SOCIOLOGY OF CRIMES
Reviewer
Criminology is a social dealing with the nature, the extent and causes of crimes, the characteristics of criminals
and their organizations, the problems of apprehending and convicting law violators and the management of jail
facilities and correctional institutions.
Generally, criminology cannot be considered a science because it has not yet acquired universal acceptance and
validity. Nevertheless, considering that science is the systematic and objective study of social phenomenon and
other bodies of knowledge, criminology is a science itself when under the following circumstances:
a) It is an applied science – in the study of the causes of crimes, anthropology, psychology, sociology and
other natural sciences. While in crime detection, ballistics, chemistry, legal medicine, mathematics,
physics, polygraphy and questioned document examination maybe utilized. This is termed as
Instrumentation.
b) It is a social science – in as much as crime is a societal creation that it exists in a civilization being a
social phenomenon, its analysis must be considered a part of social science
Scope of the study of Criminology
Study of the origin and advancement of criminal law and penal law. Study of the origins of crimes and
development of criminals.
Criminal demography – study of the correlation between criminality and population.
Criminal epidemiology – study of the correlation in relation to “spatial distribution” in a community.
Criminal ecology – study of connection between environmental and criminality.
Criminal physical anthropology – study of criminality in relation to physical constitution of man.
Criminal psychiatry – study of human mind in relation to criminality
Criminal psychology – study of human behavior in relation to criminality
Victimology – study of the part of the victim in the commission of a crime
Study of the various measures and methods accepted by society in cases of violation of criminal laws such as:
The detection and the investigation of crimes
The arrest or apprehension of criminals
The prosecution of suspected law violators
The conviction of criminals in a judicial proceeding
The imprisonment, treatment and rehabilitation of the convicted criminal
The enforcement of laws, decrees, rules and regulations.
The administration of the police and other law enforcement agencies
The maintenance of recreational facilities and other auxiliary services to prevent the development of
crimes and criminal behavior
Criminology is the scientific study of criminals as an individual and crime as a social phenomenon
Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral sciences, deriving especially on the research of
sociologist and psychologist, as well as on writings on law.
In 1885, Italian Law professor RAFFAELE GAROFALO coined the term Criminology
Developed in the mid 18th century, the CLASSICAL SCHOOL was based on utilitarian philosophy. Its proponents
were CESARE BECCARIA, author of “on Crime and Punishment (1763 – 64), JEREMY BENTHAM, inventor of
the panopticon. (“Panopticon”—a model prison where all prisoners would be observable by (unseen) guards at all
times—a project which he had hoped would interest the Czarina Catherine the Great. After his return to England
in 1788, and for some 20 years thereafter, Bentham pursued—fruitlessly and at great expense - the idea of the
panoptican).
The CLASSICAL SCHOOL of THOUGHT argued that:
People have free will to choose how to act
Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian ontological notion of the human being a “hedonist” who seeks
pleasure and avoids pain, and a “rational calculator” weighing up the costs and benefits of the
consequences of each action.
Punishment can deter people from committing crime, as the penalties outweigh benefits and that severity
of punishment should be proportionate to the crime.
, relevant social philosophy in policy term using for using punishment as a deterrent through law enforcement, the
courts and imprisonment
UTILITARIANISM is the ethical principle that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution
to overall utility. It is a form of consequentialism.
UTILITY – the good to be maximized, has been defined by various thinkers as pleasure or happiness versus pain
or suffering. It is the satisfaction of preferences or “interest”.
Some utilitarian count the interests of any and all sentiment beings when assessing overall utility.
THE POSITIVIST SCHOOL advocates that criminal behavior is caused by internal and external factors outside of
the individual’s control.
The SCIENTIFIC METHOD was introduced and applied to study human behavior
Positivism can be broken up into three (3) branches which includes biological, psychological and social
positivism.
CESARE LOMBROSO, an Italian prison doctor working in the late 19 th century and sometimes regarded as the
Father of Criminology, was one of the largest contributors to biological positivism.
LOMBROSO took a scientific approach, insisting on empirical evidence for studying crime
LOMBROSO is also considered as the founder of criminal anthropology, he suggested that physiological
traits such as the measurement of one’s cheekbones or hairline, or a cleft palate, considered to be
throwbacks to Neanderthal man, were indicative of “atavistic” criminal tendencies.
