Advocate Aayushree Thapa Rana

Definition of Crime

Who defines crime?

- The society defines crime through criminal law.
- Criminal law changes with the change in social perception, economic development and
standard of living.
- The offenders are punished in the way the crime is perceived. So, penal policy changes
along with the perception of criminality.
- Crimes are unjustifiable and inexcusable human conducts.
- The word 'crime' came from the Latin word 'crimen' which means 'accusation' (a claim that
someone has done something illegal)
- The easiest way of defining 'what is crime?' is to eliminate it from 'what is not crime?' The
conducts which are not prohibited by laws are not the crime.
- Crimes are harmful behaviors. Such harmful conducts "consists of wrong doing which
directly threatens the security or well-being of society."
- The idea of crime is that something that rightly concerns the state and not just the persons
affected by the wrong doing. For example: If an individual is wronged behind the closed
doors in case of domestic violence, the state has an interest.
- Definition of crime posits the minimum of the following characteristics:
o Crime is an act or omission which is restricted by law;
o The act is restricted because it harms and is public wrong;
O The violation of which is punishable by law.
- Therefore, it is the task of the legislature to enact whether the particular act shall become a
crime or not. If the legislature does not envision the particular act as crime, the court cannot
criminalize through its interpretations
- Roscoe Pound has stated that a final definition of crime is impossible because law is living
and changing thing which may at one time be based on sovereign will and at another time
on juristic science (the systematic study and analysis of law), which may at one time be
uniform and at another time give much more room for judicial discretion which may at one
time be more specific in its prescription and at another time much more general.
- It may be stated that a crime has three main attributers namely:
a) It is a harm brought about some anti-social act of a person, which the state desires
to prevent;
b) The preventive means taken by the state is in the form of a punishment;
c) The legal proceedings for determining the guilt or otherwise of the accused are
governed by the rules of criminal law procedure contained in the code of criminal procedure
and law of evidence.

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How is crime calculated?
- Broadly speaking, every criminal behavior must respond to the following tests in order to
be reckoned (considered/calculated) as a crime
a) There should be an external act (actus reus);
b) It should be done with some criminal intent (mens reas);
c) It should be a prohibited conduct under the existing law; and
d) It should carry with it some kind of sanction or punishment.

Criminology concept
Etymologically, Criminology is the combination of two words Crimen (Latin Term) +
Logos/Logia (Greek Word).
Where, Crimen means crime, nature of crime
Logos means study/science
Combinely, it means the study of crime, study of nature of crime.
- It Studies (crime, reasons of crime, cause of crime, nature of crime)
- Criminology, is the scientific study of causation of crime, prevention of crime,
correction of crime.
- According to Coleman and Norris, "Criminology" is the analysis of the:
o Nature of crime
o Cause of crime
o The formulation of criminal law
O And the ways that the crime be controlled.
- Nature- heinous or simple or brutal
- Causes- education, unemployment, poverty, environment, peer groups, social
structure
- Formulation- how law are made, how law can be made, how a crime can be
controlled?
- Sutherland- Social Phenomena

Nature
1. Criminal Anthropology
- It seeks to understand the personality of criminals;
- Attitude of criminals;
- Modern father of criminology is Lombroso.

2. Penology

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 - Study of punishment. It focus on penalty. Branch of criminology.

3. Victimology
- Study of victims how a victims can be compensated and it is also a branch of criminology

4. Criminal psychology
- It deals with our emotions, how a person thinks, what he sees in the society and victims.

5. Science of criminal behavior

- It studies: What is the conduct of criminals? What sort of people commit crimes? Were
they once a law abiding citizens?

