Crime in Society - Assignment Example

Running Header: Criminology Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Different approaches 4 2.1 Social perspective 4 2.2 Crime in religion perspective 5 2.3 Statutory 6 2.4 Definition in different states 7 3.0 Conclusion 8 1.0 Introduction Crime can be considered to be something done which is against the law and it is normally associated with violence, property destruction, causing of harm to individuals and not giving respect to institutions and people. Many people understand crime depending on the context is being discussed. There has been several definition of crime by different scholars and each has his own definition. The different approaches to definition of crime are; the legal form which relates to the criminal law and if the state states it is a crime then it becomes a crime; the social harm where the civil offences like negligence and criminal like the assault are involved; the illegal activities that are considered to be crime irrespective of the society being involved and the violation of the human rights which are punishable by law like sexism and racism. Crime is not necessarily inherent in any particular activity but it is defined depending on particular circumstances. For example violence in essence is a crime but the way is responded to and perceived by the institutions of criminal justice will vary very much on the social and political factors. Some things in a certain area are considered to crime by law but they are not crime in other areas where and that is why there are different approaches when it comes to the definition and this depended on the legal, political and social influences (Tappan 2005, p.110). For example some years ago homosexuality was a crime in some countries but today it is not a crime so the place where one is living will change the definition. Some communities consider certain activities as crime while others do not and this brings about the different definitions. 2.0 Different approaches 2.1 Social perspective The social perspective is a highly controversial and influential perspective. The activities that are defined to be crime only apply to the specific communities that are made in. They are made from the community and they become part of the law. The terms punishment and crime are associated to problematic things and also identifiable facts. There is an acceptance that symbolic systems and language are social products which are normally made for the society and they should be followed. The society is the one that is supposed to identify the such and such has characteristics of a criminal and event such and such as crime. Before the society comes with the rules, it performs a research to identify and to determine how to define a crime and to know which events and activities or situations are to be identified as being offensive (Morrison 2006, p.58). The society can also argue that there isn’t any particular concept of crime and they cannot be imprisoned and they can abolish the usage of the rules they have set to be followed in that society. This argument is said to exist by some scholars who argue that the criminal justice system is the only one that is supposed to give out the categories of crime rather that the society a whole. They say that the ontological reality of crime is not there. The crime is a result of criminal policy. A sociology school of thought came up with the labelling theory which indicates that punishment, deviance and crime are just labels which are as a result of power and not because of natural reflection of events. A scholar indicated that the challenge to criminology is to make sure they understand the application of the social processes by the use of the labels. The social perspective has some strength, in that the community makes it own rules and regulation. They are made depending on the beliefs of the society and what they think is right (Knepper 2002, p.154). The authority binds to those set of rules that define a crime and a person who can be identified to be a criminal. The weaknesses to the society rules are that they can be made to favour some part of the community or certain gender or discriminate according to the ages. Some of the rules in the statute are not supposed to be a crime but from a society perspective they are a crime. Despite the fact that the definitions vary from one society to the other the main goal is to make sure that the society is orderly and people live in harmony. 2.2 Crime in religion perspective The main phrase that is used to represent this kind of definition is the ‘city of God’ and it fits to all religions with few modifications. It refers to the earth where people live and it was created by God and it is his commands that are followed. Many people in the world believe that it is God that created the world and set some rules which are supposed to be obeyed and followed. God used prophets to deliver the commandments and to inform them what they are supposed to do. God also sent the messages through books of authority such as Torah, Bible and the Koran. Each of these has rules which have to be followed and if they are not followed there are imperative and warnings of consequences. According to these rules if one does not follow them he is seen as if he has committed a crime and he is liable to any judgement that can be made against him. The books of authority describe that God will punish those who will disobey the rules (Gross 1999, p.89).. The almighty God is the one who will define the crime to those who do not follow the rules in the scriptures. Despite there are few challenges that affect the following of the rules of the books of authority, it has been followed by many society and to some it is very strict to the way they live. In the Australia where they follow the Hindu rules and there are some cases of protection which can be considered to be accepted. If a person reacts to another person in cruel way to protect himself from danger it cannot be considered to be a crime (Garland 2006, p.63). Some communities practice holy war and they believe that they will go to heaven even after killing people. These groups that practice holy war pose a challenge to this approach because it is against the statute law to take away another person life and this people see it as a culture. The Muslims also have this belief of assassinations of rival Muslims. The religious conflicts that were experienced in the middle ages resulted to church separation. The city of man replaced the city of God and the religious beliefs were considered to a personal matter. The challenges that have arisen are as a result of the conflicts that have been found in the religious beliefs and this approach has not been following as it used to be followed to reduce crime. 