Different Concepts of Crime - Essay Example

Number: Different concepts of crime Introduction Miller & Jentz defines crime as a socially dangerous act, performed with guilt and prohibited by law under the threat of punishment is regarded as a crime. Karmen (2012) defines crime as the commission of an act, or inaction, although officially containing the indicia of any act given in legal codes, but which, by reason of its importance does not represent a social danger. This implies that no harm was caused, and no damage was created to a person, the society or the state. Oxford dictionaries define crime as an act or omission that constitutes and offence which is punishable by law. A crime is a wrong committed against an individual, society and the state as defined in law and carries a punishment of fines, incarceration and, in some instances death. The numerous definitions of crime by different people and different entities, states, and scholars make the concept of crime to be among the hardest things questions. There are endless types of conduct that are prohibited and which may somehow be the subject of formal punishment. The kind of punishment may also change among diverse types of crimes, which creates room for disagreement over whether certain behavior should be prohibited by the criminal rule, and so punished at all. Equally, there may be conduct that people deem think should be criminal but which left untouched by the criminal law. Further, the status of crime and criminology is undoubtedly informed by the methods and insights of social sciences, and these insights continue to have a fragile position within the legal scholarship. A close relationship between legal constructions of crime (criminal law) and social constructions of crime and criminality (criminology and criminal justice) arise (Lacey, nd). Certain kinds of conduct are acknowledged as crimes by the criminal law and the wider body of ordinary people. Examples of such acts are such as murder, stealing, damaging property and raping. These acts may be described as injurious to the victim as the injury may have been caused directly or indirectly. Moving a note higher, the concept of crime extends not only to causing injury and harm to incorporate only the perceived potential for harm. For instance, speeding may not look like real crime, but speeding may result in injury and death. The prospective danger of the person speeding is greater than that of the trivial pickpocket, but few people doubt that a pickpocket is a criminal, unless there are persuasive avoiding factors (Abadinsky, 2010). Classification of crime There are several types of crimes committed by individuals, some of which are taken as serious and some like trespass is considered less serious. Though all acts of crime are considered as the contravention of law, there are different punishments that may be enforced on a criminal. Classification of crime may be based on diverse standards like the extent of punishment, by type, by common law, and mode of trial. States might vary as to the categorization of any particular misdeed. Offense perpetrated in a certain region may be categorized differently than where the same crime was committed in another place. This study will explore classification of crime depending on the types of crimes. These are the organized crime, white collar crime, crimes of theft, property crimes, corporate crimes, as well as other property crimes. Generally, crimes may be classified in two main categories; felony and misdemeanor, depending on the severity of a crime. Felony is taken as grave crimes, which carry a punishment of more than one year in prison such as murder, arson and kidnapping. Misdemeanor misdeed is less severe and carries a punishment of less than one year in prison (Abadinsky, 2010). These are such as trespassing, prostitution and public intoxication. White collar crimes Sutherland of the American sociological society (2010) defines white collar crime as crime perpetrated by an individual of decorum and high societal standing in the course of his/her work. While there has been a contest as to what makes up white collar crime, the expression incorporates several nonviolent crimes often perpetrated in commercial circumstances for monetary gain. White collar perpetrators are intricate to prosecute as the perpetrators employ complex means to hide their endeavors though a series of multifarious transactions. The most common types of white collar crime are credit card fraud, bankruptcy, bribery, public corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion, mail fraud, environmental law violations and theft of trade secrets. Others include government fraud, computer and internet fraud, insider trading, counterfeiting and economic espionage (Legal Information Institute, 2010). White collar crimes may also be a special form of organized crime, which refers to a conspiracy of an enterprise to participate in unlawful activities as a way of generating income. Money laundering is the false reporting of income that has been acquired through criminal activity as earning acquired through a legitimate business enterprise. Corporations may be held responsible for crime through the concept of corporate criminal liability. Corporate liability is the responsibility forced upon a company for some criminal action perpetrated by any natural person (Miller & Jentz, 2010). The regulation is put into force in order to regulate the acts of a corporation. Corporate criminal liability principle is founded on the doctrine of respondent superior, which is referred to as the vicarious liability. Vicarious