which
the state determine that a person should die. Homicides committed in
action during war are usually not subject to criminal prosecution either.
In addition, members of law enforcement entities are also allowed to
commit justified homicides within certain parameters which when met,
do not usually result in prosecution.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

What is Homicide?

3.2 Rape

Rape has been a recognized crime throughout history. In early

civilization rape was common. Men staked a claim of ownership on
women by forcibly abducting and raping them. Rape has been
associated with armies and warfare. Soldiers of conquering armies have
considered sexual possession of their enemies women one of the spoils
of war. Rape is referred to as sexual assault. Sexual assault by a person
involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of
another person without that person consent.

The word rape itself originates from the latin verb rapere, to seize or
take by force. The word originally had no sexual connotation and is still
used generically in English. Rape is defined in common law as the
carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Rape
was often viewed as a sexual offense in the traditional
criminological literature. But criminologists now consider rape a violent,
coerce act of aggression, not a forceful expression of sexuality. There

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has been a national campaign to alert the public to the seriousness of

rape, to offer help to victims.

TYPES OF RAPE

There are several types of rape, generally categorized by reference to the

situation in which it occurs, the sex or characteristics of the victim and /
or the sex or characteristics of the perpetrator. Some rapes are planned,
others are spontaneous, some focus on a particular victim, where as
others occur almost as an afterthought during the commission of another
crime such as a burglary. Some rapists commit a single crime, where as
others are multiple offenders, some attach alone, and others engage in
group or gang rapes. Because there is no single type of rape or rapist,
criminologists have attempted to define and categories the vast variety
of rape situation. Criminologists now recognize that there are numerous
motives for rape and as a result various types of rapists. According to
Nicholas Groth, made an expert classification and treatment of sex
offenders. He believe that every rape encounter contains at least one of
these three elements (1) anger (2) power (3) sadison. Different types of
rape include but are not limited to (1) Gang rape (2) Individual rape (3)
Serial rape (4) Acquaintance rape (5) Date rape (6) Marital rape (7)
Statutory rape.

STATUTORY RAPE:- The term statutory rape refers to sexual

relations between an underage minor female and adult male. Although
the sex is not forced or coerced, the law says that young girls are
incapable of giving informed consent, so the act is legally considered
nonconsensual. Typically, a country’s law will define an age of consent
above which there can be no criminal prosecution for sexual relations.

MARITAL RAPE:- Which is forcible rape of a woman by her husband

but infact prosecution of such cases are rarely reported and are not very
successful when prosecuted. Historically, a husband had unlimited
sexual access to his wife, she was expected and in most cases she herself
is expected to comply with his sexual desires. The husband could be
charged with rape only if he forces his wife to have sexual intercourse
with a third person.

ACQUAINTANCE RAPE:- Involves someone known to the victim

including family members and friends. Included within acquaintance
rapes are the subcategories of date rape, marital rape. It is difficult to get
accurate data on acquaintance rape because women may be more
reluctant to report acts involving acquaintances. By some estimates,
about 50 percent of rapes involve acquaintances. Strangers rape are
typically more violent than acquaintance rapes, attaches are more likely
to carry a weapon, threaten the victim and harm her physically.

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DATE RAPE:- This is another type of rape. Date rape refers to forced
sexual intercourse during a situation in which the alleged victim has
agreed to some forms of social contact but not sexual intercourse. Date
rape can take any form some occur on first dates, others occur after the
couple has been involved for some time. In long-term or close
relationships, the male partner may feel he has invested so much time
and money in his partner that he is owed sexual relations or that sexual
intimacy is an expression that the involvement is progressing. Date rape
use a variety of methods to coerce sex including getting their dates
drunk, threatening them with termination of the relationship, threatening
to disclose negative information, making them feel guilty or altering
false promise to obtain sex. Date rape is believed to be frequent on
campus, fewer cases of date rape are reported to the police.

SERIAL RAPE:- Some rapists are one-time offenders, but others

engage in multiple or serial rapes. Some serial rapists commit blitz
rapes in which they attack their victims without warning, whereas others
try to capture their victims by striking up a conversation or offering
them a ride. Others use personal or professional relationships to gain
access to their targets. For example, police officers and other criminal
justice personal.

RAPE AND LAW

Rape has created much conflict in the legal system. Women mostly in
Africa do report the cases of rape and even if they choose to report
sexual assaults to police, the police, prosecutors and court personnel and
the legal technicalities that authorize invasion of women’s privacy
which a rape case is tried in court are all impediment. Police officers
may be hesitant to make arrests and testify in court when alleged
assaults do not yield obvious signs of violence or struggle (presumably
showing the victim strenuously resisted the attack). Police are also loath
to testify on the victim’s behalf if she had previously known or dated her
attacker. Nowadays, both the police and courts are now becoming more
sensitive to the plight of rape victims, even case of rape by acquaintance
are now investigated because they are aggravated rapes involving
multiple offenders, weapons and victim injuries.

MOTIVATION

Many theories have propounded to explains the motivation for rape in

criminological studies. These motivation are multi-factorial and are
subject to debate several factors such (1) anger (2) a desire for power (3)
sadism (4) sexual gratification (5) evolutionary pressure etc have been
proposed.

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CONSENT

To prove any allegation of rape, the absence of consent of sexual

intercourse on the part of the victim is critical. Consent need not be
expressed any may be implied from the context and from the
relationship of the parties but the absence of objection does not of itself
constitute consent.

Duress, the use of force or threats to have sexual intercourse leads to the
presumption of lack of consent. Duress may be actual or threatened
force or violence against the victim or somebody else close to the
victim. Even blackmail may constitute duress.

Valid consent is also lacking if the victim lacks an actual capacity to

give consent, as in the case of a victim who is a child or who had a
mental impairment or developmental disability. Consent can always be
withdrawn at any time, so that any further sexual activity after the
withdrawal of consent constitutes rape. The law would invalidate
consent in the case of sexual intercourse with a person below the age at
which they can legally consent to such relations. Such cases are
sometimes called statutory rape.

INVESTIGATION OF CASES OF RAPE

From observation it has been proved that the vast majority of rapes have
been committed by person familiar or known to the victim, the initiation
and process of a rape investigation depends much on the victim’s
willingness and ability to report and describe a rape.

In the course of investigation of cases of rape, evidences have to prove

such biological evidence like semen, blood, vaginal secretions, saliva,
vaginal epithelial cells may be identified and genetically typed by a
crime laboratorist. The information derived from the analysis can often
help determine whether sexual contact occurred, provide information
regarding the circumstances of the incident and be compared to
reference samples collected from patients and suspects.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

What do you understand by the word Rape?

BURGLARY

The word burglary comes from two German words; “berg” meaning
house and “laron” meaning thief (i.e house thief).Burglary is also called
breaking into someone’s house and this is regarded as a crime. Burglary

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occurs when a person unlawfully enters or remain in a dwelling, a

structure or a conveyance to commit crime.

Sir Mathew Hale defined burglary in common law as the breaking and
entering the house of another in the night time with intention to commit
a felony therein whether felony be actually committed or not.

From this definition; (1) House includes a temporarily unoccupied

dwelling, but not a building used only occasionally as habitation. (2)
Breaking does not require that anything be broken in terms of physical
damage occurring. A person who has permission to enter part of a
house but not another part, commits a breaking and entering when they
use any means to enter a room where they are not permitted so long as
the room was not open to enter. (3) Night time is defined as hours
between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise.
Burglary is prosecuted as a felony or misdemeanor and involves
trespassing and left entering a building or automobile or entering
unlawfully with intent to commit theft or any crime not necessarily a
theft.

Burglary may be an element in crimes involving rape, arson,

kidnapping, identity theft or violation of civil rights, Burglary occurring
at night is punished more severely than burglary occurring at other time.
In some countries, night time burglary was punished as burglary in the
first degree while daytime burglary was punished as burglary in the
second degree.

The uniform crime Reports (UCR) define burglary as “the unlawful

entry into a structure to commit a felony or theft” The requirement of
entering presents problems too if a person use an instrument to open the
building and if only the instrument entered the building the action did
not constitute entering unless the instrument was used in the commission
of the felony for which the premises were entered. However, the entry
by any part of the offender could constitute an entry.

ANALYSIS OF BURGLARY

The words of Burglary and burglars have been studied by several

approaches. Some sociologists have studied the people convicted of
burglary, trying to discover whether these types of criminals have any
distinguishable characteristics. Other have looked at the circumstances
surrounding the crime, for example the type of establishment
burglarized, the value of the loss, the type of entry and the hour of the
day or night when the crime occurred. Still others have looked at
characteristics of the area in which the crime occurred. Some
researchers have concentrated on the characteristics of burglary. Studies

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have shown that burglars are young, unskilled. Most do not travel far
from their homes to commit their crimes. Most burglars choose victims
by their accessibility.

Burglary has been consider as an inchoate crime by some academics.

Other academics said that because the intrusion itself is harmful, this
justified punishment even when no further crime is committed.
Burglary can be seen as an inchola or incomplete offense as a
preliminary step to another crime, because it disrupts the privacy and
security of persons in their homes and in regard to their personal
property. However, it is complete as soon as the intrusion is made.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Define the term Burglary.

TREASON

Oran’s Dictionary of law (1983) defines treason as a citizen’s action to

help a foreign government overthrow, make war against or seriously
injure the parent nation. Treason is often considered as attempt to
conspire or overthrow the government even if no foreign country is
aided or involved by such an endeavour.

Treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of
disloyalty to one’s sovereign or nation Historically, treason also covered
the murder of specific social superiors such as the murder of a husband
by his wife (treason against the king was known as high treason against
a lesser superior was petit treason). A person who commits treason is
known in law as a traitor. The word traitor outside legal share means a
person who betrays or is accused of betraying their own political party,
nation, family, friends, ethnic group team, religion, social class or other
group to which they may belong. An example of traitor was seen in the
Bible when Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ.

In English law, high treason was punishable by being hanged, drown

and quartered (men) or burnt at the stake (women), the only crime which
attracted those penalties (until the Treason Act 1814). The penalty was
used by late Monarchs against people who could reasonably be called
traitors, although most modern jurists would call it excessive. Many of
them would now just be considered dissidents.

Early in Islamic history, the only form of treason was seen as the
attempt to overthrow a just government or waging war against the state.
Quran prescribed punishment ranging from imprisonment to severing of
limbs and the death penalty depend on the severity of the crime.

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However, contrary to popular belief Apostasy was not considered

Treason, and there is no example of punishment during Prophet
Muhammed’s time. Currently, the consensus among major Islamic
Schools is that it is considered treason if a muslim converts. The
penalty is death. Many Islamic theologians believe that the death
penalty is acceptable punishment for treason and other mischief on the
Pand (Wikipedia the encyclopedia).

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4

Does the term Treason applies in Nigeria.

