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Encyclopedia > Criminal offense
Common stereotype of a criminal

A crime in a broad sense is an act that violates a political or moral law. In the narrow sense, a crime is a violation of the criminal law. For example, most traffic violations or breach of contracts are not crimes in a legal sense. Download high resolution version (1024x1366, 140 KB)Balaclava Source: Stock. ... Download high resolution version (1024x1366, 140 KB)Balaclava Source: Stock. ... Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... In many parts of the world traffic is generally organized, flowing in lanes of travel for a particular direction, with interchanges, traffic signals, or signage at intersectons to facilitate the orderly and timely flow of traffic. ... Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other partys performance. ...

Contents

Definition of crime

This section describes usual criminal classifications applicable at present in Western countries. They may differ significantly with those applicable in other cultures; also, they may differ significantly with earlier practices.

Western can refer to: A Western blot is a method in molecular biology to detect a certain protein in a sample by using antibody specific to that protein. ...

General rules

A crime can be the action of violating or breaking a law. According to Western jurisprudence, there must be a simultaneous concurrence of both actus reus ("guilty action") and mens rea ("guilty mind") for a crime to have been committed; except in crimes of strict liability. In order for prosecution, some laws require proof of causality, relating the defendant's actions to the criminal event in question. In addition, some laws require that attendant circumstances have occurred, in order for a crime to have occurred. Also, in order for a crime to be prosecuted, corpus delicti (or "proof of a crime") must be established. For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... Jurisprudence (from Latin: juris prudentia — by the activity of prudentes; advisors, experts), is the philosophy, science, study, and application of law. ... Concurrence or Simultaneity is a legal term, from Western jurisprudence, referring to the simultaneous occurrence of actus reus (bad action) and mens rea (bad mind), which must be present for a crime to have occurred; except in crimes of strict liability. ... Actus reus is the action (or inaction, in the case of criminal negligence and similar crimes which are sometimes called acts of omission) which, in combination with the mens rea (guilty mind), produces criminal liability in common law based criminal law jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom. ... Mens rea is a criminal law concept which focuses on the mental state of the accused and requires proof of a positive state of mind such as intent, recklessness, or willful blindness. ... Strict liability is a legal doctrine in tort law that makes a person responsible for the damages caused by their actions regardless of culpability (fault) or mens rea. ... The philosophical concept of causality or causation refers to the set of all particular causal or cause-and-effect relations. ... In Common law, a defendant is any person who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff in a civil suit or any person who has been named in a criminal information or criminal complaint and stands accused of violating a criminal statute. ... Attendant circumstances are a legal concept which Blacks Law Dictionary defines as the facts surrounding an event. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... Corpus delicti (Latin: body of crime) term from Western jurisprudence which refers to the principle that it must be proven that a crime has occurred, before a person can be convicted of committing the crime. ... The scientific method or process is fundamental to the scientific investigation and acquisition of new knowledge based upon physical evidence. ...


It may also be a crime to conspire in order to commit other crimes, or helping others to commit crimes (which makes one an accomplice); in some systems the simple association for organizing a crime is punished. The attempt to commit a crime may to be punished, even if the crime is not completed (in California, e.g., the punishment can be half of that for the crime itself [1] (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen/654-678.html)); for instance, it is generally a crime to attempt to murder someone, even if one has not succeeded in doing so. At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offence. ... For the Macintosh operating system, which was called System up to version 7. ... Association is the following: A voluntary association (also sometimes called an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement, explicit or implicit, to form or act as a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ... An organization is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ...


Trial as adult and Psychiatric condemnation

In general, in most western systems, the definition of a crime requires the existing intention of committing it (voluntas necandi) in the author, therefore it is usually not officially "punished" when this intention is missing or when the author has not a complete mental sanity or is under a certain age. Underage defendants can be tried "as an adult" because their character is considered adult, whatever the rationale is behind this. In another example, there generally exists an insanity defense: a mad person is not officially called penally responsible for his or her actions. It is common for someone that plead the insanity defense to be found guilty nonpsychiatrically or less commonly, to be psychiatrically condemned, or "involuntarily committed". Legal and official names indicate that involuntary commitment is neither legally nor officially considered punishment. They are for no definite duration or severity and the indefinite severity can easily enter the extreme. Psychiatric prisoners, or "patients", often are watched over in an ordinary prison and by a combination of psychiatric and nonpsychiatric staff. Physically and organizationally, psychiatrically specialized prisons, or "mental hospitals", are integrated into the medical system in terms of executing the sentence. Similarly, one is sometimes not held responsible for actions that one was forced to accomplish by an external power. For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... Sanity is a legal term denoting that an individual is of sound mind and therefore can bear legal responsibility for his or her actions. ... Description An air embolism, or more generally gas embolism, is a medical condition caused by gas bubbles in the bloodstream. ... In a criminal trial, the insanity defense are possible defenses by excuse, via which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ...


