What is Crime?

Introduction:

Of all the branches of law, criminal law concerns a man in his day to day life. Many
attempts have been made to define crime, but they have all failed to identify what
kinds of acts and omission amounts to a crime. The changing notion of crime and
definition of crime varies from time to time and from place to place. The definition
and concept of crime varies not only according to the religious attitudes, customs,
and traditions but also according to the form of government, political, economic
structure of the society. What constitutes deviance is in turn influenced by the nature
of the society (primitive, traditional or modern), stages of its development
(underdeveloped, developing or developed), and evolution of systems. Crime
constitutes a distinct kind of deviation that is backed by the dominant political power
that has far reaching consequences like serious stigmatization, formal prosecution
and punishment etc. The Criminal Law plays a distinctive role in society and
performs various functions like to deter people from doing acts that harm others in
society.

What is CRIME AND crime DEVIANCE?

Generally when we think of deviant behaviour, we think of someone who is acting out
in a negative manner. 'Different' or 'unexpected' are words often used to describe
deviance from a sociological perspective. Essentially, deviance can be explained to
be departing from socially approved norms. The dictionary meaning of deviance is
"one that does not conform to the norm”. Deviance may be defined as
non-conformity to a given set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of
people in a community or society. We generally follow social norms because, as a
result of socialization, we are used to doing so. All social norms are accompanied by
sanctions promoting conformity and protecting against non conformity. Deviance can
only be defined in relation to a particular standard. However, no particular standards
are fixed as absolute. As such deviance varies from time to time and place to place.
In a particular society an act which is considered deviant today may be defined as
normal in the future. An act defined as deviant in one society may be seen as
perfectly normal in another. To put it in a different way, deviance is culturally
determined and cultures change over time and vary from society to society.

Cohen (1966) defines deviant behaviour as: “Behaviour which violates

institutionalised expectations, that is, expectations, which are shared and recognised
as legitimate within a social system.”
Clinard (1963) who describes deviant behaviour as: Behaviour in a disapproved
direction from the norms and sufficient in degree to exceed the tolerance limit of the
community.

Emile Durkheim sees society as a complicated system where stability is promoted

when complex parts work together. According to Durkheim deviance has many
positive functions for a society. He believed that deviance can bring people together
in society. We can take the example of how patriotism surged after the 26/11 attack.
This could be considered deviant because such an extreme level of patriotism was
outside the norm. Similarly, Robert K. Merton who is a structural functionalist
propounded strain theory. Merton believed that the strain theory between our
culture's emphasis on wealth and the limited opportunity to get rich gives rise
(especially among the poor) to theft, the sale of drugs and other crimes. These
unconventional means (selling drugs) are basically to achieve culturally-approved
goals (financial security). In contrast the conformists pursue conventional goals
through various approved means, like pursuing education and getting a good job.

Deviance and crime are not synonymous, although in many cases they overlap.
Concept of deviance is much broader than that of crime, which refers only to
nonconformist conduct that breaks a law. Many forms of deviant behaviour are not
sanctioned by law. Emile Durkheim argued that deviance has an important part to
play in a well-ordered society. By defining what is deviant, we become aware of what
is not deviant and thereby learn the standards we share as members of a society. In
relation to deviance, therefore, the concept relates to all forms of rule breaking
whether this involves such things as murder, theft or arson or the breaking of formal
social rules or such things as wearing inappropriate clothing for a given social
situation (more- or-less the breaking of relatively informal social rules. Deviance is
behaviour that violates norms and rules of society, and crime is a type of deviant
behaviour that violates the formal criminal law. Whilst we will be concentrating upon
this area of deviance, it needs to be remembered that

it is only one aspect albeit a very significant one in relation to the concept of deviant
behaviour in any society. As a general rule, therefore, we can say that there is a
distinction between crime and deviance in terms of: "All crime is, by definition,
deviant behaviour, but not all forms of deviance are criminal". Therefore, Deviance,
the violation of norms, is a broad concept. Crime, the violation of formally enacted
law, is one type of deviance.