ARSON

Arson is defined as any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn

with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building,
motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another etc. This
definition included only those fires that found to be set maliciously or
willfully. Fires of unknown or suspicious origin are excluded. Arson is
resulted in extensive property damage as well as personal injuries and
deaths. Arson has been attributed to children as well as to the Adults.
There are six types of Arsonists:-

(1) Revenge Arsonists:- are the most prevalent type. Most are
family members or friends who have been involved in an
argument with the people against who they seek revenge. Many
are intoxicated at the time of the crime. Potentially, they are
more dangerous than other types and they make little attempt to
concede their acts.

(2) Vandalism Arsonists:- These are teenagers who think it is fun to

destroy property by fire. These teenagers often commit in pair or
groups in contrast to other types who commits alone most of the
time.

(3) Crime - concealment Arsonists:- Are offenders who set fires to

conceal other crimes that they have committed. For example
Cocoa House in Ibadan was set on fire because of the offender
intended to conceal fraud they perpetrated.

(4) Insurance - Claim Arsonists:- set fires so they can make claims
against their Insurance Companies. Often they commit their
crimes during the day in contrast to crime - concealment
arsonists, who usually work at night.

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(5) Excitement Arsonists:- Are often intoxicated and set fire to

inhabited buildings at night for the fun they fund in the acturity.
Perhaps pyromaniacs best fit the common stereotype of arsonists.
They are the pathological fir starters who do not seem to commit
the crime for any practical or financial reason but rather because
of an irresistible impulse.
(6) Arson for hire or profit:- Most of the arsonists are never caught
and therefore little is known about their characteristics.

(7) Suicide Arsonists:- Are offenders who set fires on the building
in order to commit suicide. The suicide bombers are examples of
these suicide arsonists.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 5

Can a person commit Arson and get away with it without punishment?.

4.0 CONCLUSION

We’ve been able to discuss in detail the different types of crimes which
will be of a great value to students of criminology and security studies.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have dealt with what is meant by Homicide, Rape

,Burglary, Arson and Treason. What are the types of rapes.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. List and discuss the types of rape you know.

2. Is burglary a felony or misdemeanor?
3. There are 6 different types of Arsonists. Discuss them

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Brookman, F. (2005). Understanding Homicide. London: Sage

Publication Ltd.

Groth, Nicholas A. (1979). Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the

Offender. New York: NY Plenum Press.

Lee, Eillis (1989). Theories of Rape: Inquiries into the Causes of Rape.
Taylor and Francis.
Frank Schmalleger (2006). Criminal Law Today: An Introduction with
Capstone Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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UNIT 4 TYPES OF OFFENCES IV (TERRORISM)

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition and History of Terrorism
3.2 Contemporary Forms of Terrorism
3.3 What Motivates Terrorism
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we shall discuss in detail the meaning of terrorism and the
different form of terrorism in different parts of the world committed
with the motive behind terrorist acts.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain what is meant by terrorism

• discuss briefly the history of terrorism and the different forms of
terrorism
• explain the motive behind terrorists acts.

3.1 Terrorism

Despite its long history, it is often difficult to precisely define terrorism

and to separate terrorist acts from interpersonal crimes of violence for
example, if a group robs a bank to obtain funds for its revolutionary
struggles, should the act be treated as terrorism or as a common bank
robbery? Therefore, for an act to be considered terrorism, which is a
political crime, the act must carry with it the intent to disrupt and change
the government and must not be merely a common – law crime
committed for greed or egotism.

According to the United States Department, the term terrorism means

premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non
combatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents, usually
intended to influence an audience. The term international terrorism
means terrorism involving citizens or the territory of more than one
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country. A terrorist group is any group practicing, or that has significant

sub-groups that practice international terrorism.

The word terrorist is often used interchangeably with the term guerilla,
however the terms are quite different. Guerilla comes from the Spanish
term meaning "little war" which developed out of the Spanish rebellion
against French troops after Napoleon's 1808 invasion of the Iberian
Peninsula. Terrorists have an urban frens. Operating in small bands, or
cadres, of three to five members, they target the property or persons of
their enemy, such as members of the ruling class. Guerillas, on the other
hand are located in rural areas and attached to the military, the police
and government officials. Their organizations can grow quite large and
eventually take the form of a conventional military force.

Brief History of Terrorism

Acts of terrorism have been known throughout history. The

assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC, is considered an act
of terrorism. Terrorism became widespread at the end of the middle
ages, when political leaders were subject to assassination by their
enemies. The literal translation of assassin refers to the acts of ritual
intoxication undertaken by the warriors before their missions. In the first
century CE, a Jewish sect known as the Zealots took up arms against the
Roman occupation, using daggers to shit the throats of Romans and of
Jews who collaborated.

The term terrorist first became popular during the French Revolution.
From the fall of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 until July 1974, thousands
suspected of counter revolutionary activity were killed on guillotine.
More than hundred years after the French Revolution, terrorism
continued around the world. The Hur Brotherhood in India was made up
of religious fanatics who carried out terrorist acts against the ruling
class. In Eastern Europe, the internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization campaigned against the Turkish government, which
controlled its homeland (Macedonia became part of the former
Yugoslavia).

During the World War II, resistance to the occupying German troops
was common throughout Europe. The Germans considered the resistors
to be terrorists, but the rest of the world considers them heroes.

3.2 Contemporary Forms of Terrorism

Today, the term terrorism encompasses many different behaviours and

goals. Some of the more common forms are discussed below:

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1. Revolutionary Terrorists:- Revolutionary terrorists use violence

to frighten those In power and their supporters in order to replace
the existing government with a regime that holds acceptable
political or religious views. Terrorist actions such as kidnapping,
assassination and bombing are designed to draw repressive
responses from governments trying to defend themselves. These
responses help revolutionaries to expose, through the skilled use
of media coverage, the government's inhumane nature.

2. Political Terrorists: Political terrorism is directed at people or

groups who oppose the terrorists' political ideology or whom the
terrorists define as "outsiders" who must be destroyed. Political
terrorists may not want to replace the existing government but to
shape it so that it accepts its views. United States Political
terrorists tend to be heavily armed groups organized around such
themes as white supremacy, militant tax resistance and religious
revisionism.

Examples of such in Nigeria are the militant groups in the Niger Delta
and the Oodua Peoples Congress in the western part of Nigeria and the
recent arrest of a young man in United Kingdom named Abdul Mutallab
who was arrested after an unsuccessful attempt to bomb an airplane
enroute to United Kingdom.

3. Nationalist Terrorism:- Nationalist terrorism promotes the

interests of a minority ethnic or religious group that believes it
has been persecuted under majority rule and wishes to come out
with its own independent homeland.

In the Middle East, terrorist activities have been linked to the Palestinian
liberation organization (PLO). They had directed terrorist activities
against Israel. Although the PLO now has political control over the west
bank and the Gaza strip, splinter groups have broken from the PLO.
Hundreds on both sides of the conflict have been killed during terrorist
attacks and reprisals.

The Middle East is not the only source of nationalistic terrorism. The
Chinese government has been trying to suppress separatist groups
fighting for an independent state in the north – western province of
Xinjiang. The province has witnessed more than 150 deaths.

4. State Sponsored Terrorism:- Sponsored terrorism occurs when

a repressive government regime forces its citizens into obedience
oppresses minorities, and stifles political dissent. Death squads
and the use of government troops to destroy political opposition
parties are often associated with Latin American political

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terrorism. Much of what we know about state – sponsored

terrorism comes from the efforts of human rights groups.

London based Amnesty international maintains that tens of thousands of

people continue to become victims of security operations that result in
disappearances and executions. Political prisoners are now being
fortuned in about 100 countries; people have disappeared or are being
held in secret detention in about twenty countries. Government
sponsored death squads have been operating in more than thirty five
countries known for encouraging violent control of dissidents include
Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Iraq and the Sudan.

3.3 What Motivates Terrorists

What could motivate someone like Osama bin Laden to order the deaths
of thousands of innocent people? How could someone who had never
been to the United States or suffered personally at its hands develop
such lethal hatred?

Terrorists engage in criminal activities such as bombings, shootings and

kidnappings. What really motivates these individuals to risk their lives
and those of innocent people? One view is that terrorists are emotionally
disturbed individuals who act out their psychosis within the confines of
violent groups. According to this view, terrorist violence is not so much
a political instrument as an end in itself; it is the result of compulsion or
psychopathology Terrorists do what they do because of a garden variety
of emotional problems, including but not limited to self – destructive
urges, disturbed emotions combined with problems with authority and
inconsistent and troubled parenting. As terrorism expert Jerold M. Post
puts it, "political terrorists are driven to commit acts of violence as a
consequence of psychological forces and their special psychology is
constructed to rationalize acts they are psychologically compelled to
commit.

Another view is that terrorists hold extreme ideological beliefs that

prompt their behaviour. At first they have heightened perceptions of
oppressive conditions, behaving that they are being victimized by some
group or government. Once these potential terrorists recognize that these
conditions can be changed by an active governmental reform effort that
has not happened, they conclude that they must resort to violence to
encourage change. "Successful" terrorists believe that their "Self
sacrifice" Outweighs the guilt created by harming innocent people.
Terrorism, therefore, requires violence without guilt, the cause justifies
the violence.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

This unit has been able to expose you to what terrorism is and the
background to terrorist acts coupled with the motive behind culprits who
carry out terrorism.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt the following:

• The definition of terrorism

• Brief history of terrorism and the forms of terrorism
• What motivate terrorists acts?

6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

The rate of terrorists acts in the recent century has been on the increase.
In your own opinion, what are the fundamental issues behind terrorism.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Siegel L.J. (2006). Criminology. Belmont: Thompson Learning

Incorporation.

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MODULE 4 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO

PUNISHMENT

Unit 1 What is Punishment?

Unit 2 Types of Punishment
Unit 3 Theoretical Background to Punishment

UNIT 1 DEFINITION OF PUNISHMENT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is Punishment?
3.2 History of Punishment
3.3 Reasons for Punishment
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The right of society to punish is derived from a supposed agreement

which the persons who compose the primitive societies entered into, in
order to keep order and indeed the very existence of the State.

According to others, it is the interest and duty of man to live in society.

To defend this right, society may exert this principle in order to support
itself and this it may do, whenever the acts punishable would endanger
the safety of the whole.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain what is meant by punishment

• discuss the historical background of punishment
• explain the reasons for punishment.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 What is Punishment?

Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or

aversive on a person or animal or property, usually in response to
obedience, defiance, or behaviour deemed morally wrong by individual,
government or religious principles. To attain their social end,
punishment should be exemplary or capable of intimidating those who
might be tempted to imitate the guilty; reformatory or such as should
improve the condition of the convicts; personal or such as are at least
calculated to wound the feelings or affect the right of the relations of the
guilty

Punishments are either corporal or not corporal. The formal are, death,
which is usually denominated capital punishment; imprisonment which
is either with or without labour and in earlier ages banishment which is
no more in practice. The punishments which are not corporal are: fines,
forfeitures, suspension or deprivation of some political or civil right,
deprivation of office etc.

