Aspects of Criminal Law Research Paper

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Introduction

Understanding the notion of crime gives a better expression of what constitute an acceptable behavior and what does not. Some behaviors have been regarded as crimes in some societies while in others they are not, for instance, prostitution has been legalized in some nations while it is seen as a criminal behavior in others. By understanding criminal law, we are able to identity what constitute an acceptable behavior and what does not.

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There are different types of crimes; for example, we have property crime, crimes against a person, and social crimes. A property crime is committed when an individual takes property belonging to another person without his will. Examples of property crimes include theft, burglary, and robbery. Murder is a crime against a person and involves taking another person’s life. Social crimes are crimes committed against the society.

They can also be defined as a violation of the societal norms. This paper will look at the meaning of crime, different types of crimes, and different forms of punishment. It will also look at murder as being a crime against a person and differentiate between murder and manslaughter. It will conclude by looking at the definition of social crimes and the different types of social crimes that are common in society today.

Crime

Crime is something done against the law. It is a violation of law. In this sense, law refers to something that shapes and is shaped by the society in which it operates.

According to Gottfredson & Hirschi (1990), everyone has the potential of breaking the law and therefore those who break it do it out of choice. A behavior is classified as a crime if a criminalized behavior is committed; there is a victim, law officer, and the offender. A criminalized behavior is a behavior that is unacceptable according to the laid down law. It can also be defined as a derogatory or blasphemy.

A victim is a person who is harmed by a criminalized behavior. It is worth noting that a behavior is considered to be a crime if the victim is innocent and was harmed due to the actions of the offender. A law officer is police officer who has been given the responsibility of enforcing law and the offender is the person who commits the criminal behavior. Most law enforcement officers assume that the law offender and the criminal behavior are tied in space.

Crimes can be classified into different categories, for instance, we have property crimes, computer crimes, crimes against a person, social crimes among others. Over the years, there has been an increase in the rate of property and computer crimes. Some of these crimes include; robbery, theft, burglary and internet crime.

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The introduction of computers and internet has accelerated the rate at which these crimes are taking place, for example, most people have taken advantage of the internet to conduct illegal businesses such as drug trafficking while others use it to rob people off their money in the name of trade. Robbery is a criminal act that involves forcibly taking or trying to take another person’s property by enacting fear upon the person. The offence that is usually committed is theft.

Punishment for Criminal Behaviors

In some cases, community supervision is used in place of prison incarceration. It is a situation whereby monitoring methods are employed to supervise the activities of law offenders. Community supervision is a light form of punishment that gives a criminal time to reflect on his criminal activities and learn from them without necessarily serving the prison sentence. Fines are another form of sentencing which is imposed on pretty crimes.

Minor forms of sentencing include probation, incarceration in prison, fines or community supervisions. Probation is a kind of punishment that hinders an offender from committing the criminal activities within a given period of time. It is a light punishment that is imposed on the criminal to help him learn from his mistakes. Probation can be used together with other forms of sentencing or can be used solely on people who have committed less serious crimes (Siegel, 2008).

Prison incarceration is a situation whereby a criminal is confined in a restricted area such as a prison or jail for a given period of time. It is used for criminals who have committed a crime for more than two times or for more serious crimes. The purpose of prison incarceration is to take the criminal from the society since he is deemed to be dangerous, and confine him in an area where he will be able to reflect on his mistakes and where he might get rehabilitated.

Inmates can be paroled after serving the minimum sentence if they are considered rehabilitated and ready to live in the community. In addition, the minimum or maximum time served may be reduced if the inmate’s behavior is deemed to have changed after going through the rehabilitation (O’Malley, 2000). However, there are some inmates whose behavior does not change even after serving long sentences.

This is because it is almost impossible for criminals to acquire jobs with felony records and worse enough, criminals associate with other criminals making it difficult to get other sources of income other than the criminal activities. This is why we find criminals who have just been released from prison committing acts of crime without being worried. Others acquire even intense criminal behaviors from their peers in prison which they practice the moment they are released

Crimes against a Person: Murder

Murder can be classified as either first-degree murder of second degree. First degree murder is a restrictive kind of murder while second-degree is merely defined as murder that is not in the first degree. Murder in the first degree is defined as premeditated killing. It is defined as predetermined killing because the offender is assumed to have planned about the killing.

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Murder can also be committed without provocation; this means that the murderer had not intended to commit the crime and cannot give any justified explanation why he took someone’s life.

Murder can also be defined as felony-murder. This type of murder occurs when a person commits a felony such as theft or rape and someone is killed in the process (Tappan, 1997). Such a person is charged with murder even if he had no intention to do so. It is assumed that the victims’ death was a result of the dangerous act being committed by the offender.

Another type of killing is referred to as manslaughter, this defers from murder in that there is no premeditation to kill in manslaughter. There are two types of manslaughter; these are; voluntary and involuntary. In voluntary manslaughter, the offender kills intentionally mostly due to emotions though he does not premeditate about the killing. In most cases, voluntary manslaughter occurs when the offender is provoked by the actions of the victim and is angered beyond control.

This kind of killing mostly occurs in bars where fights results into killings with both parties being drunk. Involuntary manslaughters occur due to negligence but the killer does not have an intention to kill. Negligence in this case refers to failure of the offender to take necessary caution. An example of involuntary killing would be a policeman mishandling a loaded gun that goes off unintentionally and takes the life of an innocent person.

