The Concept of Crime 9

about crime is to treat it as an anti-social behaviour which is

injurious to society.
Supporting this contention Sutherland characterises crime as a symptom of
social disorganization. The
tendency of modern sociological penologists is,
therefore, to treat crime as a social phenomenon which receives disapprobation of
the society.
In the words of Donald
Taft. "crime is a social injury and an expression of
subjective opinion varying in time and place".
Austin, prefers
procedural definition of law and stated that a wrong which
a
1s
pursued at the discretion of the injured and his
(tort), but a wrong which is representatives is a civil injury
which results in
pursued by the sovereign or his subordinates is a crime
punishment.
Halsbury defines crime as an unlawful act which is an offence against the
public and theperpetrator of that act is liable to legal punishment.
According to Keeton, a crime is any undesirable act which the State finds it
most convenient to correct by the institution of
penalty, proceedings for the infliction of a
instead of leaving the remedy to the discretion of the
On the basis of the definition of crime as
injured party.
stated that a crime has three main
given by different writers, it may be
attributes, namely :
(1) it is a harm brought about by some anti-social act of a person, which
the State desires to prevent;
(ii) the preventive means taken by the State is in the form of a
and
punishment
(iii) the legal proceedings for determining the guilt or otherwise of the
accused, are governed by the rules of criminal law procedure contained
in the Code of Criminal Procedure and the law of evidence.
The function of law of crimes being maintenance of public order and
protection of citizens against anti-social acts of perpetrators of crime, a more
functional approach to the definition of crime as a public wrong has generally been
accepted in modern criminal jurisprudence.
From the foregoing definitions, it may be said that a crime is a wrong to
society involving the breach of a legal wrong which has criminal consequences
attached to it i.e. prosecution by the State in the criminal court and the possibility
of punishment being imposed on the wrongdoer.
It is significant to note that though the legal definition of crime has been
criticised because of its relativity and variable content yet Halsbury's definition is
perhaps the most acceptable one as compared with other definitions because of its
elaborate and specific nature and element of certainty. Further, it also provides for
the machinery and procedure to determine the violations and to identify the
offenders.
Predatory Crime
A predatory crime is one in which the exploitation of the victim is so
conspicuous that entire society reacts to it. In a predatory crime, the entire benefit
is enjoyed by the perpetrator without any kind of apparent or actual service to the
victim. Theft, dacoity, extortion, pick-pocketing etc. are some of the most
commonly occurring predatory crimes.
 Criminology and Penology
10

Violent Crime
are a species
of predalory crimes.They
crimes. They are
in the communi
grave offence
Violent crimes

of insecurity
and fear The freque
because they induce a sense
adverscly
affects the public
blic peace. Violen
also
crimes
of such categories as follows
and magnitude under four
-

broadly be grouped
crmes may
affecting
body.-These include murder, attempt
include mur

lempr to
kidnapping and abduction etc.
Violent crimes
. deaths,
homicide, dowry
murder. culpable property.-These offences inclhud.

2. Violent crimes
affecting
extortion, robbery, theft etc. acoity,
for dacoity,
making preparation and arson are mples
crimes affecting publicsafety.-Rioting
3. Violent
of such offences. include rape.

4. Violent crimes affecting

women.-These

of women, etc.
attempt to
criminal assault to
outrage the modesty
commit rape, Bihar are notoriqus
Uttar Pradesh and
e

(NCT),
The State of Delhi and Jharkhan gh
followed by Punjab, Haryana
incidence of violent crimes the preceding fiune
constant rise during
of violent crime is
on a
quantum have recorded an unprecedented in
against women
violent crimes indeed
Particularly, to 2015. It is
the period from 2012
a use of
throughout the country during
enforcement agencies.
serious concern for the law

Incohate Crime
an act with the purpOse of
Incohate crime is one that is committed by doing
crimes under the Indian Penal
other crime. There are three incohate
affecting some

Code, namely-
Attempt (Sec. 511)
2. 107), and
Abetment; (Sec.

3. Criminal Conspiracy (Sec. 120-B).

which is sufficiently proximate
The incohate offence of attempt is a conduct,
to the commission of an indictable offence when done with intent to commit the
offence.

Hate Crime
murder
Apart from the traditional crimes such as riots, affray, assault, robbery, It is an
etc., the law recognises a specific variety of crime called as
hate crime.
offence which manifests evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity
disability or sexual orientation. The peculiar feature of hate crimes is absence o
motivation, in terms of mental state of the perpetrator or the nature of harm, caused
Hate crime may therefore, be defined as a hate violence committed because
victim's actual or perceived race, colour, religion, disability, sexual orienta
ities
origin. The most targeted victims of hate crime are racial or religions min
and particular vulnerable caste people. Briefly stated, hate crimes involve
the
victimization of minorities due to their racial or ethnic identity by
mei dual
majority. The key factor in hate crime is emphasis on group and not theindivl

. Glanville Williams: A Text Book of Criminal Law, (1983) p. 7.

2. Hudson David L. Hate Crimes, Chelsea Pub.
(2009) p. 12.
 The Concept of Crime 11

identity of the victim.

Crime without a Victim

There are certain offences which though punishable under the law, do not
have any direct harm on others. Such offences may be termed as victimlesS crime.
For example. drunkenness and related offences. sale and use of prohibited
substances. vagrancy, begging. soliciting, bestiality, homosexuality, etc. do not
cause any harm to any person and hence they may be categorised as victimless
crime It may be stated that legality or illegality of such crimes depends mostly
for this
upon the morality and economic interests of the community. It is mainly
reason that many of these activities are decriminalised and taken out from the
purview of eriminal law. Thus, drunkenness and homosexuality are decriminalisecd
in U.K. and many other European countries when not committed in a public place.
The justification advanced for decriminalisation of these offences is that use of
non-criminal methods such as social service programmes etc. to help drug addicts
or drug-traffickers or homosexuals would perhaps be more helpful than the use of

criminal law to control their behaviour.

