In ordinary language, the term crime denotes an unlawful act punishable by a state.

[1] The
term "crime" does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted
definition,[2] though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. [3] The most
popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime
if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law.[2] One proposed definition is that a
crime or offence (or criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual or
individuals but also to a community, society or the state ("a public wrong"). Such acts are
forbidden and punishable by law.[1][4]
The notion that acts such as murder, rape and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide.
[5]

What precisely is a criminal offence is defined by criminal law of each country. While many

have a catalogue of crimes called the criminal code, in some common law countries no such
comprehensive statute exists.
The state (government) has the power to severely restrict one's liberty for committing a
crime. In modern societies, there are procedures to which investigations and trials must
adhere. If found guilty, an offender may be sentenced to a form of reparation such as
a community sentence, or, depending on the nature of their offence, to
undergo imprisonment, life imprisonment or, in some jurisdictions, execution.
Usually, to be classified as a crime, the "act of doing something criminal" (actus reus) must
with certain exceptions be accompanied by the "intention to do something criminal"
(mens rea).[4]
While every crime violates the law, not every violation of the law counts as a crime. Breaches
of private law(torts and breaches of contract) are not automatically punished by the state, but
can be enforced through civil procedure.
Contents
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1 Overview

2 Etymology

3 Definition
o

3.1 England and Wales

3.2 Scotland

3.3 Sociology

3.4 Other definitions

4 Criminalization

5 Labelling theory

6 Natural-law theory

7 History

8 Classification and categorisation

o

8.1 Categorisation by type

8.2 Categorisation by penalty

8.3 Common law

8.4 Classification by mode of trial

8.5 Classification by origin

8.6 Other classifications

8.7 U.S. classification

9 Offence in common law jurisdictions

10 Causes and correlates of crime

11 Crimes in international law

12 Religion and crime

13 Military jurisdictions and states of emergency

14 Employee crime

15 See also

16 Notes

17 References

18 External links

Overview[edit]
When informal relationships and sanctions prove insufficient to establish and maintain a
desired social order, a government or a state may impose more formalized or stricter
systems of social control. With institutional and legal machinery at their disposal, agents of
the State can compel populations to conform to codes and can opt to punish or attempt to
reform those who do not conform.
Authorities employ various mechanisms to regulate (encouraging or discouraging) certain
behaviors in general. Governing or administering agencies may for example codify rules into
laws, police citizens and visitors to ensure that they comply with those laws, and implement
other policies and practices that legislators or administrators have prescribed with the aim of
discouraging or preventing crime. In addition, authorities provide remedies and sanctions,
and collectively these constitute a criminal justice system. Legal sanctions vary widely in their
severity; they may include (for example) incarceration of temporary character aimed at
reforming the convict. Some jurisdictions have penal codes written to inflict permanent harsh
punishments: legal mutilation, capital punishment or life without parole.
Usually a natural person perpetrates a crime, but legal persons may also commit crimes.
Conversely, at least under U.S. law, nonpersons such as animals cannot commit crimes. [6]
The sociologist Richard Quinney has written about the relationship between society and
crime. When Quinney states "crime is a social phenomenon" he envisages both how
individuals conceive crime and how populations perceive it, based on societal norms. [7]

Etymology[edit]
The word crime is derived from the Latin root cern, meaning "I decide, I give judgment".
Originally the Latin word crmen meant "charge" or "cry of distress."[8] The Ancient
Greek word krima (), from which the Latin cognate derives, typically referred to an
intellectual mistake or an offense against the community, rather than a private or moral
wrong.[9]
In 13th century English crime meant "sinfulness", according to etymonline.com. It was
probably brought to England as Old French crimne (12th century form of Modern

French crime), from Latin crimen (in the genitive case: criminis). In Latin, crimen could have
signified any one of the following: "charge, indictment, accusation; crime, fault, offense".
The word may derive from the Latin cernere "to decide, to sift" (see crisis, mapped
on Kairos and Chronos). But Ernest Klein (citing Karl Brugmann) rejects this and suggests
*cri-men, which originally would have meant "cry of distress". Thomas G. Tucker suggests a
root in "cry" words and refers to English plaint, plaintiff, and so on. The meaning "offense
punishable by law" dates from the late 14th century. The Latin word is glossed in Old English
byfacen, also "deceit, fraud, treachery", [cf. fake]. Crime wave is first attested in 1893
in American English.