Nature & Origin of Crime
MIAN ALI HAIDER
L.L.B., L.L.M(Cum Laude) (UK)
It is criminal to steal a purse,
It is daring to steal a fortune.
It is a mark of greatness to steal a crown.
The blame diminishes as the guilt increases.
Johann Schiller (1759-1805)
We sow an act and reap a habit:
We sow a habit and reap a character:
We sow a character and reap a destiny.
William Black (1893)
Crime can be defined…
 Form of normal behavior
 Violation of behavioral norms
 Form of deviant behavior
 Legally defined behavior
 Violation of human rights
 Social harm/injury
 Form of inequality
Social,
Legal, and
Moral
dimensions
involved
Emile Durkheim (1893)

Made three specific claims about the nature
of crime:
1. Crime is normal
2. Crime is inevitable
3. Crime is useful
Crime is normal
 As normal as birth and marriage
 Crimes occur in all societies
 They are closely tied to the facts of collective
life
 Crime rates tend to increase as societies
evolve from lower to higher phases
Crime is normal
 In societies with mechanical solidarity
punishment was more severe
 Criminal act offends the strong, well-defined
common consciousness
 A crime against another person=crime
against the entire society
 Rejection was the most terrible punishment
Crime is inevitable
 No society can ever be entirely




rid of crime
Imagine a community of saints in a perfect and
exemplary monastery
Faults that appear venial to the ordinary person will
arouse the same scandal as does normal crime
Absolute conformity to rules is impossible
Each member is society faces variation in background,
education, heredity, social influences
Crime is useful

Crime is indispensable to the
normal evolution of law and morality
 Crime often is a symptom of individual
originality and a preparation for changes in
society
 Rosa Parks (was a criminal) is a hero now
 Her simple act of protest galvanized
America's civil rights revolution
What is crime?


1.
2.
3.
4.
Crime can be defined in a variety ways
At least four definitional perspectives
Legalistic
Political
Sociological
Psychological
Crime as legally defined
behavior
 Rooted in the criminal law (without law there
can be no crime
 The most precise definition
 The narrowest definition
 Classic definition of crime is often quoted
from Paul Tappan’s writings “crime is an
intentional act in violation of the criminal law
committed without defense or excuse, and
penalized by the state as a felony” (1947)
Legalistic definition
 Crime is human conduct in violation of the
criminal laws of state, the federal
government, or a local jurisdiction that has
the power to make such laws
 Is anything wrong with this definition?
 Moral definitions of crime suggests that a lot
more victimization and injury occurring than
is accounted for by the legal order.
Political view of crime
 Powerful groups of people label selected
undesirable forms of behavior as illegal
 Powerful individuals use their power to
establish laws and sanctions against less
powerful persons and groups
 Official statistics indicate that crime rates in
inner-city, high-poverty areas are higher than
those in suburban areas
 Self-reports of prison inmates show that
prisoners are members of the lower class
Political perspective
 Crime of inequality includes a lot of behaviors
that are omitted by legalistic definition
 Crime is a political concept used to protect
powerful people
 Crimes of power (price fixing, economic
crimes, unsafe working conditions, nuclear
waste products, war-making, domestic
violence, etc)
Sociological perspective
 A more comprehensive sociological definition
of crime was offered by Julia and Herman
Schwendinger (1975)
 “Crime encompasses any harmful acts,
including violations of fundamental
prerequisites for well-being (such as food,
shelter, clothing, medical service, challenging
work and recreational experiences, as well as
security from predatory individuals or
repressive and imperialistic elites”
Sociological perspective
 Schwendingers have challenged
criminologists to be less constrained in what
they see as a crime
 Violation of human rights
 When a man who steals a paltry sum can be
called a criminal while agents of the State can
legally reward men who destroy food so that
price level can be maintained while a sizable
portion of population suffers from
maltinutrition
Psychological perspective
(moralistic view)
 Any behavior which stands in the way of an
individuals developing to his/her fullest
potential would be considered crime
 If criminologists adopted this view of crime,
the scope of criminology would be greatly
expanded..
Introduction to Criminological
Theory
Several theories attempt to explain criminal
behavior. Some theories assume:
Crime is part of human nature.
Crime is based on biological,
psychological, sociological, and/or
economic aspects.