Begging is a criminal conduct which reflects a person's helplessness d
the
State's apathy towards his/her helplessness and imputing criminality on

criminalisation.
impoverished through its
Classification of Crimes
to its members due to its
The existence of crime in a society is a challenge
it leads to a colossal waste
deleterious effect on the ordered social growth. In fact,
economic loss. Therefore, with the advance
in
of human energy and an enormous made
sciences, efforts are being constantly
the field of criminology and behavioural
classification of crimes and criminals for
to work out a commonly acceptable
of offenders.
rational basis of punishment for various categories
providing a
occasional
such as violent personal crimes,
There are a variety of crimes
crimes, public order crimes.
crimes. occupational crimes, political
property white collar crimes,
conventional crimes, organised
crimes, professional crimes,
order etc. Broadly
person, decency, public
sexual crimes, crimes against property, offences
three main heads, namely, (i)
these may be categorised into
speaking, offences under Indian Penal Code:
under Code of Criminal Procedure; (i)
falling or special laws or
enactments.
and (ii) offences under local economic.
to classify crimes into legal, political,
Some writers have preferred
miscellaneous crimes.
social and theft, robbery.
traditional crimes such as
crimes can be termed as
I. Legal etc.
dacoity, rape, hurt
and rioting
those which are motivated politically or

Political offences are

for the
2 set out
of the election laws or
norms
committed in violation
activities.
of their political
politicians in c o u r s e such as tax evasion.
crimes inctude white collar offences
3 Economic violations, money
gambling, foreign exchange
smuggling, prostitution, 2002, etc.
under the Competition Act,
laundering, offences haue
Sunni Ruler of Iraq's
Germany: Saddam Hussain, a devout crime
in hate
1. Nazi's hatred for Jews 1947 are examples of
India's partition in
Hindu-Muslim riots during
for Shia's,
 2 Criminology and Penology

4 Social crimes are those which are committed und

such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act,
ct. 1978
under social
1978:
1956.legiIndecen
ofslation
Rights Act, 1955: Immoral Traffic (Prevention Protection
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 Act, Cw
Cor
(Prevention) Act, 1987; The Dowry Prohibition Act, mmission of Sati
in 1983 and 1986; Childrens Rights Act, 1961 as a t
2006,
2006, JuvenJuvenile
and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; Scheduled Caste Justice (Care
5.
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
All other remaining crimes which are committed
1989 etc.
Scheduled
under local
Acts, are termed as miscellaneous crimes, for example.
the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,
offapecial
1954; Drugs under
Consumer's Protection Act, 1986; Prevention of
Illicit
Act 1940:
Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act. 1988 Traf
etc.
More recently, a new specie of crime known as
cyber crime has ema
a result of development of computer science and information
quarter of the 20th century. These are crimes either
technology dir.
computer generated erin last
where computer software is itself a target of crime. A Crime o
special Act called
Information Technology Act, 2000 has been enacted to tackle these
offences
Classification of offences under I.P.C.
The classification of crimes into different
categories is generally based
according to their gravity or atrocity. In English law, they have been
two broad categories, placed under
namely (1) felonies and (2) misdemeanors. Felonies are
more serious crimes generally punishable with a term of
death, whereas misdemeanours are less serious offences
imprisonment or with
confinement in local prison. punishable with fines or

Later, a more rationale and

logical classification of crimes was developed
based on the
target or the object of crime such as (1) crimes
crimes against against person, (2)
property, (3) crimes against public order. (4) offences
State and so on. against
The annual crime
report in United States consists of as many as 29 difterent
types of crime ranging from murder to
narcotics and runaway juveniles.
However, under the Indian Penal
intoseven broad categories on statisticalCode, various offences have been
basis. They are
classil
.
Offences against person.
2 Offences against property.
3. Offences
4. Offences
relating to documents.
5. Offences
affecting mental order.
against public
Offences against State. tranquillity.
6.
7. Offences
This classification relating
to
seems to be
public servants.
View of nt of
administration of criminal lawmore rational and elaborate fro
and penal
Characteristics of Crime justice.
There are certain
characteristics of a crime
which an
an unlawfulmake d
 The Concept of Crime 13

omission punishable under the law of the land. The main characteristics of a crime
are as follows -
(1) External consequences.-Crimes always have a harmful impact on
sOciety, may it be social, personal, emotional or mental. The harm must have been
actually caused. Mere intention to cause harm does not constitute a crime.
(2) The harm must be specifically outlawed. Any immoral or reprehensible
behaviour is not a crime unless it has been outlawed in advance. For instance
live-in-relation is not a criminal conduct as there is no law to outlaw it.
(3) An act (Actus Reus).-There should be an act or omission to constitute
a crime. Intention or mens-rea
alone shall not constitute a crime unless it is
followed by some external or overt act. Generally, omitting to do something will
not amount to actus reus of
offence. The criminal law usually punishes
an
individuals for positive conduct
and not for inaction. There are, however. some
notable exceptions. For example,
a police officer
may have a duty to act to prevent
an assault and if he does
not, he will be liable to be punished under the law.
(4) Mens-rea
or guilty mind.-Mens-rea is one of the
essential ingredients
of crime. It may, however, be direct or
a
implied. The implied mens-rea is
otherwise termed as constructive mens-rea.'
Mens rea implies that there must be a state of mind with respect to an actus
reus, that is, an intention to act in the
proscribed fashion. It is, however, important
to distinguish mens rea from motive. Thus if a
person steals away a few loaves of
bread from someone's kitchen to feed a child who is dying of hunger, the motive
here may be honourable and understandable, nevertheless the mens rea being to
commit the theft, the person would be convicted for theft. His motive
may,
however, be taken into account in sentencing and he may be less severely punished
because of his good motive. In short, motive should be taken into consideration at
the sentencing stage and not at the time of deciding the question of mens rea.
(5) Prohibited act.-The act (conduct) should be prohibited or forbidden
under the existing penal law. An act, howsoever immoral, shall not be an offence
unless it is prohibited by law of the land.
(6) There must be casual relation between the voluntary misconduct (act or
omission) and the resulting harm. For instance where the accused shot at a person
and the person (victim) while being treated for injuries caused
by gun-shots,
suffocates while in hospital recovering from the wound, there is no direct
relationship between conduct and harm in this case as the death is caused due to
suffocation and not injuries caused by the accused.
(7) Punishment.-The act in order to constitute a crime should not only be
prohibited by the law but should also be punishable by the State. The punishment
is usually set out in terms of a maximum and the actual punishment in any
particular case is left to the discretion of the judge. Both, the defence and the
prosecution have a right to appeal against the quantum of sentence.
As a result of extensive analysis of crimes Jarome Hall also agrees that there
are seven inter-related characteristics of a crime, namely, (1) harm, (2) harm

T h e maxim 'actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea means that an act alone does not
constitute a crime unless it is accompanied by guilty intention. The doctrine had heen
discussed elaborately by Wil.. J. in Tolson's case (1869) 23 QBD 168
 Criminology and Penology

hough this view I n

inferior physICaI ChaflcteTistics
and possessed doCs have its theoreticd
al
persons
criminologists Du
longer vupported by moden
importance based on
Sutherland's theory of dillerens

