KEYPOINTS in INTRO.
KEYPOINTS in INTRO.
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ABSTRACT:
What is Criminology?
The word criminology was derived from the Latin word crimen, which means offense, and the Greek word logos,
which means to study. (Merriam- Webster dictionary).
According to Adler (2012), the term “criminology” was coined by the Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo as
criminologia in 1885. The French anthropologist Paul Topinard used it for the first time in French (criminiologie) in
1887. “Criminology” aptly described and encompassed the scientific concern with the phenomenon of crime.
Criminology, defined. - The study in the entire body of knowledge regarding crimes and criminals, and the effort
of society to suppress and apprehend them, It is also the study of knowledge regarding crimes as a social
phenomenon, which includes the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and the reaction towards the breaking of
laws.
Edwin H. Sutherland and Donald R. Cressey define criminology as “the body of knowledge regarding crime as a
social phenomenon. “The scoped of criminology covers;
Criminology is defined under R.A No. 11131, also known as “ The Philippine Criminology Profession Act of
2018,” repealing R.A. 6506 otherwise known as “an act Creating the Board of Examiners for Criminologist in the
Philippines and for other purposes” in 1972. As the scientific study of crimes, criminals, and victims. It also deals
with the prevention and solution of crimes.
Criminology is more concerned about analyzing the phenomena of crime and criminality, performing
scientifically accurate studies, and developing sound theoretical explanations of crime and criminal behavior.
What is crime?
Crime is an act or omission in violation of law committed without defense or justification. The Revised Penal
Code (RPC) Act. 3815, states that crime is committed not only by malice (dolo) but also by means of fault (culpa).
There is deceit when the act is performed with deliberate intent. There is fault when the wrongful act results from
imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.
The three (3) most common concepts of crime used by criminologist according to Siege (2016) are:
1. Consensus View of Crime- the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share common values
and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.
2. Conflict View of Crime- the belief that criminal behavior is defined by those in power in such a way as
to protect and advance their own self- interest.
3. Interaction View of Crime- the belief that those with social power are able to impose their values on
society as a whole, and these values then define criminal behavior.
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Moral entrepreneurs define crime
3. Interactionist View Crimes are illegal because society defines them that way
Criminal labels are life- transforming events
Who is a Criminal?
A criminal is any person who has been convicted by a final judgement in a court of law of the crime charged
against him/ her beyond reasonable doubt.
Who is a Victim?
The offended party or the one who suffers injury or harm caused by an act of another person is what we call a
“victim”. Victims come in two form namely:
1) Victim of Crime- are those who harmed and injured by someone who committed a crime under the law.
2) Natural Disasters Victim- are those who are victimized by natural disasters, such as earthquake,
flashfloods, volcanic eruption, and the like.
ABSTRACT
The concepts of criminology that studies crime and criminal behavior was not evident not until the eighteen
century when Cesare Beccaria established what came to be known as the “Classical School of Criminology”.
During the middle Ages (1200-1600), people who violated social norms or religious practices were believed to be
witches or possessed by demons. The use of cruel torture to extract confessions was common. Those convicted of
violent or theft crimes suffered extremely harsh penalties, including whipping, branding, maiming, and execution
(Siegel, 2016).
A. Classical Criminology
Classical criminology grew out of a reaction against the barbaric system of law, punishment, and justice
that existed before the French Revolution in 1789. It was pioneered by an Italian nobleman and professor
of law, Cesare Beccaria. He published an essay titled “On Crimes and Punishment” in 1764 that made
a major reform on the judicial and penal system throughout Europe. It governs the principle of “Let the
punishment fit the criminal.”
An Italian who was one of the first scholars to develop a systematic understanding of why people commit
crime.
He believes that all human beings are rational beings and that they possess free will- the capacity to
choose between right or wrong. Thus, if a person commits a crime even if he knows that it is wrong then
he/ she should be punished.
Beccaria made an important observation regarding the application of punishments: that it must be certain,
swift, and severe to outweigh the benefits that the offenders get in order to deter future crimes.
Jeremy Bentham
A British lawyer and philosopher who wrote “Principles of Morals and Legislation,” where he applied the
principle of utility.
He was concerned with achieving “the greatest happiness of the greatest number.”
o Utilitarianism- it assumes that all human actions are calculated in accordance with their
likelihood of bringing happiness (pleasure) or unhappiness (pain). People weigh the probabilities
of present and future pleasures against those of present and future pain.
o Hedonism- it is a doctrine whose central idea is that pleasure is the main goal of life.
