theories of crime causation

1. Theories of
Crime Causation

2. CRIME -
- In its legal sense are defined as acts or
omissions forbidden by law that can be
punished by imprisonment and / or fine
- Crime focuses on criminality, a certain
personality profile that causes the most
alarming sorts of crimes

3. Theory: Its concepts and
Relevance
- OKADA(2015) – Theory is a series of
statements that seek to understand and explain
a particular phenomenon.

4. Crime as a Problem
 Crime is an aspect of life that all citizens must deal with as it
seems to have been around as long as civilization itself.
 Crime has and diverse cost
 International crime trend has shown stability or slight decrease in
violent crime however killing of women by intimate partners
becomes prevalent.
 UNODC-43,600women were killed by their intimate partner or
family member in 2012.
 Significant increase on homicide in Central America and carribean
after 2007 but declines after 2011.
 Developing countries experienced the most serious crime
problems(natajaran, 2016)
 In the Philippine setting , based on the 2017 Crime and Safety
Report, crime remains significant concern in urban areas
throughout the country. Philippines has a high rate of murder
cases, highest in Southeast Asia as of 2014.

5. A Systems perspective on crime
 Criminal behavior – is a product of a
systematic process that involves complex
interactions between individual , societal and
ecological factors over the course of our lives.
1. Ecological Factors- It involves interactions
between people and their activities in physical
environment.

6. 2. Societal or Macrolevel Factors –it deals with
systematic interactions between social groups which
describe the ways society is structured.
3. Motivation and Opportunity – individual factors
always intervene between any descriptions of the
causes of crime.
Motivation – is the outcome of a process in which a
goal is formulated , cost and benefits are assessed and
internal constraints on behavior are applied.

7. Can Motivation stand alone?
No. Motivation alone cannot cause a
crime to occur; opportunity also
required. Opportunity itself may
influence motivation.

8. Crime causation: Its Historical
Overview
1. Antique Philosophy (4th Century BC)
Aristotle offers a philosophical standpoint on crime causation
who stated that the crime is poverty related describing
poverty as a mother of all revolutions and crimes.
2. Medieval Philosophy ( 17th Century)
According to Francis Bacon, criminality will depend on social
situations. He described his standpoint in this sentence “
Opportunity makes a thief”. Bacon pointed out that human
behavior will depend on situations.

9. 3. French Renaissance Philosophy (18th Century)
The famous encyclopedialists Voltaire and Rousseau
introduce the concept of free will . Crime is the same as
hedonistic behavior and failure to fulfill the social
contract obligations.