Classification of crimes - Encyclopedia Britannica

Common law originally divided crimes into two categories: felonies—the graver crimes, ... For example, whereas theft was always considered a felony, ... crime TableofContents crime IntroductionTheconceptofcrime:criminalcodesCommonlawCivillawIslamiclawAfricaChinaGeneralprinciplesofcriminallawRuleagainstretroactivityIntentionCriminalresponsibilityClassificationofcrimesMeasurementofcrimeCharacteristicsofoffendersGenderpatternsAgepatternsSocial-classpatternsRacialpatternsCharacteristicsofvictimsTheoriesofcausationDetectionofcrimeTheroleofforensicscienceSuspectidentificationGatheringevidenceInterrogationandconfessionThecourtsystemAnglo-AmericancountriesThedecisiontoprosecuteTrialprocedureSentencingContinentalEuropeRussiaIslamiccountriesAfricaChinaCrimeandsocialpolicy FastFacts 2-MinSummary RelatedContent Quizzes Media Images More MoreArticlesOnThisTopic AdditionalReading Contributors ArticleHistory ClassificationofcrimesMostlegalsystemsdividecrimesintocategoriesforvariouspurposesconnectedwiththeproceduresofthecourts,suchasassigningdifferentkindsofcourttodifferentkindsofoffense.Commonlaworiginallydividedcrimesintotwocategories:felonies—thegravercrimes,generallypunishablebydeathandtheforfeitureoftheperpetrator’slandandgoodstothecrown—andmisdemeanours—generallypunishablebyfinesorimprisonment.Theproceduresofthecourtsdifferedsignificantlyaccordingtothekindofcrimethedefendantwaschargedwith.Othermattersthatdependedonthedistinctionincludedthepowerofthepolicetoarrestanindividualonsuspicionthathehadcommittedanoffense,whichwasgenerallypermissibleinfelonycasesbutnotinmisdemeanourones.(Seefelonyandmisdemeanour.)Bytheearly19thcentury,ithadbecomeclearthatthegrowthofthelawhadrenderedthisdistinctionobsolete,andinmanycasesitwasinconsistentwiththegravityoftheoffensesconcerned.Forexample,whereastheftwasalwaysconsideredafelony,irrespectiveoftheamountstolen,obtainingbyfraudwasalwaysamisdemeanour.EffortstoabolishthedistinctioninEnglishlawdidnotsucceeduntilthelate1960s,whenitwasreplacedbythedistinctionbetweenarrestableoffensesandotheroffenses.Anarrestableoffensewasonepunishablewithfiveyears’imprisonmentormore,thoughoffenderscouldbearrestedforothercrimessubjecttocertainconditions.Subsequently,furtherclassificationsweredevised.Forexample,asubcategoryof“serious”arrestableoffenseswascreated,and,inordertodeterminemoreeasilythecourtinwhichacaseshouldbetried,adifferentclassificationofoffensesintothecategoriesof“indictable,”“eitherway,”and“summary”wasadopted.Nonetheless,thetraditionaldivisionbetweenfelonyandmisdemeanourhasbeenretainedinmanyU.S.jurisdictions,thoughtherehasbeenarationalizationoftheallocationofoffensestoonecategoryortheother,andithasbeenusedasthebasisfordeterminingthecourtthatwillhearthecase.Insomejurisdictions,minoroffenseswereclassifiedunderanewcategorycalled“violations,”whichcorrespondedbroadlytotheEnglishcategoryofsummaryoffenses.Insystemsutilizingcivillaw,thecriminalcodegenerallydistinguishedbetweenthreecategories:crime,délit,andcontravention.Underthisclassification,acrimerepresentedthemostseriousoffenseandthuswassubjecttothemost-severepenaltypermissible.Délitsweresubjecttoonlyminorprisonsentences,andcontraventionswereminoroffenses.Beginninginthe19thcentury,somecivil-lawcountries(e.g.,Sweden,theNetherlands,Brazil,Portugal,andColombia)consolidatedtheircodes;délitswerereclassifiedunderthebroadercategoryofcrimes,andcontraventionscametodenotecriminaloffensescommittedwithoutintent.Alltypesofcriminalcodesaccountforavarietyofcrimes,includingthosegenerallycommittedbyindividualsorunorganizedgroups,aswellasothermodesofcriminalactivity.Fordiscussionsofparticularcrimesandtypesofcriminalactivity,seearson;assaultandbattery;bribery;burglary;childabuse;counterfeiting;cybercrime;druguse;embezzlement;extortion;forgery;fraud;hijacking;homicide;incest;kidnapping;larceny;organizedcrime;perjury;piracy;prostitution;rape;robbery;sedition;smuggling;terrorism;theft;treason;usury;andwhite-collarcrime. ReadMoreonThisTopic