Classical Theory
One of the earliest approaches to explaining
the causes of crime was classical theory.
In 1764, criminologist Cesare Beccaria wrote
An Essay on Crimes and Punishments, which
set forth classical criminological theory.
He argued that the only justified rationale for
laws and punishments was the principle of
utility.
utility
The principle that a policy should provide “the
greatest happiness shared by the greatest number.”
Classical Theory
Beccaria believed the basis of society, as well
as the origin of punishments and the right to
punish, is the social contract.
The only legitimate purpose of punishment is
special deterrence and general deterrence.
classical theory
A product of the Enlightenment, based on the
assumption that people exercise free will and are thus
completely responsible for their actions. In classical
theory, human behavior, including criminal behavior,
is motivated by a hedonistic rationality, in which
actors weigh the potential pleasure of an action
against the possible pain associated with it.
social contract
An imaginary agreement to sacrifice the minimum
amount of liberty to prevent anarchy and chaos.
special deterrence
The prevention of individuals from committing crime
again by punishing them.
continued…
general deterrence
The prevention of people in general or society at
large from engaging in crime by punishing specific
individuals and making examples of them.
Neoclassical Theory
Classical theory was difficult to apply in
practice. It was modified in the early 1800s
and became known as neoclassical theory.
neoclassical theory
A modification of classical theory in which it was
conceded that certain factors, such as insanity, might
inhibit the exercise of free will.
Neoclassical Theory
Neoclassical theory introduced the idea of:
Premeditation as a measure of the degree of free
will.
Mitigating circumstances as legitimate grounds for
diminished responsibility.
Neoclassical Theory
Classical and neoclassical theory are the basis
of the criminal justice system in the United
States.
Positivist Approaches to Explaining
Crime
The theory of the positivist school of
criminology grew out of positive philosophy
and the logic and methodology of
experimental science.
The Positivist School of Thought
The key assumptions of the positivist school
of thought were:
1. Human behavior is determined and not a matter of
free will.
2. Criminals are fundamentally different from
noncriminals.
3. Social scientists can be objective in their work.
4. Crime is frequently caused by multiple factors.
Biological Theories
Biological theories of crime causation
(biological positivism) are based on the
belief that criminals are physiologically
different from noncriminals. The cause
of crime is biological inferiority.
biological inferiority
According to biological theories, a criminal’s innate
physiological makeup produces certain physical or
genetic characteristics that distinguish criminals from
noncriminals.
Heredity Studies
Several studies have attempted to determine if
criminality is hereditary by studying:
family trees
statistics
identical and fraternal twins
adopted children
All of these methods fail to prove that criminality is
hereditary, because they cannot separate hereditary
influences from environmental influences.
Modern Biocriminology
Ongoing research has revealed numerous
biological factors associated either directly or
indirectly with criminal or delinquent
behavior:
• chemical, mineral, and vitamin deficiencies in the diet
• diets high in sugar and carbohydrates
• hypoglycemia
continued…
Modern Biocriminology
• ingestion of food dyes and lead
• exposure to radiation
• brain dysfunctions
Positivist Approaches
Today, most criminologists believe that
criminal behavior is the product of a complex
interaction between biology and
environmental or social conditions.
Positivist Approaches
Biology or genetics gives an individual a
predisposition to behave in a certain way.
Whether a person actually behaves in that way
and whether that behavior is defined as a
crime depend on environmental or social
conditions.
Psychological Theories
There are many theories regarding
psychological causes of crime, including:
Intelligence and crime
Psychoanalytic theories
Intelligence and Crime
The idea that crime is the product primarily of
people of low intelligence has been popular
occasionally in the United States.
A study in 1931 showed no correlation
between intelligence and criminality.
Psychoanalytic Theories
Psychoanalytic theories of crime causation are
associated with the work of Sigmund Freud
who believed that people who had unresolved
deep-seated problems were psychopaths.
psychopaths
Persons characterized by no sense of guilt, no
subjective conscience, and no sense of right and
wrong. They have difficulty in forming relationships
with other people; they cannot empathize with other
people. They are also called sociopaths or antisocial
personalities.
Sociological Theories
Sociologists emphasize that human beings
live in social groups and that those groups and
the social structure they create influence
behavior.