(2) Criminal
Sociology. I is
behaviour as a proCess of learnina th
criminal
which explains adequatclv tako
assocation However, this theory does not tg
assciation
with other criminals. variables in criminal beha 1Our.
traits or psychological
account the personality to correlate criminality to emotic
secks
Psychology. It
3) Crinminal
psychologiSt
nature. French Ayred and Professor Jeman o
Binet

aspect of human
propounders of
this vIew,
Dr Arnold and Dr EA
USA are the main
of criminal behaviour.
researches on this aspect
carried further Psvcho-neuro-pathology.-1nis, Dranch of criminology
(4) Criminal
Contlicts in the pDersonalitu
to functional deviations and meta
attributes criminality inferiority complex, frustration den
The factors such
as
of the offender. commit crimes.
Dr. Glueck and Freud the
a person to
etc. may lead
anxiety.
this view.
main exponents of aspects of punishment and
various
concerns itself with the
(5) Penology.-It offenders are also studied
mechanisms of punishing the
The various
penal policies.
under penology. includes the study of criminal
on the other hand,
Applied criminology, founded on solid
derivative conclusions.
criminal policy which is
hygiene and another branch of criminology
called
there is yet
these two,
Besides of crime investigation and
which connotes the police-techniques
criminalistics
and understanding of criminal
useful material for study
detection. It provides very officers whose main
of view of field
administration from the point
justice relating to investigation and
deal with the law and procedure
pre-occupation is to
criminal cases.
prosecution of deals
is a branch of criminal science which
Dr.Kenny opines that criminology
and prevention of crimes.
with crime causation, analysis
with those particular
of knowledge is concerned
Criminology as a branch It is, therefore. a
of human behaviour which are prohibited by society.
conducts
of criminality and suggests
study which seeks to discover the causes
socio-legal however, differ in their view
about
remedies to reduce crimes. Sociologists,
anti-social act emanates from
some
criminology. In their opinion, every to
to be cured by society. Thus, they attempt
criminogenic tendency which needs environmental factors.
correlate the concept of crime with other sociological and
an act to become a crime
However. judicial approach to criminology suggests that
must conform to two cardinal principles of criminal liability, namely
(i) Nullum crimen sine lege.
(ii) Nulla poena sine lege.
According first principle, no one is held criminally liable unless he has
to the
done an act which is expressly forbidden under the existing criminal law of the lanu
and has a reprehensible state of mind to do it. The second principle suggeststnat
no one can be punished for an act unless it is made punishable under the law. Thus.
it is doubtful whether a swimmer who keeps on watching a child drowning in d

but makes effort to the life, be under the criminal law

pond no save can punished
 Chapter i
The Schools of
Criminology
T L
history
thinking in
of
primitive societies and early medicval
those
days was predominated by period reveals that hunan
relations Were religious
regulated through myths, superstitions and mysticism and all human
in a
particular society. This in other words, meant religious tenets prevailing
to the
nmotive.
that little
attention was devoted
environment and psychology of the
crime. Moreover. in offender in the causation of
absence of any definite
were concerned
with the criminal principle for the guidance of
those who
haphazard. arbitrary justice administration, punishments were often
and irrational. This
seventeenth century. Thereafter, with the situation prevailed until the end of
of modern change in human thinking and evolution
society. certain social reformers took the of criminals and
devoted their attention to up cause
analysis of crime causation. This
finally led to the
emergence of criminology as a branch of
different schools of knowledge through development of
It has been
criminology.
generally accepted that a systematic study of
taken up by the Italian
scholar, Cesare Bonesana Marchese decriminology was first
who is known as the founder
of modern
Beccaria (1738-94)
the science of criminology. His greatest contribution to
criminology was that he for the first time proceeded
of criminals on a scientific with the study
basis and reached certain
conclusions
definite methods of
handling crime and criminals could be worked out.from which
Thus,
theories of criminology' or 'the schools the
of
Explaining the meaning of the term 'School of criminology are of a later
origin.
that it connotes the Criminology' Sutherland pointed out
system of thought which consists of an
causation of crime and of
policies of control integrated theory of
adherents of each school implied in the theory of causation.
The
try to explain the causation of crime and
behaviour in their own way criminal
that particular school. It is,
relying on the
theory propounded by the
therefore, evident that each school of exponent
of
explains crime in its own manner and suggests criminology
to suit its punishment
ideology. It must be stated that each of the school
and preventive measures
attitude of people towards crime
and criminal in a represents the social
In an given time.
attempt to find a rational explanation of crime, a
theories have been
propounded. large number of
Multiple factors such as evil spirit, sin, disease.
heredity. economic maladjustment etc. have been
together to explain deviant behaviours. With the put forward either singly or
monogenetic explanation of human conduct is no advance of behavioural sciences
IS to
adopt an eclectic view about the longer valid and the modern trend
criminologists still tend to lay greater emphasisgenesis of crime. However. some
exclusive resort to correctional on
physical traits in order to justity
methods for the treatment of
It has been
generally accepted that
offenders.
a combination of variety of factors such as

42)
 The Schools of Criminoiogy 43

SoCial. cconomic, cultural, moral, ethical. biological. physical, technological. etc. are
Contributory to crime causation, therefore, incidence of crime cannot be attributed
to any
single factor. As pointed out by G.B. Vold. some prominent factors affecting
crime causation are physical-built or deformity. religious faith. moral imbecility.
emotional disturbance. infantilism. frustration, birth trauma, masochistic death
WIshes. infidelity, feeblemindedness, lust for sex. power or money. etc.
Ihese heterogeneous factors known to be associated with crime and
criminality needed to be organised. arranged and integrated by means of
explanatory theories systematically explaining the causation of crime ana
criminality. The scientific explanation of criminal behaviour are stated in the form
of different theories. known as
various 'Schools of Criminology
1. Pre-classical School of Criminology
The period of seventeenth and eighteenth century in Europe was dominated by
the scholasticism of Saint Thomas Acquinas (1225-1274). The dominance of
religion in State activities was the chief characteristic of that time. In political
sphere, thinkers such as Hobbes and Locke were concentrating on social contract as
the basis of social evolution. The
concept of Divine Right of King advocating
supremacy of monarch was held in great esteem. As scientific knowledge was yet
unknown, the concept of crime was rather vague and obscure. There was a
belief that man by nature is
general
simple and his actions are controlled by some super
power. It was generally believed that a man commits crime due to the influence of
some external spirit called 'demon' or 'devil'. Thus, an offender commits a
wrongful act not because of his own free will but due to the influence of some
external super power. No attempt was, however, made to probe into the real causes
of crime. This demnological theory of criminality propounded by the exponents of
pre-classical school acknowledged the omnipotence of spirit, which they regarded as
a great power. They considered crime and criminals as an evidence of the fact that
the individual was possessed of devil or demon the only cure for which was
testimony of the effectiveness of the spirit. Worships, sacrifices and ordeals by
water and fire were usually prescribed to specify the spirit and relieve the victim
from its evil influence. Trial by battle was common mode of deciding the fate
of
criminal. The right of society to punish the offender was, however, well
recognised.
The offender was regarded as an innately depraved person who could be cured
only
by torture and pain. The evolution of criminal law was yet at a rudimentary stage
Hobbes suggested that fear of punishment at the hands of monarch was a sufficient
deterrent for the members of early sOciety to keep them away from sinful acts
which were synonymous to crimes. Thus, the theosophists. notably St. Thomas
Acquinas and the social contract writers such as Donte Alighieri, Machiavelli,
Martin Luther and Jean Bodin provided immediate background for Beccaria's
classical school at a later stage. The pre-classical thinking. however. withered away
with the lapse of time and advancement of knowledge.
The principle of divine intervention especially through ordeals was in vogue
in ancient India as well. The oaths and ordeals played a very important role in the
ancient judicial system in determining the guilt of the offender. The justification

