criminal law, that branch of the law concerned with wrongdoing against individuals, society, or the state, for which the state has power to seek punishment through the courts. The major goal of criminal law is deterrence and punishment, while that of civil law is individual compensation. Criminal offences consist of two distinct elements; the physical act (the actus reus, 'guilty act') and the requisite mental state with which the act is done (the mens rea, 'guilty mind'). For example, in murder the actus reus is the unlawful killing of a person, while the mens rea is 'malice aforethought' (the intention to kill or cause grievous injury). The criminal law also details the defences that defendants may bring to lessen or negate their liability (criminal responsibility) and specifies the punishment which may be inflicted.
crime, a punishable act or conduct, prohibited by the criminal law. It is important to distinguish a criminal act from an immoral one; many crimes are immoral and harmful, but not all immoral or harmful actions are legally prohibited (lying, for example, is not illegal, except in certain circumstances, such as perjury). By definition, crime is socially determined: what constitutes crime can vary over time and between societies. However, certain categories of crime are recognized almost everywhere: violent crime, including assault and homicide; rape and other sexual offences; property crime, including theft and burglary; white-collar crime, such as fraud and embezzlement; and other crimes against society, such as drugs offences. Crime is a public, as distinct from a private, wrong; it affects not only the victim but the community, which requires the punishment of the offender as a way of expressing public condemnation. Within criminology many theories, based on biology, psychology, and sociology, have been put forward to explain criminal behaviour; criminologists have also sought to measure the extent of crime, and to account for its apparent increase in all modern industrialized societies. Economic growth seems to lead to more opportunities for crime, while liberation from restraints, as occurred in the former Eastern-bloc countries after the overthrow of authoritarian regimes in 1989, may also lead to a rise in crime. Several countries have schemes to compensate victims of crime financially, the first being set up in New Zealand in 1964. In the fight against crime, the police use increasingly complex resources, such as computer records, forensic evidence, and international co-operation (see Interpol).
alcohol abuse, the habitual, compulsive, and excessive consumption of alcohol, to the extent where health or social interaction are adversely affected. Alcohol dependence is common in cases of a daily consumption of more than 100 g (3.5 ounces), which is equivalent to 1 litre (2 US pints) of wine, half a bottle of spirits, or 4 litres (8 US pints) of beer. Figures indicate that alcohol abuse is increasing, especially among women. Excessive alcohol consumption can adversely affect the liver, leading to cirrhosis or liver cancer; it can contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, gastric ulcers, and renal failure; and in pregnancy it can lead to foetal abnormalities. Withdrawal symptoms for those addicted to alcohol include shaking, sweating, and nausea. Alcohol is also a major factor in crime; domestic problems, such as marital breakdown and child abuse; work problems, such as absenteeism; and accidents, particularly in cars. There is disagreement about treatment: many experts consider that a cure can only be brought about by total abstinence, while others believe that controlled consumption can be achieved. Treatment for alcohol dependence may involve a period of detoxification, followed by individual counselling or group therapy. For many people dependent on alcohol, successful treatment is achieved through attending self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Complete prohibition (as in strict Islamic societies, where the penalty is eighty lashes for the drinking of any intoxicant, or the USA in the 1920s) or sudden enforced reductions in availability (as in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s) tend to lead only to illicit production and consumption. Prevention of alcohol abuse, together with other forms of drug abuse, is a priority for many governments.
