Concept of Crime

Crime
• Crimeless society can only be a myth.
• The concept of crime depends much upon the social values,
accepted norms and behavioral patterns of a particular society
at a given time. So with the change of these elements of society,
the concept of crime changes.
• The term crime is not defined by the Penal Code 1860.
• A socially dangerous act, committed with guilt and prohibited by
the law under threat of punishment, shall be deemed to be a
crime.
• According to Terence Morris, “Crime is what society says is
crime by establishing that an act is a violation of the criminal
law. Without law there can be no crime at all, although there
may be moral indignation which results in law being enacted.”
• All violations of law are not crimes, only such violations, which
endanger the safety of individual, his liberty and property, are
crimes.
Definition of crime
oTappan defined crime as- “crime is an intentional act in violation
of criminal law.”
oCross and Jones said that, “crime is a legal wrong the remedy for
which is punishment of the offender at the instance of the state.”
oHulsbury’s definition of crime is “crime is an unlawful act which
is an offence against the public and the perpetrator of that act is
liable to legal punishment.
oLord Atkin-Crime is an act or omission in respect of which legal
punishment is inflicted on the person who is in default either by
acting or omitting to act and criminal law relates to crimes and
their punishment.
Sir William Blackstone-Any act committed or omitted in
violation of public law forbidding or commanding it. Crime is a
violation of public rights and duties due to the whole community
considered as community.
John Austin- A Wrong which is pursued by the sovereign or his
subordinates is a crime.
 Ingredients of Crime

