Different Concepts Of Crime. Classification Of Crime Essay

Different Concepts Of Crime. Classification Of Crime - Essay Example This implies that no harm was caused, and no damage was created to a person, the society or the state. Oxford dictionaries define crime as an act or omission that constitutes and offence which is punishable by law. A crime is a wrong committed against an individual, society and the state as defined in law and carries a punishment of fines, incarceration and, in some instances death. The numerous definitions of crime by different people and different entities, states, and scholars make the concept of crime to be among the hardest things questions. There are endless types of conduct that are prohibited and which may somehow be the subject of formal punishment. The kind of punishment may also change among diverse types of crimes, which creates room for disagreement over whether certain behavior should be prohibited by the criminal rule, and so punished at all. Equally, there may be conduct that people deem think should be criminal but which left untouched by the criminal law. Further, t he status of crime and criminology is undoubtedly informed by the methods and insights of social sciences, and these insights continue to have a fragile position within the legal scholarship. A close relationship between legal constructions of crime (criminal law) and social constructions of crime and criminality (criminology and criminal justice) arise (Lacey, nd). Certain kinds of conduct are acknowledged as crimes by the criminal law and the wider body of ordinary people. Examples of such acts are such as murder, stealing, damaging property and raping. These acts may be described as injurious to the victim as the injury may have been caused directly or indirectly. Moving a note higher, the concept of crime extends not only to causing injury and harm to incorporate only the perceived potential for harm. For instance, speeding may not look like real crime, but speeding may result in injury and death. The prospective danger of the person speeding is greater than that of the trivial pickpocket, but few people doubt that a pickpocket is a criminal, unless there are persuasive avoiding factors (Abadinsky, 2010). Classification of crime There are several types of crimes committed by individuals, some of which are taken as serious and some like trespass is considered less serious. Though all acts of crime are considered as the contravention of law, there are different punishments that may be enforced on a criminal. Classification of crime may be based on diverse standards like the extent of punishment, by type, by common law, and mode of trial. States might vary as to the categorization of any particular misdeed. Offense perpetrated in a certain region may be categorized differently than where the same crime was committed in another place. This study will explore classification of crime depending on the types of crimes. These are the organized crime, white collar crime, crimes of theft, property crimes, corporate crimes, as well as other property crimes. Generally, crimes may be classified in two main categories; felony and misdemeanor, depending on the severity of a crime. Felony is taken as grave crimes, which carry a punishment of more than one year in prison such as murder, arson and kidnapping. Misdemeanor misdeed is less severe and carries a punishment of less than one year in prison (Abadinsky, 2010). These are such as trespassing, prostitution and public intoxication. White collar crimes Sutherland of the American sociological society (2010) defines white collar crime as crime perpetrated by an individual of decorum and high societal standing in the