capital punishment, the infliction of death by an authorized public authority as punishment for a crime. In most jurisdictions where it remains, its use is limited to those who have been convicted of murder, although in some countries where its use is more frequent it is imposed as a penalty for other offences such as armed robbery (in certain African countries), large-scale embezzlement of state property (the former Soviet Union), rape and gang-fighting (China), and drug-trafficking (Thailand). A UN survey in 1990 revealed that forty-three countries had abolished the death penalty entirely, seventeen had retained it but only for exceptional crimes such as treason, twenty-four had retained it but not used it for at least ten years, and ninety-seven were still using it. The abolitionist countries were widely scattered, including, for example, the Philippines and Namibia, but were mostly to be found in Europe and Latin America. Although the number of abolitionist states had doubled since the previous survey in 1967, the UN found unwavering official support for capital punishment in many countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Islamic law (the sharia) imposes capital punishment for certain offences, and capital punishment is enforced in those countries where the sharia forms the legal code, and in many countries where the sharia is drawn on as the basis for the legal code. Capital punishment has long been the subject of dispute. While proponents argue that it is a necessary deterrent to the most serious crime, more so than the alternative of life imprisonment, opponents argue either that it is in violation of the human right to life or that inevitable miscarriages of justice will lead to the execution of innocent people. Furthermore, a careful review of the research evidence suggests that capital punishment has no greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. (See also extra-judicial execution.)
homicide, the killing of a human being by another. Some homicide may be considered lawful, as when a convicted offender is executed by the state, or excusable, as in self-defence. Unlawful homicide is treated by almost all legal systems as a crime of extreme gravity. Homicide is often categorized into different types, which attract different punishments. Within the UK legal system and many which are related to it (see common law systems), two major categories are recognized: murder and manslaughter. In both murder and manslaughter, the actus reus ('guilty act') is identical: the unlawful killing of the victim, but the categorization of the act depends on the offender's criminal responsibility. Murder requires the offender to have killed the victim with 'malice aforethought' (that is intending to kill or to cause grievous injury), while manslaughter does not. In civil law systems, all unlawful killings are usually classified as homicide, but there may be different penalties, according to the circumstances of the crime. In many jurisdictions, the punishment for deliberate murder is the death penalty. In English law, the mandatory death penalty was replaced in 1965 by a mandatory life sentence. In practice, life is an indeterminate sentence, which may be longer or shorter than a fixed term of imprisonment. The offender may, after a number of years, be released on licence, which means remaining under the surveillance of the police and probation service for the duration of his or her life, and submitting to restrictions such as limitations on travel.
criminal responsibility, a concept in criminal law that defines the degree of knowledge and intention with which an offender commits a crime. Ordinarily, an individual who commits a crime must be fully aware of the harmful nature of what he or she has done, and must have intended or foreseen the consequences or have acted with deliberate recklessness. A person who has not acted voluntarily, or is unaware of what he or she has done, is not normally regarded as criminally responsible, and neither are children under a certain age, an age which varies between societies. All legal systems recognize mental illness as a mitigating factor, though its definition can be problematic. In English law 'insanity' is narrowly defined, requiring proof that the defendant was so severely affected by a specific disorder such as schizophrenia as not to know what he or she had done or whether it was wrong. Because this test is so narrow, a special defence of diminished responsibility is allowed in the case of murder. It is taken as a partial explanation, reducing the charge to the lesser one of manslaughter (see homicide).
mutiny, an open revolt against authority; for example of prisoners against a prison governor, or sailors on a commercial vessel against the captain. It is also one of the gravest offences against military law, committed by any member of the forces who combines with one or more others (who may be civilians) to resist or usurp the lawful military authority, avoid operations against an enemy, or go over to the enemy. Military personnel accused of mutiny are proceeded against in courts martial, while civilians are dealt with under ordinary criminal law.
assassination, the murder of a prominent figure, usually for political or religious reasons. Leaders have been assassinated by lone individuals; as part of a political or religious opposition movement; in the process of a coup d'etat, rebellion, or revolution; or by covert action conducted by the government of another state. Perhaps the two most notorious assassinations in the 20th century were those of Francis Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, in 1914, which was an immediate cause of World War I, and US President Kennedy in 1963. There were unsuccessful assassination attempts against US President Reagan and Pope John Paul II in 1981, and against UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Other assassinations in the post-1945 world include those of President Sadat of Egypt in 1981; Prime Ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi of India, who were assassinated in 1984 and 1991; and Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, in 1995.