L. Vold G.B Criminology at the cross-road. The Journal of Criminal Law, Crminology &
Police Science Vol. 42 No. 2 (July-Aug. 1951) p. 157
 44 Criminology and Penology

"when the human agency

the familiar belief that
advanced for these rituals was
most inevitable" Though these
of proof becomes
Tails, recourse to divine m e a n s modern mind, they were
barbarious to the
to be most irrational and countries till thirteenth
practices appear
in most Christian
accepted and were in existence of ordeals and it was
universally the system
Roman law completely ignored
entury. The
forbidden in Quran. even by ancient
authorities such
ordeal was questioned
The validity of trial by it has been repeatedly argued
that
e v e r since the
time of Manu
but Gods. great
have been practised by
as Purvapaksa sages

ordeals are the creations

of Brahma and out that ordeals have worked
Medhatithi further pointed
and all thoughtful persons. of Vasistha, Vatsa and others
of sages and there are examples
efficiently since time fell into disuse with the
The system, however,
such tests with success. rationalisation of the penal law,
who tried
rule in India and subsequent
advent of British

School
2. The Classical Beccaria, the pioneer of modern
the middle of eighteenth century
During of criminality by rejecting the
expounded his naturalistic theory
criminology on mental phenomenon of the
of evil spirit. He laid greater emphasis
omnipotence will of the individual. Thus,
he was much
and attributed crime to free
individual
utilitarian philosophy
of his time which placed reliance on
influenced by the As Donald Tafi rightly dut it
the "pain and pleasure theory.
hedonism, namely, in terms of free choice to
commit
implied the notion of causation
this doctrine and avoid ing pain. The main tenets of
rational man seeking pleasure
crime by are noted below
classical school of criminology
from the State's religious fanaticism involved the
i) Man's emergence is
as a responsible individual. The theory
application of his
reason
individual can control his conduct by
the assumption that
an
based on Thus, human behaviour
of will and mind
exercising his power and self-control. The fear
the behaviour is 'self-generated
including in human 'will and persuade
him too
can bring a change
of punishment
crime.
desist from committing forms the basis
and not his intent which
It is the act of an individual
(ii) within him. In other words,
criminologists
for determining criminality than his *intent"
concerned with the 'act of the criminal rather
are like crime
there could be something
Still, could never think that
they
causation.
method of
as a principal
(ii) The classical writers accepted punishment in man to
of pain, humiliation and disgrace
to create 'fear
infliction
control his behaviour.
of
of this school, however, cOnsidered prevention
(IV) propounders
The
for it. They therefore.
crime more important than the punishment
France. Germany and ltaly
stressed on the need for a Criminal Code in

. A Dubois Hindu Manners, Customs & Ceremonies 1936) p 66

85-8*
Dharmashastra (1985 ed.). PP
uoted from Dr S.N. Pendse's Oaths & Ordeals in Blackstone (1723-80). Jerein
h e main exponents of Classical School were William Robert Peci
Bentham (1748-1832). Samuel Romilly (1757-1878). Feuerbach (1775-1833).
Rossi Rane Gorraud, etc.
 The Schools of Criminology 45

to systematise punishment for forbidden acts. Thus. the real

contribution of classical school of criminology lies in the fact thatit
underlined the need for a well defined criminal justice system.
Beccara. in his historic work on CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS"
denounced retributive basis of punishment and observed that the aim of
punishment should only be to prevent the criminal from committing
new crimes against his countrymen, and to keep others from doing
likewise. Therefore, the punishments and the method of inflicting them.
should be close in proportion to crime so as to make the most
efficacious and lasting impression on the mind of men and the least
painful impressions on the body of the criminal.
(VThe advocates of classical school supported the right of the State to
punish the offenders in the interest of public security. Relying on the
hedonistic principle of pain and pleasure, they pointed out that
individualisation was to be the basis of punishment. This in other
words meant that punishment was to be awarded keeping in view the
pleasure derived by the criminal from the crime and the pain caused to
the victimn from it. For the punishment to be efficacious. it is enough
that the disadvantage of the punishment should exceed the advantage
anticipated from the crime; in which the emphasis should be on the
certainty of punishment and the loss of the expected benefi
Everything beyond this, accordingly. is surplus and, therefore.
tyrannical.
(vi) The exponents of classical school further believed that the criminal law
primarily rests on positive sanctions. They were against the use of
arbitrary powers of Judges. In their opinion the Judges should limit
their verdicts strictly within the confines of law. They also abhorred
torturous punishments. Thus, judicial discretion is of seminal value
while awarding the maximum punishrment, reasons must be detailed
and specific.
Thus, classical school propounded by Beccaria came into existence as a result
of the influence of writings of Montesquie, Hume. Bacon and Rousseau. His famous
work Essays on Crimes and Punishment received wide acclaimation all over Europe
and gave a filip to a new criminological thinking in the contemporary west. tHe
sought to humanise the criminal law by insisting on natural rights of human beings.
He raised his voice against severe punishment, torture and death penalty. Beccaria's
views on crime and punishment were also supported by Voltaire as a result of
which a number of European countries redrafted their penal codes mitigating the
rigorous barbarie punishments and some of them even went to the extent of
abolishing capital punishment from their Penal Codes.
The contribution of classical school to the development of rationalised
Crimanological thinking was by no means less important, but it had its own pitfalls.
The major shortcoming of the classical school was that it proceeded on an abstract
presumption of free will and relied solely on the act (i.e., the crime) without
devoting any attention to the state of mind of the criminal. It erred in prescr1bing