Defining Crime:

It is very difficult to give a correct and exact definition of crime. Glanville Williams
pointed out that crime is one of the thorny intellectual problems of law and it is
difficult to have a workable content based definition of crime. The definition of crime
depends on criminal and penal policy of a state. It varies according to cultures, social
values and beliefs and ideology of the ruling of social-political power.
A Crime is an act of disobedience to such law forbidding or commanding it. But
disobedience of all the laws may not be a crime. For instance, disobedience of civil
laws or laws of inheritance or contracts are not crime. Therefore, it can be said that a
crime would mean something more than a mere disobedience to the law.

According to Stephen “crime means an act which is forbidden by law and revolting
to moral sentiments of the society”. Blackstone defined crime as “an act committed
or omitted in violation of public law forbidding or commanding it”.

According to Glanville Williams “a crime is a legal wrong that can be followed by

criminal proceedings which may result in punishment”.

Professor Kenny defined crimes in the following terms: “Crime is a harmful human
conduct that the sovereign desires to prevent.” Salmond defines crime as “an act
deemed by law to be harmful to society in general even though its immediate victim
is an individual”.

John Austin defines crime “a wrong which is pursued by the sovereign or his
subordinates is a crime.”According to Miller, a crime means “the commission or
omission of an act which the law forbids or commands under pain of a punishment to
be imposed by the State by a proceeding in its own name”.

Thus it is clear that a crime is what the state through an enactment of the legislature
has declared punishable. Thus, there can be no crime if the legislature has not made
law in this regard. However, an act which does not fall under the purview of crimes
may still be a moral wrong. Criminal Law has been defined by Sutherland and
Cressy as “conventionally a body of specific rules regarding human conduct which
have been promulgated by political authority which apply uniformly to all members of
the class to which the rules refer and which are enforced by punishment
administered by the state”.

The chief concern of the criminal law is to prohibit behavior that represents a serious
wrong against an individual or against some individual or against some fundamental
social value institution. There are some wrongs that are not serious enough any legal
liability, such as breaking a promise to a friend without good reason or divulging
information given in confidence by a friend and there are serious enough for civil
liability such as breach of contract but not for criminal liability. Under the broader
canvas of criminal liability only such laws must be included which are serious wrongs
and need to be abandoned. It is the values and the culture of a particular society
which decides what conduct is regarded as being criminal. Conduct that is contrary
to criminal law at one point in the may not be seen as criminal at one point in time
may not be seen as criminal at another time or in another country. Professor
Glanville Williams, one of the great criminal law scholars argued that criminal law is
based on the procedure it uses. He suggested that a crime is an act that is capable
of being followed by criminal proceedings.
Criminal Law plays a distinctive role in society including the following functions: to
deter people from doing harm to others or society; to set out the conditions
under which people who have performed such acts will be punished , and to
provide some guidance on other kinds of behaviour that are seen by society
as acceptable. As Professor Ashworth has written ‘criminal liability is the strongest
formal condemnation that a society can inflict and it may also result in a sentence
which amounts to severe deprivation of the ordinary liberties of the offender.’
Criminal liability carries the strong implication of ‘ought not to do’. It is the censure
conveyed by criminal liability which marks out its special social significance and it is
the imposition of this official censure. The Criminal Law is not only concerned with
the causing of direct harm to other people: it also outlaws harm to state, public
morals and the environment. It is often said that criminal law should seek to punish
only conduct that causes harm to others. This argument is in line with the “harm
principle” of J.S Mill. Some conduct may be immoral but if it does not harm others or
only harms the actor it is seen as unsuitable for punishment under the criminal law.

The concept of crime remains changing- The ideas and the ideal of a society may
change and today’s idea of crime may not necessarily correspond with that of a later
stage. Further, different societies and different countries can have different ideas
about criminality. For example, adultery is a crime under Indian Penal Code but it
may not be a crime in the legal system of another country. For instance, polygamy,
dowry, untouchability are now crimes which were not few year ago. Suicide was a
crime in England until the passing of Suicide Act 1961 after which it became lawful to
kill oneself. Induced abortion was a crime under the Indian Penal Code until 1971 but
now is legal under specified circumstances under Medical Termination of Pregnancy
Act, 1971. Homosexuality was formerly a criminal offence in Britain. Since 1969,
however, homosexual acts conducted between consenting adults in private are no
longer illegal.