terrorism, the practice of using violent and intimidating acts, especially for political ends. State terrorism implies either the use of terror by state authorities in order to suppress opposition, or state sponsorship of terrorist activities. Terrorism is also used by political groups in order to bring pressure to bear on state authorities to accede to political demands. Terrorism has been used most commonly by revolutionary groups whose objective is the overthrow of a particular state authority, and by nationalist groups seeking national self-determination. In 19th-century Russia the anarchists and nihilists used bombings and assassinations against the Tsarist government, while in the USA organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan used terrorism and lynchings to intimidate the black population after the American Civil War. In the 20th century dictators such as Mussolini and Hitler have come to power through the use of terror tactics, while the period after World War II witnessed the growth of nationalist or liberation groups which used terrorism as part of their struggle against an occupying power: for example in Cyprus, Palestine (the Palestine Liberation Organization), Ireland (the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)), and many countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. A further development was the appearance of terrorist groups struggling against their countries' social and political structure, including the Baader-Meinhof gang and the Red Army Faction in Germany, the Red Brigade and its offshoots in Italy, Action Directe in France, the Basque separatist group ETA in Spain, and the Tupamaros in Uruguay. Some states have been accused of sponsoring international terrorism, including Libya, Syria, Sudan, and the Muslim fundamentalist regime in Iran.
Techniques of terrorism involve bombing and shooting attacks against property and individuals, the assassination of significant persons associated with the established government or security forces, hostage-taking, and hi-jacking of aircraft, trains, ships, and buses. Terrorist acts are rarely indiscriminate (though the immediate effects on victims may be) or random, though it may be intended to appear so if that produces the desired effect of a generalized state of public fear. The major objectives of terrorism are: to keep a particular cause in the forefront of public consciousness; to pressure the political authorities to concede the terrorists' demands by inducing a state of public fear; and to induce a government to betray its own commitment to freedom and democracy by imposing illiberal security measures in order to contain such violence. The overthrow of governments or the achievement of national independence have rarely been achieved by terrorist techniques; on the other hand, by keeping a cause in the forefront of domestic and international political agendas, terrorism may be seen in retrospect to have played a role if those objectives are ultimately achieved, and to have imposed heavy costs on governments, even if they are not.
International collaboration against terrorism has not proved easy since it involves the close co-operation of legal and police authorities from many different states (see Interpol), which have different domestic laws as well as different international and foreign policy interests. The European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (1977), the 'Trevi system' of co-operation among EC members (1976), which has now spread to Council of Europe states, the Tokyo summit declaration on terrorism in 1986, and the participation of the former Soviet Union in anti-terrorist collaboration have all helped to establish a climate of international co-operation. However, it is less easy to set up specific mechanisms to counter the terrorist threat. For example, it has often been difficult to get common provisions on airport security; and laws on extradition, which are the subject of specific bilateral treaties between states, often produce complex legal problems, the result of which may be that alleged terrorists are not brought to trial.
state terrorism, repressive measures employed by a government against its own population; or terrorism instigated or sponsored by a government against other states or individuals. In the first case, terrorist measures are employed by the state in order to coerce, intimidate, repress, and ultimately eliminate opponents. The most prominent practitioners of state terrorism in the 20th century were the Nazi regime in Germany (1933-45) and the Stalinist regime in the former Soviet Union (1924-53); but some contemporary authoritarian states employ terrorist methods against their own populations, including threats, arbitrary arrest, detention without trial, torture, abduction, and extra-judicial execution. The second form of state terrorism is often pursued by governments as a means of confronting or subverting other powers, which they do not have the military strength or will to attack directly. For example, the Libyan government is alleged to have financed and armed external terrorist groups such as the Irish Republican Army; Iran is believed to have been instrumental in instigating or supporting acts of terror by Islamic fundamentalist organizations; while the USA, as emerged in the Iran-Contra scandal of 1986, secretly sold arms to Iran in order, it was alleged, to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
rape (in law), the crime of having sexual intercourse with a person (usually female but sometimes male) who has not freely given consent. Rape is considered a violent crime as well as a sexual offence. Evidence suggests that in as many as half of all rapes, the attacker is already known to the victim, and, furthermore, that most rapes are planned and systematic. Police studies uncover few false allegations by victims. However, it is thought that many rapes go unreported, in part because victims often experience problems in reporting rape since police procedures may be felt to be as humiliating as the assault itself. Rape is difficult to prove in law, since it is usually one person's word against another's: conviction hinges on proving that the victim has not consented and that the attacker realized this, with the result that the characters of both parties and the victim's sexual history may be described in court in trying to prove or disprove consent. The acquittal rate is high, and those convicted are often given lenient sentences; in English law, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment, but this is rarely imposed. Recent writers have argued that, contrary to popular beliefs that women enjoy or provoke rape, that men commit rape because of uncontrollable sexual urges, or that women make false accusations of rape, it is an expression of male domination and exploitation of women. They have stressed that rape is a degrading assault which is both physically and psychologically traumatic. Under British law, sexual assaults against males (by an attacker of either sex) were not recognized as rape until 1994.
