Published Paper
Article Details
CRIME AND
CRIMINALS
Authored By-
Prachi Verma
Amity Law
School, Amity University Patna
Abstract
Law according to Black law
Dictionary, states that law is “a body of rules of action or conduct
prescribed by controlling authority and having binding legal force. That which
must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal
consequence is a law.”[1]
Law and morality goes hand in hand and at sometimes it may overlap each other
yet there are very different from each other. This paper aims to discuss “what
is crime?”, ‘What are the elements of crime” and “What are the stages of
crime”. This paper also aims to discuss the ideology of criminals, its types,
followed with the situation of criminals in the Indian jails at the present
stage.
Key Words: Crime, Criminal, Wrong, Morality,
Offence, Moral wrong
Introduction
According to Merriam Webster “wrong”
is something which is: injurious, unfair, or an unjust act. It is an action or
a conduct inflicting harm without due provocation or just cause.[2]
Wrong is something which is unjustified or unethical in nature. Wrong in legal terminology
means infringing the rights of others. In simple sense wrong means volition of
one’s legal rights with respect to other party, therefore which leads to the violation
of law. It is possible that wrong can be based on based or morality. Morality can
be understood as a basic structure rather a framework through which a person addresses
and expresses their values and believes to the whole world. Morality can be
very much linked with personality of a person, morality differs from person to
person, as it is possible that anything which is morally right according to one
individual may be morally wrong for another individual. Morality is something
which every person follows based on their believes system, it is not legally
enforceable. Similarly, law is something which is also followed by every
individual but are strictly based on certain rules and regulations.
Law according to Black law
Dictionary, states that law is “a body of rules of action or conduct
prescribed by controlling authority and having binding legal force. That which
must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal
consequence is a law.”[3]
Law is something which cannot be summarized in limited words, as it is one of
those topics which words can justify its authentic essence. Law and morality
are two similar things yet are different at the same time and are often used
interchangeably. Morality is something which governs a person’s own conduct in
the society in other words it can be understood as, morality is something a set
of principles and a sense of understanding which a person makes and follows to
survive in the society. It is unwritten set of principles, Simultaneously, Law
is also a set of rules which a person follows in the society, in a written
format. Violation of law often lead to legal consequences. Law and Morality are
different from each other but are interdependent on each other as there are
laws which are based on moral grounds, later are interpretated based on
different cases.
We all live in a society, a society
made up of peoples, by peoples, and these people have created moral rules or
norms to live in the society based on certain standards. It is possible that an
act can be against these moral rules, therefore immoral in nature. It is said
that something which is immoral in nature need not to be a crime. For example,
lying, disrespecting, being ungrateful for anything is not a crime. However,
theft, robbery, murder is considered as crimes and are punishable under the
law.
Offence or crime?
Offence and crime are two similar
words and are often confused with its actual meaning. Offence is something when
a person violates the norms of the society subjected its consequences.
Similarly, a crime is also an offence which has been already committed and
punished according to the law. Therefore, crime is subjected to evidence which
are supporting a series of events which lead to an offence.
What is Crime?
Any act or omission done by a person
that is prohibited by law is known as crime. In other words crime is an act or
omission committed by a person which is against the social norms of the
society, therefore considering them wrong or may understood as prohibited by
law.
Elements of
Crime
There are 4 ingredients of a crime,
therefore these 4 ingredients are required to committee any crime under the
eyes of law.
·
A
Person: A person becomes an essential element of the crime as without any
individual there is no scope of commitment of crime. Here this definition is
inclusive in nature, which means “a person” also includes a company, an
association, or a body of persons (weather incorporated or not).
·
Mens
Rea: Mens Rea means a “guilty mind”. When a person committee any crime, his
actions are considered followed by a “guilty mind” to committee those actions.
Mens Rea and intention to committee a crime is two different things. Mens Rea
is guilty mind where as “intention” is the desire of any mind. Intention does
not amount to any crime whereas, Mens Rea in any offence amount to crime.
·
Actus
Rea: Actus Rea is made up of two words act- that means any action, us- which
means any illegal omission. Together they are known as any forbidden act done
by a person.
REUM NISI MENS SIT
REA: it means that
there can not be a guilty act without any guilty mind.
·
Injury: Injury is the fourth essential ingredient of
the crime. Any crime committed must lead to an injury to the person. The injury
can be done to either to the body, mind, reputation or to the property.
Stages of
Crime
Stage of crime can be defined into 4
stages.
·
Intention: Intention is the desire to do anything,
there it is not punishable by the law.
·
Preparation: Preparation means arrangements of
commitment of any crime; therefore, general rule says that it is not punishable
by the law.