The reason for punishment is to reform the offender, to deter him and
others from committing like offences and to protect the society.
Punishment ought to match the enormity of the offence. It should never
exceed what is a requisite to reform the criminal and to protect society.
For whatever goes beyond this, is cruelty and revenge, the relic of a
barbarous age.

DEFINITION OF PUNISHMENTS IN DIFFERENT FIELDS

In common usage, the word "punishment" might be described as "an

authorized imposition of deprivations of freedom or privacy or other
goods to which the person otherwise has a right or the imposition of
special burdens because the person has been found guilty of some
criminal violation, typically (though not invariably) involving harm to
the innocent" (according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

IN LAW

The most common applications are in legal terms and punishments is

viewed as being the infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person
for a misdeed i.e. for transgressing a law or command (including
prohibitions) given by some authority (such as an educator, employer or
supervisor, public or private official)

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IN PSYCHOLOGY

In psychology, punishment is the reduction of a behaviour via a stimulus

which is applied ("positive punishment") or removed ("negative
punishment). Making an offending student lose recess or play
priviledges are examples of negative punishment while extra cores or
spanking are examples of positive punishment. The definition requires
that punishment is only determined after the fact by the reduction in
behaviour; if the offending behaviour of the subject does not decrease,
then it is not considered punishment. There is some conflation of
punishment and aversives, though an aversive that does not increase
behaviour is not considered punishment.

HISTORY AND RATIONALE FOR PUNISHMENT

The progress of civilization has resulted in a change alike in the theory

and in the method of punishment. In primitive society, punishment was
left to the individuals wronged or their families, and was vindictive or
retributive in quantity and quality it would bear no special relation to the
character or gravity of the offense.

Gradually, there arise the idea of proportionate punishment of which the

characteristic type is an eye for an eye". The second stage was
punishment by individuals under the control of the state, or community.
In the third stage, with the growth of law, the state took over the
primitive function and provided itself with the machinery of justice for
the maintenance of public order. Hence forward, crimes are against the
state and the exaction of punishment by the wronged individuals is
illegal. Even at this stage, the vindictive or retributive character of
punishment remains but gradually and specifically after the humanist
movement under thinkers like Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, new
theories begin to emerge.

Two chief trains of thought have combined in the condemnation of

primitive theory and practice. On the one hand, the retributive principle
itself has been very largely superseded by the protective and the
reformative; on the other hand, punishments involving bodily pain have
become objectionable to the general sense of society. Consequently
corporal and even capital punishment occupy a far less prominent
position, and tend everywhere to disappear. It began to be recognized
also that stereotyped punishments, such as belong to penal codes, fail to
take due account of the particular and circumstances of the offender. A
fixed fine, for example, operates very unequally on rich and poor.

Modern theories date from the 18th Century, when the humanitarian
movement began to teach the dignity of the individual and to emphasize

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his rationality and responsibility. The result was the reduction of

punishment both in quantity and in severity, the improvement of the
prison system, and the first attempts to study the psychology of crime
and to distinguish between classes of criminals with a view of their
improvement. These latter problems brought about the outcome of
criminal anthropology and criminal sociology, sciences so called
because they view crime as the outcome of anthropological viz Social
conditions. The law breaker is himself a product of social evolution and
cannot be regarded as solely responsible for his disposition to transgress.
Habitual crime is thus to be treated as a disease. Punishment can,
therefore, be justified only insofar as it either protects society by
removing temporarily or permanently one who has injured it, or acting
as a deterrent or aims at the moral regeneration of the criminal. Thus, the
retributive theory of punishment with its criterion of justice as an end in
itself gives place to a theory which regards punishment solely as a
means to an end, utilitarian or moral, according as the common
advantage or the good of the criminal is sought.

Michael Foucault describes in detail the evolution of punishment from

hanging, drawing and quartering of medieval times to the modern
systems of fines and prisons. He sees a trend in criminal punishment
from vengeance by the king to a more practical, utilitarian concern for
deterrence and rehabilitation.

3.2 History of Punishment

The progress of civilization has resulted in a change alike in the theory

and in the method of punishment. In primitive society, punishment was
left to the individuals wronged or their families and was vindictive or
retributive. In quantity and quality, it would bear no special relation to
the characters or gravity of the offence. Gradually, there arose the idea
of proportionate punishment of which the characteristic type is an eye
for an eye. The second stage was punishment by individual under the
control of the state or community. In the third stage, with the growth of
law, the state took over the primitive function and provided itself with
the machinery of justice for the maintenance of public order.
Henceforth, crimes are against the state and the exaction of punishment
by the wronged individual is illegal.

Even at this stage, the vindictive or retributive character of punishment

remains, but gradually, and especially after the humanist movement
under thinkers like Baccaria and Jeremy Bentham, new theories begin to
emerge. Two chief trains o thought have combined in the condemnation
of primitive theory and practice.

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On the one hand, the retributive principle itself has been very largely
superseded by the protective and the reformative; on the other,
punishments involving bodily pain have become objectionable to the
general sense of society. Consequently, corporal and even capital
punishment occupy a far less prominent position and tend everywhere to
disappear. It began to be recognized also that stereotyped punishments
such as belong to penal codes fail to take due account of the particular
condition of an offence and the character and circumstance of the
offender. A fixed fine, for example, operates very unequally on rich and
poor.

Modern theories which dates from the 18th century when the
humanitarian movement began to teach the dignity of the individual and
to emphasize his rationality and responsibility. The result was the
reduction of punishment both in quantity and in severity, the
improvement of the prison system, and the first attempts to study the
psychology of crime and to distinguish between classes of criminals
with a view to their improvement

3.3 Reasons for Punishment

There are many possible reasons that might be given to justify or explain
why someone ought to be punished. The following are a broad outline of
typical, possible justifications:-

1. Rehabilitation: - Some punishment includes work to reform and

rehabilitate the wrongdoer so that they will not commit the
offence again. This is distinguished from deterrence, in that the
goal here is to change the offender’s attitude to what they have
done, and make them come to see that their behaviour was
wrong.

2. Incapacitation/Societal Protection: - Incapacitation is a

justification of punishment that refers to when the offender’s
ability to commit further offenses is removed. This is a forward-
looking justification of punishment that views the further
reduction in re-offending as sufficient justification for the
punishment. This can occur in one of two ways; the offender’s
ability to commit crime can be physically removed, or the
offenders can be geographically removed.

The offender’s ability to commit crime can be physically removed in

several ways. This can include cutting the hands off a thief, as well as
other crude punishments. The castration of offenders is another
punishment that can be justified by incapacitation. Incapacitation, in this
sense, can include any number of punishments including taking away

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the driving license of a dangerous driver but can also include capital
punishment.

Selective incapacitation is a modified form of incapacitation that

rationalizes the practice of giving only dangerous and persistent
offenders long, and in some case indefinite, prison sentences.

The approach adopts a utilitarian viewpoint that regards the protection

and subsequent happiness, of the majority as justification of giving
excessive and indefinite prison sentences. There is however, strong
moral opposition to this concept.

3. Deference/Prevention: This is to act as a measure of prevention

to those who are contemplating criminal activity.

4. Restoration: - For minor offences, punishment may take the

form of the offender righting the wrong. For example, a vandal
might be made to clean up the mess he/she has made. In more
serious cases punishment in the form of fines and compensation
payments may also be considered a sort of restoration. Some
libertarians argue that full restoration or restitution on an
individualistic basis is all that ever just, and that this compatible
with both retributivism and a utilitarian degree of deterrence.

5. Retribution: This is the practice of “getting even” with a

wrongdoer. The suffering of the wrongdoer is seen as good in
itself, even if it has no other benefits. One reason for modern
centrally-organised societies to include this judicial element is to
diminish the perceived need for “street justice”, blood feud and
vigilantism. However, some argue that this is a “zero sum game”,
that such acts of streets justice and blood revenge are not
removed from society, but responsibility for carrying them out is
merely transformed to the state.

Retribution sets an important standard on punishment i.e. the

transgressor must get what he deserves but no more. Therefore, a thief
put to death is not retribution; a murderer put to death is retribution.
Adam Smith who is credited as the father of capitalism wrote
extensively about punishment. In his view, an important reason for
punishment is not only deterrence, but also satisfying the resentment of
the victim. Moreover, in the case of the death penalty, the retribution
goes to the dead victim and not his family.

6. Education:- From German criminal law, punishment can be

explained by positive prevention theory to use criminal justice
system, to teach people what are the social norms for what is

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correct and acts as a reinforcement. It teaches people to obey the

law and eliminates the free-rider principle of people not obeying
the law getting away with it.

7. Denunciation/Condemnation: - Punishment can serve as a

means for society to publicly express condemnation of a crime.
This serves the dual function of curbing public anger away from
vigilante justice, while concurrently stigmatizing the condemned
in an effort to deter future criminal activity. This is also known as
the “Expressive Theory”.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From the unit, students would have been more informed about the
background of punishment and the basis for which offenders or
criminals are punished.

5.0 SUMMARY

We’ve been able to discuss extensively the meaning of punishment and

historical background to punishment coupled with the reasons for
punishment which basically is not meant to inflict arm or pain on the
offender but to rehabilitate him or her from committing the same offence
in the future.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Explain the historical background to punishment?

2. What is the purpose of punishment?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Zaibert, Leo (2006). Punishment and Retribution. England: Aldershot,

Hants.

Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy-Punishment.

Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy-Legal Punishment.

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UNIT 2 TYPES OF PUNISHMENT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Types of Punishment I
3.2 Detailed Explanation of Punishment
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Punishment is a measure of state compulsion assigned by a court’s

judgment. Punishment shall be applied to a person who has been found
guilty of the commission of a crime. It consists of the restriction of the
rights and freedom of this person. Punishment shall be applied for the
purpose of restoring social justice and also for the purpose of reforming
a convicted person and of preventing the commission of further crimes.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

• list out the penalties of punishment

• explain the component of some of the penalties of punishment.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Types of Punishment

The following penalties may be applied under the stationary law of any
country.

(a) Fines
(b) Deprivation of the right to hold specified offices or to engage in
specified activities
(c) Deprivation of a special and military rank or honorary title, class
rank and of government decorations.
(d) Compulsory works
(e) Corrective labour
(f) Confiscation of property.
(g) Restricted liberty.
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(h) Arrest.
(i) Deprivation of liberty for a definite period
(j) Deprivation of liberty for life
(k) Capital punishment

3.2 Detailed Explanation of Punishment

(a) FINE:- A fine is a monetary extraction imposed within the limits

established by law in an amount corresponding to a definite
number of minimum wages as fixed by law at the time of
imposing the penalty. The amount of fine shall be determined by
a court of law, depending on the gravity of the crime committed
and taking account of the convicted person’s property status. In
the event that the person maliciously evades payment of a fine,
the latter shall be replaced with arrest which may eventually lead
to a jail term.

