Penology Officer Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Mala in se

Acts that are inherently wrong or evil, such as murder, theft, and rape, regardless of whether a statute prohibits them.

Mala prohibita

Acts that are wrong only because a law forbids them, such as illegal gambling or jaywalking; criminal intent is generally not required.

Justifying circumstances

Circumstances such as self-defense or state of necessity that make an act lawful, so no criminal or civil liability arises except in state of necessity.

Conspiracy

An agreement between two or more persons to commit a felony, coupled with a decision to act on it; it is generally not a separate crime unless the law says so.

Five pillars of justice

Law enforcement, prosecution, courts, corrections, and community. These are the sequential components of the Philippine criminal justice system.

Bureau of Corrections

The national agency that administers Philippine prisons, including New Bilibid Prison, the Correctional Institution for Women, and several prison and penal farms.

BJMP

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, a DILG-attached agency that administers city and municipal jails and supervises their personnel.

Probation versus parole

Probation is a sentence imposed by the court instead of imprisonment; parole is conditional release by the Board of Pardons and Parole after serving the minimum term.

Classical school of penology

The view associated with Beccaria and Bentham that offenders choose crime rationally, so punishment must be certain, swift, and proportionate to deter it.

Positivist school of penology

The view associated with Lombroso and Ferri that crime is determined by biological, psychological, and social factors, so punishment should aim at treatment and reform.

Indeterminate sentence

A sentence with a minimum and maximum term set by the court; parole eligibility arises after the minimum term is served.

Restorative justice

An approach that repairs harm through victim-offender mediation, restitution, and community participation rather than focusing solely on punishment of the offender.

Chain of custody

The documented record of every transfer of evidence, showing who collected, handled, and stored it, with signatures, to preserve admissibility in court.

Latent fingerprint

An invisible print left by sweat and oils on a surface, developed with powders, fumes, or chemical reagents before comparison with known prints.

DNA STR profiling

A forensic method that compares short tandem repeat regions of DNA; results are reported as statistical match probabilities, not absolute identification.

Rifling marks

Grooves cut inside a gun barrel that spin the bullet; the resulting striations on a recovered bullet can be matched to a specific firearm.

PNP chain of command

The Philippine National Police is headed by the Chief, PNP, with policy oversight by the National Police Commission and administrative supervision by the DILG.

Unity of command

A police organization principle that each subordinate should receive orders from only one superior, preventing conflicting directives and confusion.

Use-of-force continuum

A graduated sequence of responses from presence and verbal direction through empty-hand control and less-lethal weapons to lethal force, used only when justified.

PLEB

The People's Law Enforcement Board, which hears citizen complaints against PNP members in cities and municipalities under RA 6975 as amended.

Modus operandi

The offender's method of committing a crime, learned and repeated; it is distinct from signature, which reflects a psychological need.

Cardinal points of investigation

The core questions an investigator answers: who is the victim, who is the suspect, when and where did it happen, and what was the motive and method.

Crime scene processing

The sequence of securing the scene, documenting it by photograph and sketch, searching, collecting and preserving evidence, and releasing the scene.

Entrapment

Inducement by law enforcers of a person who would not otherwise commit the crime; it is a defense, unlike instigation, which is not.

Anti-Torture Act

RA 9745 criminalizes torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and requires immediate medical examination of detainees and prompt investigation.

RA 6713

The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, requiring commitment to public interest, professionalism, and simple living.

Nelson Mandela Rules

UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, covering accommodation, healthcare, separation of categories, and safeguards against torture.

Exclusionary rule

The rule that confessions or evidence obtained through torture, violence, threat, intimidation, or without counsel are inadmissible in any proceeding.

Subject-verb agreement

A grammatical rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb; intervening phrases do not change the number.

Active versus passive voice

Active voice makes the actor the subject and is direct; passive voice makes the receiver the subject and is used when the actor is unknown or unimportant.

Paragraph unity

The quality of a paragraph that develops one central idea, supported by details that all relate to that idea rather than digressing.

Percentage formula

Percentage equals the part divided by the whole, multiplied by one hundred; it is used to compute rates, discounts, and proportions in word problems.