·
Attempt: Attempt is the third stage of crime, here
there are actions taken in order to committee crime, therefore it is punishable
by the law.
·
Accomplishment: Accomplishment is the fourth and final
stage of crime, here the crime has already been committed, therefore it is
punishable in nature.
When moral
wrong is not crime
Crime and Morality goes hand in hand.
It is important to understand that crime and morality may at time overlap each
other but it is not necessary that all things which are morally wrong need not
to be crime. For example, people who gossip on any matter is consider morally
wrong, but not considered as crime, or love marriage may be morally wrong in
the eyes of some but is not considered as a crime.
Recently in Triputi, Khap Panchyat
fined a girl’s family for love marriage of there child, outside their
community. Khap Panchyat charged 25,000 rupees from girl’s family for marring
their daughter outside their community.[4] Therefore
it can be understood from this is that a girl’s family may marry their daughter
to a person who is suitable for her, but this action is considered as moral
wrong in the eyes of Khap Panchyat but socially not considered as a crime.
Similarly, cases of cheating, where one person lie to another person (at a low
gravity) will be considered as morally wrong but not crime. Here in the case of
cheating, when a person lies to another person for “x” purposes, which has a
very low gravity of the lie, therefore it will not amount to a crime but will
definitely consider a wrong morally.
Criminals
Who is a Criminal?
Criminals or criminal are people who
have committed or on a verge of committing a crime. It is one of the most basic
ideas of a criminal that every individual has, but this definition does not
give a complete picture of what criminal actually is. According to law, a
person cannot be addressed as a criminal unless and until the person has been
proven guilty before the honourable court of justice. A legal maxim audi
altrerm partem is a principal of natural justice, which gives a right to
every individual to be heard, and no judgement can be delivered without hearing
both the parties. This maxim gives a right to every individual to be heard and
given a chance to prove himself innocent of the charges.
In India, Article 14 and Article 21
of the Indian Constitution talks about the principal of natural justice.
Article 14 talks about “Equality before Law”, stating that the state shall not
deny any person equality before law or the equal protection of the laws within
the territory of India. It means that every person is equal in the eyes of law,
and it is the duty of the state that rights that state does not discriminate in
any manner or hinder their rights. Therefore, even an alleged accused has a
right to stand in the court and demand for the ultimate justice. Similarly,
Article 21 talks about “Right to life and personal liberty” stating no person
shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law.
Types of criminals
There are various types of criminals
that exists in the society. Here we are narrowing the broad concept into 3
types:
1.
social
criminal
Social criminals are those people who
committee any crime based upon the social pressure of the society. Here
individuals are influenced by the events that had happened in the society, in
their past. One such example can be any social group. A child may get
influenced by his friend to steel something from the shop, this act later
develops into a regular habit, therefore this action makes them influenced to
become a social criminal.
According to a survey, it was
reported that there was an increase of juvenile cases by 5.9% in the year 2015.[5] From then the number of juvenile
cases has taken an exponential rise with every progressing year. From the above
news it can be understood that more and more children are getting influenced to
committee crime either knowingly or unknowingly. It can also be understood that
there is requirement of good, structured education to shape the future of these
children.
2.
economic
criminal
Money plays an important role in
every individual’s life, for children it can either make or break their career.
A child who is financial issues throughout his childhood can either motivate
him to work hard to earn his lively hood or plant a seed of unlimited wants
which can only be cured by making money unethically. Recently in research it
was found out that lack of education and poor economic structure is the common
reason that drives minor to a life of crime.[6]
From this it can be understood that, because of the lack of education and poor
financial background, children often take the road to the world of criminals.
This action can be either to fulfil the basic need or to satisfy the hunger of
unlimited material wants.
In an interview, it was reported by
Additional Director General of Police that based upon the records of 2015 it
was assumed that children who have been caught doing any crime, out of which
34.7 % were not educated beyond primary level and out of which 5.91% of the
children were literate.[7]
3.
habitual
criminal
Habitual criminals are those
criminals who have a habit of committing a crime. Here there is no fixed
requirement of committing any crime, but it is in the nature of the individuals
to committee any crime. Crime here can have different gravity, ranging from
high to low. One such example can be a serial killer. Serial killers may or may
not have any motive to kill people, but they kill to satisfy their own ego.
Habitual criminals with low gravity can be people who have a habit of steeling
things, not because they are in need, just to satisfy their ego. Here the crime
is dependent upon the psychology of the criminal, therefore the childhood
background of that persons plays an important role.
Habitual criminals are criminals who
have history of past episodes. They committee crime on a repetitive to satisfy
their wants. Here the “wants” can be anything. The level of seriousness can
only be understood by examining the behaviour of that particular individual.
From stealing small things to becoming a serial killer.
