Introduction to Criminology

Criminology

• Is the study of criminal biology and criminal sociology
• It studies crimes and criminals in depth, like criminal behavior, influencing circumstances, and the causes of crime

Definitions of Criminology

• Donald Taft: the study which includes all the subject matter necessary for understanding and preventing crimes
• Webster: a scientific study of crime
• Edwin Sutherland: a body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon that includes making laws, breaking laws, and reacting to them

Nature

• Is the scientific and systematic study of crime and its treatment
• It is the science of criminal behavior

Scope

• Includes:
• Causes of criminal behavior and methods to prevent it
• Societal reactions to crime and criminals
• Types of crime and criminals
• Detection and investigation methods
• Offender personalities e.g., first-time or repeat offenders
• Crime rates
• Origin and development of criminal law
• Origin and development of criminals
• Various modes of correction, punishment, and rehabilitation
• Criminal etiology e.g., understanding methods and techniques
• Effects of present laws on crime
• Understanding the root causes of crime

Importance

• Is important to:
• Know the actual yearly cost of controlling crime
• Understand the reasons that make a person criminal
• Provide essential knowledge for professionals, legislators, and social workers
• Aid police officers, magistrates, judges, and law students
• Understand new techniques of crime and punishment

Branches of Criminal Science

• Includes criminology, criminal policy, and criminal law

Relationship Between Criminology, Criminal Policy, and Criminal Law

• Criminology: concerned with the causes of crime and includes criminal biology (mental and physical constitution) and criminal sociology (effect of environment)
• Criminal Policy: studies the means to limit harmful conduct in society
• Criminal Law: punishes criminals upon violation of law

School of Criminology

• Is a system of thought that explains crime and suggests suitable punishments and preventive measures

Schools of Criminology

• Pre-Classical School (Demonological Theory)
• Classical School (Free Will Theory)
• Neo-Classical School
• Positive School (Italian School)
• Sociological School
• Geographical School
• Clinical School
• Mental Testers School (Mental Deficiency Theory)
• Socialistic School (Economic Theory)

Pre-Classical School (Demonological Theory)

• Emerged during the 17th–18th centuries
• Religion was at its peak
• No scientific explanation of crime existed
• Evil power was believed to be an influence
• Loss of the sense of morality was common
• Criticism: the school promoted torture as treatment

Classical School (Free Will Theory)

• Emerged in the 18th century
• Supported by Beccaria
• Rejected pre-classical ideas
• Based upon free will as the cause of crime
• Proposes that punishment should fit the crime (not more or less)
• Focused on the crime, not the criminal
• Criticism: it ignored criminal differences, like first-time vs. habitual offenders

Neo-Classical School

• Is an upgraded version of the Classical School
• Focused on understanding the facts, circumstances, and mental state of the offender
• Categorized offenders as first-time, habitual, minor, insane, idiot, etc.
• Proposes that punishment should be based on the offender's category
• Criticism: the school focused on punishment

Positive School (Italian School)

• Emerged in the 19th century
• Main exponents were Lombroso, Garofalo, and Enrico Ferris
• Rejected the Free Will theory
• Lombroso Theory states that a person who commits crime is born criminal

Lombroso Theory

• Main points include:
• Biological factors are responsible for crime
• Criminals are less sensitive
• Criminals fall into three categories:
  • Born Criminals: criminal behavior is genetic
  • Insane Criminals: unsound mind
  • Criminoids: inferiority complex

Enrico Ferri’s Theory

• Challenged Lombroso's theory
• Emotional, social, and geographical factors are responsible for crime
• Divided criminals into five categories:
  • Born Criminal
  • Occasional
  • Passionate
  • Insane
  • Habitual

Garofalo’s Theory

• Rejected Ferris's and Lombroso’s theories
• Divided criminals into four categories:
  • Endemic: those who murder
  • Violent: aggressive by nature
  • Lacking in probity
  • Lustful: those who commit rape

Sociological School

• Emerged in the 20th century
• External factors such as society are responsible for crime
• Rejected the Born Criminal concept
• Criminal behavior is conditioned by the social environment
• Causes of crime are poverty, bad associations, and a broken family environment

Geographical School

• Crime is closely related to the geographical environment
• Crime rates vary with changes in barometric pressure, temperature, altitude, etc.
• Crime rates are lower in fertile areas
• Crimes against people happen in summer, while against property happen in winter
• Crime rates are high near the equator