Reasons for criminalizing actions

Crimes are viewed as offenses against society, and as such are punished by the state. They can be scholastically distinguished, depending on the passive subject of the crime (the victim), or on the offended interest, in crimes against: This article is in need of attention. ... Victim was the title of a British film made in 1961, directed by Basil Deardon and starring Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Simms. ...

Or they can be distinguished depending on the related punishment (then, on the degree of offense that the forbidden behaviour caused), in delicts and violations. A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Administration Organisational use In some organisational analyses, administration can refer to the bureaucratic or operational performance of mundane office tasks, usually internally oriented. ... Justice is a concept involving the fair, moral, and impartial treatment of all persons, especially in law. ... Religion—sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system— is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices and institutions associated with such belief. ... Death is either the cessation of life in a living organism or the state of the organism after that event. ... In urban planning, the notion of public order refers a city containing relatively empty (and orderly) spaces; which allow for flexibility in redesiging the citys layout; such perceptions played an important role in the establishments of suburbs. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Faith The word faith has various uses; its central meaning is equivalent to belief, trust or confidence. As such, the object of faith can be either a person (or even an inanimate object or state of affairs) or a proposition (or body of propositions, such... This article is about the business concept; Commerce is also the name of several places in the United States. ... Morality is a complex system of general principles and particular judgments based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong. ... Honour (or honor) comprises the reputation, self-perception or moral identity of an individual or of a group. ... 1. ... In society, punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer. ...


The definition of a crime generally reflects the current attitudes prevalent in a society. For example, possession of drugs was not always a crime, while the Prohibition Era made alcohol illegal. This article is in need of attention. ... Many drugs are provided in tablet form. ... Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ...


Classification of crimes

Crimes can be divided into several (overlapping) categories: computer offenses, crimes against persons, crimes against property, crimes against state security, drug offenses, sexual offenses, and weapon offenses. Crimes are also be grouped by severity, some common categorical terms being: felonies, indictable offenses, misdemeanors, and summary offences. For convenience, infractions are also usually incuded in such lists, although they are not subject of the criminal law, but rather of the civil law. An inchoate offense is a planned or attempted crime, which the offender was not able to carry out prior to arrest. Computer crime or e-crime is crime in which a computer plays an essential part. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Human beings define themselves in biological, social, and spiritual terms. ... Use of the term The concept of property or ownership has no single or universally accepted definition. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... This page covers security in the sense of protection from hostile action. ... Many drugs are provided in tablet form. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Sex The members of many species of living things are divided into two or more categories called sexes (or loosely speaking, genders). ... The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... In many common law jurisdictions (e. ... Misdemeanors are lesser criminal acts which are generally punished less severely than felonies; but more so than infractions. ... In the law of many common law jurisdictions, a summary offence is an offence which can be tried without an indictment. ... An infraction (minor offense, minor violation, petty offense) is a petty crime, considered to be less serious than a misdemeanor. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... An inchoate offense is a crime. ... The Chicago Police Department arrests a man An arrest is the action of police or other authority, or even in some circumstances a private civilian, to apprehend and take under guard a person who is suspected of committing a crime. ...