(b) ARREST:- Arrest consists of the maintenance of a convicted

person in conditions of strict isolation from society, and shall be
imposed for a term of one to six months. In the event that
compulsory works or corrective labour is replaced by arrest, the
latter may be imposed for a term of not less than one month.
Arrest shall not be imposed on persons who have not attained the
age of 18years by the time of adjudication, nor upon pregnant
women or woman who have children of less than eight years of
age.

(c) DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY FOR LIFE:- Deprivation of

liberty for life is established only as an alternative to capital
punishment for the commission of especially grave crimes of
attack on human life, and may be imposed in cases where the
court of law desires it possible to not apply capital punishment.
Deprivation of liberty for life shall not be imposed on women, or
upon persons who have committed crimes at ages below 18years,
nor upon men who have attained 65years of age by the time of
adjudication.

(d) CORRECTIVE LABOUR: Corrective labour can be imposed

for a term from two months to two years. And shall be served at
the convicted persons place of work. In the event a person who is
sentenced to corrective labour maliciously shirks the serving of
his punishment, a court of law may replace the remaining part of
the term of corrective labour with a penalty in the form of
restricted liberty or arrest.

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(e) RESTRICTION OF MILLITARY SERVICE: restriction in

military service shall be imposed upon convicted servicemen
undergoing military service. Deductions for the benefit of the
state shall be made from the upkeep of a person convicted to
restriction in military service in the amount fixed by the courts
judgment. During the serving of this punishment, the convicted
person may not be promoted in his post or in military rank, and
the period of punishment shall not be counted in the period of
seniority for purposes of promotion in rank.

(f) CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY: Confiscation of property

consist of the compulsory seizure and transfer to the state,
without compensation, of all or part of the effects constituting
the property of the convicted person. Confiscation of property is
established for grave and especially grave crimes committed for
mercenary motives, and may be imposed by a court of law only
in cases provided by the law. In some countries, possessions
needed by the persons who are dependent on him shall not be
subject to confiscation.

(g) DEPRIVATION OF THE RIGHT TO HOLD SPECIFIC

OFFICES OR TO ENGAGE IN SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

Deprivation of the right to hold specified offices or to engage in

specified activities consists of the prohibition to hold offices in the civil
service and local self-government bodies, or to engage in a professional
or any other activities. In the event that this type of penalty is imposed in
addition to compulsory or corrective work, and also in the event of
conditional conviction, its term shall be counted from the time of the
enforcement of the court’s judgment.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Capital punishment or the death penalty is the killing of a person by

judicial process as a punishment for an offense. The term capital
originates from Latin "Capitals", literally "regarding the head". Hence, a
capital crime was originally one punished by the severing of the head.
Capital punishment has in the past been practiced in virtually every
society, although currently only 58 nations actively practice it, with 95
countries abolishing it (the remainder having not used it for 10 years or
allowing it only in exceptional circumstances such as wartime). It is a
matter of active controversy in various countries and states, and
positions can very within a single political ideology or cultural religion.

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HISTORY

Execution of criminals and political opponents has been used by nearly

all societies – both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. In
most places that practice capital punishment, it is reserved for murder,
espionage, treason or as part of military justice. In some countries,
sexual crimes such as rape, adultery, incest and sodomy carry the death
penalty as do religious crimes such as apostasy in Islamic nations.

In many countries that use the death penalty, drug trafficking is also a
capital offense. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of
corruption are punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the
world, courts martial have imposed death sentences for offenses such as
cowardice desertion, insubordination and mutiny. The use of formal
execution extends to the beginning of recorded history. Most historical
records and various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death
penalty was a part of their justice system. Communal punishment for
wrongdoing generally included compensation by the wrong doer,
corporal punishment, shunning, banishment and execution. Usually,
compensation and shunning were enough as a form of justice. The
response to crime committed by neighbouring tribes or communities
included formal apology, compensation or blood fends.

A blood fend or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or

tribes fails or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice
was common before the emergence of an arbitration system based on
state or organized religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a
code of honour. "Acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social
collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies (as well as
potential allies) that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go
unpunished". However, in practice, it is often difficult to distinguish a
war of vendetta and one of conquest.
Several historical penalties include breaking wheel, boiling to death,
flaying, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucifixion, impalement,
crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, execution by
burning, sawing or neck lacing

MOVEMENT TOWARDS HUMANE EXECUTION

In early New England, public executions were a very solemn and

sorrowful occasion, sometimes attended by large crowds, who also listen
to a Gospel message and remarks by local preachers and politicians.
Trends in most of the world have long been to move to less painful, or
more humane executions. France developed the guillotine for this reason
in the final years of the 18th Century while Britain banned drawing and
quartering in the early 19th Century. Hanging by turning the victim off a

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ladder or by kicking a stool or a bucket which causes death by

suffocation, was replaced by long drop" hanging" where the subject is
dropped a longer distance is dislocate the neck and server the spinal
cord. In the United states, the electric chair and the gas chamber were
introduced as more humane alternatives to hanging but have been almost
entirely superseded by lethal injection, which in turn has been critised as
being too painful. Nevertheless, some countries still employ slow
hanging methods, beheading by sword and even stoning, although the
latter is rarely employed.

The latest country to abolish the death penalty for all crimes was Togo,
on June 23, 2009. Human Rights activitists oppose the death penalty,
calling it "cruel inhuman and degrading punishment". Amnesty
international considers it to be "the ultimate denial of Human Rights".

ASSET FORFEITURE

Asset forfeiture is a term used to describe the confiscation of assets by

the state which are either (a) the proceeds of crime or (b) the
instrumentalities of crime, and more recently, terrorism.
Instrumentalities of crime are property that was used to facilitate crime,
for example cars used to transport illegal narcotics. The terminology
used in different jurisdictions varies. Some jurisdictions use the term
confiscation" instead of forfeiture. In recent years, there has been a
growing trend for countries to introduce civil forfeiture.

Proponents of asset forfeiture suggest that it is a necessary tool to

prevent drug trafficking but such claims cannot be supported by facts.
Former United States President, George Bush said, "Asset forfeiture
laws allow the government to take the ill – gotten gains of drug kingpins
and use them to put more cops on the streets". The hard facts are there to
show that, in western countries, all efforts (including forfeiture and
increased police budgets) to eradicate illegal drugs have failed.

The trend towards civil forfeiture has in part been prompted by the
nature of organized crime. Organized crime heads use their resources to
keep themselves distant from the crimes that they control and to mask
the criminal origins of their assets. For this reason, it has become
extremely difficult to carry out successful criminal investigations
leading to the prosecution and conviction of such individuals.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, students have been well briefed about the types of
punishment as stipulated by law and the details of some of this
punishment.

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5.0 SUMMARY

Detailed discussion of the different types of punishment meted to each

crimes has been made and the condition for exemption or forgiveness
depending on the age or status of the offender as at the time of
adjudication

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSISIGNMENT

As a student of criminology, list and explain some of the punishment

meted out to offenders under the law of your country.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Larry J. Siegal (2006). Criminology. Thompson Higher Education,

U.S.A.

Schmallerger, Frank (2004). Criminal Justice (A Brief Introduction)

U.S.A: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Deviance by Nancy A Heitzea (1906). U.S.A: West Publishing

Company.

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UNIT 3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO

PUNISHMENT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Theories of Punishment
3.2 Philosophical Theories of Punishment
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The history of punishments reveals not only universal methods of

treating deviant behaviour, but provides information about urban social
networks, population movement and elite mentalities. Punishments
given for offenses and crimes are one of the most productive ways of
analyzing social structure and morality.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• discuss in defaults the theories of punishment

• explain the philosophical theories of punishment.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Theories of Punishment

Governments have several theories to support the use of punishment to

maintain order in society.

Theories of punishment can be divided into two general philosophies:

utilitarian and retributive.
The utilitarian theory of punishment seeks to punish offenders to
discourage or “deter” future wrongdoing. The retributive theory seeks to
punish offenders because they deserve to be punished. Under the
utilitarian philosophy, laws should be used to maximize the happiness of
society. Because crime and punishment are inconsistent with happiness,
they should be kept to a minimum. Utilitarian understand that a crime-

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free society does not exist, but they Endeavour to inflict only as much
punishment as is required to prevent future crimes.

The utilitarian theory is “consequentialism” in nature. It recognize that

punishment has consequences for both the offender and society and
holds that the total good produced by the punishment should exceed the
total evil. In otherwords, punishment should not be unlimited. One
illustration of consequentialism in punishment is the release of a prison
inmate suffering from a debilitating illness. If the prisoner’s death is
imminent, society is not served by his continued confinement because he
is no longer capable of committing crimes.

Under the utilitarian philosophy, laws that specify punishment for

criminal conduct should be designed to deter future criminal conduct.
Deterrence operates on a specific and a general level. General deterrence
means that the punishment should prevent other people from committing
criminal acts. The punishment serves as an example to the rest of society
and it puts others on notice that criminals behaviour will be punished.
Specific deterrence means that the punishment should prevent the same
person from committing crimes. Specific deterrence works in two ways.
First, an offender may be put in jail or prison to physically prevent her
from committing other crimes for a specified period. Second. This
incapacitation is designed to be so unpleasant that it will discourage the
offender from repeating her criminal behaviour.

Rehabilitation is another utilitarian rationale for punishment. The goal of

rehabilitation is to prevent future crime by giving offenders the ability to
succeed within the confines of the law. Rehabilitative measures for
criminal offenders usually include treatment for afflictions such as
mental illness, chemical dependency and chronic violent behaviour.
Rehabilitation also includes the use of educational programs that give
offenders the knowledge and skills needed to complete in the job
market.

The counter part to the utilitarian theory of punishment is the retributive

theory. Under this theory, offenders are punished. For criminal
behaviour because they deserved punishment. Criminal behaviour upsets
the peaceful balance of society and punishment helps to restore the
balance. The retributive theory focuses on the crimes itself as the reason
for imposing punishment. Where the utilitarian theory looks forward by
basing punishment on social benefits, the retributive theory looks
backward at the transgression as the basis for punishment.

According to the retributivist, human beings have free will and are
capable of making rational decisions. An offender who is insane or
otherwise incompetent should not be punished. However, a person who

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makes a conscious choice to upset the balance of society should be

punished. There are different moral bases for retribution.

To many retributivist, punishment is justified as a form of vengeance.

Wrongdoer should be forced to suffer because they have forced others to
suffer. This ancient principle was expressed in the Old Testament of the
Judeo-Christian Bible: “When a man causes a disfigurement in his
neighbor. It shall be done to him fracture to fracture, eye for eye, tooth
for tooth….” To other theorist, retribution against a wrongdoer is
justified to protect the legitimate rights of both society and the offender.
Society has shown its respect for the free will of the wrongdoer through
punishment. Punishment shows respect for the wrongdoer because it
allows an offender to pay the debt to society and then return to society,
theoretically free of guilt and stigma.