CBcccaria Essays on Crime

& Punishment (1804) pp. 4-6
2. Sen P K. Penology-Old and New (1943) p. 44
 Criminology and Penology

equal punishment for same offence thus making no distnction between first man actin
offenders and habitual criminals and varying degrees of gravity of the offence therefore
However, the greatest achievement of this school of criminology lies in the fact tha intelligen
it suggested a substantial criminal policy which was easy to administer withou conduct

resort to the imposition of arbitrary punishment. It goes to the credit of Beccaria good or

who denounced the earlier concepts of crime and criminals which were based on responsi

religious fallacies and myths and shifted emphasis on the need for concentrating on Though
(iv)
the personality of an offender in order to determine his guilt and punistment. "irrespor
Beccaria' s views provided a background for the subsequent criminologists to come incapaci
Out with a rationalised theory of crime causation which eventually led the all crim

foundation of the positive criminology and penology. segregat

(v)It Is S
3. Neo-classical School irrespor
The free will theory of classical school did not survive for long. It was soon suggest
realised that the exponents of classical school faultered in their approach in ignoring subsequ
the individual differences under certain situations and treating first offenders and the parole,
habituals alike on the basis of similarity of act or crime. admini
be a
During the classical era, the imposition of sentences was considered to
routine exercise because the law ordained specific punishment for specific offences
attentic
that al
and judge had no discretion except to award the prescribed punishment. However. this ca
the neo-classists for the first time recognised the need for variations in sentencing was

by Judges depending on sex, age, mental conditions, etc. of the offender. The establ
neo-classists asserted that certain categories of offenders such as minors, idiots. the cr
insane or incompetent had to be ureated leniently in matters of punishment (vi) Neo-c
irrespective of the similarity of their criminal act because these persons were
once
incapable of appreciating the difference between right and wrong. This tendency of comn
neo-classists to distinguish criminals according to their mental depravity was indeed
Thus. it wo
a progressive step inasmuch as it emphasised the need for modifying the classical
view. Thus, the contribution of neo-classical thought to the science of criminology criminology lies
has its own merits. The main tenets of neo-classical school of criminology can be will' theory of
criminal acts duc
summarised as follows:
into consideratic
() Neo-classists approached the study of criminology on scientific lines by
criminal act as
recognising that certain extenuating situations or mental disorders antecedents, mot
deprive a person of his normal capacity to control his conduct. Thus.
sight of in asse
they justified mitigation of equal punishment in cases of certain criminal jurispr
psychopathic offenders. Commenting on this point, Prof. Gillin
observed that neo-classists represent a reaction against the severity of approach towar
classical view of equal punishment for the same offence. As to the
stated that the
(ii) Neo-classists were the first in point of time to bring out a distinction
between the first offenders and the recidivists. They supported
responsible or
individualisation of offender and treatment methods which required the eliminated fror
must be our pr
punishment to suit he psychopathic circumstances of the accused
Though the act. i.e. the criminal act still remained the sole organisation
determining factor for adjudging criminality without any regard to the metaphysical
intent, but the neo-classists focused at least some attention on mental notions of fre
causation indirectly. Juries to form
(ii) The advocates of this school started with the basiIc assumption that 1. The or
reaul
 The Schools of Criminology 47

man acting on reason and intelligence is a self-determining person and

therefore, is responsible for his conduct. But those lacking normal
intelligence or having some mental depravity are irresponsible to their
conduct as they do not possess the capacity of distinguishing between
good or bad and. therefore. should be treated differently from the
responsible offenders.
(iv) Though the neo-classists recommended lenient treatment for
"irresponsible" or mentally depraved criminals on account of their
incapacity to resist criminal tendency but they certainly believed that
all criminals, whether responsible or irresponsible, must be kept
segregated from the society.
(v)It is significant to note that distinction between responsibility and
irresponsibility, that is the sanity and insanity of the criminals as
suggested by neo-classical school of criminology paved way to
subsequent formulation of different correctional institutions such as

parole probation, open-air camps etc.

reformatories, in the
administration of criminal justice. Thus, it is through this school that
attention of criminologists was drawn for the first time towards the fact
that all crimes do have a cause. It must, however, be noted that though
this causation was initially confined to psychopathy or psychology but
was later expanded further and finally the positivists succeeded in
establishing reasonable relationship between crime and environment of
the criminal.
(vi) Neo-classists adopted subjective approach to criminology and
concentrated their attention on the conditions under which an individual
commits crime.
Thus. it would be seen that the main contribution of neo-classical school of
criminology lies in the fact that it came out with certain concessions in the 'free
will theory of classical school and suggested that an individual might commit
criminal acts due to certain extenuating circumstances which should be duly taken
into consideration at the time of awarding punishment. Therefore. besides the
criminal act as such, the personality of the criminal as a whole. namely. his
antecedents. motives, previous life-history, general character, etc., should not be lost
sight of in assessing his guilt. It may be noted that the origin of jury system in
criminal jurisprudence is essentially an outcome of the reaction of neo-classical
approach towards the treatment of offenders.
As to the shortcomings of neo-classical school of criminology, it must be
stated that the exponents of this theory believed that
criminal, whetherthe
needs to be
responsible or irresponsible, is a menace o society and therefore,
eliminated from it. As Saleilles observed: "the protection of society from crimes
must be our primary concern". He considered responsibility as a concept of social
school seek to convert into
organisation which the exponents of neo-classical
metaphy sical and abstract notion without corresponding reality. These abstract
notions of free will' and 'responsibility' cannot furnish legal ground for Judges and

juries' to form a basis for their discretion.

. The orign of Jury System in Criminal Justice System is essentially an outcome of the
reaction of new-classical approach towards the treaument of offenders.
 4.
Fositive School
Positive School alurenology
With the
human advance of
conduct behavioural sciences. the
lost its
genesis of crime validity
and new a
trend to monogenetic explanation
doctors were gradually
successful in developed. adopt an
By the nineteenth eclectic view about the sd

