A Classification of the Causes of Crime
Ruth Woodruff · Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology · 1921
'Student, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr. Pa. 2Maurice Parmelee, Criminology. 1919. 3The author discusses first the older and simpler classifications. The twofold classification in habitual and occasional criminals, and the threefold classification in habitual, instinctive, and occasional criminals are regarded by him as artificial in their simplicty and quite insufficient to mark the distinct types of criminals. It may be noted here that the classification into habitual and occasional is identical with the two primary classes of criminals in the recent volume of Mercier's Crime and Criminals. The classifications of the leaders of the Positive School are taken up individually. (See pp. 189 to 193.) Parmelee. accuses Lombroso (see below) of omitting amentia and including under the term occasional three different types of criminals, thus confusing the use of the term occasional. His ch'ief objection to Ferri's five-fold classification is the omission of the political as a separate type. The classification of Ellis, on the whole very similar to those of Lombroso and Ferri, differs from the last -named principally in the inclusion of a type, a type which is set off from the habitual type on the basis of the superior intelligence of the professional criminal. He also substitutes for the term born criminal of Lombroso, the term instinctive criminal. He makes this change because of the difficulty of estimating the congenital element. Parmelee deems this change unwarranted because instinct is as much congenital as any hereditary trait. He maintains at the same time that there is no instinct of crime. The attempt of Garofalo at classification on a physiological basis, is commended by our author, but he regards the resulting classification as vague, inconsistent and not sufficiently comprehensive. Garofalo's typical criminals are approximately equivalent to the born criminals of Lombroso, the violent criminals differ from the typical criminals in mildness of criminality. Lombroso's Classification: Garafola's Classification: 1. Born criminal. 1. Typical criminals and murderers. 2. Insane criminal. 2. Violent criminals. 3. Criminal by passion. a. Endemic crimes. a. Political criminal. b. Crimes of passion. 4. Occasional criminal. 3. Criminals deficient in probity. a. Pseudo criminal. 4. Lascivious criminals. b. Habitual criminal. b. Habitual criminal. Havelock Ellis' Classification: 1. Political criminal. Ferri's Classification: 2. Criminal by passion. 1. Insane criminal. 3. Insane criminal. 2. Born criminal. 4. Instinctive criminal. 3. Habitual criminal. 5. Occasional criminal. 4. Occasional criminal. 6. Habitual criminal. 5. Criminal by passion. 7. Professional criminal.