1. Act
2. Mens Rea
3. Consequence
4. Harm
 Types of Crime

• The most ancient classifications are-

1. Felonies- serious and grave crimes are called felonies which
are usually punishable by death or confinement for a long
period of time. Example- murder, robbery, etc.
2. Misdemeanors- minor and light crimes are called
misdemeanors which are usually punished with small term
imprisonment or fine. Example- public drunkenness, theft,
etc.
• Sutherland has classified crime into following categories-
a. Crime against person- murder, hurt, etc
b. Crime against property- theft, destruction of property, etc
c. Crime against public interest- tax evasion, breaking traffic rules, etc
• Bonger has classified crimes into the following groups-
a. Political crime- sedition, alliance with alien power, etc.
b. Economic crime- gambling, tax evasion, etc
c. Sexual crime- rape, prostitution, etc
d. Miscellaneous crime- any other crime which do not fit into the above
classes.
All criminal offences are divided into 'malum in se' and 'malum
prohibitum.' 'Malum in se' refers to wrongs that are naturally evil
according to the sense of a civilized community. 'Malum prohibitum' is a
wrong for the reason that a statute makes it so.
Malum in se: Crimes that are considered bad in of themselves. The phrase
is used to refer to conduct assessed as sinful or inherently wrong by nature,
independent of regulations governing the conduct. Often these are more
serious crimes, such as felonies, which can result in a prison sentence. An
armed robbery would fall into this category.
Malum Prohibita: Crimes that are considered crimes because we have
placed restrictions on them. Malum prohibita is a Latin phrase which
means “wrongs as or because prohibited.” Parking violations, copyright
violations, tax laws, and cultural taboos are examples of malum prohibita
offences.
 PURPOSE OF CRIMINAL LAW
 It attempts to Control human behavior.
 Criminal Law is an offspring of personal law.
 Punishment for violators.
 Criminal
• Criminal is a person who commits
a crime.
• But even if one admits to having
committed a crime, he will not be
called a criminal until his
criminality is proved in the court.
• In criminal case presumption of
innocence is maintained which
means it is presumed that the
accused is innocent until proved to
be guilty.
 Crime and Sin
The concept of sin has been derived from religion. On the other
hand crime is a legal proposition.
The violation of religious and moral rules is called sin. Whereas
the violation of criminal law is called crime.
There can be no direct injury or harm in case of sinful acts.
However, crime brings different types of direct and indirect
injuries and harms.
Sinner is punished by God. On the other hand, criminal is
punished by criminal law.
All crimes are sin, but all sins are not crime.
The correctional way for sinner is to pray to God for pardon.
But the correctional method for a criminal is punishment.
The dimension of sin is measured by God, but the dimension of
crime is determined by the court.
Sinful act is related to the individual, not usually concerned to
the state. Whereas, state is concerned about crime.
 Crime and Deviation
• Not all deviance is crime, and not all crime is deviant. Crime- the
forms of deviance in which formal penalties are imposed by the
society.
• We are all deviant at some time or another and in some places
• Deviance is a violation of ever-changing social norms. Deviance is
culturally dependent and historically located.
• Deviance is a behavior that violates the standards of conduct or
expectations of a group or society. It means the violation of rules of
certain society.
• The cultures that societies create are built out of norms. These
norms represent the values of the group. When individuals and
groups deviate from norms, society responds.
Crime is behavior that breaks the formal written laws of a society.
If someone commits a crime they can be arrested, charged and
prosecuted. Actions can be illegal but not deviant. Deviance is
behavior which does not comply with the dominant norms of a
specific society. If people are seen as deviant it can lead to negative
sanctions such as being told off or ridiculed.
Gary, walked through his local library whilst talking loudly on his
mobile phone. This is legally deviant as he is not breaking any law,
he is just acting socially unacceptable. On the other hand, Robert,
punched a old lady in the face. This is illegally deviant as he
committed an assault, the fact that he punched an old lady also
makes the matter worse.
Deviance can range from chewing gum in the wrong place to capital
murder and beyond. Breaking the queue in a bus counter, shouting
at a friend in a party, etc. are examples of deviant act.
 Factors of Crime
Geographical Factors:
In the evolution of society the geographical elements play an
important role. This has been accepted by historian’s torsions and
sociologists.
A supporter of the school of geographical thinker’s tradition, Mr.
Huntington states that a child born in winter usually becomes less
intelligent. Some of such children become criminals.
The geographical elements affect the emotions and behavior of an
individual. Many of the French, Italian and German
criminologists have tried to show the relation between the features
of geographical elements and the proportion of crimes.
Mr. Lombroso has also prepared a calendar showing the
occurrence of crimes in specific months of the year. According to
him, child murders are proportionally more in the period from
January to April. In July, murders and total attacks are found to
increase. Human needs change according to the changes in
seasons. e.g. in winter in the European countries, the primary
(basic) needs increase and if there are obstacles in satisfying their
needs, the individuals have a tendency to criminal acts.
“By geographical factors, we mean those factors which are
connected with physical environment. The composition of
population is closely connected with geographical conditions.
Similarly diet, habits and social organization always develop in
accordance to geographical conditions. Therefore whenever there
is any change in the geographical setting there is also change in
society.
Sociological Factors:
The number of crimes increases or decreases depending upon
how far a society or a community is organized or divided. In a
social group where migration, cultural differences, changes in
the population and political instability prevail; there a conflict
arises regarding the abatement of social rules.
Physiological Factors:
As a living being, man’s physique, heredity and the functions of
body glands are taken into consideration.
In the opinion of Lombroso (a crime specialist) there is
abnormality in the body and mind of a criminal right from his
birth. Hence he becomes a criminal later in his life.
A man of oppressive and bad tempered mentality becomes a
criminal.
Broadly speaking, an individual inherits some of the organic
properties from the parents. We call these as hereditary qualities.
This inherited behavioral property is mainly responsible for the
criminal attitude. Hereditary weakness and criminal attitude
convert a man into a criminal.
Psychological Factors
Some psychologists say that criminal behavior has its roots in the
psychological set up of an individual. During the gradual
psychological development of an individual some mental
weaknesses take shape. These weaknesses become the causes of
criminal behavior. Mental instability and criminality are closely
related.
Some psychiatrists have tried to correlate criminality with the
abnormality in the nerves.
Disappointment, conflict, feeling of criminality, mental shocks
etc. one related with the human mental activities and they
become responsible for the criminal behavior.
Circumstantial Factors
a) Family Circumstances
b) A Ruined Family
c) The Size of the Family
d) Serial Placement among Brothers in a Family
e) Fallen Family
f) Absence of Orderliness in the Family
g) Disorganized living
h) The Movies
i) Financial Conditions