CLE Criminology Subject Review: Theories, Victimology, Ethics (20%)

CLE Criminology Subject Review: Theories, Victimology, Ethics (20%)

In PRC's current CLE program, the Day 3 subject called Criminology carries 20% of your weighted rating. It took over the old "Criminal Sociology, Ethics and Human Relations" subject and covers criminological theories, victimology, ethics, juvenile justice and research. Theories are the biggest block to memorize.

This post is the topic-by-topic plan that the CLE pillar guide hands off to.

Suggested study split

PRC doesn't publish item counts per topic, so this is our suggested split of your study time, not an official breakdown:

Criminology theories (heaviest block)

Drill list by theoretical school:

Classical school:

• Cesare Beccaria (On Crimes and Punishments, 1764): rational choice, certainty + swiftness + severity of punishment
• Jeremy Bentham: utilitarian calculus, hedonistic principle

Positivist school (biological):

• Cesare Lombroso (Criminal Man, 1876): atavism, born criminal, physical stigmata
• Enrico Ferri: social factors + biological
• Raffaele Garofalo: natural crime concept

Modern biological:

• Sheldon's body types (endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph) — mesomorph most criminal
• XYY chromosome theory (largely debunked but tested)
• Twin and adoption studies

Psychological theories:

• Sigmund Freud: id-ego-superego, criminal as superego deficient
• Hans Eysenck: extraversion + neuroticism + psychoticism
• Lawrence Kohlberg: moral development stages
• Personality disorder typologies

Sociological theories — strain:

• Émile Durkheim: anomie, mechanical vs organic solidarity
• Robert Merton: strain theory, modes of adaptation (conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion)
• Robert Agnew: general strain theory

Sociological — social disorganization:

• Shaw and McKay: Chicago school, concentric zones
• Park and Burgess: ecological model

Sociological — cultural deviance:

• Edwin Sutherland: differential association — crime is learned through interaction
• Walter Miller: focal concerns of lower class
• Albert Cohen: delinquent subcultures
• Cloward and Ohlin: differential opportunity

Social control theories:

• Travis Hirschi: social bond theory (attachment, commitment, involvement, belief)
• Gottfredson and Hirschi: general theory of crime (low self-control)
• Walter Reckless: containment theory (inner + outer)

Labeling theory:

• Howard Becker: outsiders, labeling process
• Edwin Lemert: primary vs secondary deviance

Conflict and critical theories:

• Karl Marx: class struggle and crime
• Richard Quinney: critical criminology
• George Vold: group conflict theory

Modern integrated theories:

• Routine activities theory (Cohen and Felson): motivated offender + suitable target + absence of capable guardian
• Rational choice theory: cost-benefit analysis
• Life course theory: trajectories and transitions

For each theorist, know the central claim and one application. Practice both directions: "which theory explains X?" and "who proposed Y?"

Sociology of deviance and crime

Drill list:

• Definitions: deviance, crime, social norms, social control
• Types of social norms: folkways, mores, taboos, laws
• Functionalist vs conflict perspectives on deviance
• Stigma (Goffman): discredited vs discreditable identities
• Social construction of crime
• Moral panics
• Subcultures
• Gender and crime
• Race/ethnicity and crime in PHL context
• Crime statistics and dark figure of crime

Professional ethics

Code of Ethics for Criminologists (PRC Board of Criminology):

• Responsibility to society
• Responsibility to clients
• Responsibility to profession
• Responsibility to self
• Confidentiality
• Conflict of interest

Code of Ethics for Law Enforcement (PNP):

• Police service is a profession
• Individual rights and dignities
• Use of force principles
• Loyalty to country, organization, oath
• Continuous self-improvement

Specific ethical issues:

• Use of force (graduated response)
• Off-duty conduct
• Corruption and graft
• Whistleblowing
• Informant management ethics
• Undercover operation ethics

Victimology

Drill list:

• Definitions: victim, victimology, victimization
• Benjamin Mendelsohn: victim typology by degree of culpability (completely innocent, minor guilt, as guilty as the offender, more guilty, most guilty, imaginary)
• Hans von Hentig: victim-proneness (categories of people more exposed to victimization)
• Marvin Wolfgang: victim-precipitated homicide
• Victim-offender overlap
• Victim impact statements
• Victim assistance and compensation
• RA 7309 (Board of Claims for victims of unjust imprisonment or detention and of violent crimes)
• Secondary victimization

Juvenile justice and research

• RA 9344 (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act), as amended by RA 10630: minimum age of criminal responsibility, diversion, intervention, Bahay Pag-asa
• Children in conflict with the law vs children at risk
• Basic research methods in criminology: variables, sampling, surveys, crime statistics

A 4-week Criminology plan

Where Super Tutor fits

A CLE reviewer is coming soon to Super Tutor. If you're also aiming for the PNP, we have a reviewer for the NAPOLCOM PNP Entrance Exam. See every exam Super Tutor covers.

What to read next

The CLE pillar guide covers the full review. Other CLE deep dives: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Evidence, Forensic Science, Crime Detection and Investigation, Correctional Administration.