All processes taking place in human society must be evaluated within the strictly specified framework of law and morality. For many centuries, humanity has created leverage to prevent, eliminate and punish crime. What are the results of such labor?
The concept of crime, types and general characteristics
Destructive human behavior is caused by various reasons. But everything almost always ends according to one scenario: crime - punishment. To understand the nature of crime, various areas of science have their own formulations. Among them, the concept of a crime in jurisprudence is important, since it occupies a leading place.
The classic interpretation reads: a crime is the commission of an act prohibited by the Criminal Code of any country. The commission of a crime is punishable by punishment that can range from a fine to the death pen alty, including imprisonment. Pen alties are chosen depending on the severity of the illegal acts. The identification of illegal actions and their legal assessment are carried out through the conceptcrime investigation.
For example, if the parking lot says that you can park cars only until 18:00, and a citizen forgot to remove his car before 18:20, this is already classified as a violation of the law. But this situation is relevant for those countries where the laws are strictly observed.
The Edge of Crime
What is a crime and what is not? To answer this question, each person has to turn to the laws of his country. In any case, in general, every citizen is subject to three levels of laws: federal, government regulations and laws issued by local authorities. At the same time, it is important that there are no contradictions between them.
For example, if one law allows a particular action, then another should not prohibit it.
The concept and types of crimes indicate that any crime harms other people, causes moral, material and physical suffering. The only effective lever for maintaining public order are the laws and norms of morality. Jurisprudence covers every aspect of human life in terms of compliance with these standards. Based on legal norms and local laws, the court is called upon to make a fair decision aimed at compensating for infringed rights and punishing criminal elements.
Signs
The general description of the concept of crime in jurisprudence operates with such terms as "object" and "subject". Subjects have rights. This isIndividuals and legal entities. Object - tangible and intangible property in respect of which these rights arise. In addition, depending on the case under consideration, the subject can be individual states or territories, and the object can be any category to which the rights of subjects apply.
By type of crime (the concept of which we consider in this material), depending on the form of guilt, they are divided into:
- intentional - a citizen deliberately committed illegal acts;
- careless - committed in an uncontrollable emotional outburst: heat of passion, shock;
- other types that may include elements of the first and second types.
The stages of any crime are divided into two: committed and unfinished, defined as an attempt or preparation for criminal acts.
In relation to generic objects, a crime, the concept of which defines it as illegal actions, can be carried out against:
- national interest;
- physical he alth of another person;
- honour, dignity and freedom.
The motives of the crime are also taken into account - the circumstances or motives that prompted the subject to take an illegal step. From this point of view, crimes committed for mercenary purposes, as a result of hooligan behavior based on revenge, stand out.
Principles of criminal law
Although the subject of discussionconsidered a publicly condemned phenomenon, the concept of a criminal offense is based on the principles of absolute honesty, when the rights of not only the victim, but also the person who committed the criminal act are taken into account.
These principles are as follows:
- Presumption of innocence. According to this provision, a person is not considered guilty of a crime until his guilt is proven through investigative measures. The investigation is ongoing until charges are brought against the suspect. The judge must check the evidence for authenticity. If the materials raise doubts, then the citizen must be acquitted.
- Need for proof. A person cannot be considered guilty until concrete evidence of a crime has been found. The evidence base includes a very wide range of materials, depending on the type of crime. If we are talking about a crime against physical he alth, then the evidence is the inflicted bodily injuries and a medical opinion about their origin.
- The right of a suspect to remain silent. In practice, all persons related to the crime must answer the questions of the investigation. In the standard order, questions are asked regarding identification: first name, last name, occupation, date of birth, address of residence, and more. If a person gives incorrect information, then he deserves punishment before the law as having made an attempt to mislead the investigation. But in certain cases, the citizen has the right to refrain from questions of the investigator. In this case, he must dothis with the help of your lawyer.
- Exclusion of double punishment. A person cannot be punished several times for one criminal act. The same provision applies to cases where the court acquits the suspected person from criminal liability. Although in judicial practice there are often cases when an acquitted citizen again becomes a suspect. This may be due to new discovered circumstances of the crime.
Composition of criminal acts
The concept of corpus delicti is considered by different theoretical bases, but the Criminal Code does not contain a direct definition. In practice, the corpus delicti describes a set of objective and subjective factors that took place in the process of its investigation. The corpus delicti defines an event as a criminally punishable act and serves as the basis for liability.
The concept and meaning of the corpus delicti have such aspects as objective and subjective side. The objective side describes the external characteristics of the crime. Includes:
- Act dangerous to society.