A third major rationale for punishment is denunciation. Under the

denunciation theory, punishment should be an expression of societal
condemnation. The denunciation theory is a hybrid of utilitarianism and
retribution. It is utilitarian because the prospect of being publicly
denounced serves as a deterrent. Denunciation is likewise retributive
because it promotes the idea that offenders deserve to be punished. A
sentence may however, combine utilitarian ideals with retribution for
example, a defendant sentenced to prison for several years is sent there
to quench the public thirst for vengeance. At the same time, educational
programs inside the prison reflect the utilitarian goal of rehabilitation.

3.2 Philosophical Theories of Punishment

J. Benthan argued the issue of deterrence by saying that general

prevention ought to be the chief end of punishment as its real
justification. If we could consider an offence which has been committed
as an isolated fact, the like of which would never recur, punishment
would be useless. It would only be adding one evil to another. But when
we consider that an unpunished crime leaves the path of crime open, not
only to the same delinquent but also to all those who may have the same
motives and opportunities for entering upon it, we perceive that
punishment inflicted on the individual becomes a source of security for
all. That punishment which considered in itself appeared base and
repugnant to all generous sentiments is elevated to the first rank of
benefits when it is regarded not as an act of wrath or vengeance against
a guilty or unfortunate individual who has given way to mischievous
inclinations, but as an indispensable sacrifice to the common safety.

Bentham’s theory was based on hedonistic conception of man and that

man as such would be deterred from crime of punishment was applied
swiftly, certainly and severely. But being aware that punishment is an

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evil, he says “if the evil of punishment will be unprofitable; he will have
purchased exemption from one evil at the expense of another.
A retributive theory argues that the primary justification is the fact that
an offence has been committed which deserves the punishment of the
offenders. As kant argues in a famous passage, “judicial punishment
can never be used merely as means to promote some other good for the
criminal himself or civic society, but instead it must in all cases be
imposed on him only on the ground that he has committed a crime; for a
human being can never be manipulated merely as a means to the
purpose of someone else. He must first of all be found to be deserving of
punishment before any consideration is given of the utility of this
punishment for himself or his fellow citizens”.
Kant argues that retribution is not just a necessary condition for
punishment but also a sufficient one. Punishment is an end in itself.
Retribution could also be said to be the “natural” justification in the
sense that man think it quite natural and just that a bad person ought to
be punished and a good person rewarded.
However “natural” retribution might seem, it can also be seen as
Bentham saw it, that is as adding one evil to another, base and
repugnant, or as an act of wrath or vengeance

4.0 CONCLUSION

From this unit, we’ve been able to discuss the general and philosophical
theories to punishment and the different rationale to punishment.

5.0 SUMMARY

Much emphasis was placed on the utilitarian and retributive school of

thoughts to punishment while the utilitarian believe that laws should be
used to maximize the happiness of society, the retributionist believe a
crime-free society does not exist and believes that punishment is
required to prevent future crimes.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Ladan, M.T. (1998). Crime Prevention and Control and Human Rights
in Nigeria. Econet Publication Co. Ltd.

Danbazan, A.B. (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice in Nigeria.

Kaduna: Defence Academy Press.

Bohn, R.M and Haley, K.N (2002). Introduction to Criminal Justice (3rd
ed.). California: McGraw Hill.

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MODULE 5 OFFENDERS AND SENTENCING

STRUCTURE

Unit 1 Pre-sentencing
Unit 2 Purpose of Sentencing
Unit 3 Types of Sentencing Structure

UNIT 1 PRE-SENTENCING

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 History, Purpose of Preparation Presentence Investigation
Report
3.2 Review of Records, Interview of Defendant, Gathering of
Information from other Persons
3.3 Writing and Revision, Rules
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit, you will be introduced to the background and purpose of

pre-sentencing and how offenders records are reviewed and interviewed
in order to determine the circumstances which will warrant increasing or
reducing the sentence.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the background and purpose of presentence investigation

report
• discuss how offenders are interviewed and information
concerning them are collated
• know how this information are used in the final judgment of the
offender.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Presentence Investigation Report

A presentence investigation report (PSIR) is a legal term referring to the

investigation into the history of person convicted of a crime before
sentencing to determine if there are extenuating circumstances which
should ameliorate the sentence or a history of criminal behaviour to
increase the harshness of the sentence.

History

The reports trace their origins to the efforts of prison reformer John
Augustus who in the 1840s began a campaign to allow discretion in
sentencing to help those who were deemed undeserving of harsh
sentences and could be reformed. The practice became firmly
entrenched in the 1920s under a theory that crime was a pathology that
could be diagnosed and treated like a disease.

Purpose

The report is immediately to help the court determine an appropriate

sentence and also serves other purposes. Since the advent of the
sentencing guidelines, the importance of the presentence report has
increased because the document is now designed to frame factual and
legal issues for sentencing. Thereafter, if a defendant is incarcerated, the
Bureau of Prisons or State Department of corrections will use
information in the report to designate the institution where the offender
will serve the sentence and determine the offenders eligibility or need
for specific correctional programs.

Also, depending on the jurisdiction, the presentence report can be used

to calculate the released date. The probation officer assigned
responsibility for the offender's case during probation and supervised
release will use the report to make an initial assessment of case needs
and risks. Additionally, the report may be used as a source of
information for future research.

Preparation

Whether interviewing or reviewing documents, the probation officer

must weigh the evidence based on the best available information. The
final report must contain only accurate information. The goal is to
produce a report that the court may rely upon at sentencing. Though it is
inevitable that there will be data that the probation officer is unable to
verify, that information should be clearly identified. The probation

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officer must distinguish between facts and the inferences, opinions, or

conclusions based upon those facts.

When a defendant is referred for a presentence investigation, the officer

must immediately begin to gather the facts. Though the procedure varies
some what from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the officer usually conducts
several aspects of the investigation concurrently to ensure that the
presentence report is submitted to the court on time. Since officers
routinely conduct multiple presentence investigation simultaneously,
meeting the deadlines can be difficult.

3.2 Review of Records

During any investigation, a probation officer may review numerous

documents including: court dockets, plea agreements, investigative
reports from numerous agencies, previous probation or parole records,
medical records, counseling and substance abuse treatment records,
employment records, financial records and others. The probation officer
must scrutinize each document received and determine the likely
accuracy of the record.

The probation officer's investigation of the offense usually begins with

an examination of the complaint, information or indictment charging the
defendant and the docket describing the judicial history of the case.
These documents may be found in the district court clerk's file. The
officer will use them to develop a brief chronological history of the
prosecution of the case and identify the specific charges that resulted in
the conviction. The review of the clerk's file may also reveal the
identities of co-defendants or related cases, the status of which must be
investigated and reported in the presentence report. At the same time,
the probation officer may also request information about the offender's
history, circumstances and release status from the pretrial services
officer or from a separate pretrial services agency.

Before interviewing the defendant about the offense, the probation

officer must review official descriptions of the offense conduct and the
applicable guidelines. As a result, it is often necessary to postpone a
discussion of the offense until a second interview. The offender is also
asked to submit a written statement about the offense conduct.

Interview of Defendant

Probation officers investigate by interviewing and reviewing documents.

Unless the defendant declines, the defendant is questioned in every case.
Additionally, the officer should interview the defense counsel, the
prosecutor, law enforcement agents who investigated the conduct that

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led to the defendant's conviction, victims, the defendant's family, present

or previous employers school officials, doctors, counselors and others.
The diverse interview settings that probation officers encounter require
them to be proficient in a variety of questioning techniques.

Ideally, the offender is available for the interview easily in the

investigation. The defendant interview is the pivotal point around which
the presentence investigation turns. Often, the format is a structured
interview during which a standard worksheet is completed. The
worksheet follows the format of the presentence report and provides
space for recording data about the offense and the offender's
characteristics and history. Each item on the form is reviewed with the
defendant. Even though some of the data solicited from the offender
during this interview may not appear in the final report, it is impossible
at this stage to determine what information will be included. No
question is asked without a purpose. The defendant's answers will
determine follow up questions, items for further investigation or
corrobation and ultimately whether the data should be included in the
report.

The presentence investigation is often the first inquiry into the offender's
past, and the initial interview provides the framework for the reports
description of the offender's history and circumstances. The probation
officer inquiries about the defendant's family and developmental history,
marital relationship, education, employment history, physical and
mental health, alcohol or controlled substance abuse and finances. The
emphasis throughout the questioning is on identifying information that
is relevant for understanding the defendant's offense conduct and present
situation. During the interview, the probation officer will ask the
offender to sign authorization to release confidential information. At the
conclusion of the initial interview, the offender may be asked to provide
numerous documents to the probation officer substantiating the
offender's complete life history. Additionally, the offender may be asked
to submit an autobiography fleshing out the skeletal information already
gathered about the social history.

Gathering of Information from Other Persons

Another step that must occur easily in the investigation is contact

prosecutor assigned to the case. The prosecutor will be asked to provide
information about the conduct that resulted in the defendant's
conviction, victim's losses, the defendant history, and any other data
relevant to the sentencing decision. During the investigation, the
defendant counsel will also be asked to discuss the same topics.

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After the interview of the offender, contact with the prosecutor and the
criminal history, inquiry, the probation officer must identify any
information gaps, must identify potential sources for the missing
information, and must plan on how to eliminate the gaps. It may be
necessary for the investigating officer to request another probation
officer in another jurisdiction to conduct a collateral investigation about
a specific aspect of the case. Supplemental interviews may be scheduled
with case agents, victims, family members, employers, counselors and
others.

3.3 Writing and Revision

Gradually, the emphasis shifts from gathering information to analyzing

data. The probation officer must take the tentative findings of fact
regarding the offense conduct and criminal history and must make
tentative applications of the sentencing guidelines. The applicable
sentencing option that the probation officer must recite in the
presentence report. Additionally, the probation officer must study the
case to identify potential grounds for departure from the guidelines and
then must analyze any potential departure to determine if it is valid.
During the investigation, the probation officer may consult a probation
officer specialist who is a subject matter expert about guidelines,
financial investigation, mental health, substance abuse or some other
aspect of the case. The probation officer may also consult a supervisor
or, in a team environment, other members of the officer's team.

Finally, the probation officer must write a draft of the report for
disclosure to the defendant and the attorneys. When objections to report
are received, the probation officer must manage the resolution of
disputes. The officer must be impartial and open to opposing perspective
and must consider all relevant and reliable information before making an
independent judgement about the tentative findings of fact and guideline
applications that will be recommended to the court. The probation
officer must be prepared to report unresolved disputes to the court in a
detached, dispassionate manners focusing on the factual or legal
disagreement among the parties.

After revising the report in response to objections, the probation officer

develops a sentencing recommendation based on the facts and
sentencing options identified in the report. The written justification for
the recommendation is the probation officer's evaluation and analysis of
the offense, the offender and the sentencing options. The justification
provides the officer's rationale for the specific sentencing
recommendations. It should address the statutory factors to be
considered in imposing a sentence and should assist the court in the
preparation of the judge's statement of reasons for imposing a sentence.