nor his
innate
depravity establishing that it was neither freecentury, certain French
which
criminality lay in actuated him to will' of the
commit offender
demonstrateanthropological
tried crime but the real
to
the features
of the criminal. cause of
a
co-relationship organic functioning
of brain and
Some
phrenologists
between also
enthusiastically
This led to the criminality
and the structure established
emergence of the positive school of and
functioning of brain.
attributed Differentiating
criminals from criminology.
non-criminals,
Mental type. (3) criminality
to four
distinct types,
the advocates of positive school
Psychopath namely, (1) Physical criminal
The main type, and (4) socio-economic type. (2)
exponents
namely, Cesare Lombroso, of this school were three disadvantaged type.
eminent Italian
that this school is Raffaele Garofalo and Enrico Ferri. It is criminologists,
also called the Italian for this, reason
School of Criminology.
Cesare Lombroso (1836-1909)
The first
attempt to understand the
was made by Lombroso personality of offenders in physical terms
of the Italian school of
regarded as the originator of modern criminology. Hecriminological thought, who Is
was edécated in medicine and
became a specialist in psychiatry. He worked in
military for sometime handling the
mentally afflicted soldiers but later he was associated with the
His first published work was L'Umo Delequente which meant University
of Turin.
"the criminal man".
It was published in 1876 and consisted of 252 pages, the fifth edition of which
came out in 1897 in 1903 pages. He was the first to employ scientific methods in
explaining criminal behaviour and shifted the emphasis from crime to criminal.
Lombroso adopted an objective and empirical approach to the study of
criminals through his
anthropological experiments. After an intensive study of
on of criminals, he came to a
physical characteristics of his patients and later inferior in the standard of growth
definite conclusion that criminals were physically
acts. He further generalised that
and therefore, developed a tendency for inferior
have little regard for the
criminals are less sensitive to pain and therefore, they
his biological and anthropological researches on
sufferings of others. Through
Lombroso justified the involvement
of Darwin's theory of biological
criminals
into three main
classified criminals
determinism in criminal behaviour. He

categories- also termed them

as
criminals.-Lombroso
(1) The Atavists hereditary
or not
born-criminals distinct type who could
were of a
DOTn-Criminals. In his opinion no relevance whatsoeve
Teirain trom indulging in criminality and environment had
therefore, considered these crin
the crimes committed by the Atavists. He. the
cm
i.e., beyond reformation. In his view, offender or
ac e t ecorrigibles,
d a reversion to an early and more primitive stage Or a i
of
were both mentally and phvsically inferior. They
resemblea nos
ais physical
apes and possessed ape-like characteristics. Lombroso's theory used
1. Vold G.B.
: Theoretical Criminology (Oxford Un 1998) p. 33.
2 Taft Criminology 4th Ed. p. 64
 The Schols of Criminology 49

characteristics as indicators of criminality. He enumerated as many as sixteen

physical abnormalities of a criminal some of which were of peculiar size and shape
of head, eye, enlarged jaw and cheek bones, fleshy lips, abnormal teeth, long or flat
chin. retreating forchead. dark skin, twisted nose and so on. Though he moderated
his theory of physical anomaly in later years but his emphasis throughout his work
was on human physical traits which also included biology, psychology and
environment He revised his theory of atavism in 1906 and held that only one-third
o Criminals were born criminals and not all the criminals. Finally, he conceded that
his theory of atavism was ill-founded and held that they were in fact occasional
criminals.
Enrico Ferri subsequently challenged Lombroso's theory of atavism and
demonstrated that it was erroneous to think that criminals were incorrigible. He
believed that just as non-criminals could commit crimes if placed in conducive
circumstances so also the criminals could refrain from criminality in healthy and
crime-free surroundings.
(ii) Insane Criminals.-The second category of criminals according to
Lombroso consisted of insane criminals who resorted to criminality on account of
certain mental depravity or disorder.
i ) Criminoids.-The third category of criminals according to him, was
those of criminoids who were physical criminal type and had a tendency to commit
crime in order to overcome their inferiority in order to meet the needs of survival.
Lombroso was the first criminologist who made an attempt to understand the
personality of offenders in physical terms. He employed scientific methods in
explaining criminal behaviour and shifted the emphasis from crime to criminal. His
theory was that criminals were physically different from normal persons and
possessed few physical characteristics of inferior animal world. The contribution of
Lombroso to the development of the science of criminology may briefly be summed
up in the following words.
"Lombroso, laid consistent emphasis over the individual personality of the
criminal in the incidence of crime. This view gained favour in subsequent years and
modern criminological measures are devised to attain the aim of individualisation in
the treatment of criminals." It has therefore, been rightly commented that the
sociologists emphasise on the external factors, psychologists on the internal factors,
while Lombroso held that both had a common denominator the "individual".
While analysing causes of crime, Lombroso laid greater emphasis on the
biological nature of human behaviour and thus. indirectly drew attention of
criminologists to the impact of environment on crime causation.
It must. however, be stated that at a later stage Lombroso himself was
convinced about the futility of his theory of atavism and, therefore, extended his
theory of determinism to social as well as economic situations of criminals. Thus,
he was positive in method and objective in approach which subsequently paved way
to formulation of multiple-causation theory of crime by the propounders of
sociological school of criminology.
Goring, an English criminologist, who was one of the contemporaries of
Lombroso, also carried out his own researches on the psychology of criminals. After
a series of comparisons between the criminals and non-criminals he concluded that
there was nothing like 'physical-criminal type' as suggested by Lombroso. He.
 50
Criminology and Penology

attacked the idea that

people were more or less criminologenic, depending
their physical characteristics. He upou
opposed the view that
inherited. Katherine S. Williams has illustrated the differencecriminality could b
between the view
held by Lombroso and Goring
by an example drawn from basket-ball. If we apply
the Lombrosian theory to basket-ball
players, the argunent might be that they are
abnormal because they are tall, whercas
Goring's argument would be that they have
been selected tor that sport because of their tall stature.'
Goring. however, agreed
with Lomboso s statistical and
inductive method and supported the latter's Vicw
that crminals werc often
mentally depraved. He also commended Lombroso for his
assertion that central theme of
penology was neither crime nor punishment, but the
indiv idual
Gabriel de Tarde, the eminent French
criminologist and social psychologist
critised Lombroso s anthrometric measurements on which he formulated his theory
of criminal behaviour. and offered a social
explanationof crime. He asserted that
cruminal behaviour is the result of a learning therefore,
proces, any speculation
regarding direct relationship between physical appearance and criminal propensities
of crimnals would mean
overlooking the real causes of criminality. He also
denounced the proposition of phrenologists who tried to establish a
correlation
between the skull. the brain and the social behaviour of a
person.
By the time of Lombroso's demise in 1909 it became abundantly clear that his
theories were over-simplication of facts and rather naive, hence the notion
that
criminal is physically atavistic-type lost all credence. The assumption that there is
some nexus between atavism and criminal behaviour had no scientific basis. The
modern positivism in criminology has developed its own systematic views in which
there is little scope for Lonbroso's atavism. Some modern writers even speak of it
as Lombrosian myth' in criminology. The critics notably, Lindesmith and Levin
even alleged that Lombroso 's faulty assumptions were responsible for hindering the
growth of scientific criminology for few more decades.
Criticising Lombrosian views, Prof. Sutherland observed that by shifting
attention from crime as a social phenomenon to crime as an individual phenomenon.
Lombroso delayed for fifty years the work which was in progress at the time of its
origin and in addition, made no lasting contribution of his own.
Be that as it may, it hardly needs to be reiterated that contribution of
Lombroso to the development of criminology is by no means less significant.
Commenting on this point Donald Taft observed, "the importance of Lombroso's
work lies in the great influence it had upon criminology and also upon penal
practice" The importance of Lombroso's work lies in its scientific methodology
and his rejection of free-will theory.