- Concepts and types of crimes against society and social foundations.
- Causal relationships between 1 and 2 factors.
- The way the crime was committed.
- Time, circumstances, place and means of committing a criminal act.
Besides, any crime is estimated from the point of view of public danger. Danger is bornin two ways: through the actions of persons or inaction.
Determining the severity of crimes
In the concept of the types of crimes, the degree of their severity is considered separately. Four species are defined:
- The category of minor gravity implies the types of acts that caused minor damage to others. Punishment includes imprisonment for a short period, community service, or the payment of a fine. According to Russian law, this category includes crimes in which the sentence does not exceed 2 years. Example: disclosure of professional secrets, inappropriate treatment of adopted children.
- Acts in which the punishment is imprisonment for several years - medium severity. This figure differs depending on the laws in force in the country. According to Russian law standards, the sentence does not exceed 5 years. Examples are illegal business activities or child substitution in a maternity hospital.
- Serious crimes that carry a sentence of up to ten years in prison. Examples are: torture, kidnapping, physical harm, or imprisonment without legal grounds.
- Especially serious crimes. This category differs from others in terms of the composition of the crime. The first three categories include crimes committed by willful intent and by negligence. But especially grave crimes cannot be the result of negligence. This category includes typescrimes punishable by 10 years in prison to life imprisonment. This category certainly includes criminal acts that pose a threat to national security, the murder of one or more people.
Crime as a destructive phenomenon is studied not only within the framework of jurisprudence, but also from other sciences. The meaning of the concept of crime has different theoretical bases depending on the context of consideration.
Psychology of Misconduct
The concept of crime is also widely considered by the social sciences. For example, from the point of view of psychology, four types of crimes should be distinguished:
- An act that violates the laws of the country and is punishable by the state.
- Violation of the norms of public morality, religious values, subject to punishment by higher powers.
- Acts that cause other people severe psychological stress and emotional tension are psychological crimes.
- Violation of the norms accepted in society, the traditions of any country. Such acts create a negative background in society.
From this point of view, the concept and types of crimes coincide with the legal approach. Crime control implies not only accountability and accountability, but also preventive measures. From these motives, it will be interesting to study the risk factors for crime.
What conditions give rise tocrime?
Risk factors are certain situations or properties of people, in the presence of which the risk of committing crimes increases. To date, these factors are commonly referred to as:
- Human conduct disorder.
- Environmental impact.
- Lack of knowledge of do's and don'ts.
- Low level of education.
- Media influence.
- Personal traits of a person.
- Bad parenting.
- Lack of social skills.
- Anti-social beliefs.
Criminal behavior is established by facts of arrest and convictions on a person's account. Social scientists use such information to study the nature of crime. So, what does the concept and signs of a crime or criminal behavior have to do with a person's personality?
Criminal Behavior
The causes of criminal behavior can vary greatly on a case-by-case basis, but they can still be grouped into two main categories - genetics and environment.
When the question of the causes of criminal behavior arose in the mid-19th century, many psychologists agreed that the only cause was genetics. They even believed that a person's propensity for crime could be measured by the mental state of the parents. If they had even minor mental problems, their children are more likely to become criminals. Scientists had their own options for solving the problem, but it would hardly have beenfair if people with a higher risk of committing a crime were not allowed by the state to normal life.
Modern approach
Later, a number of studies were conducted. The modern approach to this issue is that genetics is indeed an important factor in criminal behavior, but the environment is no less important. This includes the family in which the child was born and raised, as an example, parents, their social status, education and other factors.
Currently, psychologists and forensic scientists agree that criminal behavior is indeed a complex mechanism associated with many factors. A child can grow up in a “criminal” family (mother is a schizophrenic, father is a rapist and murderer). But after he got an education and a job, there is nothing anti-social in his behavior. This proves that the concepts and signs of crime or crime cannot be determined by genetics.
Conclusion
The fight against crime is an important task for every state. Given the fact that crime tends to develop in integration with other social phenomena, its complete elimination is almost impossible. However, there are countries with low crime rates. In this they are helped by the severity of punishment, the absence of corruption in the state system and the high degree of consciousness of citizens.
In the fight against crime, one should pay attention to the experience of countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Austria, Norway and Switzerland. Thesethe territories are considered the safest for living due to low crime rates. Russia occupies 73rd place in the international rating, having a crime index of 2.4.
The countries of Central and South America and East Africa have the highest rates of crime. Sociologists attribute this to a low standard of living and great economic problems.