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The officer then discloses the final report and sentencing

recommendation to court. Also, the officer discloses the report
(excluding the recommendation) to the defendant, and both attorneys,
but the job is not finished. The probation officer must be prepared to
discuss the case with the sentencing judge in chambers or in court, to
answer questions about the report that arise during the sentencing
hearing, and, ultimately, to testify under oath in open court as to the
basis for the factual findings and guideline applications recommended in
the report.

Rules

Local rules, adopted by the judges of each jurisdiction, supplement the

federal rules and set a specific schedule for the disclosure of the initial
draft of the presentence report to the defendant and both counsel, for the
filing of objections to the report by counsel and for the submission of
the final report to the court, the defendant and counsel. The report must
be disclosed to the court, the defendant, defendant's counsel and the
attorney for the government at least before the sentencing.

The probation officer must manage the investigation process within the
time established by those rules. In addition to gathering information, the
officer must plan to verify that information, interpret and evaluate the
data, determine the appropriate sentencing guidelines and statutes to the
specific facts of the case and present the results of the investigation in an
organized and objective report. The probation officer must set deadlines
for the submission of information by the defendant and others and
monitor compliance with the deadlines.

4.0 CONCLUSION

This unit has been able to expose you to the background of pre-
sentencing, the history and purpose of pre-sentence investigation report.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt the following:

• Definition of pre-sentence investigation report

• History and purpose of pre-sentencing
• Review of records and interview of defendants
• Writing of reports concerning the offender.

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6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Discuss the importance of pre-sentence investigation report to the

judicial processing carrying out judgement on an offender.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Bounce L. and John J. Horgan (1998). Criminal Investigation (3rd ed.).

California: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

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UNIT 2 PURPOSE OF SENTENCING

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is Sentencing?
3.2 Purpose of Sentencing
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A multiplicity of goals lies behind the imposition of a criminal sentence.

No single philosophy of justice governs sentencing decisions. Each
jurisdiction employs its own sentencing philosophies, and each
individual decision maker views the purpose of sentencing differently. A
20year old college student arrested for selling cocaine might be seen as
essentially harmless by one judge and granted probation, another judge
might see the young drug dealers as a threat to the moral fabric of
society and deserving of a prison term.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the meaning of sentencing

• list and explain the purpose of sentencing.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 What is Sentencing?

After a defendant has been found guilty of a criminal offence or has

plead guilty, he or she is brought before the court for imposition of a
criminal penalty called Sentencing. Historically, a full range of
punishment has been meted out to criminal offenders: corporal
punishment, such as whipping or mutilation, fines, banishment,
incarceration, and death.

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3.2 Purpose of Sentencing

1. Deterrence: By punishing the known offender for their

misdeeds, society hopes to convince would-be offenders that the
pains of punishment outweigh the potential benefits of criminal
behaviour. The validity of deterrence rests on the promise that
punishing one offender will convince other potential criminals to
abstain from crime. According to deterrence theory, people are
not punished for what they have not done but for the effect their
punishment will have on the future behaviours of others.

2. Incapacitation: By incapacitating convicted offender in a secure

facility such as a prison or jail, the state seeks to reduce or
eliminate his or opportunity to commit future crimes. In some
instances, incapacitation involves supervising an offender while
the person remains in the community. It is hoped that close
monitoring will restrict opportunities to commit future crime
without the necessity of secure lockup. Incapacitation involves
anticipating behaviour patterns. Offenders are confined not for
what they have done but for what it is feared they might do in the
future.

3. Rehabilitation: correctional rehabilitation is aimed at reducing

future criminality by treating and eliminating the underlying
causes of crime.

Crime offenders are believed to have one or more emotional or

behavioural deficits that cause them to violate the law. Criminal
behaviour would cease if this problem could be successfully treated.
Rehabilitation efforts focus on emotional stress, vocational training,
education or substance abuse.

Rehabilitation also involves predicting future behaviour: unless the

offenders receive treatment, they will commit future crimes.
Treatment reduces the likelihood of their re-offending.

4. Desert/Retribrition: Because criminals benefit from their

misdeeds, they deserve to be punished for their criminal acts.
Furthermore, if the state did not punish people for their
misconduct (retribution), victims would be encouraged to seek
personal vengeance for their loss (revenge), creating a chaotic
society. In a just society, criminal are punished in a manner
proportionate to the severity of their crimes. According to this
view, it is only fair that criminals who have committed the most

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serious crime i.e. murder receive the most severe penalty which is
death,

4.0 CONCLUSION

It’s quite clear from this unit that sentencing varies according to the laws
of each country and that an offender is only liable to the law of the land
where he or she commits the offence.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have looked at the meaning of sentencing and the

purpose of sentencing which is not meant only as a deterrence but also
to rehabilitate the offender back to the society as a responsible citizen.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Briefly discuss the purpose of sentencing.

7.0 REFRENCES/FURTHER READING

Nancy A. Heitzeg (1906). Deviance: USA: West Publishing Company.

Larry J. Siegal (2006). Criminology. USA: Thompson Higher

Education.

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UNIT 2 TYPES OF SENTENCING STRUCTURE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 General Kinds of Sentencing
3.2 Modalities for Imposing the Sentence
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

When a convicted offender is sentenced to prison, the status of the

jurisdiction in which the crime was committed determines the penalties
that may be imposed by the court. Over the years, a variety of
sentencing structure have been used, including determinate sentences,
indeterminate sentences and mandatory sentences.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the general kinds of sentencing

• discuss the modalities for imposing sentences
• explain the sentencing structures.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 General Kinds of Sentencing

Generally, five kinds of sentences of dispositions are available to the

court.

1. Fines
2. Probation
3. Alternate or intermediate sanctions
4. Incarceration
5. Capital punishment

A fine is usually exacted for a minor crime and may also be combined
with other sentencing alternatives such as probation or confinement
Probation allows the offender to live in the community subject to
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compliance with legally imposed conditions Alternative sanctions

involve probation plus some other sanction, such as house arrest,
electronic monitoring, or forfeiture of property.

Confinement or incarceration is imposed when it has been decided that

the general public need to be protected from further criminal activity by
the defendant. Capital punishment or the death penalty is reserved for
people who commit first degree murder under aggravated circumstances,
such as with extreme cruelty, violence or torture.

3.2 Modalities for Imposing the Sentences

Sentencing is one of the most crucial functions of judges. Sentencing

authority may also be exercised by the jury, an administrative body, a
judge or it may be mandated by statute.

In most felony cases, except where the law dictates mandatory prison
term, sentencing is usually based on a variety of information available to
the judge. Some jurisdictions allows victims to make impact statements
that are considered at sentencing hearings, although these often have
little influence on sentencing outcomes. Most judges consider a pre-
sentence investigation report by the probation department. This report,
which is a social and personal history as well as an evaluation of the
defendant, is used by the judge in making a sentencing decision. Some
judges heavily weigh the persistence investigation report; others may
dismiss it completely or rely on only certain portions.

When an accused is convicted of two more charges, he or she must be

sentenced on each charge. A concurrent sentence means that both
sentences are served at the same time, and the term of imprisonment is
completed after the longest term has been served. For example, a
defendant is sentenced to 3 years imprisonment on a charge of assault
and 10 years for burglary, the sentences to be served concurrently. After
the offender serves 10 years in prison, the sentences would be
completed. Conversely, a consecutive sentence means that upon
completion of one sentence, the other term of incarceration begins.

3.3 Sentencing Structures

(a) The Indeterminate Sentence: under most sentencing models,

convicted offenders who are not eligible for community
supervision are given a short minimum sentence that must be
served and a lengthy maximum sentence that is the outer
boundary of the time that can possibly be served. For example,
the legislature might set a sentence of a minimum of 1 year and a
maximum of 20 years of burglary.

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Under this scheme, the actual length of time served is controlled by the
corrections agency. The inmate can be paroled after serving the
minimum sentence whenever the institution and parole person believe
that he or she is ready to live in the community.

The minimum (maximum) might also be reduced by inmates earning

“time off for good behaviours” or for participating in counseling and
vocational training programs. In many instances, sentencing reduction
programs allow inmates to serve only a fraction of their minimum
sentences. Inmates today serve about one-third of their original
sentences.

Most jurisdictions that use indeterminate sentences specify minimum

and maximum terms but allow judges discretion to fix the actual
sentence within those limits. For example, if burglary is punishable by a
sentence of 2 to 20 years, the judge can give one offender 5 to 10 and
another 2 to 5 years. The sentence must be no less than the minimum
and no more than the maximum range of years set by the legislature.

The underlying purpose of indeterminate sentencing is to individualize

each sentence in the interest of rehabilitating the offender. This type of
sentencing allows for flexibility not only in the type of sentence but in
the length of time served.

(b) The Determinate Sentence: Determinate sentences were

actually the first kind used in countries like the United States. As
originally constructed, the judge could be impose a sentence,
based on personal and professional judgment, which fell within
limits set up statute. For example a criminal code could set the
sentence for burglary at up to 20years in prison. After evaluation
the case, the judge could impose a sentence of experienced
criminal, and the full 20 for a third who may have been a repeater
and carried a weapon to the crime scene. Unlike the
indeterminate models in which release duties are controlled by
correctional authorities, in a determinate sentence the duration of
the offenders prison stay is determined by the judiciary when the
sentences is imposed.

(c) Structured Sentencing: To ensure that the new determine

sentences would be applied in a fair manner, those jurisdictions
that embraced determinate sentencing have also sought to
develop guidelines to control and structure the sentencing process
and make it more rational.

Sentencing guidelines are usually based on the seriousness of a crime

and the background of an offender. The more serious the crime and the

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more extensive the offender’s criminal background, the longer the

prison term recommended by the guidelines. For example, guidelines
might require that all people convicted of robbery who had no prior
offense record and who did not use excessive force of violence be given
an average of a 5 year sentence, those who use force and had a prior
record will have 3 year added on their sentence.

Guidelines eliminate discretionary parole but also allow inmates to

reduce their sentenced by acquiring time off for good behaviour. By
eliminating judicial discretion, they are designed to reduce racial and
gender disparity.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, we’ve been able to discuss the general kinds of sentencing
and the sentencing structures of offenders in a typical court of law.

5.0 SUMMARY

Fines, probation, alternative sanctions, incarceration and capital

punishment are just a few of the kinds of sentencing given to offenders
in a court of law but the modalities of the sentences is meant primarily
to rehabilitate the offender and not just to inflict harm or pain on him or
her.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Discuss the modalities for imposing sentences on offenders.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Schmallerger, Frank (2004). Criminal Justice. USA: Pearson Prentice

Hall.

Nancy A. Heitzag (1906). Deviance. USA: West Publishing Company.

Larry J. Siegel (2006). Criminology. USA: Thompson Higher

Education.