2.3 Statutory The statutory laws state that a person who disobeys rules and regulations that have been set by the state is taken to court to pay damages inform of a fine or imprisonment. Crime according to the statute is the omission or an act that is defined by the authority for a specific area (Hart 2003, p.99). The statutory body that defines what a crime is senate, the courts or the parliament. Some writers indicate that something has been considered to be a crime might not be immoral in the real sense. Crime will be viewed in different perceptions from the people as a result of common sense view point, religious beliefs and customs of what is unacceptable and what is acceptable; the types of crimes which can be committed are only made by the power centres of making rules. There no one is born as a criminal or a natural criminal but a person becomes a criminal because he has done something which is against the political or the legal process (Christie 2004, p.133). The person who is a criminal cannot be compared to a person who is suffering from sickness or any kind of a biological condition. The criminal attribute is a behaviour that a person can do away with. Researchers have been doing a research to find out whether there is any linkage of criminology to biological traits. Some authors indicated that a person is not a criminal until that person is caught, then taken to court and finally charged. The criminology dictates that the statute takes the control, and then there will a process for the interpretation and recognition of the crime as an activity and then the scholars and lawyers to come up with ways to deal with those who have committed crime. If the state does not define what constitutes a crime and who is a criminal then it becomes a challenge to deal with criminal activities and more often than not people will try to put their own judgement on what seems justifiable to a common man. The constituents of a crime and how it is supposed to be handled should be clearly defined to rule out any ambiguity (Brown & Hogg 2002, p.45). The strength of statute approach is that it is adopted by every irrespective of which religion one comes from. It is the superior of the others and it is the one that is used in most of the cases to define crime. In Australia there is the court of law that contains what is defined to contain a crime and it is the one that is followed to make sure that people follow the law. 2.4 Definition in different states A crime definition varies from one country to the other and from one state to the other. For example a country X may have allowed the smoking of cannabis and in country Z it is illegal to smoke cannabis and if one is found smoking he is taken to court and charged for breaking the law. The word crime is used relatively from one country to the other. There some activities that were a crime in some countries in many years ago but today they are not part of a crime so time has made illegal activities to become legal. For example homosexuality was considered illegal many decades ago but in today’s century some countries has embraced it and they see it as part of the law and it is accepted (Bakan 2007, p. 85). Another example of crime is the 11 September 2001 attack to the US towers. The Iraq said it was a holy war so in their country they did not consider it as crime but in the US was crime against humanity and destruction of property. When the US revenged and people were killed yet US did not see it as a crime. The definition of crime may vary from one country to the other. One of the main challenges of this approach is that when a person moves to another country he must behave according to the rules of that country fail to which he might end up committing a crime. 3.0 Conclusion When defining crime, in not only a matter of following the laid down procedures or using our common senses but it uses some of the economic and political forces that define what crime is. The crime definitions vary from one state to the other depending on the political, religious and social factors. The different approaches to definition of crime are; the legal form which relates to the criminal law and if the state states it is a crime then it becomes a crime; the social harm where the civil offences like negligence and criminal like the assault are involved; the illegal activities that are considered to crime irrespective of the society being involved and the violation of the human rights which are punishable by law like sexism and racism (Ashworth 2005, p. 65). Despite the law states clearly what entails a crime there some person in the society who are above the law and they are not affected by it. The various definitions make a criminal to be judged depending on the location, religion and society he is currently residing. References Ashworth, A, 2005, Sentencing and Criminal Justice, CUP, Cambridge. Bakan, J 2007, Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs, University of Toronto Press,Toronto. Brown, D & Hogg, R 2002, ‘Law and order politics—left realism and radical criminology, Issues in Realist Criminology, Vol. 5, no. 3, pp.56-90. Christie, N 2004 ,A Suitable Amount of Crime, Routledge, London. Garland, D 2006, The Culture of Control, Oxford University Press ,Oxford. Gross, H 1999 A Theory of Criminal Justice, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hart, H 2003, A Concept of Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Knepper, P 2002, Explaining Criminal Conduct, Carolina Academic Press, North Carolina. Morrison, W 2006, Criminology, Civilisation and the New World Order, Routledge, London. Tappan, P 2005, ‘Who is the Criminal?’ American Sociological Review, Vol. 15, no.6, pp.65-121. Read More