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B. Neo- classical Criminology
The neo- classical school was a modification of the classical criminology, where it contends that
children and lunatics cannot calculate pleasure and pain and that they do not possess free will, thus they
should be exempted from criminal punishments. It introduced the application of mitigating circumstances
in imposing penalties.
C. Positivist Criminology
Positivist school of criminology emerged from the positive philosophy of the nineteenth century, which
applied scientific methods to explain criminal behavior. It was anchored in the doctrine of determinism,
where it is believed that criminals are like sick people that need to be treated rather than punished.
Criminals commit crimes because of factors that are beyond their control, such as poverty. It governs the
principle “Let the punishment fits the criminal.”
The group of thinkers considered from this school were Cesare Lombroso, Raffaele Garofalo, and Enrico
Ferri.
Cesare Lombroso
An Italian physician and anthropologist who wrote the book titled Criminal Man in 1876, which he posted
the theory of the born criminal, where it involved the concept of atavism in explaining the causes of
criminality.
Atavism is an idea that criminals are evolutionary throwback to an earlier form of life and that they have
identified physical stigmata that includes protruding jaws, drooping eyes, large ears, twisted and flattish
noses, long arms relative to the lower limbs, and sloping shoulders.
3. Criminaloids- those with no physical peculiarities like the born or insane criminals. it is further
categorized as:
3.1 Habitual Criminals- those who became criminals by contact with other criminals, the abuse of
alcohol, and other distressing circumstances.
3.2 Juridical Criminals- those who falls in conflict with the law by accident.
3.3 Criminal by Passion- those who are hot- tempered and impulsive persons who commit violent act
when provoked.
Raffaele Garofalo
An Italian nobleman, magistrate, senator, and professor of law who rejected the classical principles that
punishment should fit the crime, arguing instead that it should fit the criminal.
He explained criminal behavior, not to physical features, but to their psychological equivalents that he
called “moral anomalies.”
As cited in the book of Adler (2010), Garofalo defines natural crimes as those that offend the basic moral
sentiments of probity (respect for the property of others) and piety (revulsion against the infliction of
suffering on the others).
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Types of Criminals by Garofalo
1. Extreme Criminal- are those criminals who commit violent acts who shows a lack of pity.
2. Impulsive Criminals- alcoholics and the insane
3. Professional Criminal- normal individuals who choose to commit crime and require elimination by life
imprisonment or transportation to a penal colony.
4. Endemic Criminal- those who commit crimes peculiar to a given region and mala prohibita crimes or
acts that are prohibited by law.
Enrico Ferri
Ferri was the best known associate of Lombroso, a member of the parliament, a public lecturer, and a
lawyer.
He believed that criminals should not be held morally responsible for their crimes because they did not
choose to commit it, but rather they were driven to commit them by conditions of their lives.
He believed also that the most common characteristics of criminals were moral insensibility combined with
low intelligence.
What is Crime?
In the legal point of view, crime is any act or omission in violation or infraction of existing laws, policies, rules,
and regulations of the society.
Act- means any bodily movement tending to produce some effect in the external world.
(NOTA BE NE: that the act must be one that is defined by law as constituting a crime or an external
act that has direct connection with the crime intended to be committed.)
Omission- means inaction, the failure to perform a positive duty that one is bound to do. There must be a law
requiring the doing or performance of an act.
Before an act can be defined as crime, it must have any of the following general characteristics:
What is Offense?
Offense refers to any act or omission punishable whether under special laws or the RPC, as amended (R. A. No.
9344c sec. 40)
What is Felony?
Felony is any act or omission punishable by the RPC. Felonies are committed not only by means of deceit (dolo)
but also by means of fault (culpa). There is deceit when the act is performed with deliberate intent, and there is
fault when the wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.
In order to consider that an act or omission as having been performed or incurred with deliberate intent, the
following requisites must concur:
1. Freedom
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2. Intelligence
3. Imprudence and negligence
If a person fails to pay proper attention and to use due diligence in foreseeing the injury or
damage impending to be caused, there is negligence. Negligence usually involves lack of
foresight.