Clinical School

• This school is more focused on understanding the criminal psychology
• Personality is a combination of internal and external factors
• Punishment should depend on the personality of the accused
• Correctional methods are emphasized

Mental Testers School (Mental Deficiency Theory)

• Mentally disabled people are classified as criminals
• Criminality is hereditary
• People cannot differentiate between right and wrong

Socialistic School (Economic Theory)

• This school sees economy as the main reason for crime

Karl Marx Theory (Class Struggle Theory)

• Society is divided into two parts rich and poor
• The rich get richer and vice versa
• People commit crime due to poverty and unemployment

William Bonger Theory

• Main points include:
• Selfishness as the main reason for crime
• Greed as the reason for crime
• Capitalism weakens social feelings

Juvenile Delinquency

• Crime committed by children under 18
• The punishment of juvenile and adult defenders is different
• There exists a separate judicial system for both

Types of Juvenile Delinquency

• Individual Delinquency:
  • Involves only one individual
  • Causes are defective nature or faulty family interaction patterns
• Group Supported Delinquency:
  • An act committed in a group
  • Causes in culture, home, and neighborhood
• Organized Delinquency
  • An act committed in an organized manner
• Situational Delinquency
  • An act committed because of a situation
• Acts declared as juvenile delinquency:
  • Violation of law
  • Joining any unlawful person
  • Gambling
  • Begging
  • Smoking
  • Speaking profanities
  • Ticket less traveling
  • theft

Causes and Remedies of Juvenile Delinquency

• Causes include adolescence instability, unfavorable home setting, movies and associational impact, sex indulgence, poverty etc.
• Remedies include free education, correctional homes, healthy entertainment, seminar and conferences, experts suggestions etc.

Indeterminate Sentence

• If an offender shows good behavior and completes assigned tasks, the prison board may decide to release them
• Objections include inculcating hope rather than fear in the inmate undergoing imprisonment
• Advantages lies in correcting the inmate rather than ill-treating them
• Disadvantages include prisoners suffering from injustice
• The judgement of the prison board may be mistaken
• A satisfactory assessment process is absent

Recidivism

• Describes a person who commits the crime repeatedly after they have received punishment
• The person returns to criminal behavior
• Has become habituated to committing the crime

Essentials of Recidivism

• The frequent commission of crime
• The act of recidivism is committed by those already convicted
• Recidivism does not depend on the offender's physical or mental capacity

Causes and Remedies to Prevent Recidivism

• According to Professor Sutherland, there are two major causes involved:
  • Social psychology of the offender
  • Inadequacy of reformative techniques
• Also, it includes lack of education, poverty, changing life style/social circle etc.
• Remedies: provide prisoner treatment, education and skills, stricter security supervision

Organized Crime

• Is committed by two or more criminals in an organized manner for profit
• Unlawful associations commit any crime, like terrorist groups

Characteristics of Organized Crime

• Includes, a number of members, a division of work, planning, unchallenged leadership, and secrecy

Nature of Organized Crime

• Consists of cooperation, helping each other, dividing themselves in parties, keeping amicable relations with police, etc.
• Mainly it consists of smuggling, theft, prostitution, gambling etc.

Remedies to Prevent Organized Crime

• Implement effective penal law, rehabilitation, implementing death punishment, etc.

Crime

• Is an act or omission in violation of criminal law
• Is an unlawful act against society
• Has punishment as a legal remedy
• According to Cross Jones, crime is a legal wrong with punishment to correct the offender

Characteristics of Crime

• External consequences (social, mental, personal)
• An act to constitute a crime
• Guilt
• A prohibited act
• Punishment

Classifications of Crime

• Legal Crime: traditional crimes like theft, robbery, rape, etc.
• Political Crime: an act that violates election laws or politically motivated by nature
• Economic Crime: white-collar crimes such as tax evasion, smuggling, prostitution etc.
• Social Crime: child marriage, sati prohibition, etc.
• Miscellaneous: committed under local acts

Probation

• Means "to test" or "to prove", derived from the Latin term "Probate"
• It is an alternative to prison
• A court suspends the sentence of an offender and releases them with or without the supervision of a probation officer

Essentials of Probation

• Specific period between one and three years
• Death and life imprisonment should not be sentenced
• The accused should be with or without surety
• To have good character
• A probation officer is present to monitor

