Definition of crime - Essay Example

Definition of Crime (Insert (Insert the of your Definition of crime Any breach of law and rules on which various governing authorities can base on in order to prescribe a conviction is referred to as a crime (Cengage Learning). Governing authorities base on established mechanisms of legal systems in determining the appropriate prescription of a given crime. Observation made by criminal justice concludes that all criminal activities violate the law. However, not all violation of the law can be perceived to be criminal activities.

For instance, breach of contract as well as certain kinds of civil law can just be categorized as infractions or offenses (Ramsay, 2012). Modern societies, therefore, describe criminal activities as offenses against the state or public. Failure by the public to observe social order can result to the governing authority imposing formalized and stricter measures of ensuring social control (Tadros, 2005). State agents rely on legal and institutional machinery in compelling the public to conform to desired codes, while punishing or attempting to reform individuals who cannot conform.

There are two models that the society uses in determining various acts of crime, with regard to the established government criminal system. The two models are crime control and due process models (Cengage Learning).Crime control model recommends repression against all forms of criminal conducts. The model identifies repression as the most important component of criminal process, and should be embraced by the governing authority (Persak, 2007). Criminal process should be efficient during screening of suspects, determination of guilt as well as proper disposition of persons with criminal record.

Looking at the due process model, it appears as an impediment to the crime control model. Due process model has successive stages aimed at providing impediments against carrying the accused farther along the criminal justice system. Due process ideology is deeply based on the law structure. While crime control model recommends the use of investigation to screen suspects, due process opposes the use of investigation by claiming that human agents are prone to errors (Cengage Learning). Conclusions from observations can be affected by emotion arousing events while personal confessions made by a suspect under police custody can be as a result of physical and psychological coercion.

There are various theories connected with application of criminal law. Different situations present a basis of assumptions concerning the theory to be applied (Renzo, 2013). For instance, situations can be described with regard to the ideas and suggestions from legal positivism proponents, proponents of natural law as well as economic law analysts (The Metaphysics Research Lab, 2013). Depending on the assumptions associated with a given crime, we have two b road types of theories in use. The first category is commonly referred to as analytical theories and the second comprises of normative theories.

Analytical theories provide explanation to the criminal law concepts. The explanation should be exhibited by the criminal law and can be used during development of criminal law paradigm (Stewart, 2010). On the other hand, normative theories seek to provide information of what criminal law is as well as what it ought to be. Normative theories provide explanation concerning scope, goals, values and structures of criminal justice. Most of the present criminal justice systems are made up of five components (Cengage Learning).

They include law enforcements responsible for taking reports of all crimes taking place in their area of jurisdiction. We also have prosecutors who represent federal or state governments throughout the entire court proceedings. The other component comprises of defense attorneys, who defend the accused against state case. In addition, we have courts run by judges and correction officers responsible for supervising convicted offenders while in jail. The process of criminal justice may vary depending on the type of crime, age of the suspect as well as involved jurisdiction (Stuntz, 2011).

The process of criminal justice is made up of four main stages. The first stage encompasses reporting, investigating and arrest of the suspect. The next stage involves prosecution and pretrial of the suspect, depending on the evidence collected. The other stage is adjudication and it involves plea agreement and the actual trial. Lastly, we have pot-trial stage that involves sentencing and probation.ReferencesCengage Learning. (n.d.). CHAPTER 1 - Criminal Justice Today. Retrieved December 22, 2014, from www.

cengagesites.com: www.cengagesites.com/academic/assets/sites/3462_ch01.pdfPersak, N., 2007, Criminalising Harmful Conduct, Dordrecht: Springer.Ramsay, P., 2012, The Insecurity State: Vulnerable Autonomy and the Right to Security in the Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Renzo, M., 2013, “Responsibility and Answerability in International Criminal Law”, in R.A. Duff, et al. (eds.), The Constitution of the Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 209–36. Stewart, H., 2010, “ The Limits of the Harm Principle”, Criminal Law and Philosophy, 4: 17–35.

Stuntz, W., 2011, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Tadros, V., 2005, Criminal Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford University Press.The Metaphysics Research Lab. (2013, May 14). Theories of Criminal Law. Retrieved December 22, 2014, from plato.stanford.edu: plato.stanford.edu/entries/criminal-law/