liability is where a master is made liable for the actions of his servant. Crimes of theft A theft crime entails taking the property of another person without their authorization. The theft perpetrator must have the intention to permanently deny the owner of the property taken for a theft crime to occur. Crimes of theft include robbery, aggravated robbery, burglary and larceny. Robbery is forcefully taking someone else valuable property, aggravated robbery is theft using a deadly weapon, whilst larceny is wrongfully taking another person’s possession with the intention of permanently denying the possessor of the property. Burglary is the illegitimate access into a house with the intention of perpetrating a felony. Property crimes Property crimes are offenses that involve property including property destruction and forceful taking of another person’s property. Other types of crimes involving property apart from theft crimes described above include arson, handling stolen property, false pretense and pretenses. Arson is the spiteful burning another person’s building. This may also be a form of prearranged misdeed in order to obtain insurance benefits on the asset. Handling stolen property also qualifies to be property crime. Forgery is the changing a writing in a manner that alters the lawful rights of another person (Miller & Jentz, 2010). False pretense is acquiring property or goods by tricking the individual from whom they are obtained. Criminal liability In order for one to be held as a criminal, there are requisites that must be fulfilled. One, a person executed some forbidden act or failed to execute a lawful required act. Secondly, the act of crime must be intentionally carried. It must also be established that the crime doer was in the right state of mind. Additionally, the burden of proof must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the act of crime indeed took place. The basic supposition in criminal responsibility is that there is both an intellectual aspect and physical facet to the crime. The burden of proof for a criminal offence is that of beyond a reasonable doubt (Miller & Jentz, 2010). General concepts and principles of criminal law Modern codes and explanations on criminal law in both the common law and the civilian society are likely to be organized around a central structure that sets out the broad conditions under which legal responsibility may be set out (Tadros & Tierney, 2004). This structure is recognized as the universal principles of criminal law, the set of rules and dogmas that pertain across the entire landscape of criminal law rather than to specific crimes. They are generally referred to as the defenses in criminal law (Anderson, 2013). They include; Capacity Only criminals who have basic volitional and cognitive capacities are taken as legitimate subjects of criminal law. Criminal law operates in terms of general principles, and certain conditions are used as defenses. For illustration, insane and underage people are exempted from criminal liability whatever their actual capacities. Conduct Criminal conviction is founded in the diverse type of conduct stipulated in the crime classification. Although there are exceptions in the UK’s criminal law doctrine, is commonly held that sheer judgment, being of a definite standing rather than committing an action. In the absence of a precise responsibility to act, neglecting or forgetting to execute something rather than acting completely, are inadequate to institute criminal liability. Fault and responsibility Criminal liability is commonly said to depend on the competent question being in some responsible for or at liability in perpetrating the behavior stipulated in the offence characterization. Fault and responsibility situations comprise of mental states or attitudes like recklessness, dishonesty or negligence (Clarke, 1997). Defenses Even where a competent person has perpetrated the relevant behavior with the indispensable degree of fault, several defenses may act to preclude or mitigate his/her liability. For instance, a person who kills his/her attack may defend their position under self defense. General defenses apply to crimes that necessitate proof of responsibility and those of strict liability. Defenses fall under three categories; exemptions, justifications and excuses that relate to conduct, capacity and responsibility. For instance, incapacity exempts the defendant from communications of criminal law (Karmen, 2012). Bibliography Abadinsky, H., 2010. Organized crime. Connecticut: Cengage learning. Anderson, K.,2013. The rise of international criminal law: intended and unintended consequences. European journal of international law, 20(2), 331-358. Clarke, V.R., 1997. Situational crime prevention. Successful case studies. Accessed on 21 April 2013 from: http://www.popcenter.org/library/reading/PDFs/scp2_intro.pdf. Karmen, A., 2012. Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Lacey, N., nd. Legal constructions of crime. Accessed on 21 April 2013 from: http://Bookshop.Blackwell.Co.Uk/Extracts/9780199205431_Maguire.Pdf Legal Information Institute, 2010. White collar crime. Accessed on April 21, 2013 from: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/white-collar_crime Miller, R.L. & Jentz, G.A., 2010. Business Law Today: The Essentials. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Tadros, V. & Tierney, S., 2004. The presumption of innocence and the human rights act. Modern law review, 67(3), 402-434. “What is a crime?”, nd. Accessed on April 21, 2013 from: http://www.federationpress.com.au/pdf/Lanham%20Ch1A.pdf. Read More