Present
situations of criminals in the Indian Jails
Indian Judiciary has a codified
procedure to address sentences based upon the gravity of the crime. Despite of
the advancement made in the Indian Legal system, it is believed that when a
person is sentenced for a period of time it believed that- the person spending
time in prison will take time out from his regular activity and will think upon
the acts committed by him and how they are wrong and prohibited by law. It is
also believed that when a person is sentenced it gives a second chance to that
person to think over and be a better a better person, after he spends time in
prison. This defiantly put a burden to Indian judiciary to keep criminals in
the Jails. There is huge problem of overcrowding the Jails.
One of the reasons that Indian
Judiciary take time to give any judgement in a case is because it believes that
“an innocent person should never be punished for the crime he has not
committed” , in order to ensure the actual accused person Indian Judiciary
takes time to give any judgement in any case therefore to ensure the person
they are punishing is the person who is responsible for the crime. Therefore,
it takes years to punish a criminal for his crime. It can be taken in both good
as well as in bad sense. Good sense- that the correct person is being punished
for his crimes. Bad sense- That delays the process of justice and therefore
puts a huge load in the Indian Judiciary.
Problems of
Indian Jails
Indian Judiciary believes in the
concept of “second chance”, a person who has committed any crime must think
about his action and therefore in order to that he is put under sentence based
upon the gravity of the crime he has committed. Though this process is tough
for Indian Judicial system to take charge of every criminal but does it best to
change the mindset of the criminal. Indian judicial system faces many problems
with the criminals inside the Indian jails. Some of them can be:
·
Overcrowding inside the jail: With the increase in the
population, there is increase in crime rates, which ultimately leads to
increased numbers of criminals inside the jail. The space inside the jails is
getting smaller day by day, leading to overcrowding of criminals inside the
jails.
·
Unnatural Deaths of criminals: Unnatural deaths are
one of the most serious issues face by criminals inside the jail. This could be
because of any internal disputes with other criminals or may be because of
internal politics.
·
Hygienic issues inside jail: Hygiene is one of the
serious issues faced by the criminals living inside the jail. Living on a
strict timetable there are often cases where there is issue of hygiene faced by
the criminals living inside the cell.
·
Neglect of mental health facilities inside the jail:
In today’s modern world, mental health is one of the major concerns for
everybody, either a normal person or a person fulfilling his time in sentence.
It is believed that due to a large number of criminals inside the jails it
becomes impossible for the management to keep a track of every criminal’s
mental health condition.
Conclusion
This research paper dives deep into
the concept of crime and criminals. This Research paper is divided into two
parts, first which deals with the concept of crime. The ideology of crime,
according to the research, it can be said that crime is an act or omission done
by a person that is prohibited by law is known as crime. In other words, crime
is an act or omission committed by a person which is against the social norms
of the society, therefore considering them wrong or may understood as
prohibited by law.
This research paper also deals with
the difference between crime, offence and moral wrongs that happens in our
society. From the above research it can be concluded that crime, offence, and
moral wrongs are very similar to each other, may overlap each other but yet are
very different from each other. There is a thin line difference between all the
three concepts. This research paper also states the situation when moral wrongs
are not crime. This research paper also deals with the ingredients required in
any crime along with the stage of crime.
The second part of this research
paper deals with the concept of criminals. According to the research, criminals
are the people who have committed or on a verge of committing a crime. It is
one of the most basic ideas of a criminal that every individual has, but this
definition does not give a complete picture of what criminal actually is. This
research paper also deals with the types of criminals. According to the
research, there are various kinds of criminals that exists into the society,
but here in this paper the classification of criminals is don on three basis-
First, Social criminals: they are the people who have been influenced or
motivated to committee crime by the societal pressure. They are influenced by
the society to committee crime. Second, economical criminal: they are the
people who committee crime in order to fulfil their material wants, this may be
due to lack of financial structure in the family or by poverty. The main reason
to committee crime here is money. Thirly, habitual criminals: They are the
people who develops the habit of committing crime.
This research paper also deals with
the current situation of criminals in the Indian jail, the ideology of Indian
Judiciary, the “purpose” of putting a person behind the bars. This research
paper also deals with the problems faced by the criminals in the Indian jails.
[4]
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/181022/khap-panchayat-fines-girl-for-love-marriage-attacks-her.html
[5] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/peer-pressure-and-boredom-lead-to-spurt-in-juvenile-cases/articleshow/55675006.cms
[6]
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/peer-pressure-and-boredom-lead-to-spurt-in-juvenile-cases/articleshow/55675006.cms
[7]
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/peer-pressure-and-boredom-lead-to-spurt-in-juvenile-cases/articleshow/55675006.cms
Article Information
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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
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