Recently, Indian Government has decided to decriminalize Section 309 of Indian

Penal Code. Law Commission in its 210th report on “Humanization and
Decriminalisation of Attempt to Suicide” had recommended that Section 309 of IPC
needs to be effaced from the statute book. The Commission had said Section 309
needs to be deleted because the provision is inhuman, irrespective of whether it is
constitutional or unconstitutional. Now the Union government is on course to
decriminalise Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) from the Indian Penal Code as
18 States and 4 Union territories have given their consent to the Law Commission's
recommendation for removal of the provision from the Code. Indian Penal Code
(Amendment) Bill has now already been moved. The Supreme Court, while
re-criminalizing gay sex by upholding the constitutional validity of Section 377 of IPC
and overruled the Delhi High Court Judgment that decriminalized non-heterosexual
sex between consenting adults (Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation Civil
Appeal 10972 Of 2013) effectively placing India’s LGBT community in the shadow of
criminality and continued social stigmatisation.
TECHNICAL CONNOTATION OF CRIME AND THEIR COMPONENTS
:

The characteristics of crime in modern times, are that it normally results in

punishment and that a special legal procedure is followed in deciding the guilt of the
accused. An authority on Criminal Law, Kenny (Outlines of Criminal Law),The
essential attributes of what constitute crime includes:

​ i) crime is an act of commission of an act of omission on part of a human

being which is considered harmful by state.
​ ii) the transgression of such harmful acts is prevented by a threat or sanction
of punishment administered by the state.
​ iii) the guilt of the accused is determined after the accusation against him has
been investigated in legal proceedings of a special kind in accordance with
the provisions of law.

Civil and Criminal Law are both concerned with liability for wrongful conduct.
However, the civil and criminal law consequences are different. In case of a civil
wrong, liability is owed to an injured party and damages may be paid to the injured
party, which may be to compensate for any losses. In case of a crime, liability is
owed to the state and the state supervises any punishment. This is because crime is
regarded as a breach of public order. Civil wrong is an infringement of individual right
while crime is public wrong and is invasion of public rights and duties which affects
the whole society. In civil wrong, the wrongdoer compensates the injured party
whereas in crime he is punished by the State. In case of civil wrong an action is
brought by the injured party himself but in case of crime the proceedings are initiated
by and in the name of the state. However, in some cases complaints are made by
the aggrieved party in order to bring the state machinery into motion (See IPC,
Section 493-498- Offences relating to Marriage, Section 499-500- Defamation ,
Section 503-510- Criminal Intimidation , Insult and Annoyance, The aggrieved party
has to initiate criminal action in a court of law against the accused in such cases).

Austin distinguishes civil injury from crimes in terms of the party that initiates action
and has the discretion in the matter. According to him, in civil injury the injured party
has the privilege and discretion to pursue action while in crimes the action against
wrongs is pursued by the sovereign or his subordinates. Blackstone refers to crimes
as public wrongs that affect the whole community. According to William Geldart, the
difference between civil law and criminal law turns on the difference between two
different objects which law seeks to pursue i.e. compensation or punishment. The
object of civil law is the redress of wrongs by requiring the payment of compensation
or restitution: the wrongdoer is not punished; he only suffers so much harm as is
necessary to make good the wrong he has done. On the other hand, in the case of
crimes, the main object of the law is to punish the wrongdoer; to give him and others
a strong inducement not to commit same or similar crimes, to reform him if possible
and perhaps to satisfy the public sense that wrongdoing ought to meet with
retribution.” The standard of proof in a civil case is “preponderance of evidence” i.e.
the claimant must produce evidence to tilt the balance of probabilities but in criminal
cases the standard of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt":

The same act (such as an assault) may amount both to a civil wrong and a crime.
For example. there are certain acts which are tort as well as crime, such as deceit,
trespass, malicious prosecution, defamation etc. An assault is a tort when looked at
from the point of view of an individual, as it is a violation of the right of every person
to his personal liberty. At the same time, such an act is looked upon as a menace to
the safety of the society in general. The wrongdoer may be compelled in a civil
action to pay damages to the party aggrieved. Such wrongs are called “felonious
tort”. Therefore, crimes are comparatively graver wrongs than civil injuries. They are
graver because they constitute greater interference with the happiness of others and
affect the well being not only of a particular individual but of the whole community.
Thus crime is an act done with malice or criminal intent. This is essentially called the
condition of criminality. Civil Liability can be said to be remedial while criminal liability
is penal.