ballad:Crime Crime,anditspunishment,isthethemeofinnumerableballads:hissweetheartpoisons“LordRandal”;“LittleMusgrave”iskilledbyLord... MeasurementofcrimeEstimatingtheamountofcrimeactuallycommittedisquitecomplicated.Figuresforrecordedcrimedonotgenerallyprovideanaccuratepicture,becausetheyareinfluencedbyvariablefactors,suchasthewillingnessofvictimstoreportcrimes.Infact,itiswidelybelievedthatofficialcrimestatisticsrepresentonlyasmallfractionofcrimescommitted.Thepublic’sviewofcrimeisderivedlargelyfromthenewsmedia,andbecausethemediausuallyfocusonseriousorsensationalcrimes,thepublic’sperceptionisoftenseriouslydistorted.Amoreaccurateviewisgenerallyprovidedbydetailedstatisticsofcrimethatarecompiledandpublishedbygovernmentdepartments;forexample,theFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI)publishesU.S.crimestatisticsannuallyinwhatiscalledtheUniformCrimeReports.Inthelate1990s,theUnitedNations(UN)beganpublishingtheGlobalReportonCrimeandJustice,whichincludesofficialdatafromabout90nations—mostlythemore-developednations,asthoseareprimarilytheonesthatcollectsuchstatistics.Policymakersoftenuseofficialcrimestatisticsasthebasisfornewcrime-controlmeasures;forinstance,statisticsmayshowanincreaseintheincidenceofaparticulartypeofcrimeoveraperiodofyearsandthussuggestthatsomechangeinthemethodsofdealingwiththattypeofcrimeisnecessary.However,officialcrimestatisticsaresubjecttoerrorandmaybemisleading,particularlyiftheyareusedwithoutanunderstandingoftheprocessesbywhichtheyarecompiledandthelimitationstowhichtheyarenecessarilysubject.Thestatisticsareusuallycollectedonthebasisofreportsfrompoliceforcesandotherlawenforcementagenciesandaregenerallyknownasstatisticsofreportedcrime,orcrimesknowntothepolice.Becauseonlyincidentsobservedbythepoliceorreportedtothembyvictimsorwitnessesareincludedinthereports,thepictureoftheamountofcrimeactuallycommittedmaybeinaccurate.Onefactoraccountingforthatdistortionistheextenttowhichpoliceresourcesaredirectedtowardtheinvestigationofonekindofcrimeratherthananother,particularlywithregardtowhatareknownas“victimlesscrimes,”suchasthepossessionofdrugs.Thesecrimesarenotdiscoveredunlessthepoliceendeavourtolookforthem,andtheydonotfigureinthestatisticsofreportedcrimeunlessthepolicetaketheinitiative.Thus,asuddenincreaseinthereportedincidenceofacrimefromoneyeartothenextmayindeedreflectanoverallincreaseinsuchactivity,butitmayinsteadmerelyshowthatthepolicehavetakenmoreinterestinthatcrimeandhavedevotedmoreresourcestoitsinvestigation.Ironically,effortstodiscourageoreliminateaparticularkindofcrimethroughmore-vigorouslawenforcementmaycreatetheimpressionthatthecrimeconcernedhasincreased,becausemoreinstancesarelikelytobedetectedandthusenterthestatistics.Asecondfactorthatcanhaveastrikingeffectontheapparentstatisticalincidenceofaparticularkindofcrimeisachangeinthewillingnessofvictimsofthecrimetoreportittothepolice.Victimsoftenfailtoreportacrimeforavarietyofreasons:theymaynotrealizethatacrimehasbeencommittedagainstthem(e.g.,childrenwhohavebeensexuallymolested);theymaybelievethatthepolicewillnotbeabletoapprehendtheoffender;theymayfearservingasawitness;ortheymaybeembarrassedbytheconductthatledthemtobecomethevictimofthecrime(e.g.,anindividualrobbedbyaprostitute).Somecrimesalsomaynotappearsufficientlyserioustomakeitworthwhiletoinformthepolice,ortheremaybewaysinwhichthemattercanberesolvedwithoutinvolvingthem(e.g.,anactofviolencebyoneschoolchildagainstanothermaybedealtwithbytheschoolauthorities