PART I
Unit 1: Introduction

1.1 Concept, Nature and Scope of criminology:

- Criminology theories are abstract; they are part of the broader social science which
make an effort to explain human behavior and society.
- A theory are generalizations; they explain how two or more events are related to each
other. (that is human behavior and society, crime with criminals)
- There can be no society without the problem of crime and criminals.
- The word 'criminology' was originated in the year 1890.
- The word has its origin from two words, Latin word 'crimen' which means accusation
or crime and Greek word 'logia' which combinely means a scientific study of a crime
as social phenomena, causation of crime, prevention of crime and correction of
criminals.
- Criminology also applies statistics, case history, official record and sociological field
methods to study criminals and criminal activity including the rates and kinds of crime
within the geographical areas.
- Today, destructive acts of highway, train and bank robberies, looting, bomb blasts,
rape, terrorist activities, white collar crime, cybercrimes, hijacking etc. are constantly
increasing which have posed a positive danger to human life, liberty and property.
- Modern criminologist therefore, seems to be seriously concerned with the problem of
crime to protect the society from such anti-social activities of criminals. It is for this
reason that the two sister branches of criminal science, namely criminology and
penology should work hand in hand to appreciate the problem of criminality in its
proper perspective.
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- Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. As
a social phenomenon, it us evitable to study why some sort of people commit crime
whereas some sort of people led their life as law abiding persons.
- It includes within its scope and process of making laws, of breaking laws and reaction
towards the breaking of laws.
- Here, the making of laws denote the process of criminalization of particular human
conduct as crime. The breaking of laws denote causes and reasons behind committing
crime and reaction towards breaking of laws denote the appropriate control
mechanism of crime.
(Criminalization is the process by which behavior and individuals are transformed
into crime and criminals. For example: criminalization of underage drinking,
smoking, gambling and sexual activities).
- Criminologists use scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause and control
mechanisms of criminal behavior.

Definition of Criminology

Coleman and Norris: According to them, criminology is the analysis of nature co crime,
perpetrators of crime, and the cause of crime the formulation of criminal laws and law
enforcements and the control of criminal behavior.

Prof Kenny: He defined criminology as the branch of criminal science which deals with
crime causation, analysis and prevention of crime.

Sutherland: He gave a more comprehensive definition of criminology and defined it as

the body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as a social phenomenon and it
includes within it, the process of making laws breaking laws and of reacting towards the
breaking of laws.

Professor Gillin: has rightly stated that it is not the humanity within the criminals, but
the criminality within the human which needs to be curbed through effective
administration of criminal justice.

In broader sense, Criminology is referred to as the entire body of knowledge regarding;

A. prevention and causes of crime,
B. punishment and correction of criminals
C. operation of correctional institutions and agencies.

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In Narrower sense, Criminology is scientific study of crimes and criminals.
Criminology in narrower sense is described as the scientific study of crime as social
phenomenon or a science that deals with different aspects of behavior that violated
criminal law.

Both narrower and broader definition of criminology is the scientific study of

criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminal law given by Oxford
Advanced Leaners Dictionary.

Elliot (Scientific study): Criminology may be defined as scientific study of crime and
its treatment.

Black's Law Dictionary (Linguistic study): The study of crime, criminals and
punishment as a social phenomenon, the study of the causes of crime, comprising
criminal biology and criminal sociology.

Frank Schamalleger (interdisciplinary study): Criminology as an interdisciplinary

profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior including
their manifestations, causes, legal aspects and control.

Gennaro Vita & Ronald Holms (Causative study): Criminology is the causative study
of crime. Criminology is nothing but causes of crime whether biological, economical,
sociological or social structure etc.

Dr. Kenny (as a science): Criminology is a branch of criminal science which deals
with crime, causation analysis and prevention of crimes.

Donald R. Taft (Scientific basis): Criminology is the study which includes all the
subject matters necessary to the understanding and prevention of crimes together with
the punishment and treatment of delinquents and criminal. Criminology is the
scientific analysis and observation of crime and criminals whereas, penology is
concerned with the punishment and treatment of offenders.

Criminology has played a historically reforming role in relation to criminal laws and
the criminal justice system. Its findings have influenced legislators, judges,
prosecutors, lawyers, probation officers and prison authorities promoting them to
better understand crime and criminals and to develop better sentences and treatment
facilities for criminals.

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 Nature and Scope of Criminology:

- Criminology deals with the legal psychiatric aspect or the medico-psychological,

biological, pedagogical or sociological aspect of criminality and the factors related
therewith
- It seeks to study the phenomena of criminality in its entirety.
- Criminology in the broadest sense covers the whole criminal science, which includes
sentencing, punishment, laws, procedure, rehabilitation, crime detection etc. and the
like.
- The study of Criminology is dynamic because the criminology changes as the social
condition changes.
- Criminology can be further divided into two heads:
a. Theoretical or pure criminology
b. Applied or practical criminology

Prof. W.A. Bonger preferred to study a. theoretical criminology under the following
sub-heads.

i. Criminal Anthropology:

- This seeks to understand the personality of the offender in physical terms. Lombroso
was the first to propound this view and he emphasized on explaining criminal
behavior in terms of physical characteristics of the offender.
- It is based on the attitude, personality of the human being.
- Lombroso also outlined 14 physiognomic characteristics which he and his followers
believed to be common in all criminals. For instance they were, wrinkles on forehead,
sloping forehead, flat nose, strong jawline, large chest, long arms, pointy fingers,
tattoos on body, bushy eyelashes etc.
- This theory delivered a concept of criminal kind, upon the assumption that criminal
possess specific tangible traits that separated them from those not affiliated with
crime.

ii. Criminal Sociology:

- This is based on Sutherland's differential association theory, which tries to explain
criminal behavior as a process of learning through association with other criminals.
- This theory however, fails to acknowledge the personality traits of psychological
variables of criminal behavior.

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- Criminology is an exploration of the nature and extent of the problem of crime in
society.
- Criminologist have been attempting to explain criminal behavior as part of the society
and criminal behaviors are the product of the conflicts of the values within the society
and are produced as part of the social process.
- Crimes are considered to be social constructs that is an idea which has been created
and accepted by the people in a society and vary from society to society.

iii. Criminal Psychology:

- It seeks to correlate criminality to emotional aspect of human nature.
- Criminal psychology includes the profiling of age, background, personality, habits
and even the neighborhood in which the criminal is likely to live.
- Criminal psychology studied of the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions
of individuals who commit crimes.
- The questions that criminal psychologist aim to answer are the following:
a. Why do some people commit crimes and others don't?
b. Does a criminal personality exist?
c. Are criminals born criminals? Or do they become criminals throughout their lives?
d. What are the different types of crimes?
e. Can criminals be rehabilitated?

iv. Criminal psycho-neuro-pathology: (which studies causes and effects of diseases,

emotional state – nervous system and nervous system that is association of stress with
several diseases)

- This branch of criminality attributes criminality to functional derivations and mental

conflicts in the personality of the offender.
- The factors such as inferiority complex, frustration, depression, anxiety etc. may
lead to commit crime.
- The analysis and interpretations of criminological questions through psychiatric,
neurological, physiological and pathological perspectives is understood as medical
criminology.
- Biological explanation do not help us understand why crime rates vary from one
society to another but do explain some crimes for example in the case of brain disorder
and learning difficulties.

v. Penology:
- This concerns the various aspects of punishments and penal policies and the various
mechanisms of punishing the offenders
- Punishment comes as one of the major derivatives of criminality.

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 - Punishment appears as the equivalent of paying back the cost of the criminality

vi. Victimology:
- This branch of criminology is fairly new and deals with the victims of crime. It seeks
to answer the questions of why and how do people fall to be victim of crime and how
they can be helped against the abuse of power or criminal acts of the offenders through
access to criminal justice.
- It also outlines the possible ways by which victimization can be prevented against
crimes and legal remedies available to the victims.

b. Applied Criminology:
- On the other hand, includes the study of criminal hygiene and criminal policy which
is founded on solid derivative conclusions. There is yet another branch of criminology
called criminalistics which connotes the police techniques of crime investigation and
detection.
- It provides useful material for studying and understanding of criminal justice
administration from point of view of field officers whose main pre-occupation is to
deal with the law and procedures relating to investigation and prosecution of criminal
cases.
- Thus, criminology as a branch of knowledge is concerned with those particular
conducts of human behavior which is prohibited by society. The judicial approach to
criminology suggest that an act to be a crime must conform to two cardinal principles
of criminality namely:
I. Nullum crimen sine lege (no crime without law)
II. Nullum poena sine lege (no punishment without law)

Thus, it is doubtful whether a swimmer who keeps on watching a child drowning in

a pond but makes no effort to save the life can be punished under the criminal law for
his omission to rescue the child. (In the case of no one can be punished for an act
unless it is made punishable under the law).

1.2 Study Methods of Criminology

- The study of both crime and criminal justice system is the emphasis of criminology.
- Criminality, delinquency and victimization are the main topics of criminological
research.
- There are many ways to study criminology because there are so many different topics
that are examined.

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 I. What do you mean by quantitative criminology?