The development of crime passes through certain stages from the moment an individual conceives the idea of
committing a crime up to the realization of the same. These stages are:
1. Internal Acts- mere ideas in the mind of a person, are not punishable.
2. External Acts- this covers preparatory acts, and acts of execution.
a) Preparatory Acts- ordinarily they are not punishable (e.g., proposal and conspiracy to commit
a felony)
b) Acts of execution- they are punishable under the RPC. The stages of acts of execution includes
attempted, frustrated, and consummated.
1. Attempted Stage- when the offender begins the commission of a felony directly by overt acts. He has
not performed all the acts of execution that should produce the felony.
Overt acts- some physical activity or deed, indicating the intention to commit a particular
crime.
Example:
A. If Andy bought poison from a drugstore in preparation for the killing of Ben by means of poison, such act is
only a preparatory act. It is not an overt act, because it has no direct connection with the crime of murder
that Andy intended to commit.
B. But if Andy mixed the poison with the food intended for Ben and the latter did not know that it contained
poison, put into his mouth a spoonful thereof, that act Andy was more than a mere planning or preparation
for the commission of murder.
2. Frustrated Stage- when the offender has performed all acts of execution that would produce the felony
but nonetheless did not produce it because of causes independent of the perpetrators will.
(Nota bene: the elements of the criminal offense were all executed but the main evil intent of the
offender did not takes place.)
Example:
In the case of People v. Honrada, 62 Phil. 112, where the accused stabbed the offended party in the abdomen,
penetrating the liver and the chest. It was only the prompt and skillful medical treatment that the offended party
received that saved his life.
3. Consummated Stage- when all elements necessary for the execution and accomplishment of a crime
are present.
Examples:
Bentong, for a long time, had been planning to kill Jayson, who is his business rival. When he had the
opportunity to execute his plan, he stabbed Jayson with a butcher’s knife at his back, causing Jayson to lose a lot of
blood that led to his death.
SUMMARY
A crime is an act or omission in violation of the law. Offense refers to any act or omission punishable either
by special laws or the RPC. Felony any act or omission in violation of the RPC. A crime can be committed by means
of dolo (malice) and culpa (fault). There are three stages of acts of execution: attempted, frustrated, and
consummated stages.
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Lesson 2: The Elements of Crime
ABSTRACTION
Crimes, as worldwide phenomena, must be closely examined by society in order to determine how we can
prevent their occurrence. Acts or omissions can only be called crime when there is a law that punishes it.
Thus, it is proper for us to examine what are the different elements of crime.
In the Philippine setting, acts or omissions in violation of the special laws or RPC are called “offenses”
(R.A. No. 9344) and those that are in violation of the RPC are called “felonies.”
Article 3 of Act No. 3815 states that acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies (delitos).
Felonies are committed not only by means of deceit (dolo) but also by means of fault (culpa). There is
deceit when the act is performed with deliberate intent, and there is fault when the wrongful act results from
imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.
Example:
Ashley took the pair of shoes from Jane with intent to gain and without the consent of the
latter. The act of taking the shoes of Jane, with intent to gain, constitute the crime of theft.
Example:
If someone is driving a car and suddenly had a heart attack and hits somebody along the road,
the act done by the driver is not voluntary since he suffered from a heart attack.
NOTA BENE: Only external act is punished. The act must be external because internal acts are beyond the
coverage of the law. Thus, a criminal thought or a mere intention, no matter how immoral or improper it may be,
will never constitute a crime.
2. Omissions to Act
Omission- it means inaction, the failure to perform a positive duty that one is bound to do.
There must be a law requiring the doing or performance of an act.
Example:
Anyone who fails to render assistance to any person whom he finds in an uninhabited place wounded or in
danger of dying is liable for abandonment of persons in danger.
Exceptions:
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Example: A lifeguard in a pool is
2. By Contract When a person is contracted by paid to rescue and save people.
duty to come to the aid of another. When someone is drowning and the
lifeguard did not do anything to
help, then he can be held liable.
A guilty mind
The person knew that what he was doing was wrong.
Where to find mens rea?
1) Specific Intent Crimes- mentally, the person has to act for the crime to occur. Examples: theft crimes,
intent to kill, heat of passion killings.
2) General Intent Crimes- intent can be inferred from a person’s conduct. Examples: rape, arson, battery
3) Strict Liability Crimes- crimes where the person’s state of mind is immaterial. Person’s conviction will
rest solely on the fact that he/she has committed a prohibited act. Examples: speeding, parking in front of
a fire hydrant.