Enrico Ferri (1856-1928)

Another chief exponent of the positive school of criminology was Enrico
Ferri. He challenged Lombrosian view of criminality. Through his scholarly
1. Katherine S. Williams Text Book on Criminology (First lndian Reprint. 2001) p. 147
2. Sutherland & Cressey The Principles of Criminology (6th Ed) p. 55.
3. Talt Criminology (1959), p. 80.
4 Enrico Ferri's "Criminal Sociology" is an outstanding work in the field of criminology
Durng Mussolini's regime, Ferri prepared a new Penal Code tor taly in 1921. This was
popularly called the Ferri Project'.
 The Schools of Criminology 51
researches, Ferri proved that mere biological reasons were not enough to account
for criminality. He firmly believed that other factors such as emotional reaction,
soCial infirmity or
geographical conditions also play a vital role in determining
Criminal tendencies in men. It is for this reason that he is sometimes called the
founder of 'criminal sociology.
The major contribution of Ferri to the field of criminology is his "Law of
Criminal Saturation". This
theory presupposes that the crime is the synthetic
product of three main factors
(1) Physical or geographical;
(2) Anthropological; and
(3) Psychological or social.
Thus, Ferri emphasised that criminal behaviour is an outcome of a variety of
factors having their combined effect on the individual. According to him social
change, which is inevitable in a dynamic society; results in disharmony, contflict and
cultural variations. As a result of this, social disorganization takes place and
traditional patterns of social control mechanism totally break down. In the wake of
such rapid social changes, the incidence of crime is bound to increase
tremendously.
The of social conditions destroys the congenial social relationship.
heterogeneity
creating a social vacuum which proves to be a fertile ground for criminality
Many critics, however, opposed Ferri's law of criminal saturation stating that
it is nothing more than a statement that the law of cause and effect equally applies
to criminal behaviour as well.
Ferri emphasised that a criminal should be treated as a product of the
conditions which played his life. Therefore, the basic purpose of crime prevention
programme should be to remove conditions making for crime
Ferri worked out a five-fold classification of criminals, namely
() born criminals;
(2) occasional criminals;
(3) passionate criminals;
(4) insane criminals; and
(5) habitual criminals.
He suggested an intensive programme of crime prevention and recommended
a series of measures for treatment of offenders. He asserted that punishment could
be one of the possible methods of reforming the criminal. He favoured
indeterminate sentence keeping in view the possible chances of inmate's
re-adjustment in the community.
In his Penal Project' Ferri denied moral responsibility and denounced
punishment for retribution and moral culpability.

Raffaele Garofalo (1852-1934)

school of
Raffaele Garofalo was one of the three main exponents of positive
criminology Born in Naples in 1852, Garofalo started his career as a Magistrate in
Italhan courts and rose to the position of Minister of Justice in 1903. He stressed the
e d tor a closer study of the circumstances and living
condition of criminals He
rmly heliev ed that a criminal is a creature of his own environment. He was the
 The Schools of Cniminology 53

oriented more towards short term behaviour called fashion rather than custom which
sIgnifies long term behaviour.
Despite the fact that the views expressed by Gabriel Tarde were logical and
nearer to truth. they were discarded as an over simplifiaction of facts
An appraisal of Positive School of Criminolog
It would be seen that the positive school of criminology emerged essentially
out of the reaction against earlier classical and neo-classical theories. The advocates
of this school completely discarded the theories of omnipotenee of spirit and free
will on the ground that they were hypothetical and irrational. Alternatively. they
attributed criminality to anthropological, physical and social environment. The
greatest contribution of positive school to the development of criminal science lies
in the fact that the attention of criminologists was drawn for the first time towards
the individual. that is, the personality of criminal rather than his act (crime) or
punishment. This certainly paved way for the modern penologists to formulate a
criminal policy embodying the principle of individualisation as a method and
reformation. Thus, positivists introduced the methodology and logic of natural
science in the field of criminology.
With the predominance of positive school, the emphasis was shifted from
penology to criminology and the objects of punishment were radically changed
inasmuch as retributory methods were totally abandoned. Criminals were now to be
treated rather than punished. Protection of society from eriminals was to be the
which could be achieved by utilising reformatory methods tor
primary object
different classes of criminals in varying degrees. It is in this context that positive
school is said to have given birth to modern sociological or clinical school which
regards criminal as a by-product of his conditions and experience of lite.
The positivists suggested elimination of only those criminals who did not
to extra-institutional methods. The exponents of this school
respond favourably
accepted that there could be extenuating circumstances under which an individual
might be forced to commit crime. Theretore, besides look1ng to the crme strictly
from the legal standpoint. the judicial authorities should not lose sight of the
circumstantial conditions of the accused while determining his guilt and awarding

punishment.
The positive school differed from the classical school of criminology in the
following manner

Classical School Positive School

(1) This school defined crime in legal () It rejected legal definition of crime
terms
and preferred SOCiologIcal
definition
(2) it placed reliance on free-will theory (2) It explained crime in erms

as an explanation of crime biological determination.

mn

1Gahrel Tarde On Commun and Sx

 54 Criminology and Penology
for
3 ) lt believed in deterrent and definite (3) It advocated treatment methods
of punishment and
punishment for each offence and criminals instead
be punished not
equal punishment for all eriminals held that criminal
to of his crime but
gravity
committing the same offence. according
the circumstances
according to
associated with it.
emphasis on
(4) It focussed greater attention on (4) It laid greater
offender rather
crime, namely, the act rather than personality of the
than his criminal act.
the criminal. were
main exponents
(5) The main exponents of classical (5) The Garofalo.
Lombroso, Ferri and
school were Beccaria and Bentham.
doctrine which
(6) It was a 19th century
(6) It was a 18th century dogma which on scientific method of
emphasised
attempted to reform the criminal and shifted emphasis from
Justice system in order to protect study and from
crime to criminal
criminals against arbitrary discretion of
methods
retribution to corrective
of judges.
treatment.