The following are crimes in many jurisdictions:

Arson is the crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. ... In many common law jurisdictions, the crime of battery involves an injury or other contact upon the person of another in a manner likely to cause bodily harm. ... For other uses, see Blackmail (disambiguation). ... Breaking and entering is defined as the crime of illegally entering a residence or other enclosed property using any amount of force (even pushing open an unlocked door). ... Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as described by Hans Staden. ... Motor vehicle theft is a crime of theft. ... Sexual abuse is physical or psychological abuse that involves crimes in most countries. ... A counterfeit is an imitation that is made with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins. ... Alternate uses: See Conspiracy (disambiguation) Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. ... Criminal threatening is the crime of intentionally or knowingly putting another person in fear of imminent bodily injury. ... Domestic violence, by barest definition, is violence within a home. ... Drug possession is the crime of having one or more illegal drugs in ones possession, either for personal use, distribution, sale or otherwise. ... Spy and secret agent redirect here; for alternate use, see Spy (disambiguation) and Secret agent (disambiguation). ... Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person obtains money, behaviour, or other goods and/or services from another by wrongfully threatening or inflicting harm to his person, reputation, or property. ... Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive (fraud is the use of objects obtained through forgery). ... Look up Genocide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Genocide has been defined as the deliberate killing of people based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, or (sometimes) politics, as well as other deliberate actions leading to the physical elimination of any of the above categories. ... Grave robbing is the act of disinterring a corpse to steal either the body or its effects. ... Homicide is the killing of another human being by one or more others. ... Home invasion is the crime of entering a private and occupied dwelling, with the intent of committing a crime and often while threatening the resident. ... Identity theft is the deliberate assumption of another persons identity, usually to gain access to their finances or frame them for a crime. ... Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving risking money or valuables (making a wager or placing a stake) on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon ones ability to do something. ... Larceny is a crime involving stealing. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... Looting is theft that takes advantage of special conditions such as a disaster, war, evacuation or blackout. ... Perjury is lying or making verifiable false statements under oath in a court of law. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (examples: oral sex, sexual intercourse) for money. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... These lollipops, above, were found to contain heroin when inspected by the DEA. Smuggling is illegal transport, in particular across a border. ... Stalking is following or observing a person persistently and surreptitiously, sometimes done out of obsession or derangement. ... This article contrasts tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax resistance and tax mitigation. ... Theft (also known as stealing) is, in general, the wrongful taking of someone elses property without that persons willful consent. ... In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. ... In law, trespass can be: the criminal act of going into somebody else’s land or property without permission; it is also a civil law tort that may be a valid cause of action to seek judicial relief and possibly damages through a lawsuit. ... Usury (from the Latin usus meaning used) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... To report vandalism on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Vandalism in progress. ... Weapon possession, as a crime, consists of that circumstance in which a person who is not legally authorised to carry a concealed weapon is found in possession of such a weapon. ...

Aiding and abetting

It may be a crime to aid someone else in committing a crime, or induce him or her to commit one.


Study

Matters related to criminal behavior in society are studied in the field of sociology on the sub-field of criminology, and a person who studies this is called a criminologist. The mental state and acuity of criminals is assessed by psychologists, especially in cases wherein the insanity defense is being utilized. Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups, and societies, sometimes defined as the study of social interactions. ... Criminology is a sub-field of sociology dealing with matters related to crime and criminal behavior. ... Criminology is a sub-field of sociology dealing with matters related to crime and criminal behavior. ... A psychologist is a researcher and/or a practitioner of psychology. ... In a criminal trial, the insanity defense are possible defenses by excuse, via which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ...


The study of crime, in general, across a number of functional diciplines is often known as crime science. This draws on statistics, environmental design, forensics, policing, sociology and other sciences to analyse the crimes, rather than the offenders, and provides ways and means to prevent, detect and solve crimes. Crime science is the study of crime, rather than just the offenders, as happens in other branches of criminology, in order to provide ways and means to prevent, detect and solve crimes. ...


History

The first civilizations had codes of law, though these codes were not always recorded. The first known written codes were written by the ancient Sumerians, and it was probably their king Ur-Nammu (reigning on Ur in the 21st century BC) the first legislator of which we received a formal system in 32 articles; it has to be recalled that this is not among the eldest laws, since not all the ancient laws are penal rules. In the antiquity, in fact, codes mostly contained both civil and penal rules together. Sumerians however later issued other codes as the one known as "code of Lipit-Istar" (last king of the 3rd dynasty of Ur, Isin - 20th century BC). This code contains some 50 articles and has been reconstructed by the comparison among several sources. Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... Ur-Nammu (or Urnammu) was an ancient Sumerian king of Ur, fl. ... Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, originally located near the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. ...