- Quantitative criminology is the systematic study of phenomena by collecting

quantifiable data and employing statistical, mathematical or computer methods.
- Quantitative criminology gathers data from present and potential clients by
employing sample techniques and distributing online surveys, polls, questionnaires
and other types of data collection.
- The study of crime, criminals, criminal behaviors and corrections is a more current
and complete definition of criminology.
- The most common methods for obtaining quantitative information on crime are direct
observation, victimization reports, and surveys of offenders and the use of previously
gathered information.
- Not all crimes are adequately recorded is supported by the fact that police learn about
crimes either by observing them or by having them reported to them. E.g. shop lifting,
theft, drugs trafficking.
- The methods which are generally used by criminologist include the followings:

1. Survey Methods:

- In this method, fact are collected by means of framing question for a larger number
of people who are placed under scientific controls.
- There are majorly three tools which are kept to use in the survey methods of
criminology namely, the questionnaire, schedule and interview guide (list of
questions). A schedule is a structure of set of questions on a given topic which are
asked by the interviewer is investigated personally. It is administered by the
researcher in person and I is filled up by the researcher.
- It is ideal to note that a survey can be either a quantitative or qualitative method or
can also be mixture of both.
- Qualitative (interview, case study, observation)
- Quantitative (Survey, statistics).

2. Case Study Methods:

- The case study methods is a method by means of which social phenomena is studied
with the help of intensive and detailed analysis of an individual case.
- The case may be:
o A person (a juvenile delinquent),
o A group (youth criminals),
o An institution (School) ,

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 o An event, (program),
o A situation (violence),
o An organization (the police), or
o Any other unit of social life. (School Management), there details are to be gathered
in a case individually.
- In this method, the investigators inquire or examine into the social, medical,
psychological and sometime psychiatric and mental background of the individual.
- Also, in this method information is gathered from families, school records, neighbor,
peers, work groups and other sources where numerous interviews with the individual
are also made.
- It is the study of convicted criminal of the same nature of crime, case by case basis
and collection of data through interview method is another method of study of
criminality.

3. Statistical Methods:

- The source of statistics may be primary or secondary.

- Secondary source of statistics may not be reliable in the sense that they are vague and
in accurate.
- Primary source of statistics collected from the field concerned with adequate methods
of sampling may give a true picture of crime situation in a particular society.
- In statistical technique, quite frequently the correlation technique is used in
criminology, investigators pick up a variable considered to be relevant to the study of
crime or delinquency and measure the correlation between the variable and crime.
- Here, the variable means economic conditions, poverty level, education, family
conditions, persons, place, thing, social class, age etc.
- The correlation must occurs together and there must be perfect correction where the
direction may be positive.
For example: age & vision are usually negative correlated i.e. as age increase the vision
decrease.
- Statistical analysis are used by criminologist only to measure the frequency with
which certain factors such as age, income, education, intelligence and other occurs
with regard to delinquency and crime.

4. Experimental Methods:

- In this method, the records are kept and compared with different method of treatment
of offenders to study crime.

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 - This method is important in the sense that it shows the impact of treatment and success
and unsuccessful rate.
- This method is often used by physical scientific, is not as adaptable to use in the social
sciences because control is more difficult to achieve.
- The criminologists has come to use of this method is through controlled observations.
- Example: If we attempt to measure the differences between short term and long term
methods of detention particularly of male juvenile delinquents, knowing the failure
of traditional methods used in the reformation of juveniles in children homes, a new
type of treatment facilities are introduced in a selected home that would treat boys
within a short period let's say up to three months.
- In this method, experiment begins with two or more equivalent groups and an
experiment variable is introduced only in the experiment group.

1.3 Classification of crime and criminal

Classification of crime
All crimes are not of the same nature. Criminologists have classified the crime from
different perspective moral guilt, dishonesty, occupational activity, impact upon the
victim and detection of crime.

a) Relative Liability (Actus Reus + Mens rea)

- It is a general conditions of penal liability that a person is not criminally liable for his
conduct unless the prescribed state of mind coincides with the prohibited actus reus.
- The act alone does not amount to guilt, it must be accompanied by a guilty mind (actus
non facit reum nisi mens sit rea).
- In this liability the two conditions must be fulfilled before imposing penal
responsibility, they are:
o The doing of some act by the person to be held liable.
o The means rea or guilty mind with which the act is done.
- The concurrence of actus reus and mens rea comprise of five stages:
o Motive: for example revenge mind/motive.
o Intention: guilty mind resulted from the motive.
o Preparation: for example training, homework, team formation etc. to achieve the
result intended.
o Attempt: that is effort to commit the crime.
o Commission of the crime (completion).