This approach was influenced by the earlier theory of Phrenology and by Charles Darwin and his theory
of evolution, has been superseded.
Modern research examines genetic characteristics and the chemistry of nutrition to determine whether there is an
effect on violent behavior
ENRICO FERRI, a student of LOMBROSO, believed that social as well biological factors played a role and held
the belief that criminals should not be held responsible for the factors causing their criminality were beyond their
control. Criminologist has since rejected LOMBROSO’s biological theories, with control groups not used in his
studies.
ADOLPHE QUETELET made use of data and statistical analysis to gain insight into relationship between crime
and sociological variables. He determined that age, gender education, poverty and alcohol consumption were
important factors related to crime.
EMILLE DURKHEIM viewed crime as an inevitable and expected aspect of society, with uneven distribution of
wealth and other differences among people.
POST MODERNIST SCHOOL applies postmodernism to the study of crime and criminals and understands
“criminality” as a product of the power to limit the behavior of those individuals excluded from power, but who try
to prevail over social inequality and behave in ways, which the power structure prohibits.
THE CHICAGO SCHOOL is a POSITIVIST SCHOOL, applying scientific methods and techniques to the collection
and deductive analysis of data to explain different types of individual and social phenomena. It has focused on
human behavior as determined by social structures and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic and
personal characteristics.
The CHICAGO SCHOOL arose in the early 2oth century, through the work of ROBERT EZRA PARK,
ERNEST BURGESS, and other urban sociologist at the University of Chicago
CHICAGO SCHOOL SOCIOLOGISTS adopted a social ecology method to studying cities, and postulated
that urban neighborhoods with high levels of poverty often experience breakdown in the social structure
and institutions such as family and schools. This results in social disorganization, which limits and
reduces the ability of these institutions to control behavior and creates an environment conducive for
deviant behavior.
EDWIN SUTHERLAND suggested that people learn criminal behavior from older and more experienced criminals
that hey may associate with,
Criminal Sociology – this includes the fundamentals of criminology, juvenile delinquency, human behavior and
crisis management, ethics and community relations, criminal justice system.
Criminals classified on the BASIS OF ETIOLOGY:
ACUTE criminals – people who violate criminal law due to the impulse of the moment, fit of passion or
Reviewer
Criminology is a social dealing with the nature, the extent and causes of crimes, the characteristics of criminals
and their organizations, the problems of apprehending and convicting law violators and the management of jail
facilities and correctional institutions.
Generally, criminology cannot be considered a science because it has not yet acquired universal acceptance and
validity. Nevertheless, considering that science is the systematic and objective study of social phenomenon and
other bodies of knowledge, criminology is a science itself when under the following circumstances:
a) It is an applied science – in the study of the causes of crimes, anthropology, psychology, sociology and
other natural sciences. While in crime detection, ballistics, chemistry, legal medicine, mathematics,
physics, polygraphy and questioned document examination maybe utilized. This is termed as
Instrumentation.
b) It is a social science – in as much as crime is a societal creation that it exists in a civilization being a
social phenomenon, its analysis must be considered a part of social science
Scope of the study of Criminology
Study of the origin and advancement of criminal law and penal law. Study of the origins of crimes and
development of criminals.
Criminal demography – study of the correlation between criminality and population.
Criminal epidemiology – study of the correlation in relation to “spatial distribution” in a community.
Criminal ecology – study of connection between environmental and criminality.
Criminal physical anthropology – study of criminality in relation to physical constitution of man.
Criminal psychiatry – study of human mind in relation to criminality
Criminal psychology – study of human behavior in relation to criminality
Victimology – study of the part of the victim in the commission of a crime
Study of the various measures and methods accepted by society in cases of violation of criminal laws such as:
The detection and the investigation of crimes
The arrest or apprehension of criminals
The prosecution of suspected law violators
The conviction of criminals in a judicial proceeding
The imprisonment, treatment and rehabilitation of the convicted criminal
The enforcement of laws, decrees, rules and regulations.
The administration of the police and other law enforcement agencies
The maintenance of recreational facilities and other auxiliary services to prevent the development of
crimes and criminal behavior
Criminology is the scientific study of criminals as an individual and crime as a social phenomenon
Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral sciences, deriving especially on the research of
sociologist and psychologist, as well as on writings on law.