).Allthosefactorsaredifficulttomeasurewithanydegreeofaccuracy,andthereisnoreasontosupposethattheyremainconstantovertimeorbyjurisdiction.Thus,achangeinanyoneofthefactorsmayproducetheappearanceofanincreaseoradecreaseinaparticularkindofcrimewhentherehasbeennosuchchangeorwhentherealchangehasbeenonamuch-smallerscalethanthestatisticssuggest.Athirdfactorthatmayaffecttheportraitpaintedbyofficialcrimestatisticsisthewayinwhichthepolicetreatparticularincidents.Manyofthelawsdefiningcrimesareimpreciseorambiguous,suchasthoserelatedtorecklessdriving,obscenity,andgrossnegligence.Someconductthatistreatedascriminalorismoreaggressivelypursuedinonepolicejurisdictionmaynotbetreatedsimilarlyinanotherjurisdictionowingtodifferencesinprioritiesorinterpretationsofthelaw.Therecordingprocessusedbythepolicealsoinfluencescrimestatistics;forexample,thetheftofanumberofitemsmayberecordedasasingletheftorasaseriesoftheftsoftheindividualitems.Researchersinthefieldofcriminologyhaveendeavouredtoobtainamore-accuratepictureoftheincidenceofcrimesandthetrendsandvariationsfromoneperiodandjurisdictiontoanother.Oneresearchmethodthathasbeenparticularlyusefulisthevictimsurvey,inwhichtheresearcheridentifiesarepresentativesampleofthepopulationandasksindividualstodiscloseanycrimeofwhichtheyhavebeenvictimsduringaspecifiedperiodoftime.Afteralargenumberofpeoplehavebeenquestioned,theinformationobtainedfromthesurveycanbecomparedwiththestatisticsforreportedcrimeforthesameperiodandlocality;thecomparisoncanindicatetherelationshipbetweentheactualincidenceofthetypeofcrimeinquestionandthenumberofcasesreportedtothepolice.Althoughcriminologistshavedevelopedsophisticatedproceduresforinterviewingvictimpopulations,suchprojectsaresubjecttoseverallimitations.Resultsdependentirelyontherecollectionofincidentsbyvictims,theirabilitytorecognizethatacrimehasbeencommitted,andtheirwillingnesstodiscloseit.Inaddition,thismethodisobviouslyinapplicabletovictimlesscrimes.TheU.S.CensusBureaubeganconductinganannualsurveyofcrimevictimsin1972.Bythebeginningofthe21stcentury,thesurveyincludedarandomsampleofabout60,000households,inwhichapproximately100,000residentsaged12andoverwereinterviewedtwiceayearandaskedwhethertheyhadbeenthevictimsofanyofawidevarietyofoffensesinthelastsixmonths.TheresultsofthehouseholdsurveyhavebeenatvariancewiththereportspublishedbytheFBI.Themost-commonexplanationforthedifferencesinthetrendsreportedisthatthevictimsurveydatareflecttheactualtrendsintheincidenceofcriminalbehaviourandthatthedataintheFBI’sUniformCrimeReportsprimarilyreflectincreasesinthereportingofcrimestothepolicebyvictims.Usingbothtypesofdata,itcanbeestimatedthatabouthalfofallviolentvictimizationsandlessthanhalfofallpropertyvictimizationsgenerallyarereportedtothepolice.Manyothercountries—includingBritain,France,Germany,Sweden,Canada,Israel,andNewZealand—alsohaveadoptedvictimsurveys.Sincethelate1980s,theUNhassponsoredaninternationalcrimevictimsurveyaswell,withinterviewstakeninmorethan50countries.LiketheUN’sofficialstatistics,forvariouspracticalreasonsthissurveyhastendedtofocusonmore-developednations.Inless-developednations,thesurveyhasfocusedonmore-developedurbanareas.Analternativemethodofcollectingcrimestatisticsthatsomecriminologistsfavouristheself-reportstudy,inwhicharepresentativesampleofindividualsisasked,underassurancesofconfidentiality,whethertheyhavecommittedanyoffensesofaparticularkind.Thistypeofresearchissubjecttosomeofthesamedifficultiesasthevictimsurvey—theresearcherhasnomeansofverifyingtheinformation,andthesubjectscaneasilyconcealthefactthattheyhavecommittedanoffenseatsometime.However,suchsurveysoftenhaveconfirmedthatlargenumbersofoffenseshavebeencommittedwithoutbeingreportedandthatcrimeismuchmorewidespreadthanofficialstatisticssuggest.