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GON Vs. Tek Bdr Chhetri (NKP 2066, DN 8142, P 743) "Both Actus reus and mens rea need
to be present to establish any criminal offence."

b) Strict liability: (only Actus reus no Mens rea)

- When a person is liable for commission of any act without considering his mens rea,
it is formed as strict liability.
- The proof of actus reus itself is sufficient to hold such person liable.
- The crimes which do not require mens rea (intention), recklessness (deliberately
engaging in dangerous behavior and may injure someone) or even negligence are
known as offences of strict liability.
- Example: driving intoxicated (recklessness), medical professional performing
surgeries (negligence) where they are not professionals.
- Many laws are not enacted and applied to regularize the society often economic
sanctions are pursued in such regulation such as no one should drive without license,
no one should park at no park zone etc.
- For example: In pharmaceutical society of Great Britian Vs. Storkwa in 1986, A
pharmacist supplied drugs to a patient who presented a forged doctor's prescription,
but was convicted even though the House of lords accepted that the pharmacist was
blameless. The justification is that the misuse of drug is grave social evil and
pharmacist should be encouraged to take 'reasonable care' and verify prescription
before supplying drugs.
- However, the liability is imposed on the ground that the general public must be
protected from dangers and harms.

c) White Collar Crime

- Crime committed by the prestigious persons in the course of their occupational
activities is termed as white collar crime.
- The crime is committed by an important person of the company who enjoys a high
social status in the company.
- Corruption fraud, bribery are the most common white collar crime.
- It is defined as the non-violent crimes committed by business man and
- Advancement in commerce and technology has invited unprecedented growth in one
of the types of white collar crime known as cybercrime, cybercrime are increasing
because there is only little risk of being caught.
- The term "white collar crime" was defined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939.
- It is a crime that is committed by salaried professional workers or persons in business
and that usually involves a form of financial theft or fraud.

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 Types of white collar crime:

I. Bank Fraud:
Bank fraud means to engage in such activities in order to defraud a bank or using
illegal means to obtain assets held by financial institution.

II. Blackmail:
Blackmail means demand for money by threatening some person to cause physical
injury or exposing his secrets.

III. Bribery:
Bribery means offering money, goods or any gift to someone in order to have control
over his actions. It is crime whether someone offers or accepts a bribe.

IV. Computer fraud:

Computer frauds are such frauds which involve hacking or stealing information of
some other person.

V. Tax fraud:
Tax fraud means evading tax by providing wrong information in tax forms or illegally
transferring property in order to avoid tax.

VI. Extortion:
When a person illegally obtains someone's property by actual or threatened force.

d) Victimless crime:

- Where perpetrator and victim of prohibited act is the same person it is termed as
victimless crime such as suicide, prostitution, consumption of narcotic drugs,
abortion.
- Victimless crime is the crime where no third party is injured.
- This type of crime is private in nature.
- "Crime without Victim" or "Victimless crime" is a term used for certain actions that
are illegal, but which do not directly violate or threaten the right of any other
individual.
- The victimless crime normally do not harm the other individual by the act of
perpetrator but harm to the society at large.

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 - There is often a fine line between what is considered as a crime and which is not. For
example: going to Las Vegas and playing poker for money is legal. However, playing
poker game for money in another state may be illegal gambling.
- Likewise, smoking recreational marijuana is legal in states like California but doing
the same thing in Alabama could get you in jail.
- The state law of crime and regional attitudes can make a big difference in whether
victimless activities are against the law of permissible.
- The major matter of debate is whether victimless crime should be punished or not?

e) Hidden Crime:

- The crimes which are hidden is known as hidden crime. These include corporate
crimes. Crimes may be unreported or unrecorded due to certain circumstances.
- Unreported crimes would include a man getting raped or a female or child.
- Unrecorded crimes would include stealing clothes of a washing line.
- In such crimes, victims may not be aware that they are a victim therefore they may
not report such crimes. These would include sexual abuse of children.
- This category of crime related to not detected crime by the police, which means
certain number of crimes are never reported, many of them even if reported are not
detected.
- Even all detected and prosecuted crimes may not be convicted by the court.
- In such case empirical data (experiment or observation) is necessary to understand
the root cause crime at grass root level.
- Examples of hidden crimes are domestic violence, fraud, witchcraft, human
trafficking, cybercrime, underage drinking etc.
- What are the reasons people don’t report crime?
o Fear
o Protecting someone
o Blackmail
o May not know it is a crime
o May be embarrassed
o May be influenced not to by peers
o Lack of trust in police.