Summary
Acts or omission can only be called crime when there is a law that punishes it. The basic elements of
crime are (1) actus reus (physical act of the crime); (2) means inaction (the failure to perform a positive duty which
one is bound to do); (3) mens rea (mental intent to do the crime); (4) concurrence of actus reus and mens rea; and
(5) punishment.
ABSTRACTION
Crime receives different classification according to its severity and purpose. The classification of crime
influences both the substance and procedure of a criminal charge, so it’s important to understand the difference
between the classifications.
The basis of these classifications is in accordance with the RPC of the Philippines.
Acts or omissions in violation of the RPC are called felonies. Felonies are classified as follows:
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2. According to the a. Attempted felony When the offender commences the commission of a
stages of their felony directly by overt acts and does not perform all
execution the acts of execution that should produce the felony by
reason of some cause or accident other than his own
spontaneous desistance.
c. Consummated felony When all the elements necessary for its execution are
present.
3. According to their
gravity a. Grave felonies Those to which law attaches the capital punishment or
penalties that in any of their periods are afflictive.
b. Less grave felonies Those to which the law punishes with penalties that in
their maximum period was correccional
c. Light felonies Those infractions of law for the commission of which the
penalty is arresto menor.
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C. Crimes Against Public 1) Rebellion or insurrection (Art. 134)
Order 2) Coup d’etat (Art. 134- A)
3) Conspiracy and proposal to commit coup d’etat, rebellion, or
insurrection (Art. 136)
4) Disloyalty of public officers or employees (Art. 137)
5) Inciting a rebellion or insurrection (Art. 138)
6) Sedition (Art. 138)
7) Conspiracy to commit sedition (Art. 139)
8) Inciting to sedition (Art. 140)
D. Crimes Against Popular 1) Act tending to prevent the meeting of the Assembly and similar
Representation bodies (Art. 143)
2) Disturbance of proceeding (Art. 144)
3) Violation of parliamentary immunity (Art. 145)
E. Crimes Against Public 1) Counterfeiting the great seal of the Government of the Philippines
Interest Islands, forging the signature or stamp of the Chief Executive (Art.
161)
2) Using forged signature or counterfeit seal or stamp (Art. 162)
3) Making and importing and uttering false coins (Art. 163)
4) Mutilation of coins; importation and utterance of mutilated coins
(Art. 164)
5) Selling of false or mutilated coins without connivance (Art. 165)
6) Forging treasury or bank notes on other documents payable to
bearer, importing, and uttering such false or forged notes and
documents (Art. 166)
7) Counterfeiting, importing, and uttering instruments not payable to
bearer (Art. 167)
8) Illegal possession and use of false treasury or bank notes and
other instruments of credit (Art. 168)
9) Forgery (Art. 169)
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J. Crimes Against Liberty 1) Kidnapping and serious illegal detention (Art.267)
2) Slight illegal detention
3) Unlawful arrest
4) Kidnapping of minors
5) Inducing a minor to abandon his name
6) Slavery
7) Exploitation of child labor
For statistical purposes and to create a standardized definition of crime classification, crime is further divided
into index and non- index crimes.
Index crimes- as defined by the Philippine National Police (PNP), involve crimes against persons, such as
murder, homicide, physical injuries and rape, and crimes against property, such robbery, theft,
carnapping/carjacking, and cattle rustling.
Non- index crimes- on the other hand, are violations of special laws, such as illegal logging or local
ordinances.
ABSTRACTION
Behind each crime is a criminal or several criminals. Criminals are those persons who committed a crime and
have convicted by a court for the violation of a criminal law.
According to Abrahamsen (1960), in order to determine how to deal with the offender in a rational way, it
must be categorized. He identified the following classification of criminals:
1. Acute Criminals
Are not really criminals since they do not show persistent antisocial or criminal attitude and do
not frequently violate the law.
Criminal activities are usually not serious in nature
2. Situational Criminals
Are characterized by the fact that a particular situation arises that elicits his antisocial feelings
and puts them into actions.
They are those type of persons whom it can be said “opportunity makes the thief.”
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Example:
The hungry man who passes by a bakery shop and steal a loaf of bread or the man without means who finds a
lost wallet and does not return it, even though he can contact the rightful owner.
3. Associational Criminal
Is influenced by his immediate environment, wherein external circumstances may rise that
mobilize his criminalistics tendencies.
Those persons who get involved in a criminal act as a result of being associated with people who
have same criminal patterns as them.
