Crimes and Criminals

Crime

What is crime?

Basically, there is no one formal agreed definition of crime. Depending on who you read, you would come across different descriptions and definitions.

In the simplest terms, crime is a forbidden act or omission.

From another perspective, "crime" is the generic term used to refer to offenses, felonies, delinquencies, and misdemeanors. These terms are essentially classifications of crimes and they are defined as the following:

• offence acts or omissions punishable by Special Laws

• felony acts or omissions punishable under the Revised Penal Code

• delinquency or misdemeanor violations of simple rules or regulations usually committed by minor offenders

Basic Components of Crime

Crime is composed of two basic components: actus reus and mens rea. Actus reus refers to the actual voluntary act or omission while mens rea refers to a certain state of mind.

The Criminal

A criminal is said to be an author of a crime that has happened. It must be clear that a person cannot be called a criminal unless they have been proven to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt. That is, there must have already been a conviction in the relevant case.

Formally, criminals can be defined in three different ways:

• Legal a criminal is a person who has committed a crime and has been convicted by a court of a violation of criminal law

• Social a criminal is a person who violated a social norm or one who committed an anti-social act

• Psychological a criminal is a person who violated rules of conduct due to behavioral maladjustment

It must be noted that, in the current Philippine legal system, a person who is said to be a criminal based on the legal definition above is no longer called as such or other related terms like "prisoner" or "convict." These terms are considered derogatory, so they are no longer in use officially. Instead, these people are called "persons deprived of liberty" or PDL's.

In relation to that, those who used to be called "suspects" are now referred to as "persons under protective custody" or PUPC's.

These conventions were updated to help avoid discrimination against these people, especially those who are released back into society.

Criminal Behavior

This is a branch of study of human behavior that deals with criminals' mental process. It is important to understand this aspect of a criminal as it helps those in the justice system to determine how to deal with criminals and how to treat them.

The following is the crime formula.

This shows the relationships between the different factors that might result in criminal behavior.

Criminological Classification of Criminals

Based on Etiology

1. Acute Criminal

2. Chronic Criminal

Based on Behavioral System

1. Ordinary Criminal

2. Organized Criminal

3. Professional Criminal

Based on Activities

1. Professional Criminal

2. Habitual Criminal

Based on Mental Attitudes

1. Active Criminal

2. Passive Inadequate Criminal

3. Socialized Delinquents

Based on Legal Classification

1. Habitual Delinquent

2. Recidivist

Recommended Videos

• Dr. David Scott, What is Crime?

• Steve Case, What is Crime?