Murder bears the more serious sentencing than voluntary manslaughter, although this depends on the law applied in a given state. Involuntary manslaughter is also penalized not unless the killing was a result of self-defense. However, the offender has to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that his actions were as a result of direct danger.

Nowhere is the thought that the menace of punishment can control crime more evident that in the execution of tough obligatory criminal sentences to control violent crimes. Regardless of its questionable deterrent effect, some advocates argue that the death penalty can in actual fact limit criminality; at least it guarantees that convicted criminals never again get the opportunity to kill.

Many witnesses are disappointed because people who are convicted of murder sometimes kill again when released on parole. Research shows that more than nine percent of all inmates on death row have had previous convictions for murder. Advocates argue that if these criminals had been executed for their first offenses, hundreds of people would not have died (Dicklitch & Malik, 2010).

Social Crimes

Social crimes can be defined as the acts that obstruct society’s operations and the capability of people to carry out their tasks efficiently. They can also be defined as the criminal behaviors that are against the expected values, customs, and societal norms. According to Robertson (1989), a crime is an act that breaches a law.

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However, there is a difference between political crime and social crime. In the latter, the community suffers from the acts of criminals while in political crime, the victim is perceived to be the government or the state. Some of the examples of social crimes are discussed below;

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Crimes

In many nations, it is illegal to drive under the influence of intoxicant drinks such as alcohol. Many sociologists classify DWI crimes as victimless because no one is affected physically as a result of the crime except the offenders. However, not all social scientists agree with this view; some point out that DWI may cause damage that engages in far more costly activities.

They have classified DWI as a deviant behavior which has to be enforced by law. This law has only been enforced systematically like three decades ago. Many people agree that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous but they fear to point at such drivers because drinking has become a social activity that frequently violates the norm (Kendall, 2009).

Prostitution

Prostitution is a sexually related crime that is considered to be a threat to the society because it causes disruption to the public order. This is the act of engaging in sexual activities for compensation. Prostitution is one of the oldest world’s professions since it has been there at the ancient times.

In every year, more than 80,000 prostitution offenders are arrested; the ratio of these arrests is 2:1 (female to male respectively). Out of the total number of arrests 1.5% involves minors under the age of 18 and some even below the age of 15. Some sociologists argue that criminal law should not interfere with sexual transactions because no one is harmed (Mann, 1993). However, some scientists affirm that crimes like prostitution actually inflict damage that engages in far more serious and costly criminal activities.

Obscenity

Many cultures all over the world have produced laws that define obscenity and the jurisdiction that follows if prosecuted. Obscene materials include pornography. These include books, magazines, and films that show sexual acts. If pornography is considered to be obscene, then it becomes a crime.

This is because such materials are not only offensive but also a violation to the values of morality in the society. It is true that no one is harmed by such materials but the influence they have on the society is immense, for example, if minors are exposed to such kind of materials, their body is affected and as a result they may engage in sexual acts leading to prostitution (Mann, 1993).

Lewdness

Lewdness is a public order crime that can be grouped under public indecency. It can be defined as the deliberate exposure of private parts such as breasts, genitals and buttocks in public. It can also be defined as an attempt to engage in sexual acts in public or in places where one can be observed. In places where sexual acts have been a problem, one does not need to expose his/her private parts or engage in a sexual act for it to be considered as a public lewdness (Anon. 2010).

Conclusion

The paper has looked at the definition of crime, some of the most common types of crimes and the different types of punishment to be imposed on law offenders.

It has also looked at murder as a crime against a person, the difference between first degree murder and second degree murder, manslaughter as well as social crimes. A crime is a violation of the law. It is a behavior that is against the acceptable norms in a society. Types of crimes include robbery, theft, and computer crimes. A law offender attracts a punishment that is determined by the judicial system.

A crime against a person is known as murder. Murder differs from manslaughter in that in murder the offender premeditates about the killings while in manslaughter there is no premeditation. Both voluntary and involuntary manslaughter are not premeditated although in voluntary there is intention to kill while involuntary occurs accidentally. Examples of social crimes include but not limited to prostitution, WDI, obscenity, and lewdnesses.

These are crimes that affect the proper functioning of the society. They are regarded as deviant behaviors or unacceptable behaviors. Public safety education should be provided to all age group to provide them with the necessary information that will help them recognize and prevent such crimes. For instance, most of the individuals involved in prostitution do it out of ignorance and they do not know the negative effects associated with it.

Reference List

Anon. (2010). Police Praised Over Anti-Social Crimes. Cardiff (UK): South Wales Echo.

Dicklitch, S. & Malik, A. (2010). Justice, Human Rights, and Reconciliation in Post conflict Cambodia. Human Rights Review. New York, Vol. 11 Issue 4 Pg.515.

Gottfredson, M.R., and Hirschi, T. (1990). A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Kendall, D. (2009). Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. New York: Cengage Learning.

Mann, C. R. (1993). Unequal Justice: A Question of Color Blacks in the Diaspora. Indiana: Indiana University Press.

O’Malley, P. 2000. Criminologist of Catastrophe? Understanding Criminal Justice on the Edge of the New Millennium. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 33, 2:153-67.

Robertson, I. (1989). Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishing.

Siegel, L. J. (2008). Criminology. New York: Cengage Learning.

Tappan, P.W. (1997). Who Is the Criminal? American Sociological Review 12: 96-102.

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