Example:
A young man who was friendly with three boys who had criminal records. One day, he went along with them
“just for a ride” while they were going to hold up a store. After they had accomplished the purpose, his friends gave
him some of the stolen money. A police chase ensued and he was given a gun. In the heat of the chase, the young
man shot and wounded the police man and they were all caught and arrested.
4. Accidental Criminal
5. Neurotic Criminal
Are group of people who carry out criminal acts as a result of obsessive- compulsive affliction,
such as kleptomania, pyromania, dipsomania, nymphomania, dromomania, homicidal mania, and
gambling.
- (Purpose of formation of categories in criminology: to determine how to deal with the offender in
rational way.)
Multiple factors interplay in studying the cause of criminal behavior. There may be multiple causative factors
where a person will be placed at risk of becoming the focus of the attention of a criminal justice professional.
Among these factors, one may be more contributory than another, but no particular single elements can ever be
the causation of all cases. Heredity endows a person with certain basic abilities, and it is the environment that
provides for their development. Hereditary determines what the person can do, whereas the environment
determines what he does. Under a given set of conditions, a person will show certain characteristics due to
inherited fundamental. Hence, it is obvious that there are certain innumerable ways in which these elements can be
combined as a source of criminal behavior.
Three definite ways in which a person may be led into criminal activities (Abrahamsen, 1960):
1. When antisocial inclination are exposed to criminal influences and are further stimulated by the impact
of a participating event.
2. When there is a strong unconscious desire for punishment, owing to unconscious, deep- rooted guilt
feelings, developed through past experiences.
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3. As an indirect (or false) expression of aggressiveness. A person who feels emotionally weak and
insecure may develop a defensive, aggressive emotional attitude as a cover up. Expressing this
aggression through protest and rebelliousness may lead him to commit antisocial or even criminal acts.
Thus, in explaining the birth of criminal behavior, the three factors must be considered: criminalistics
tendencies (T), the total situation (S), and the person’s mental and emotional resistance to temptation
(R).
The situation upon which this will be concentrated is the crime situation, whether the offender seeks out the
situation himself/ herself (and to some extent selects his/her crime) or the situation comes to him/her by chance
and it his/her own reaction that brings the result. However, all our tendencies- social, antisocial, or criminal- are
linked to our needs and desires, which arise from our instincts and which have been approved or disapproved by
our ego and super ego. If a person does not commit criminal act, it is because he has resistance to it that varies in
every individual.
For instance, when a person in need of money (tendencies) was tempted to steal when seeing someone being
careless with his/her wallet (situation) but chose not to do it (resistance). Note that the dominating figure in
resistance is the superego because it threatens the ego by commanding it to do good deed.
Therefore, an individual can have a conforming behavior if he/she developed a strong conscience where he/ she
can control the urge of wanting things, and one can have a rule- violating behavior if he/she no control in resisting
the temptation of committing a crime.
Summary
Criminals are those persons who committed a crime and have been convicted by a court for the violation of a
criminal law. Criminals are categorized in order to know to deal with them in a rational way. Among the
classification of criminals are: 1. acute criminals 2. Situational criminal, 3. Associational criminals, 4. Accidental
criminals, and 5. Neurotic criminals. David Abrahamsen explains the birth of criminal behavior by the presence of
these factors: criminalistics tendencies (T), the total situational (S), and the persons mental and emotional
resistance to temptation (R).
ABSTRACTION
What is Victimology?
Victimology is the subfield of criminology that deals purely on the underlying factors of victimization and the
contributory role of victims in the commission of crimes.
Victimology, as a science, uses scientific method to answer questions about victims.
As a study of “crime targets,” it shows that a person becomes a victim of crime consciously (knowingly) and
unconsciously (unknowingly).
History of Victimology
The term victimology was coined in the mid-1900s. Since crimes occurred prior to this time, people were
being victimized long before the scientific study of crime victims began. Victims were recognized as being
harmed by crime.
Before and throughout the Middle Ages (5th-6th century), the burden of the justice system fell on the victim.
When a person or property was harmed, it was up to the victim and the victim’s family to seek justice. This was
done via retaliation. The justice system that operates during this period is under the principle of Lex talionis, an
eye for an eye. It means that a criminal would be punished because he or she deserved it, and the
punishment would be equal to the harm caused. This principle was incorporated in the Code of
Hammurabi.