In Babylon the code of Esnunna before, and the code of Hammurabi (one of the richest ones of ancient times) after, were used and reflected society's belief that law was derived from the will of the gods. Babylon was the capital city of Babylonia in Mesopotamia (in contemporary Iraq, about 70 mi/110 km south of Baghdad). ... An inscription of the Code of Hamurabi The Code of Hammurabi, created ca. ...


Similarly, some codes of conduct of religious origins or reference have been included in penal codes, forbidden behaviours resulting in real crimes in the states ruled by theocracy even in more recent times. Theocracy is a form of government in which a religion and the government are allied. ...


Natural law theory of crime

An alternative view of crime is derived from the theory of natural law. In this view, crime is the violation of individual rights. Since rights are considered as natural, rather than man-made, what constitutes a crime is also natural, in contrast to laws, which are man-made. Adam Smith illustrates this view, saying a smuggler would be an excellent citizen, "had not the laws of his country made that a crime which nature never meant to be so." In law, natural law is the doctrine that just laws are immanent in nature (that can be claimed as discovered but not created by such things as a bill of rights) and/or that they can emerge by natural process of resolving conflicts (as embodied by common law). ... Individual rights is a legal term referring to what one is allowed to do and what can be done to an individual. ... Adam Smith Adam Smith (June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... These lollipops, above, were found to contain heroin when inspected by the DEA. Smuggling is illegal transport, in particular across a border. ...


Natural law theory thus distinguishes between criminality and illegality, the former being derived from human nature, the latter being derived from the interests of those in power. The two concepts are sometimes expressed with the phrases "malum in se" and "malum prohibitum". This view leads to a seeming paradox, that an act can be illegal that is no crime, while a criminal act could be perfectly legal. Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... Malum in se (plural mala in se) is a Latin phrase meaning wrong in itself; it is an act that is illegal from the nature of the act, i. ... Malum prohibitum (plural mala prohibita, literal translation: wrong because prohibited) is a Latin phrase used in law to refer to crimes made so by statute, as opposed to crimes based on English common law and obvious violations of societys standards which are defined as malum in se. ... Robert Boyles self-flowing flask fills itself in this diagram, but perpetual motion machines do not exist. ...


Many Enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith and the American Founding Fathers subscribed to this view to some extent, and it remains influential among so-called classical liberals and libertarians. The Age of Enlightenment (or The Enlightenment for short) was an intellectual movement in 18th-century Europe. ... Adam Smith Adam Smith (June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... Founding Fathers are persons instrumental not only in the establishment (founding) of a political institution, but also in the origination of the idea of the institution. ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... This article deals with the libertarianism as defined in America and several other nations. ...


A crime malum in se is argued to be inherently criminal; whereas a crime malum prohibitum is argued to be criminal only because the law has decreed it so.


Penal law in USA

The current American legal system derives from English common law, usually case law rather than statutory law, in all states except Louisiana, which follows a French system. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Case law - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Statutory law is written law (as opposed to oral or customary law) set down by a legislature or other governing authority such as the executive branch of government in response to a perceived need to clarify the functioning of government, improve civil order, answer a public need, to codify existing... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455 km² (16%) Population (2000)  - Population 4,468,976 (22nd)  - Density 39. ...


Crimes are divided into categories and subcategories of definition, under which fall many specific crimes. For example, homicide is the subcategory, of the violent crimes, which includes murder, manslaughter, and in some states, self-abortion or "abortion without consent of the female". Arson and theft are examples of property crimes. Each state has its own penal law, which is frequently based on the Model Penal Code. There are also federal statutes, though the defining of federal crimes only became popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Homicide is the killing of another human being by one or more others. ... Arson is the crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. ... Theft (also known as stealing) is, in general, the wrongful taking of someone elses property without that persons willful consent. ... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the V1 flying bomb and the first ballistic missile, the... Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ...


Crimes are generally classified into different degrees of severity, including violations, misdemeanors, and felonies. Violations are punishable by a fine, misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in a state penitentiary and/ or a fine, and felonies are punishable by a year or more in a state prison and/ or a fine.


It is generally prohibited to aid or abet in a crime; if it is an offence against the US one is even punishable as a principal. [2] (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/18/parts/i/chapters/1/sections/section_2.html)



See also: criminal law Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ...


