Crime
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Criminal)
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)
Look up crime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
For other uses, see Crime (disambiguation).
Crimes
Classes of crime
Infraction · Misdemeanor · Felony
Summary · Indictable · Hybrid
Against the person
Assault · Battery
Extortion · Harassment
Kidnapping · Identity theft
(Corporate) Manslaughter
Murder · Rape
Robbery
Against property
Arson · Blackmail
Burglary · Deception
Embezzlement · False pretenses
Fraud · Handling
Larceny · Theft
Vandalism
Against the public order
Drug possession
Against the state
Tax evasion
Espionage · Treason
Against justice
Bribery · Misprision of felony
Obstruction · Perjury
Malfeasance in office
Inchoate offenses
Accessory · Attempt
Conspiracy · Incitement
Solicitation · Common purpose
Note: Crimes vary by jurisdiction.
Not all are listed here.
Crime is the breach of a rule or law for which a punishment may ultimately be prescribed by some governing authority or force. The word crime originates from the Latin crimen (genitive criminis), from the Latin root cerno and Greek ????? = "I judge". Originally it meant "charge (in law), guilt, accusation."
Informal relationships and sanctions have been deemed insufficient to create and maintain a desired social order. resulting in formalized systems of social control by the government, or more broadly, the State. With the institutional and legal machinery at their disposal, agents of the State are able to compel individuals to conform to behavioural codes and punish those that do not. Various mechanisms are employed to regulate behaviour, including rules codified into laws, policing people to ensure they comply with those laws, and other policies and practices designed to prevent crime. In addition are remedies and sanctions, and collectively these constitute a criminal justice system. Not all breaches of the law, however, are considered crimes, for example, breaches of contract and other civil law offenses. The label of "crime" and the accompanying social stigma are normally reserved for those activities that are injurious to the general population or the State, including some that cause serious loss or damage to individuals. The label is intended to assert an hegemony of a dominant population, or to reflect a consensus of condemnation for the identified behavior and to justify a punishment imposed by the State, in the event that an accused person is tried and convicted of a crime. Usually, the perpetrator of the crime is a natural person, but in some jurisdictions and in some moral environments, legal persons are also considered to have the capability of committing crimes.