(5) Clinical School of Criminology

human psychology there is greater
More recently, with the development of
emotional aspect of human nature.
This branch of
emphasis on the study of
to understand the criminal behaviour
knowledge has enabled modern criminologists
of offenders in its proper perspective. Prof Gillin,
therefore, rightly remarked that
the theory of modern clinical school on the side of crimogenesis presupposes
offender as a product of his biological inheritance conditioned in his development
been exposed from infancy up to the time of
by experiences of life to which he has factors.
thecommission of crime. Thus, clinical school takes int0 account variety of
It further suggests that the criminals who do not respond favourably to correctional
methods must be punished with imprisonment or transportation for life while those
who are merely victims of social conditions should be subjected to correctional
methods such as probation, parole, reformatories, open-air camps, etc. Thus, briefly
speaking, individualisation has become the cardinal principle of penal policy in
modern penology. The main theme of clinical school is that personality of man is a
combination of interna and external factors, therefore, punishment shoulo depend
on personality of the accused. This is known as correctional trend of reformation
through individualisation.

(6) Sociological School of Criminology

Before concluding this discussion, a word must be said about the recent
sociological school of criminology which seeks to locate causation of crime in
social environment. As stated earlier, Tarde was the first to
reject the
anthropological approach of positivists and held that crimes were the outcome of
human tendency to imitate others. Sociologists, however, carried their researches
and attempted to co-relate
variations in crime rate to
They successfully established that other factors such changes in social organisation.
economy, political ideologies, density of
as
mobility, culture, religion,
have a direct population,
bearing on the incidence of crime in a employment situations, etc.
given society. Placing reliance
 70 Criminology and Penology

development of digestive viscera, the mesoderm to bone, muscle and tendons of

the
motor-organ systenm. the ectoderm to connecting tissues of nervous system. skin
and
related appendages. He summarised the basic characteristics of physique and
temperament of these somatotypes of physical structures as follows
(1) Endomorphic structure.-They are persons with fatty or bulky bod
having short tapering limbs, small bones, soft and smooth skin and are
usually of a calm temperament and comfortable persons.
(2) Mesomorphic structure.-Persons with such structure are strongly built
with prominent museles and bones and connective tissues. They have
heavy chest and large wrists and hands. These persons are
temperamentally somatonic, active, dynamic, assertive and behave
aggressively.
(3) Ectomorphic.-Persons with ectomorphic structure are constitutionally
lean and fragile with delicate body, small face, sharp nose and fine
hair. They are very sensitive by temperament introvert and avoid
crowds.
Scheldon's scheme identified three types of pBhysiques. namely (1) asthenic
ype (thin and lean body-built), (2) athletic (tall and muscular) and (3) pyknic
structures were directly related t
type (short and fat). He asserted that these body
temperament of the person who committed crime. According to him, endomorphics
were moody and accommodative by nature while the mesomorphics had a rigid and
somewhat 'serious temperament. The ectomorphics, on account of their delicate
are short tempered. He
physical built-up, are often shaky in their decisions and
attributes criminality to endomorphics and mesomorphics rather than the
Sutherland on the
ectomorphics. But this analysis of Sheldon has been criticisd by
ground that it resembles the heredity considerations of criminals which has
closely
lost its significance in modern criminology.
have shown that
However, subsequent studies made by Juan Cortes (1972)
there is only a casual linkage between body-type or temperament and dilinquency.

Donald Taft
While discussing the personality aspect of the criminal, Donald Taft lays
its impact on crime causation. He asserts
emphasis on the effect of intelligence and
are generally not aggressive. anti-social
that persons lacking in average intelligence
are rather inactive and timid. They easily lend into
or sexually promiscuous, but
the possible consequences of their acts and
criminality because they cannot foresee
of modern life. Their incapability to
are unable to adjust to the complexities
distinguish between right and wrong or to foresee the danger of detection is yet
another cause of their criminal behaviour. But it has been sutficiently established
that feeble-mindedness forms very small proportion of delinquencies and
by now
in fact crimes are mostly committed by persons of considerable intelligence and
sharp outlook.

Freud's theory of Criminal Behaviour

Psychopaths contend that offenders lend into criminality on account of
1. Sutherland. Cressay & Lockenbell
2. Talt Criminology (4th Ed.) p. 94.
Principles of Criminology. (11th Ed. 2013) p. I126
 Causation of Crime

Cnctional deviations and mental conflicts. Sigmond Freud (1856-1939) explained

alconflicts in the personality of criminals in terms of id', 'ego' and super
H e asserted that 'ld' generates basic biological and physiological urges and
ego
uses in a person such as sexual desire, hunger, affection for kith and kins. lust
w e r etc. while ego reters to the conscious personality of which the individual
a r e . That is to say. although the desire for sex pleasure and hunger are basic
e s of a person yet he is all the time conscious that only the righteous means to
urg
ulfil these desires protect his personality and any deviation from the normal course
hall cast aspersions on his personality. Super ego according to Freud is the force
fself-criticism and control inherent in every person. Thus, there is a constant
anfhct between ld' (basic urges of men) ego and super-ego. Freud. therefore.
amtends that crime is the substitute of symbolic behaviour of a person. The desire
for committing suicide (self-murder) is out of the feeling of inferiority. frustration.
depression or anxiety. Again, theft is committed out of the sense of financial
nferiority and to get rid of the feelings of spite and dependence etc
According to Freud, the ego does not exist at birth but it is something the
individual learns. For example, a baby learns that it is fed only after crying and
child learns to say please in order to obtain thing which he wants. Gradually.

ego' develops and starts controlling the temper i.e., id.

The super-ego is largely part of the unconscious personality. It is the
conscience which exists in the unconscious areas of mind. The super-ego thus
characterises the fully socialised and conforming member of society. It is the impact
of moral and ethical attitudes of parents with whom the child interacts in his or her
early stages of devlopment that helps in the formation of the super-ego.
It would be seen that id demands pleasure. while the super-ego demands
control and repression and both push ego towards its own. As a result of this. there
is conflict which is difficult to resolve. Where the super-ego in a child is not well
developed, he is likely to be drawn towards delinquency. Freud postulated that the
failure to develop super-ego was generally the result of parents being unloving.
harsh or absent during the child's upbringing. It is for this reason that socialising
processes had failed to work on those children whose latent delinquency had
become dominant; the children were therefore, dis-social. if not anti-social
Psychologists also recognise that other factors such as relationships with
persons outside the family and general social environment can also atfect the
Omation of super-ego. If super-ego is over-developed, it my lead to guilt feelings
or neurosis.
Adler attributes criminal behaviour to inferiority complex and observes that

ime is an overt
compassion for a deep feeling of inferiority. which is often the
result of
neglect of child by the parents.
distrust or

Glueck's Psychiatric Theory of Crime

Another psychiatrist, Eleanor Glueck also founded his theory of criminal
ehaviour on personality deviations. He worked out a Prediction Table comprising
ree main
aspects of human personalnt
()the social background of the criminal
. Freud Sigmond A General Introduction to Psycho-Analysis (1935) ranslated by Joh
Riviere (New York) p. 232.