In 1885, Italian Law professor RAFFAELE GAROFALO coined the term Criminology
Developed in the mid 18th century, the CLASSICAL SCHOOL was based on utilitarian philosophy. Its proponents
were CESARE BECCARIA, author of “on Crime and Punishment (1763 – 64), JEREMY BENTHAM, inventor of
the panopticon. (“Panopticon”—a model prison where all prisoners would be observable by (unseen) guards at all
times—a project which he had hoped would interest the Czarina Catherine the Great. After his return to England
in 1788, and for some 20 years thereafter, Bentham pursued—fruitlessly and at great expense - the idea of the
panoptican).
The CLASSICAL SCHOOL of THOUGHT argued that:
People have free will to choose how to act
Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian ontological notion of the human being a “hedonist” who seeks
pleasure and avoids pain, and a “rational calculator” weighing up the costs and benefits of the
consequences of each action.
Punishment can deter people from committing crime, as the penalties outweigh benefits and that severity
of punishment should be proportionate to the crime.
, relevant social philosophy in policy term using for using punishment as a deterrent through law enforcement, the
courts and imprisonment
UTILITARIANISM is the ethical principle that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution
to overall utility. It is a form of consequentialism.
UTILITY – the good to be maximized, has been defined by various thinkers as pleasure or happiness versus pain
or suffering. It is the satisfaction of preferences or “interest”.
Some utilitarian count the interests of any and all sentiment beings when assessing overall utility.
THE POSITIVIST SCHOOL advocates that criminal behavior is caused by internal and external factors outside of
the individual’s control.
The SCIENTIFIC METHOD was introduced and applied to study human behavior
Positivism can be broken up into three (3) branches which includes biological, psychological and social
positivism.
CESARE LOMBROSO, an Italian prison doctor working in the late 19 th century and sometimes regarded as the
Father of Criminology, was one of the largest contributors to biological positivism.
LOMBROSO took a scientific approach, insisting on empirical evidence for studying crime
LOMBROSO is also considered as the founder of criminal anthropology, he suggested that physiological
traits such as the measurement of one’s cheekbones or hairline, or a cleft palate, considered to be
throwbacks to Neanderthal man, were indicative of “atavistic” criminal tendencies.
This approach was influenced by the earlier theory of Phrenology and by Charles Darwin and his theory
of evolution, has been superseded.
Modern research examines genetic characteristics and the chemistry of nutrition to determine whether there is an
effect on violent behavior
ENRICO FERRI, a student of LOMBROSO, believed that social as well biological factors played a role and held
the belief that criminals should not be held responsible for the factors causing their criminality were beyond their
control. Criminologist has since rejected LOMBROSO’s biological theories, with control groups not used in his
studies.
ADOLPHE QUETELET made use of data and statistical analysis to gain insight into relationship between crime
and sociological variables. He determined that age, gender education, poverty and alcohol consumption were
important factors related to crime.
EMILLE DURKHEIM viewed crime as an inevitable and expected aspect of society, with uneven distribution of
wealth and other differences among people.
POST MODERNIST SCHOOL applies postmodernism to the study of crime and criminals and understands
“criminality” as a product of the power to limit the behavior of those individuals excluded from power, but who try
to prevail over social inequality and behave in ways, which the power structure prohibits.
THE CHICAGO SCHOOL is a POSITIVIST SCHOOL, applying scientific methods and techniques to the collection
and deductive analysis of data to explain different types of individual and social phenomena. It has focused on
human behavior as determined by social structures and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic and
personal characteristics.
The CHICAGO SCHOOL arose in the early 2oth century, through the work of ROBERT EZRA PARK,
ERNEST BURGESS, and other urban sociologist at the University of Chicago
CHICAGO SCHOOL SOCIOLOGISTS adopted a social ecology method to studying cities, and postulated
that urban neighborhoods with high levels of poverty often experience breakdown in the social structure
and institutions such as family and schools. This results in social disorganization, which limits and
reduces the ability of these institutions to control behavior and creates an environment conducive for
deviant behavior.
EDWIN SUTHERLAND suggested that people learn criminal behavior from older and more experienced criminals
that hey may associate with,
Criminal Sociology – this includes the fundamentals of criminology, juvenile delinquency, human behavior and
crisis management, ethics and community relations, criminal justice system.
Criminals classified on the BASIS OF ETIOLOGY:
ACUTE criminals – people who violate criminal law due to the impulse of the moment, fit of passion or