See also:

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Wikiquote quotations related to:
Crime

File links The following pages link to this file: Charles Farrar Browne Definitions of music Edmund Spenser Floccinaucinihilipilification Main Page James Cagney Plautus Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead Thomas J. Watson William Penn Pericles Hyman G. Rickover Julian of Norwich Wikipedia:About Eric Gill Main Page/Temp Virginia Satir Raymond Williams... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... Actus reus is the action (or inaction, in the case of criminal negligence and similar crimes which are sometimes called acts of omission) which, in combination with the mens rea (guilty mind), produces criminal liability in common law based criminal law jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom. ... Case law - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Death Penalty World Map Color Key: Blue: Abolished for all crimes Green: Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war) Orange: Abolitionist in Practice Red: Legal Form of Punishment Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... A consensual or victimless crime is a crime where all of those involved in the act give consent, and no third parties suffer as a direct result. ... A crime against humanity is a term in international law that refers to acts of murderous persecution against body of people, as being the criminal offense above all others. ... Crime indexes are generated to analyze crime statistics. ... Crime mapping is a key component of crime analysis and the CompStat policing strategy. ... This graph shows the rate of non-fatal firearm-related crime in the United States from 1993 to 2001. ... Crime indexes are generated to analyze crime statistics. ... The study of criminal justice traditionally revolves around three main components of the criminal justice system: police courts corrections Nowadays, it is sometimes argued that psychiatry is also a central part of the criminal justice system. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... A criminal record or rap sheet is a generic term used to describe a compiled record of crimes that a person has committed or has allegedly committed. ... Criminology is a sub-field of sociology dealing with matters related to crime and criminal behavior. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... Decriminalization is the process of making an action no longer a criminal act in the relevant jurisdiction. ... A detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigate information not readily available in public records (a private investigator, also called... Deterrence ALOHA!! is a means of controlling a persons behavior through negative motivational influences, namely fear of punishment. ... A hate crime (bias crime), loosely defined, is a crime committed because of the perpetrators prejudices. ... An inchoate offense is a crime. ... In a criminal trial, the insanity defense are possible defenses by excuse, via which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ... International crime can be: Crime that crosses international borders, and usually committed by international criminal groups. ... Justice is a concept involving the fair, moral, and impartial treatment of all persons, especially in law. ... Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... Malum in se (plural mala in se) is a Latin phrase meaning wrong in itself; it is an act that is illegal from the nature of the act, i. ... Malum prohibitum (plural mala prohibita, literal translation: wrong because prohibited) is a Latin phrase used in law to refer to crimes made so by statute, as opposed to crimes based on English common law and obvious violations of societys standards which are defined as malum in se. ... Mens rea is a criminal law concept which focuses on the mental state of the accused and requires proof of a positive state of mind such as intent, recklessness, or willful blindness. ... For other meanings of motive see motive (algebraic geometry) and (alternate spelling of) motif (music). ... In society, punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer. ... Racial profiling is the use of race as one consideration in suspect profiling or other law enforcement practices. ... Sex crimes are forms of human sexual behavior that are crimes. ... Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behaviour, in terms of greater sanctions and rewards. ... In US politics, social policies are those which regulate and govern human behavior in areas such as sexuality and general morality. ... Statutory law is written law (as opposed to oral or customary law) set down by a legislature or other governing authority such as the executive branch of government in response to a perceived need to clarify the functioning of government, improve civil order, answer a public need, to codify existing... Strict liability crimes are offenses against the state (crimes) in which no mental state or mens rea is necessary. ... The supreme court in some countries, provinces, and states, is the highest court in that jurisdiction and functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be appealed. ... Victimology is the study of why certain people are victims of crime and how lifestyles affect the chances that a certain person will fall victim to a crime. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... White-collar crimes (a term coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939) or Business crimes are those crimes specifically performed by white collar employees. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... This article is about sea pirates. ...

External links

  • Crime incidence by country (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_tot_cri)
  • Criminal Background Checks (http://www.ebackground-checks.com/criminal-background-checks.php)
  • Directory of crime (http://www.securitylinks.org/Crime/index.html)

  Results from FactBites:
 
Crime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1484 words)
Crimes are viewed as offenses against society, and as such are punished by the state.
Matters related to criminal behavior in society are studied in the field of sociology in the sub-field of criminology, and a person who studies this is called a criminologist.
The mental state and acuity of criminals is assessed by psychologists, especially in cases wherein the insanity defense is being utilized.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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