During the 1940’s, scholars and others studied about crime victims with emphasis on their contribution to
their own victimization. In this period the ideas of victim precipitation, victim facilitation, and victim
provocation emerged.
Pioneers in Victimology
1. Hans von Hentig
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Wrote the book titled “The Criminal and His Victim: Studies in the Sociobiology of Crime.”
He described the importance of investigating the underlying factors why certain people become
victims.
He determined that some of the same characteristics that produce crime also produce
victimization.
Von Hentig emphasized the criminal- victim dyad and identified 13 categories of victims based on
their characteristics that may effectively serve to increase victimization risk.
2. Benjamin Mendelsohn
Known as the “Father of Victimology”, he coined the term for this area of study in the mid-1940s.
As a European lawyer, he was interested in the relationship between the victim and the criminal
as he conducted interviews with victims and witnesses and realized that victims and offender
often knew each other and had some kind of existing relationship.
He created six classifications of victims based on their culpability or the degree of the victims
blame. Thus, he recognized that some victims bear no responsibility for their victimization,
whereas others, based on their behaviors or actions, do.
3. Stephen Schafer
He wrote the book titled The Victim and His Criminal: A Study in Functional Responsibility.
He also proposed victim typology by using social characteristics and behaviors; placed victims in groups
based on how responsibility they are for their own victimization.
He believed that people have a functional responsibility not to provoke other into victimizing or harming
them and that they also should actively attempt to prevent that from occurring… he identified seven
categories of victims according to their level of responsibility.
4. Marvin Wolfgang
He had been recognized as one of the most influential criminologists in the English- speaking
world (Kauffman, 1998).
The first person to empirically investigate victim precipitation in his classic study of homicides
occurring in Philadelphia from 1948 to 1952.
He examined homicide cases to see the extent of how victims precipitated their own deaths.
He found out that a quarter of the 558 homicides that he studied were victim- precipitated – in
which the victim was the direct, positive precipitator in the homicide- be the first to brandish or
use a weapon, the first to strike a blow, and the first to initiate physical violence.
It was determined also that in most victim- precipitated homicides, the victim and the offender
knew each other, it involved male offenders and male victims, and the victim was likely to have a
history of violently offending himself.
5. Menachem Amir
A student of Marvin Wolfgang; he conducted an empirical investigation into rape incidents
reported to the police.
He examined the extent to which victims precipitated their own rapes and identified common
attributes of victim- precipitated rape.
He found out that victim- precipitated rape cases were likely to involve alcohol and the victim was
likely to engage in seductive behavior, wear revealing clothing, use indecent language, and have
bad reputation.
Summary:
Victimology is a subfield of criminology that studies the contributory factors of victimization. Benjamin
Mendelsohn is known as the Father of Victimology and classified victims based on the degree of their
culpability. Hans von Hentig classified victims based on their personal characteristics that increase their risk of
victimization. Stephen Schafer categorized victims based on their social characteristics and their level of
responsibility, while Marvin Wolfgang focused on victim precipitation, where the victim initiates or provokes their
victimization. Menachem Amir studied victim- precipitated rape cases.
Lesson 2: Classification of Victims
ABSTRACTION:
Victimology, being the study of “crime targets,” showed that a person becomes a victim of crime
consciously (knowingly) and unconsciously (unknowingly). A person could become a victim due to his/her own
action or fault. The person somehow contributes to the commission of crime because of his/her own making.
Who is a Victim?
Generally, a victim is the person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime or the one who suffers the
consequences of a crime.
The word “victim” is derived from the Latin word “victima” and originally included the concept of sacrifice.
In the early Anglo- Saxon society, victims were perceived as persons suffering from injury at the hands of the
perpetrators, and law typically enforced restitution and compensation paid to victims of their families by offending
parties.
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The U.S. Federal Law defines a crime victim as a person, organization, or business that has been directly harmed
(physically, emotionally, or financially) as a result of the commission of an offense.
Hans von Hentig recognized the importance of investigating the underlying factors why certain people become
victims by considering the victim’s characteristics that increases his or her victimization risks.
Stephen Schafer was one of the earliest victimologists who placed victims in group based on how responsible
they are for their own victimization. Unrelated victims- no responsibility
SUMMARY
Victims are those persons who are harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime. A person becomes a victim of
crime knowingly and unknowingly. Victims are classified based on their personal characteristics (Hans von
Hentig), degree of culpability (Benjamin Mendelsohn), and functional responsibility (Stephen Schafer).
