Topic 1 Flashcards
What is the legal definition of crime? (CK)
Any action/ behaviour forbidden by criminal law, which the legal system can punish you.
E.g. Murder, Manslaughter, kidnapping.
What is the Actus Reus?
The guilty Act
What is the Mens Rea?
The guilty mind
Exceptions to mens rea and actus reus.
Suspect can be not guilty if the court agrees they acted with reasonable force. The MR is justified
Types of criminal acts and examples
Fatal offences - Murder, manslaughter
Non-fatal offences - Assualt, Battery, ABG, GBH
Offences against property - Theft, robbery
Sexual offences - Rape
Public order offences - Riot
Drug offences - Possession of a controlled drug.
What is a sanction?
The social pressure that punishes people for committing a crime, a deterrent for people committing negative behavior.
What is a formal sanction?
Imposed by official bodies, police, for committing formal offenses. Through court sanctions - Custodial, community sentences, Fines, discharge. Or through bob-court sanctions - Penalty notice, caution.
What is the social construction of crime?
Crime is defined differently depending on where you are in the world/society we live in. It differs between societies due to cultural differences. Crime changes according to time, place, and culture. The perception of crime can differ from the definition of legal/illegal
What are values and some examples? (CK)
Beliefs of principles people hold very important, generally shared by a community/culture.
E.g. Manners, democracy
What are norms and their examples? (CK)
Socially accepted standards that guide our behavior, are linked to society’s values.
E.g. Respectful, Holding door open
What are moral codes/mores? (CK)
Determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable within a given culture.
What is deviance? (CK)
behavior that deviates from norms, and values in society. Something can be deviant but not criminal or vis versa.
What are the types of deviant behaviour? (EK)
Admired behavior: unusual but good behavior
Odd behavior: Behavior that is unusual and eccentric/bizarre.
Bad behavior: unusual and bad or disproved of.
What are informal sanctions and some examples? (EK)
sanctions that are used when rules are not formally written down and are perhaps unspoken.
E.g grounding children, telling someone off
How laws differ based on place.
Legal systems evolve differently, which develop in history, culture, and politics. there is also different levels of priority.
Cannabis smoking and small-scale growing - Durham police are not enforcing this but it is enforced elsewhere in the UK.
Death penalty - legal in the USA, not in the UK.
How laws differ from culture to culture.
Cultural differences in law are similar. They occur based on traditions and religion in a particular country/community.
Adultery-voluntary relationship between a married person and someone who is not their spouse. It’s illegal in Islam-dominated countries like Saudi Arabia where you can be fined or killed. It’s legal in the UK. mainly due to religion, which strongly influences the laws made.
Homosexuality-Being attracted to the same sex. Illegal in much of Africa, like Angola where the punishment is death. It’s legal in the UK. Mainly due to religion and public opinion, the public can pressure people in the country which can lead to decriminalisation.
How crime differs according to time.
Due to social changes that happen over time, society’s laws and policies have to reflect it. Like tech changes.
Capital punishment was abolished in 1965. Homosexuality was legalised in 1967.
How crime differs according to circumstances.
The Age of Criminal Responsibility differs between countries, in the UK it’s 10 but in Bangladesh, it’s 9.
Circumstances can alter murder charges. murder can be switched to manslaughter based on diminished responsibility (partial defense for murder like a disability) or loss of control (not in control of physical action, emotional response)
What is criminal behavior?
deemed illegal by law which result in formal punishment in non-court or court sanctions.
e.g. Robbery
What is deviant behavior?
Acts that go against social norms, results in informal sanctions.
e.g. hording newspapers
what is criminal and deviant behavior?
Acts that break law, and go against social norms, some break laws but not norms and vise versa.
e.g. Illegal music down loading
