The nature of crime Essay Example for Free

The nature of detestation EssayThe nature of felonious offense embodies the offences do against the democracy representing society and the population. Within this impression is the operation of principles going to the rights of the victim and the accused in the turn law process.This process encompasses the commission and elements of the crime going to the actus reus (action of the accused), mens rea (intention of the accused) and causal link to make out the crime the venomous investigation by the police the criminal trial process under the adversarial system the modular of proof beyond reasonable doubt and the verdict to sentencing options available to the judiciary. This stomach be illustrated in the persona of R v Munter (2009) NSWSC whilst demonstrating the causation in the death of a man assaulted by Munter acting on the mistaken belief that this man was breaching water restrictions, but showing that his intention to kill was absent whilst his actions contributed t o the outcome. In this lineament, Munter received a custodial sentence for manslaughter.Summary and indictable offencesCriminal conduct is categorised by abstract and indictable offences under the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW) and the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) respectively according to their severity. A summary offence is a less serious matter heard in the Local Court ( out front a magistrate generally resulting in a bond, fine or a jail sentence of up to both years.By contrast, indictable offences atomic number 18 to a greater extent serious matters heard at trial in the partition Court (most serious offences of manslaughter, murder and aggravated familiar assault being heard in the commanding Court) hobby a committal hearing in the Local Court and before a judge and jury.Offences squeeze out be committed against batch and property but fundamentally these offences breach the law of the state with sentencing imposed by the state but not necessarily in the interests of the v ictim.From homicide (murder and manslaughter) to, assault (common or aggravated) and sexual assault these can be contrasted with property and scotch offences involving larceny, looting or break and enter or white-collar crimes involvingembezzlement, tax evasion and as can be seen in the case of R v Rivkin (2003) ALR, insider trading in which the accused used confidential stock market information in parity to Qantas sh atomic number 18s for personal gain in which he was sentenced to nine months periodic detention.The different categories of crimeCategories of crime are branded by the type of offence, jurisdiction (NSW or Cth), the seriousness of the offence (summary or indictable) and the parties to a crime.This can embarrass offences against the person which is reflected as being a serious crime (homicide, assault and sexual assault). The case of Boughey v The Queen (1986) where a doctor strangled his wife during a sex game allegedly should have known that the act constituted a reckless indifference to human life and accordingly was convicted for murder clearly demonstrates this category of crime.Offences against the Sovereign refer to the main offences of sedition and treason within this area. The Vietnam contend draft-card burning is an effective example which demonstrates the crime of sedition where thousands of American men protested based on the elaboration of Americas engagement in the Vietnam War.This led to the case of United States v. OBrien where both parties argued before the Supreme Court in relation to the concept of sedition where OBrien was burning his draft-cards at a rally. (Does this have any relation to the Anti-Terrorism Act No.2 (Cth) 2002? and was introduced after 9/11) Economic offences is another area of the criminal law and more than significantly, is the largest area of criminal law as it encompasses most common types of crime.This embroils crimes against property (larceny, robbery and break and enter) white-collar crimes (embezzlement, tax evasion and insider trading and computer offences (hacking, unauthorized accessing, or change of data). The media article Fear in the Fast Lane (ABC, 2009) demonstrates a situation of an scotch offence and more specifically, hacking.It was based on the Alice Springs Turf Club where hackers accessed the online gambling system and brought it down. Main drug related offences include the possession of a prohibited drug use of a prohibited drug cultivation (the produce of plant drugs i.e. cannabis) and the supply of a prohibited drug.Such legislation which has been passed to assist with the enforceability of keeping these types of crimes minimal include the Drug Misuse andTrafficking Act 1985 (NSW) the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW) and the Customs Act 1901 (Cth). Driving associated offences are well-nigh of the most commonly committed offences in NSW. Many of these offences will relate to the strict liability offences concept such as speeding.The most common dri ving related offences include exceeding the speed go under driving without a license or while disqualified ignoring road signs and driving above the judicial blood alcohol limit of 0.05. Public order crimes are offences that relate to acts that are deemed to disturb the humankind order in some way i.e. disturbance in open.Some of the most common public order offences can include obscene, indecent or threatening language in public possessing a knife in public (with no reason) obstructing traffic and damaging public fountains or protected places. forward crimes are offences split into two main categories of attempts of an offence and conspiracy.The concept of conspiracy occurs when two or more people plot to commit a crime together. In addition, the failure of an attempted crime can result in the equal possible length of sentence for that particular crime which is demonstrated in Section 344 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) where a person who attempts an offence can be liable for the penalty. Parties to a crimeThe concept of parties to a crime relates to the fact that other people can be touch on in the act, either before or after the crime. This can effectively be reflected within the exploratory offence of conspiracy.The level of punishment is usually determined by that persons level of involvement in the crime and indeed there are four main categories of parties to a crime which are principal in the first degree (this is the principal offender) principal in the second degree (present at the crime i.e. encourager) accessory before the fact (someone who helped before the crime) accessory after the fact (someone who helped after the crime i.e. driving a getaway car).A range of factors that may lead to criminal behaviourA range of situational and kindly crime prevention techniques There are many significant factors which affect criminal behaviour. The scientific study of crime and criminal behaviour is known as criminology. This covers many aspects of why peo ple might become criminals.Firstly, the psychologicalfactor is relevant during the drug rehabilitation process and particular sentencing programs. Secondly, hearty groups that people associate with will often influence a persons attitude and views of unobjectionable behaviour. For example, an abusive home environment may impact on ones future life.Thirdly, the economic factor is extremely significant as people from disadvantaged backgrounds (i.e. Sydneys western suburbs) are more likely to commit crimes. This relates to the impact of poor education and lack of skills. Fourthly, politically, offences against the sovereign or against the state are likely to have some political factors influencing their commission. For Example the G8 Summit protest or the 2009 Copenhagen Climate swop Conference are both a major influence.Essentially, it is vital to understand the factors and motivations behind crime as it related to the possible impact of crime prevention (situational and social). S ituational crime prevents usually involves one of the two following approaches firstly, planning and architectural design, which focuses upon the influence of physical environments upon crime and seconly, focused (situational) approaches, which rest on rational pick theory.Basically, situational crime prevention aims to make it more difficult for criminals to carry out a crime and therefore stop the crime before it is committed. Social crime prevention relates to the prevention of some of the social and economic factors that might contribute to a person committing an offence.This includes the prevention of a poor home environment/parenting social and economic disadvantage poor school attendance early contact with the police and other authorities. Fundamentally, it is increasingly being fixed as such youth programs are run to teach dispute settlement skills and social skills that will encourage potential offenders to make better choices about their actions and their futures.