Classification of Criminals:

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 - All criminals are not of the same nature and they are not dangerous to society to the
same degree of social security.
- It invites differential treatment upon the offenders from social point of view. While
helping the offender we should not ignore the victim of the crime.

a. Professional criminals:

Criminals who earn their livelihood from commission of crime are professional criminal.
They are very dangerous to society and are less prone to reformation.
These categories of criminals deserve long term imprisonment. They might be of different
categories of professionalism like full time, part time or helping others not for money but for
the sake of friendship.

b. Deep tempered criminal:

Criminals who engage in criminality out of deep temperament like ill will, revenge, outrage
fall under this category. Such persons are also dangerous to society and not easily
reformable.

c. Provocational criminal:

Criminals committing crime out of provocation fall under this category. They are not really
dangerous person for the stability of the society. They often regret for their act after the
commission of the crime. They are easily reformable and deserve alternative methods of
punishment.

d. Mentally disturbed criminals:

Mentally disturbed criminals deserve treatment rather than long term punishment. So, it is a
psychopathic problem to be solved by psychologist.

e. Habitual criminals:

Committing crime out of the habit fall under this category. It is a different problem to be
solved with the study of past life and social help.

f. Occasional criminal:

Commission of crime on the availability of suitable opportunity fall under these categories.
Such criminals are easy to reform and do not deserve long sentence.
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g. Female criminal:

Involvement of female in crime is mostly seen in the activities of prostitution, abortion,

shoplifting and assisting others as an abettor.

1.3 Concept, nature and purpose of Criminal law and Criminal justice system:

- Criminal law is an area of the law that concerns crimes and laws applied to those who
commit crimes.
- There are two main types of criminal offences: felonies and misdemeanors. The most
serious crimes are felonies which include offences like murder, robbery and arson.
Misdemeanors are more over minor offences like traffic violations or petty thefts.
- Criminal law is the body of laws that deal with crime and punishment.
- The main purpose of criminal law is to preserve public order, to protect the citizen
from what is offensive or injurious and to provide sufficient safeguards against
exploitations in order to maintain peace and order
- Crime is a public wrong, hence it is a state party case. The suspect in criminal law is
presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
- The convicted is awarded with the punishment ranking from capital punishment,
custodial punishment/imprisonment and non-custodial punishment such as fines or
community service as per law.
- Criminal law is the foundation of the criminal justice system. Criminal law is
concerned with the system of rules that define what conduct is classified as a crime
and how the government may prosecute individuals that commit crime.
- It is the duty of the state:
o To preserve the public order and decency.
o To protect the persons from what is offensive and injurious.
o To provide sufficient safeguard against exploitations.
- Criminal law is the body of rules and regulations that define and specify the nature of
and punishments for offences of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the
state or society. Also called penal law.
- In a simple sense; criminal law means firstly, it is an offence against the public
although it might affect only one person.
- Secondly, that the person who committed an offence will be punished in some manner
prescribed by the state.

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Nature of Criminal law

- A crime is a public injury. Criminal statutes reflect the rules that must be followed
for a civil society function. Crimes are an offence to civil society and its public order.
Crimes are an offence to the public and someone who commits a crime has committed
an injury to the public at large.
- Crime is an act against the society. Society reacts against the criminal through
criminal law.
- Criminal law aims to punish the offender.
- State prosecutes the case on behalf of the victim. The whole process of prosecution
runs in a formal style.
- Criminal law originates from supreme legislation. Subordinate legislation cannot
formulate the criminal law.
- The notion of crime is relative to time and place. The perception to crime changes
with the passage of time. In our country, sati system, polygamous marriage, child
marriage, slavery system used to be regarded as acceptable phenomenon in the past
but they are regarded as crime today. Likewise, the crime in one country may not be
crime in another country since social perception may differ from society to society.
- The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty.
This presumption of innocence means that the state must prove the case against the
defendant before the government can impose punishment. If the state cannot prove its
case, then the person charged with the crime will be acquitted.