Most sociological theories of crime causation
assume that a criminal’s behavior is
determined by his or her social environment
and reject the notion of the born criminal.
The Theory of the
Chicago School
In the 1920s, a group of sociologists known as
the Chicago School attempted to uncover the
relationship between a neighborhood’s crime
rate and the characteristics of the
neighborhood.
The Theory of the
Chicago School
Studies found that neighborhoods that
experienced high delinquency rates also
experienced social disorganization.
social disorganization
The condition in which the usual controls over
delinquents are largely absent, delinquent behavior is
often approved of by parents and neighbors, there are
many opportunities for delinquent behavior, and there
is little encouragement, training, or opportunity for
legitimate employment.
Anomie or Strain Theory
Robert Merton in 1938 wrote about a major
contradiction in the U.S. between cultural
goals and social structure. He called the
contradiction anomie.
anomie
For Merton, the contradiction between the cultural
goal of achieving wealth and the social structure’s
inability to provide legitimate institutional means for
achieving the goal.
Anomie or Strain Theory
Merton argued that the limited availability of
legitimate institutionalized means to wealth
puts a strain on people. People adapt through:
1. Conformity—playing the game.
2. Innovation—pursuing wealth by illegitimate
means.
continued…
Anomie or Strain Theory
3. Ritualism—not actively pursuing wealth.
4. Retreatism—dropping out.
5. Rebellion—rejecting the goal of wealth and the
institutional means of getting it.
Learning Theories
Edwin H. Sutherland—in his theory of
differential association—was the first 20thcentury criminologist to argue that criminal
behavior was learned.
This theory, modified, remains one of the
most influential theories of crime causation.
differential association
Sutherland’s theory that persons who become
criminal do so because of contacts with criminal
patterns and isolation from anticriminal patterns.
Learning Theories
Among the policy implications of learning theory is
to punish criminal behavior effectively, according to
learning theory principles. This is not done
effectively in the U.S.
• Probation does not function as an aversive
stimulus.
• Most offenders are not incarcerated.
continued…
Learning Theories
• Punishment is not consistent and immediate.
• Offenders are generally returned to the
environments in which their crimes were
committed.
• There is no positive reinforcement of alternative,
prosocial behaviors.
Social Control Theories
The key question in the social control theory
is not why people commit crime and
delinquency, but rather why don’t they? Why
do people conform?
Social Control Theories
The most detailed elaboration of modern
social control theory is attributed to Travis
Hirschi who wrote the 1969 book, Causes of
Delinquency.
Social Control Theories
Hirschi argued that delinquency should be
expected if a juvenile is not properly
socialized by establishing a strong bond to
society, consisting of:
1. Attachment to others
2. Commitment to conventional lines of action
3. Involvement in conventional activities
4. Belief in the moral order and law
Social Control Theories
More recently, Hirschi wrote with Michael
Gottfredson that the principal cause of deviant
behaviors is ineffective child rearing, which
produces people with low self-control.
Critical Approaches to
Explaining Crime
Critical theories grew out of the changing
social landscape of the American 1960s.
Critical theories assume that human beings
are the creators of institutions and structures
that ultimately dominate and constrain them.
Critical theories assume that society is
characterized primarily by conflict over moral
values.
Labeling Theory
The focus of labeling theory is the
criminalization process rather than the
positivist concern with the peculiarities of the
criminal.
labeling theory
A theory that emphasizes the criminalization process
as the cause of some crime.
criminalization process
The way people and actions are defined as criminal.
Labeling Theory
The labeling theory argues that once a person
commits a first criminal act and gets
processed in the system, they are labeled
negatively as a criminal.
The label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theory focuses on the conflict in
society between rich and poor, management
and labor, whites and minorities.
conflict theory
A theory that assumes that society is based primarily
on conflict between competing interest groups and
that criminal law and the criminal justice system are
used to control subordinate groups. Crime is caused
by relative powerlessness.
Radical Theory
Radical theories argue that capitalism
requires people to compete against each other
in the pursuit of material wealth.
The more unevenly wealth is distributed, the
more likely people are to find persons weaker
than themselves that they can take advantage
of in their pursuit of wealth.
radical theories
Theories of crime causation that are generally based
on a Marxist theory of class struggle.