Characteristics of criminal investigation

Question 1

what is crime defined as?

Answer 1

Crime is defined as any act or lack of acting that violates the law and results in punishment by the state. Means behaviour is only a crime if the law is broken. The definition of criminal behaviour is a social construct.

Question 2

an example of what’s no longer considered criminal? what’s difficult to identify?

Answer 2

Some crimes may be deemed criminal but not now like homosexuality. Difficult to identify the characteristics of criminal behaviour as crime is a social construction.

Question 3

How many categories of crime are there?

Answer 3

7 categories of crime = Kathryn Farr and Don Gibbons.

Question 4

What are the different characteristics of crime?

Answer 4

Cherrie Griffeths:
Murderer (disorganised asocial offender) - below average IQ, high school dropout, socially inadequate, live alone, low birth order status

Murderer (organized, non-social offender) - above average IQ, follow the media, socially adequate, sexually competent, high birth order status.

Acquisitive crime – pleasure, thrill seeking, motivated by drug addiction, motivated by knowledge or economic reasons

Terrorism – perceived injustice, political and economically motivated, illogical perception of the truth/fault rationalisations, possible mental illness.