Purpose of Criminal law

- Criminal law is legislated in order to prevent harm to others. The harmful conducts
of human beings threaten security and well-being of society. It cannot be healed by
compensation because it harms to the public at large. The purposes of criminal law
could be enlisted as below:
o To maintain a peaceful, just and safe society. This is achieved by establishing a system
of prohibitions, sanctions, penalties, and procedures that help the government to
appropriately deal with any conduct that causes or threatens to cause harm to the
individuals or society.
o To portray a community's values. When one is found guilty of undesirable behavior,
the sentence imposed is a means to communicate these values.
o To forbid and prevent conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens
substantial harm o individual or public interests.
o To differentiate on reasonable grounds between serious and minor offences.
o To protect individual rights and liberties and punishes those who violate it.

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 o To protect individuals from criminals who would inflict physical harm or others or
take their worldly goods by the potential threat of punishment and financial liability.
o To deter criminal from indulging in criminal activities and at the same time advising
citizens as to how to avoid falling as a victim of a crime.
o To ensure the accountability of criminal justice system in a society.
o To help the victims get adequate compensation from the offenders whatever possible
or ensuring their rehabilitation in any other way as the circumstances may warrant.
o To ensure efficient and fair application of law by providing proper treatment for
suspects, defendants, those who are held in custody and witness. Also ensuring that the
innocents are acquitted without harassment and the guilty are duly punished.

Concept of Criminal Justice system

-
- The criminal justice system represents the society's response to crime. It consists of
law enforcement, the courts, and the corrections systems at the local, state and
national level which means the role of police is to apprehend offenders, collect
evidence, protect the community and respect the rights of the accused.
- The system that deals with agencies of government that are responsible for enforcing
the law in the country, maintaining peace and harmony and treating criminal conduct
is known as the criminal justice system.
- The aim of the criminal justice system is to ensure that every person who suffers an
injury or loss at the hand of others is allowed to present his case and seek justice.

Objectives of criminal justice system are:

- To punish the wrongdoers.
- Prevent the further occurrence of crime in society.
- Regulate the behavior and conduct of people, especially criminals.
- To provide relief to the victim.
- Treatment of offenders and their rehabilitation.
- To create deterrence in the minds of people at large not to indulge in any criminal
activity.

- The two major types of criminal justice system in the world are:
o Adversial syatem
o Inquisitorial system

1. Adversial System:

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 - This system is followed in common law countries. In this system, there is prosecution
advocate and defense advocate who argue before the court, and the case is decided on
the basis of principles of evidence law and procedural law.
- The judges decides the case on the basis of arguments between the two counsels and
evidence shown in court.
- This system presumes the accused to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt.
- The prosecutor represents the state, as it is presumed that a crime has been committed
against the state at large, and so, it is the obligation of the state to provide justice.
- In this system both parties are given rights to a fair trial and hearing and so justice is
delayed.

2. Inquisitorial system:

- The system which is followed be civil law countries. The judge can himself
investigate the matter and decide the case on the basis of investigation and inquiry in
this system.
- The counsel from each side is present, but unlike in the adversial system, there is no
cross examination of the witness.

Purpose of the criminal justice system:

a. The purpose of the criminal justice system is to deliver justice for all, by convicting
and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending while protecting the
innocent.
b. The central purpose of the criminal justice system is to deliver an efficient,
effective, accountable and fair justice process for the public.
c. Prisons should reduce crime in three ways:
I) by incapacitating offenders;
II) by punishing and thereby deterring others who would commit crimes
III) by rehabilitating offenders
d. To protect the people from wrongful treatment and wrongful convictions.
e. To prevent them from committing further crimes and to reform them for social
integration.