Chapter 7
PUNISHMENT, SENTENCING, AND REHABILITATION
Abstraction
What is penology?
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Penology is a multidisciplinary subject that aims to study and evaluate the application of penal sanctions
to wrongdoers. It focuses on the justifications, characteristics, and effectiveness of penal institutions.
Code of Hammurabi
The law made use of term lex talionis, “an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth” principle. This means that the
offended party can seek for equal retaliation. Individuals who have been harmed can seek revenge under this
principle. The code also includes a number of harsh corporal punishments.
Types of punishments:
Banishment- this was practices during the ancient times where an offender was forced to leave his/her
home and community, either permanently or for fixed period of time.
Beheading- this type of punishment involves the cutting off the head with the use of a sword or an axe.
Birching- a punishment that meant beating a person across the backside with twigs. Commonly used as
punishment in schools in England.
Boiling alive- this type of punishment was provided in England where a law allowed prisoners to be boiled
alive
Branding- considered as am old punishment in England; a method of branding people with the use of red-
hot- irons.
Breaking on the wheel- the person punished was tied to a wheel, and the executioner then used as an iron
bar or hammer to break each arm and leg in several places.
Burning- a type of punishment that was a penalty for heresy. This punishment was also applied to witches
in Scotland and most of Europe.
Crank-a type of punishment that was applied in British prisons. It is hard and very monotonous work,
where prisoners had to turn the handle a thousand times before they could eat.
Crucifixion- the condemned person carried the beam of the cross where his/her arms are tied or nailed to it
going to the site of execution.
Drowning- this is a method practiced in Germany where cowards drowned in fens under piles of sticks.
Electric chair- this was first used in the Us in 1890 when a man named William Kemmler was executed.
Fines- the practiced of this type of punishment began in the ancient times where it forced people to pay
money.
Firing squad- this was used as a military punishment, not a civilian punishment.
Flogging- this was common form of punishment in England for minor crimes.
Garroting-it was a form of strangulation often carried out using a metal collar attached to a post, which
was tightened while it was around the person’s neck.
Hanging- it was very common method of execution on England, where the criminal stood on a ladder and
the ladder would be pulled away.
Hard labor- prisoners were sentenced to hard physical work aside from imprisonment.
Prison- prisons were not commonly used before the nineteenth century because of unsanitary conditions.
Stoning- it is a method of execution where the crowd threw stones at the condemned person until he or
she died.
Transportation- it was popularly used in England and other European countries to conveniently get rid of
criminals.
What is felony?
Felony was derived from the word felonia which means breach of faith with one’s feudal lord.
GOALS OF PUNISHMENT
RETRIBUTION: The belief that criminals deserve to be punished as repayment for their misdeeds is one of
the oldest reactions to wrong doing.
-law of retaliation (lex talionis)- traces its origin as far back as code of Hammurabi as which reacts well
as law of Moses and the old and new testaments.
DETERRENCE: unlike retribution which reacts to past events, deterrence aims to prevent future criminal
behavior.
Incapacitation: if retribution is viewed as reactive and deterrence as proactive incapacitation could be
characterized as something in between or perhaps a combination of both.
Rehabilitation: belief that something positive should be accomplished during the period of incarceration
of an individual.
Reintegration: some extent the demise of rehabilitation may also be related to the difficulty of
reintegrating ex-offenders back into the community after the long-term confinement.
Restoration: the goal under is to make the offender and the victim whole again by imposing fines,
restitution and community service.
The correctional system in the Philippines is composed of 6 agencies under the three distinct and separate
departments of the national gov. DOJ, DILG, and DWSD.
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A. the Bureau of corrections (BuCor)- agency under DOJ, mandated to carry out institutional
rehabilitation programs of the government for national offenders, those sentenced to than 3 years of
imprisonment, and to ensure their safe of custody.
R.A No. 10575- known as “THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS ACT of 2013” classifies and defines the following:
1. Persons deprived of liberty (PDL) - refers to a detainee, inmate or prisoner or other person under
confinement or custody in any other manner.
2. Inmate- refers to a person confined in jails/ prisons to serve her/her sentence or for safekeeping and is
officially called PDL.
3. National inmate- refers to an inmate sentence by a court to serve a term of imprisonment for more than
3yrs or to pay a fine of more 1000.00.