property crime, a term used to describe crimes which involve property, as contrasted with crimes against the person (see violent crime). In most societies, owning property is seen as a right that must be protected from illegitimate interference, which may take the form either of appropriation, or of damage and destruction. In law, distinctions are usually made according to the means employed, the nature and value of the property, and the 'criminal intent' or its absence. In English law, for example, theft is the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving that other of it. Burglary, a more serious offence, means entering a building or any part of it as a trespasser, with the intention of stealing or damaging property, or raping or inflicting grievous bodily harm on occupants. Arson falls within the second category of property crime, and involves the malicious burning of a house or other building. Vandalism could also be included in this category. Crimes against property appear to be particularly prevalent in economically advanced societies which emphasize personal success and material possessions and in which traditional forms of social control such as close surveillance of young people by adults have diminished.
drug offences, offences connected with the possession, dealing, or smuggling of proscribed drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and cannabis. The least serious offences relate to the possession of drugs; there are also crimes which may be drug-related, for instance theft, or violence committed under the influence of drugs, or in order to finance a drug habit. Heavy penalties tend to be reserved for drug-pushers (those who sell drugs and thus profit from the addiction of others) and drug-traffickers, who are usually part of the vast international network of organized crime which controls the cultivation and manufacture of illegal drugs, their importation, and their distribution. In 1990 a UN resolution recognized that drug-trafficking and related criminal activities were a threat to the political stability and security of states as well as to their social and economic fabric. It approved the first international plan to combat illegal drug production and consumption (estimated by the UN to be worth $500 billion a year). Building on the UN's 1988 Vienna Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, the plan contains proposals to reduce the growing of coca and poppy plants in the developing world by encouraging alternative legitimate exports and guaranteeing access to international markets. Industrialized countries in which illegal drugs are consumed are to limit the supply of chemicals for their manufacture and the flow of arms to drug cartels. Mechanisms to counteract money-laundering are also included. Some have argued that the decriminalization of drugs is the only way to check the problem and to deprive the drug cartels of their profits, but others believe this would result in a large increase in addiction.
drug abuse, the excessive or addictive use of drugs for non-medical purposes, usually in order to affect the user's mental state and perceptions. Most societies accept the use of some mild drugs: for example, alcohol, tannin and caffeine (in tea and coffee), and nicotine (in tobacco). However, the use of certain drugs that are considered particularly addictive or powerful is illegal in most countries. These include narcotics or sedatives (opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin); stimulants (cocaine and amphetamines); and hallucinogens (LSD). Cannabis or marijuana is mainly a sedative, but it can be hallucinogenic. Prescription drugs such as tranquillizers, and ordinary household substances such as glues and solvents may also be abused. The major problem of habitual drug abuse is physical or psychological dependence. In the case of some drugs, such as the opiates, tolerance develops, and more and more of the substance must be taken in order to achieve the desired effect. In the worst cases, everything in the drug user's life is subordinated to the craving for the drug and the steps taken to satisfy that craving. The withdrawal symptoms, when the user ceases taking the drug, may be severe. Other dangers involve the use of non-sterile needles or syringes, which may cause infections or transmit viruses such as hepatitis or Aids. Drug abuse, especially among the young, has become a major social problem world-wide. Drug abuse leads to related crimes, such as robbery, prostitution, and theft to support the habit, or violence while under the influence of drugs (see drug offences). For many developing countries, drug production and export are important to the economy; the trade is often dominated by organized crime, as in the case of the drug 'barons' of Colombia. Attempts to prevent and treat drug addiction and to catch and punish drug traffickers consume significant proportions of the time and budgets of health, police, and prison services in many countries.