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MODULE 6 POLICE AND THE ADMINISTRATION

OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Unit 1 Definition and Historical Background of Police

Unit 2 Functions and Obstacles of Policing in Nigeria
Unit 3 Role of Police in Administration of Criminal Justice

UNIT 1 DEFINITION AND HISTORICAL

BACKGROUND OF POLICE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition of Police
3.2 Historical Background of Police in Nigeria
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The primary role of the police is policing i.e securing compliance with
existing laws and conformity with precepts of social order. But the
police are not the only agency involved in policing. Other security
agencies are equally involved in policing and law enforcement as regard
to their statutory goals and objectives.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the meaning of police

• discuss the historical background of police in Nigeria.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Definition of Police

The word police comes from the latin word “politia” which means “civil
administration”. The word politia goes back to the Greek word “polis”
or “city”. The English eventually took over this word and used it to

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mean civil administration. The use of Police to the administration of

public order emerge in France in the early 18th century. The first body
of public order officers to be named police in England was the marine
police, a force established in 1798 to protect merchandise in the port of
London. The police represents the civil arm of government as opposed
to the military arm.

3.2 Historical Background of Police in Nigeria

The Nigeria police is a product of colonial administration. It was
consular guard formed in 1861 in Lagos that gave birth to Nigeria
police. The consular guard later transformed into the Hausa constabulary
in 1879. In 1888, the North of the Niger, the Royal Niger Company set
up a constabulary in Lokoja, it was followed by Niger coast
constabulary formed in 1894 in Calabar. After Lagos police was
established in 1896. After the formation of the North and South both the
Royal Niger Company constabulary and Niger coast constabury merged
with the North and Southern Nigeria police respectively. In 1930,
Northern and Southern police were merged to form Nigeria Police force
with Lagos as the headquarters while the Nigeria police Act was enacted
in 1943 by the British Colonial government.

Before the Northern and Southern protectorate were merged in 1930,

there traditional police such as dogari from the Northern emirate, Ilari,
Emese and Agunren in the Yoruba kingdom. The colonial
administration allowed the creation of Native Authority (NA) police in
the North and West as a product of the developing influence of the
indirect rule. In the east, the British extended its existing fostered police
forces over the territory because the Igbo has decentralized traditional
community system.

In 1906, the colony and protectorate of Lagos was merged with the
protectorate of Southern Nigeria. While in 1914 the colony and
protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the protectorate of Northern
Nigeria were merged to form the colony and protectorate of Nigeria.

It was in 1930, the Southern and Northern Police force which have
remained separated merged. On 1st April 1930 came the emergence of
the Nigeria Police force with headquarters in Lagos. The first Inspector
– General of the formed Nigeria Police was Duncan. He has headed
various British police establishments outside Nigeria before his
appointment.

After 1930 the organizational structure and the nomenclature of the

police rank changed in response to the circumstances of colonial
administration. Following the Macpherson constitution 1951 and

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Littleton constitution 1954 by which Nigeria developed into a

federation, the Nigeria police was reformed to conform with the political
order. A contingent of the police under a commissioner of police was
established for each of the regions.

The 1960 constitution established the Nigeria police force as a federal

force charged with responsibility of maintenance of law and order
through out Nigeria. However, the constitution did not prevent the
regions from establishing their own local police forces. Hence the North
retained the Native Authority police and the West, the local Government
Authority police.

The dual system of policing involving multiplicity of local forces and a

national police force continued until 1966.

In 1966, major – General J.T.U Aguyi – Ironsi emerged as the Head of

the military Government. He established a working party to examine
among other issues, the unification of the police force. The
recommendation of the working party was accepted which led to current
Nigeria police force.

ORGANIZATION OF NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

The Inspector General of police is the head of Nigeria police force. He is

assisted by the Deputy – Inspectors General of police at the
Headquarters. The force is organized into 37 commands. Each of the
thirty – six states and the Federal Capital Territory is served by a
command of the force the task of the police force is carried out through
six departments.

a. Administration and finance

b. Operation
c. Works and logistics
d. General Investigation and Intelligence
e. Training
f. Research and planning

The Nigeria twelve zonal commands are as follows.

a. Zone one: Kano (Hqts) Jigawa, Katsina

b. Zone two: Lagos (Hqts) Ogun
c. Zone three: Yola (Hqts) Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe
d. Zone four: Makurdi (Hqts) Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa
e. Zone five: Benin (Hqts) Edo, Delta and Bayelsa
f. Zone six: Calabar (Hqts) Rivers, Ebony, Cross River, Akwa Ibom
g. Zone seven: Abuja (Hqts) Niger and Kaduna

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h. Zone eight: Lokoja (Hqts) Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti

i. Zone nine: Abia, Anambra, Enugu
j. Zone ten: Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara
k. Zone eleven: Ondo, Osun and Oyo
l. Zone twelve: Bauchi, Borno, Yobe

Inspector – General of Police is assisted by six deputy Inspectors –

General in charge of A, B, C, D, E, F department at the force
Headquarters.

IGP

DIG A DIG B DIG C DIG D DIG F AIG FORCE

DEPT DEPT DEPT DEPT DEPT SECRETAR

In each state, police command is headed by a commissioner of police

(CP). He is assisted by a Deputy Commissioner of police in the running
the affairs of the command. Directly under the CP is an area commander
in all the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), who also have the station
officers and police post under them. There are six departments in the
state Headquarter.

• A Dept (Administration and Finance)

• B Dept (Operations)
• C Dept (Logistics and Supplies)
• D Dept (Investigation and Intelligence)
• E Dept (Training and General Policy on Manpower
Development)
• F Dept (Research and Planning)

The commandants of the police staff college Jos and Police Academy
Wudil, Kano are also Assistant Inspector General of police while the
Police Colleges are commanded by commissioners of police and the
police training schools where recruits are trained under the direction of
superintendents of police.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, we’ve been able to examine the meaning of police and the
historical background to policing in Nigeria.

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5.0 SUMMARY

At the end of this unit, you have learn the origin of the word “Police”
and how the police force in Nigeria has evolved from a paramilitary
Hausa Constabulary to a well established and organized police force in
Nigeria today.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Define the world “Police”.

2. Discuss the historical background of Nigeria Police Force.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Dampsey J. S. and Frost L. S (2005). An Introduction to Policing. USA:

Thompson Wadsworth.

Dambazua, A. B (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice. Kaduna:

NDA Press.

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UNIT 2 FUNCTIONS AND OBSTACLES OF POLICING

IN NIGERIA

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Functions of Police
3.2 Administration of Nigeria Police
3.3 Obstacles of Policing in Nigeria
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Policing, maintaining order and dealing with law breakers had always
been a private matter. Citizens were responsible for protecting
themselves and maintaining an orderly society. Uniformed and
organized police department as we see them today were very rare. Thus,
modern style police department appears in the 19th century in England
and subsequently extended to Nigeria.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• list and explain the functions of Police

• explain the administration of Police in Nigeria.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Functions of Police

(1) Police as an agent of Public order:- It is the responsibility of

the police to maintain law and order in society. This may be
attained by the use of force where all necessary civil attempts
have proven to be abortive. Such instances would include taking
an individual who resists arrest or in dispersing an unlawful
crowd or assembly. A person is deemed to be a suspect or
defaulter upon reasonable suspicion by an officer of the law, or
when he offends by the breach of a law of the land. Police duties
under the maintenance of public order involve both civil and

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criminal functions. Crimes may be mere attempts or the actual

committal of a wrongful act. A person is presumed to be
innocent, and abides as such until the contrary is deemed to
remain a suspect until proof of guilt establishes him as a convict
by an established court of the land.

(2) Dispersion of Rioters or other violent Assembly:- In dispersing

rioters or other violent assembly, the police may use “all such
force as is reasonably necessary”. Whoever may commit acts
liable to cause a breach of the peace or disturb public tranquility
may be brought before a Magistrate by the Police with the
information on a charge, on oath. The Magistrate may summons
a person to show why he should not be ordered to enter into a
recognizance, with or without sureties, for keeping the peace, for
such periods as the magistrate may deem fit such a person,
however, must be within the state and either himself or the
apprehended disturbance must be within the jurisdiction of the
Magistrate’s assigned district.

(3) Injury to Public Property:- Upon injury, or a design to cause

injury to public property, a police officer may, of his own
authority interpose to prevent any injury attempted against public
property, movable or immovable. This also applies to attempts to
remove or cause injury to any public landmark, or busy or other
mark for navigation. An officer of the law may arrest without
order from a magistrate and without warrant.

(4) Police as an agent of crime prevention:- The primary function

of the Police is to protect life and property. To ensure proper
measures towards safety and crime prevention, duties are divided
into smaller areas.

Section 4 of the Police Act Summarized the functions of the Nigerian

Police Force as:-

(a) Prevention and detection of crime

(b) Apprehension of offenders
(c) Preservation of law and order
(d) Protection of life and property
(e) Enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are
charged
(f) Military duties within or without Nigeria as may be required of
them.

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In order to discharge their numerous functions, police in Nigeria are

accorded wide powers by law. For example, Nigeria Police have
powers:
(a) To take measures to prevent crime
(b) To investigate crime
To prosecute suspects
(c) To search properties and persons in order to prevent crimes,
detect or investigate crimes, apprehend offenders, and collect
evidence for prosecution
(d) To grant bail to suspects pending investigation or arraignment in
court
(e) To serve summons
(f) To regulate processions and assemblies

3.2 Administration of Nigeria Police

The 1999 constitution created two organs for the administration of the
country’s police system. These are the police council and the police
service commission. The police council consists of:

(a) The President who shall be the chairman

(b) The Governor of each of the federation
(c) The Chairman of the police service commission; and
(d) The Inspector - General of Police

The constitution defined the functions of the police council to include:

(a) The organization and administration of the Nigeria Police Force

and all other matters relating thereto (not being matters relating to
the use and operational control of the force or the appointment,
disciplinary control and dismissal of members of the force);
(b) The general supervision of the Nigeria Police Force; and
(c) Advising the President on the appointment of the Inspector
General of Police

The Police service commission Establishment Act, No 15 of 2001,

section 6, charged the commission with the responsibility of:

1. Appointment and promoting all officials of the NPF (other than

the Inspector - General of Police).
2. Dismissing and exercising disciplinary control over the same
person;
3. Formulating policies and guidelines for the appointment,
promotion, discipline and dismissal of officers of the NPF.
4. Identifying factors inhibiting and undermining discipline in the
NPF.

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5. Formulating and implementing policies aimed at efficiency and

discipline within the NPF.
6. Performing such other functions as, in the opinion of the
commission, are required to ensure optimal efficiency in the
NPF; and
7. Carrying out such other functions as the President may, from time
to time, direct.

3.3 Obstacles of Policing in Nigeria

Usoh (2009) stated the following as obstacles being confronted by the

police in Nigeria.

