legal and social definitions of crime

Question 1

describe the legal definition of crime

Answer 1

the legal system in Scotland defines a crime. Therefore any behaviour that breaks the law and that you could receive a punishment for is seen as a crime (eg. murder, theft).

In law a crime must have two elements 1) an acts reus which means a guilty act and an mens reus which means a guilty mind.

Question 2

describe the social definition of crime

Answer 2

The social definition of crime is harder to define. If a society has said that an act is a crime, then it becomes one. In our society, some crimes are universally disapproved of (e.g. sex offences, especially those involving children). However, some acts are crimes in some countries but not in others (eg. underage sex is illegal in the UK but in Bangladesh, child marriage still exists).

Question 3

interactionalism

Answer 3

One theory of crime is Interactionalism which was created by Howard Becker. This theory refers to how crime is a social construct labelled by agents of social control (police, judges). When an act is labelled as a crime or deviant, the individual who commits the act starts to internalise the label and view themselves as a deviant. This can lead to crimes such as terrorism or murder.