money-laundering, a term used to describe the attempt to recycle illegitimate profits from crime in a legitimate form. It is often undertaken by those involved in organized crime in order to protect the proceeds of illicit activities, such as drug trafficking, from the threat of confiscation by the authorities. Money-laundering procedures are also sometimes used by governments in an attempt to conceal the origins of money obtained in a way they do not wish to be made public, such as through arms deals. Methods of money-laundering include investment in legitimate shares or property, or the setting up of a network of front companies, or bank accounts in false names, as a way of handling the proceeds of crime. In many jurisdictions, banks or financial institutions which knowingly launder such proceeds are subject to heavy penalties. In 1990 twelve members of the Council of Europe signed the Convention on the Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime. Under the Convention, money-laundering is recognized as a crime and the signatories agreed to legislate for the court confiscation of convicted drug dealers' assets and for the surveillance of the telephones and computer systems of suspected drug criminals.
sexual offences, crimes of a sexual nature, many of which are also crimes of violence. Crimes involving non-consensual sexual aggression include rape and indecent assault: violations of privacy and personal security that in most societies are considered particularly serious. Feminists argue that many sexual offences against women are not the result of uncontrolled sexual desires, but are rather the expression of a need to humiliate or exercise domination over the victim. Under authoritarian regimes women and children may frequently be the victims of sexual assaults by members of the security forces. A second category of sexual offences focuses on the protection of those thought vulnerable, such as people who are mentally handicapped or children (see child sexual abuse). More controversial are sexual offences in a third category, those which are intended to maintain standards of morality; thus homosexual acts and prostitution are illegal in some societies.
violent crime, a crime against the person, as contrasted with property crime. Violent crime includes the common law offences of assault (the threat of personal violence) and battery (actual personal violence), although the term assault is generally used to cover both. Other violent crimes are robbery (the use of force in the commission of a theft, as in the case of mugging); domestic violence, and homicide. Many sexual offences, such as indecent assault and rape, involve violence. Violent crimes are of particular concern to the public; they are often associated with drunkenness, drug dependency, the availability of weapons, frustration, and hopelessness. Some propose stiffer sentencing as a deterrent, while others advocate prevention (for example, education programmes) or protective measures (such as personal alarms, or protective screens for counter staff). In some countries there are support and compensation schemes for the victims of violent crime, who often suffer shock and lasting psychological distress in addition to their physical injuries.
computer crime, a crime in which a computer is either a tool of crime or is the object of crime. Using a computer as a tool of crime often involves altering, deleting, or adding to data stored on it. Computer crime is growing because valuable data are stored on computers and it is impossible to maintain absolute security around a computer system, particularly a large one with many users. Electronic banking systems are the commonest target, and industrial espionage involving computers is also becoming a serious threat. Using the 'salami technique', for example, the criminal may illegitimately and regularly transfer funds from many bank accounts but in such small amounts that those defrauded do not notice. Industrial espionage cases often involve illegal access to computer files or networks to obtain confidential information.
A computer is the object of crime when it is sabotaged through the planting of computer 'viruses'--for instance, viruses may hold the threat of destroying the databases of large organizations unless money is paid. Viruses are designed to replicate themselves and may lie dormant and undetected within computer systems for some time, and can be passed from system to system without the knowledge of the users. The increase in the use of computers has resulted in legislation against computer crime in many countries, but detecting and proving offences is difficult and many organizations are unwilling publicly to admit that they are victims.