1.4 Modern view as to crime and criminals/ Modern trends in criminology:

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- There is a mark differentiation between traditional view and modern vie as to crime
and criminals. Traditional view holds that crime causation is the result of misuse of
intellectual judgment and exercise of free will.
- Then, criminals were treated as dangerous person permanently harmful to the society.
- Traditional view exercised death penalty, corporal punishment, banishment or social
disgrace as a part of the punishment. Their approach was based upon retribution,
deterrence or prevention.
- Modern view holds the causes of crime embedded in social environment, social
structure and freedom of association.
- According to the modern view, it is not possible to create crime free society as every
individual living in the society do not hold the same standard of moral
values/morality.
- Person falling below the standard marked by the society are potential criminals. Just
like the body of human being cannot be guaranteed to be free from disease forever.
There are always potentialities of infection of disease even to a healthy human being.
- Likewise, crime is not always harmful to the society. Crime has contributed to build
up its organizations, develop security system, control mechanisms, surveillance
apparatus and medical jurisprudence. Surveillance apparatus is the ideas of
monitoring people to control crime that is it is a security cameras. Or a device that is
capable of collecting, capturing, monitoring, sharing, analyzing audio visual, device
etc.
- Medical Jurisprudence (the branch of the law that deals with the application of law to
medicine or conversely, the application of medical science to legal problems.
Example: paternity testing, genetic relationship or injury or death resulting from
doctor)
- Surveillance patrolling and secret policing (which often include surveillance physical
violence) have become modern mechanism of crime prevention.
- Modern view follows that criminal can be reformed. Reformation is the basic theory
in modern mechanism of punishment. If disease is rightly diagnosed it can be cured.
- Criminal can be considered as a disease in a society, the cause can be find and
diagnosis it can be cured by reforming.
- Likewise, if the cause of crime is rightly identified, it can be cured, the offender can
be reformed. So, in modern form of punishment offenders are helped. They are given
human environment in jail, vocational training opportunity, access to means and
mechanism to go ahead after release.
- Fine, open prison, community service, parole, probation, suspended sentence, work
release are some of the example.
- Long term jail is only for those who do not show signs of reformation.
- Victimology is another concern in modern criminal justice system victims are those
who are in the society engaged in their private affairs with due observation of law.
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 - In the modern view concept as to crime and criminals. Victims are classified as direct
victim, indirect victim, socio-economic victim and torture victim.
- The victims deserves information, help, participation in punishment fixation,
compensation for the last sustained and reintegration in the society.
- Juvenile problem and juvenile in conflict with law have been taken as separate issue
in modern justice system. If juveniles are dragged in crime problem, their issues are
to be solved even more sympathetically than the adult criminals in respect of
punishment, treatment and rehabilitations.
- Finally, criminologists tend to concentrate on identifying factors in societies that are
associated with crime rates and factors in individuals that are associated relatively in
the probability that they will commit crime.
- Why criminology is important?
a. Reduction in crime: Criminology helps society understand, control and reduce
crime. Studying crime helps discover and analyze its cause, which can be used
towards crime reduction policies and initiatives.
b. It helps to understand the mindset of criminals: Criminology helps understand the
mindset of criminals, why they commit crimes and the factors that affect them. This
helps in the proper allocation of resources to reduce crime.
c. Reform of criminals: As well as controlling and reducing crime, criminology can
also suggest appropriate measures for the rehabilitation of criminals.

1.5 Interrelation between Criminology, Penology and Victimology

- Criminology is one of the branches of criminal science which is concerned with social
study of crimes and criminal behavior. It aims at discovering the causes of criminality
and effectives measures to combat crimes.
- Penology deals with care, custody, treatment, prevention and control of crimes as also
the various modes of sentencing and rehabilitation of criminal.
- Whereas, the primary concern of victimology is to seek the justice for victims of crime
who are faced with multiple problems. It deals with rights and claims of victims of
crime and their dependents.
- The focus is on mitigating the sufferings of crime victims and providing them
compensatory and other reliefs.
- All these together constitute the subject matter of criminal science.

Criminologist have confronted the three major problem namely:

o What conducts should be forbidden and an injury into the effect of environment on
these conducts.
o What condemnation (Sentences) is appropriate in such cases; and
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 o What kinds of sanctions are best to prevent these conducts?
- It is thus evident (understood) that criminology, victimology, penology and criminal
law are inter-related and one cannot really function without the other.
- It has been rightly observed by Prof. Sellin that the object or criminology is to study
the sequence of law making, law breaking and reaction to law breaking from the point
of view of the effectiveness of law as a methods of control.
- According to Donald Taft, Criminology is the scientific analysis and observation of
crime and criminals whereas penology is concerned with the punishment and
treatment of offenders.
- In his view, the development of criminology has been much later than that of
penology because in early periods the emphasis was on treatment of offenders rather
than scientific investigation into the causation of crime.

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