1. Material Inadequacies: Material inputs in terms of funding, crime

prevention, control, detection, investigation, traffic control and
accident – prevention, communication and data – gathering
research needs are not only inadequate but are unrealistic as well.
2. Human Problems: The human problems are of adverse effect on
police general performance.
a. Usoh (2009) listed the following as the factors responsible for
these problems. They are:
b. The colonial origin and heritage of the force which continue to
influence the selection, training and orientation of a majority of
policemen.
c. Improper, inefficient and sometimes corrupt and nepotistic
methods of recruitment.
d. Lopsided emphasis (in training curricula) towards drill para –
military work and mechanistic teaching of law and police work.
e. Exposure of recruits to only professional police officers and only
in exclusive police institutions.
f. Lack of courtesy, non-challant attitude to citizen's complaint,
dishonesty, corruption, abuse or misuse of the authority to arrest,
detain or the use of force by a substantial number of Policemen
on the streets and in the stations etc.
g. Discouraging salary, poor conditions of service, rank-mobility,
promotion criteria and procedure for the rank and file recent
efforts to improve the situation not-withstanding.
3. A materialistic, greedy, corrupt and undisciplined socio-
economic environment.
4. Ibidapo, (1995) reports that police brutality is common in the
course of crime control,management of protests and
demonstration, investigation and at check points. He notes that
police brutality occurs in the form of extra – judicial killings,
summary execution of suspects and revenge killings.
5. Cleen (1999) argues that it should not be presumed that
corruption is higher in the police than in the other sectors of

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society. However, it is open at the check points and stations –

routine and degrading. Within the force, police corruption,
especially cooperation with criminals and negligence of duty at
checkpoints pose security threats to the citizen and the nation.
6. Political interference and feeling of accountability by the force to
the government of the day rather than to the rule of law and the
people.
7. Odekunle (2004) argues that the burdensome character of our
inherited legal system which was never been meaningful or socio
– scientifically reviewed to make justice real rather than technical
and speedy rather than delayed has been an obstacle in the wheel
of progress.

Planning, Research and Statistics Department of the National

Orientation Agency in 1994 compiled reports on the sources/causes of
poor image of the police, which include:

1. Exaggeration of evidence in court, by the police

2. Use of unnecessary violence
3. Poor management of public demonstrations and processions
4. Incivility to members of the public
5. Unnecessary delay in attending to complaint
6. Poor handling of firearms
7. Ruthless activities of the mobile police
8. Poor discipline and unhealthy fraternization between Junior and
Senior police officers
9. Collection of bribery from commercial vehicle drivers, suspects,
and the public
10. Use of physical violence during investigation
11. Collaboration with criminals
12. Conversation of property seized from suspects, to personal use
13. Negligence of duty
14. Extortion of money before granting bail to suspects
15. Pathological hatred to students.

Suggestions for the improvement of Nigerian Police. Odekunle (2004)

proffers the following solutions.

1. The selection of an Inspector General of Police (IGP) should be

guided by professional competence rather than 'politics'
'sycophancy' or 'docility'.
2. To increase the length of training of recruits to a minimum period
of 18 months
3. To make training conditions humane (e.g there is no need for any
form of physical brutalities) to minimize inculcation of
unwholesome inhuman dispositions into police personnel.

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4. To develop concurrent and predictive validation tests for use in

selection of suitable policemen both at recruitment and
immediately after probationary period (i.e. social-psychological
aptitude tests in addition to the normal educational, physical and
medical requirements).
5. The training curricular should considerably emphasize (in
addition to police work) knowledge about our society, the
importance of the policemen's community – service role, the
meaning and use of initiative and discretion, the position of
citizens as consumers of police work, the supremacy of the rule
of law and type of ethics to be internalized by a policeman and
the cruciality of the observation of human rights.
6. Trainees should be exposed to lecturers and teachers from outside
the police (e.g. guest – lecturers from Universities, Trade Unions,
other occupational associations and student Unions)
7. There is need to intensify internal re-organization of the police to
revitalize and enforce, on a systematic and continuous basis rules
concerning police courtesy, response to (and handling of) citizens
reports or complaints, use of only necessary force, observance of
the legal and other rights of citizens including offenders.
8. There is need to establish citizens monitoring organization (from
the Federal to the Local Government levels) with disciplinary
powers to police the Nigeria Police and ensure that it is upholding
the rule of law because it is said that when the law officer is
breaking the law there is no law.
9. There is need to develop a structure, system and a corps of
civilian research personal for proper and adequate recording,
collation, analysis and publication of crime-data on a regular
annual basis.
10. The salary, condition of service, rank – mobility, promotion –
criteria and procedure should be made more appropriate to the
risk of the occupation and reviewed for considerable
improvement.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The function of Police in almost every part of the world is to prevent

crime and ensure a peaceful society especially for its citizenry. All other
functions are just an addition to this depending on the statutory powers
delegated to them by the laws of the country.

5.0 SUMMARY

The primary role of the police is to protect life and property of its
citizenry and this can be done by serving as an agent of public order,

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crime prevention and dispersion of rioters or other violent or unlawful

assembly.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Briefly outline and explain the functions of Nigeria Police Force

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Ogbu, O. N. (1999). Human Rights in Nigeria: Law and Practice: An

Introduction. Enugu: CIDJAP Publications.

Oluwatoyin Doherty (1990). Criminal Procedure in Nigeria: Law and

Practice. Great Britain: Blackstone Press Limited.

Skolniock, J. H (1975). Justice Without Trial (2nd ed.). New York: John
Wiley and Sons.

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UNIT 3 ROLE OF POLICE IN THE ADMINISTRATION

OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Investigation, Arrest and Bail
3.2 The Charging Decision
3.3 Pleading and Trial
3.4 Sentencing
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The machinery designed for criminal justice administration consist of

the paraphernalia and the rules laid down for bringing persons who have
contravened the provisions of the criminal code and penal code and
other statutes of justice according to the laws of the country. The
aphorism that procedure is the heart of law remains consistently true.
The machinery for the administration of criminal justice comprise the
police, the ministries of justice, the courts and prisons. The police and
ministries of justice investigates and prosecute complaints against
person. To the court is assigned the adjudication of accusation.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the various steps taken by the police in the administration

of Justice.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Investigation, Arrest and Bail

The criminal justice process normally begins when the police set out to
investigate crime, either because they have received a report that a crime
was committed or because, as a result of indirect evidence, they believed
that a criminal act has taken place. If they discover a crime has
occurred, their next action is to determine who the perpetrator was and

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apprehend the individual. This, of course, is the arrest decision. After

arrest, the individual is taken into custody and booked. The next step is
in-custody investigation, which, among other things, involves
interrogation and may require the suspect to appear in a lineup, that is,
appear on a stage with persons of roughly similar appearance for
viewing by victims or witness to the crime.

After in-custody investigation, the suspect is taken to a court for what is

called the “initial appearance before a magistrate”. A major purpose of
this appearance is for the judge to decide “at first glance” whether it
appears that the alleged crime was committed and that the accused
committed it. Many cases are resolved at this point as a result of guilty
pleas, dismissals, or withdrawals of charges. If the judge is satisfied
regarding the probability of the crime and the accused person’s role in it,
the question of release pending trial is faced. The judge can set a certain
amount of bail or free the person on his or her word of honour to appear
for later proceedings. If the suspect posts bond or is released on his or
her own recognizance, he or she is then free to return home until
summoned for later proceedings.

At each of these early decision points from arrest onward, the suspect
has a right to a defense lawyer, provided at state expense if he or she
cannot afford to pay for counsel.

3.2 The Charging Decision

While the suspect is free on bail or waiting in jail, the police reports are
passed on to the prosecutor for a decisions on whether to charge the
suspect with criminal activity and a determination of the specific crime
or crimes involved; this determination also involves how many charges
to bring, since not infrequently an individual has been arrested for more
than one offense. Sometimes a prosecutor decides not to charge any
crime, perhaps because the evidence does not seem sufficient to result in
conviction, or because the evidence obtained by the police was
wrongfully seized and would likely be held inadmissible at trial.

But more commonly the prosecutor decides to proceed with the

prosecution and, depending upon the provisions in the jurisdiction, may
bring a formal charge against the suspect (now a defendant) in one of
two ways. Where the grand jury system is used, the prosecutor (without
the defendant or the defendant’s lawyer present) appears before a grand
jury, presenting some (but not all) of the evidence and asking the grand
jury to issue an indictment, which is formal charging document
describing in legal language the crime or crimes of which the defendant
stands accused. In those jurisdictions where the grand jury system is not
used, the prosecutor goes before a judge at a preliminary hearing (here

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the defendant and his lawyer may attend). Again the district attorney
introduces some evidence and requests the judge to issue an information,
which is also a formal charging document almost identical to the grand
jury indictment.

3.3 Pleading and Trial

The next step is pleading: once formally charged with a crime, the
defendant with a lawyer, is brought before a court for arraignment,
which is the point where the charges are read and the defendant is asked
to plead to them. If the plea is not guilty, a time is set for the trial and
once again bail is considered or the defendant is returned to jail to await
trial. If the plea is guilty and the court accepts it, the defendant is usually
sent to jail to await sentencing, which occurs after a presentence
investigation is conducted by probation officers attached to the court.
Sometimes special pleas, such as “not guilty because insane” are
allowed and the defendant is sent for a mental examination before being
returned to the court for trial or sentencing or, if found insane, for
commitment to a mental hospital.

3.4 Sentencing

If the defendant is acquitted, he or she is freed if convicted, the

defendant (now an offender) is returned to court after the judge has
received the presentencing report which contains a great deal of social
and psychological information. At sentencing, the judge listens to what
the offender or the offender’s counsel wishes to say, ordinarily request a
sentence recommendation from the district attorney, and reads the
presentence report. The judge then imposes sentence on the convicted
person. While sentencing choices vary from one place to another, and
from one crime to another, in general the judge may fine the offender a
set amount of money, order the offender to perform a specified number
of community service hours or impose incarceration in a prison for a
term defined by both a minimum and a maximum number or years.

The minimum prison sentence is the length of time the offender (now an
inmate) must serve before becoming eligible for parole (release from
prison under supervision of a parole officer until the maximum term
expires). However, having served the minimum sentence by no means
guarantees the inmate will be automatically released on parole; he or
she is simply eligible for such release and, in fact, few in mates (except
first offenders sentenced for minor crimes) are usually released at their
first appearance before a parole board.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, we’ve been able to discuss extensively the procedure in

criminal Justice not only as it relates to Nigeria but to an average legal
system in any country in the world.

5.0 SUMMARY

Apart from the machinery for the administration of criminal justice

which comprise the police, the ministries of justice, the court and
prisons, stipulated procedure for an accused to be sentenced also include
Investigation, Arrest and Bail, the charging decision, pleading and trial
and finally sentencing.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Explain the procedure involved before an offender can be sentenced in a

court of law.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Tappan, P. W. (1964). “Who is the Criminal” in Wolfgang et al. The

Sociology of Crime and Delinquency. New York: John Witey and
Sons, Inc.

Larry J. Siegel (2006). Criminology. USA: Thompson Higher

Education.

Daubazau A. B. (1999). Criminology and Criminal Justice. Kaduna.

Nigeria

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