Objects of Probation

• To save from jail life
• To avoid overcrowding in the jail
• To save someone from being an habitual prisoners

Advantages and Disadvantages of Probation

• It saves from imprisonment
• It reduces overcrowding
• It creates self respect in a person thus reducing inferiority complex
• But, the process may not be executed properly
• May cause anger, political interference and financial drawbacks

Parole

• Is the conditional release of prisoners before they complete their sentence
• Officials, usually called parole officers, usually supervise paroled prisoners
• Prisoners may be returned to prison, should any conditions be violated

Essentials of Parole

• Have good character as mentioned by the prison authority
• Should have already suffered a major part of the punishment
• There is a limited period of punishment left
• Complying with any condition that has been released to the prisoner
• Behave accordingly to the officer assigned

Objectives and Advantages of Parole

• Continuity of the family members
• Save from torture
• Retain self confidence
• It helps to avoid prolonged company of habitual criminals
• Creating opportunities for improvement

Disadvantages of Parole

• Omission can be deprived
• May lead to complex situation
• Criminals often tend to not learn, change or share their information
• It doesn't guarantee any proper development in a prison

Police

• Police means body sanctioned by local, state, or national government to enforce laws and apprehend law breakers
• They are classified as public officer for legal investigations and criminal emergencies

Functions and Power of Police

• Crimes prevention, arresting offenders, enforcing executions, dealing with traffic and helping in administration

Categories of Police

• General police, traffic police, military police, railway police, criminal investigation branch, and women police

Failure of Police System in India

• Misuse of power, oppressive policy, lack of cooperation from public, political interference

Suggestions for The Improvement of Police System in India

• Adequate training, corruption prevention, public faith build up and forensic labs

Sex Crime

• This is refers to any criminal offences that has a sexual nature e.g., rape, child molestation, prostitution etc.
• Unsuccessful attempt of intercourse is also considered as the sex crime

Forms of Sex Crime

• Comes along with rape, adultery, prostitution etc.
• This may have an adverse effect

Causes and its Affect

• Comes due to factors such as economic factors and lack of sexual satisfaction
• This may increase crimes and diseases

Measures to Prevent

• Marital counselling, education upgrade and stringent rules against dowry

Meanings of Prison

• It is a place where convicts are kept and proceedings are continued

Characteristics of Prison

• Prisoners are kept, run by the state or central government and have offenders for a temporary / permanent period

Classification of Prison

• Where people go to serve after committing crimes
• Correctional measures are implemented to make them better

Kinds of Prison

• Penitentiary prisons: where matured criminals are kept
• Reformatory house: offenders who are of 16-30 years of age are shifted here
• Correctional House: to make a better person

Modern Criminal Courts

• Includes the supreme court of India, High court of India, Judicial magistrate, and Lok Adalat

Juvenile Court Details

• Speedy disposal of crime: the major objective is to take care to the children who need care
• Special measures are taken by the force
• Establish a child welfare committee

Punishment

• Any act which gives someone the unjust feeling
• The meaning is to provide justice through elements - HLA HART, Mr. BEAN

Categories of Law

• Physical torture, mutilation, capital and monetary

Theories of Punishment

• Retribution for their act, giving chances as an opportunity and removing them from society

Remission System

• Providing chances for criminals to learn and give an environment to rehabilitate

Prison Unrest Reasons

• Political and criminal interference

Prison Reform

• To avoid overcrowding, treat prisoners equally and allow them to celebrate festivals etc.

Individualization of Treatment

• To change their behavior and the way they think
• The ancient age was very cruel
• This allows schools and criminals to begin the change

Clinical Methods

• It deems for patients' mental issues
• This does not focus on crime but the causes of crime
• Diagnose, prescribe, and treat the situation

Group Relationship Methods

• Not always because of societal influences
• It always depends upon criminal tendencies

White Collar Crime

• Usually person commits a crime to gain financial profit
• Usually by misusing an authority
• Bribery and corruption

Professions of White Collar Criminals

• Medical, engineering and legal
• Usually includes tax evasions and hacking

Administration of Justice

• It is to provide Right to the one who deserves it

Types of Administration

• Criminal and civil
• The administration includes compensation and punishment

Advantages of Administration

• Maintains laws and order

Disadvantages of Administration

• Rigid due to many regulations
• Complex to understand and maintain