31st October 2023

Basic Principles of Criminology and Penology

Crime is defined as ‘an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law’. In order for a crime to be committed, there must be a voluntary act or omission, known as ‘actus rea’ (‘guilty act’) – this is the physical act of committing a crime. For an act to be considered a crime, there must also be ‘mens rea’ (‘guilty mind’) – This refers to the intent and state of mind behind the act. Both mens rea and actus rea must be proven for an act to be considered a crime.

Criminology refers to the scientific study of crime, criminals, and delinquent behaviour. This encompasses legal principles as well as psychology, sociology, and moral philosophy. ‘Crime’ simply refers to behaviour that is against societal laws. In contrast, criminology takes a broader view. This includes making efforts to understand why people commit crimes and to explain why crime rates vary in different geographical areas and over time.

Penology is a subsection of criminology involving the study of the societal policies in place for inflicting punishment on those who commit crimes (such as prison sentences), as well as covering related policies such as probation and rehabilitation. In the context of forensic psychiatry, this may also involve the medical treatment of offenders.

Crime rates and figures are collected on a quarterly basis by the Office of National Statistics through the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) – This gives recorded crime rates based on cases reported to the police. However, not all crimes are reported to the police, and therefore, these ‘hidden crimes’ are not accounted for in the statistics, leading to an underestimation of actual rates of crime. Crime surveys can be used, in which people are asked to self-report incidents of crime, whether reported to the police or not, in order to calculate rates of hidden crime.

Crime and mental illness

There is a pervasive negative perception of certain mental illnesses as being associated with dangerousness and violence. This stereotype is particularly prominent regarding individuals with paranoid schizophrenia and substance misuse disorders. Reporting sensationalised stories by the media and the portrayal of mental illness in popular culture only strengthens this stereotype and increases the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Although mental illness can be associated with violent behaviour, this amounts to only a very small population attributable risk. For example, violent behaviour is seen in around 10% of patients with schizophrenia compared with 2% of the general population; whilst this does confer an increased risk, it still amounts to only 4% of violent crimes being attributable to individuals with schizophrenia.

People suffering from mental illness are, in fact, much more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators and more likely to become victims of crime than the general population overall.

References

• ‘Criminology’. Oxford Reference. Accessed May 2023. [Website: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095648697]
• Mannheim, H. and Bernard, T.J. ‘Criminology’. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed May 2023. [Website: https://www.britannica.com/science/criminology]
• Office for National Statistics (ONS). [2022]. ONS website, Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) report, Crime in England and Wales QMI. [Website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/methodologies/crimeinenglandandwalesqmi#:~:text=Police%20recorded%20crime,-Recorded%20crime%20figures&text=Unlike%20crime%20survey%20data%2C%20recorded,police%20decide%20not%20to%20record]
• Office for National Statistics (ONS). [2023]. ONS website, statistical bulletin, Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2022. [Website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2022]
• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica. ‘Penology’. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed May 2023. [Website: https://www.britannica.com/topic/penology]
• Varshney, M., Mahapatra, A., Krishnan, V. et al. [2016]. Violence and mental illness: What is the true story?Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 70:223-225.