MAXIMUM SECURITY INMATES- those highly dangerous or high security risk inmates as determined by
the classification board.
1. Sentenced to death
2. Whose maximum sentence is 20 yrs.
3. Remand prisoners whose sentence is 20 yrs. and above and those whose sentence are under
review by the supreme court or the court of appeals.
4. Recidivist, habitual delinquents and escapees.
MEDIUM SECURITY INMATES- are those whose sentence of imprisonment is below 20 yrs.
1. Those inmates with two or more records of escape, if serve eight yrs after they were
recommitted.
2. Inmates who are first time offenders sentenced to life imprisonment if they have served five years
in maximum security.
MINIMUM SECURITY INMATES- those who can be reasonably be trusted to serve their penalty under
less restricted conditions.
1. 65 yrs. old above
2. 6 more to serve before the expiration of their minimum sentence.
CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS
1. INSULAR PRISONER- sentenced to a prison term of 3 yrs. and 1 day to reclusion Perpetua or life
imprisonment;
2. Provincial prisoner- sentenced to a prison term of 6 months and 1 day to 3yrs.
3. City prisoner- sentenced to a prison term of 1 day to 3yrs.
4. Municipal prisoner- sentenced to a prison term of 1 day to 6months.
Undergoing investigation
Awaiting or undergoing trial; or
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Awaiting final judgment
Inmates’ security classification
High-profile inmate- those who require increased security based on intense media coverage or public
concern as a result of their offense.
High- risk inmate- those who require a greater degree of security, control, and supervision.
High-value target-either a resources or a person, who may either be an enemy combatant, high-ranking
official, or a civilian in danger of captured or death.
Security threat group- any formal or informal ongoing inmates group, gang, organization.
Subversive group- groups of people that adopt or advocate subversive principles tending to overthrow
or undermine an established government.
Terrorist group- a group of persons that commits any of the following: piracy and mutiny in the high seas
or in the Philippine waters.
Violent extremist offender- a person whose political or religious ideologies are considered far outside
the mainstream attitudes of the society.
Medium-risk inmates-those who represent a moderate a risk to the public and staff.
Minimum-risk inmates (ordinary inmates)-those inmates who have lesser tendencies to commit
offenses and generally pose the least risk to public safety.
The following are the inmate treatment programs and services adopted by the BJMP
Paralegal assistance service: assist legal needs of the inmates in order to expedite their release and
decongest jails.
Religious & guidance counseling service- shall identify and monitor the religious affiliation of the
inmates and encourages them to participate on the activities of their own religion to avoid religious
confusion.
Livelihood and income- generating service- engage in identifying livelihood needs of the inmates.
Education and vocational skills service- identify the educational attainment and the vocational
inclination of the inmates in order to encourage and enroll them to finish their elem. And secondary
educations.
Advocacy and networking on the basic needs service- shall promote and establish linkages and
networks with good-hearted individuals, Gov. Agencies, Gov. org. (GOs), LGU, NGOs.
Sports & recreation service- assist in ensuring the fitness and well-being of the inmates by introducing
outdoor and indoor games.
Enhancement through therapeutic community modality services- the holistic development of the
inmates, maximizing the community as a venue for transformation and renewal in shaping of attitudes,
behaviors, and personalities toward the building of human communities.
Medical, dental, and optical services- the total well-being of the inmates by encouraging active
participation in health-care management inside the jail toward “health in the hands of the inmates”.
CHAPTER 8
CRIMNOLOGY AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE
REASONS OR JUSTIFICATIONS OF PUNISHMENT
DETERRENCE-When retribution is imposed upon a person who has committed a crime, the discomfort
inflicted will dissuade the offender (and other) from repeating crime.
Reformation- refers to the acts that ensure the public (including families of inmates and their victims)
that released national inmates are no longer harmful to the community by becoming reformed individuals
prepared to live a normal and productive life upon reintegration to a mainstream society.
Restoration- a victim-oriented approach to crime that emphasizes restitution (compensation) for victims.
Retribution- refers to making the person accountable for the offense committed, by serving sentence,
doing community service.
5 components of CJS
1. LAW ENFORCEMENT- consists mainly of the officers and personnel of the PNP, NBI, PDEA, ANTI
LAUNDERING COUNCIL
2. PROSECUTION- composed of the national prosecution service of the DOJ, office of the ombudsman, and
the PAO.
3. Court- the court component adjudicates cases and renders judgment.
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