There is an acceptance that symbolic systems and language are social products which are normally made for the society and they should be followed. The society is the one that is supposed to identify the such and such has characteristics of a criminal and event such and such as crime. Before the society comes with the rules, it performs a research to identify and to determine how to define a crime and to know which events and activities or situations are to be identified as being offensive (Morrison 2006, p.58). The society can also argue that there isn’t any particular concept of crime and they cannot be imprisoned and they can abolish the usage of the rules they have set to be followed in that society.

This argument is said to exist by some scholars who argue that the criminal justice system is the only one that is supposed to give out the categories of crime rather that the society a whole. They say that the ontological reality of crime is not there. The crime is a result of criminal policy. A sociology school of thought came up with the labelling theory which indicates that punishment, deviance and crime are just labels which are as a result of power and not because of natural reflection of events.

A scholar indicated that the challenge to criminology is to make sure they understand the application of the social processes by the use of the labels. The social perspective has some strength, in that the community makes it own rules and regulation. They are made depending on the beliefs of the society and what they think is right (Knepper 2002, p.154). The authority binds to those set of rules that define a crime and a person who can be identified to be a criminal. The weaknesses to the society rules are that they can be made to favour some part of the community or certain gender or discriminate according to the ages.

Some of the rules in the statute are not supposed to be a crime but from a society perspective they are a crime. Despite the fact that the definitions vary from one society to the other the main goal is to make sure that the society is orderly and people live in harmony. 2.2 Crime in religion perspective The main phrase that is used to represent this kind of definition is the ‘city of God’ and it fits to all religions with few modifications. It refers to the earth where people live and it was created by God and it is his commands that are followed.

Many people in the world believe that it is God that created the world and set some rules which are supposed to be obeyed and followed. God used prophets to deliver the commandments and to inform them what they are supposed to do. God also sent the messages through books of authority such as Torah, Bible and the Koran. Each of these has rules which have to be followed and if they are not followed there are imperative and warnings of consequences. According to these rules if one does not follow them he is seen as if he has committed a crime and he is liable to any judgement that can be made against him.

The books of authority describe that God will punish those who will disobey the rules (Gross 1999, p.89).. The almighty God is the one who will define the crime to those who do not follow the rules in the scriptures. Despite there are few challenges that affect the following of the rules of the books of authority, it has been followed by many society and to some it is very strict to the way they live. In the Australia where they follow the Hindu rules and there are some cases of protection which can be considered to be accepted.

If a person reacts to another person in cruel way to protect himself from danger it cannot be considered to be a crime (Garland 2006, p.63). Some communities practice holy war and they believe that they will go to heaven even after killing people. These groups that practice holy war pose a challenge to this approach because it is against the statute law to take away another person life and this people see it as a culture. The Muslims also have this belief of assassinations of rival Muslims.

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