FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY: DEFINING CRIME
Introduction
Defining crime is problematic as it's a social construct and therefore heavily reliant on the context in which it's set.
Crime is seen as an act against the community which requires legal punishment. In UK law, crime is determined when a guilty act (actus reus), violates the law.
There must also be a mens rea (guilty mind) element in which the crime is done voluntarily and with intention.
Problems in defining crime
Cultural context
Historical context
Age
Specific circumstances
C.A.S.H
CULTURAL
What is a crime in one culture isn't in another. Particular difficulties arise when a person who has their origins in cultural background but live in a different culture, but prefer to retain their own cultural ideas of what's right or wrong.
E.G in some cultures forced marriage is acceptable, yet the UK law dictates that this is wrong.
Additionally, some countries accept that a man can marry several wives. In the UK this is a crime of bigamy.
AGE
If a person is below the age of criminal responsibility (10 years old in England) then a law which is broken by that person cannot be considered to be a crime.
E.G if a 3 year old child walks out of a shop without paying for some sweets then this isn't a crime. This is because they're not at a level where they can understand the difference between right or wrong.
SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES
Crime should involve conscious rule-breaking. if a person commits an act which technically breaks the law but this act is performed with no mens rea (criminal intention, guilty mind) then it can't be defined as a crime.
If the person couldn't have prevented themselves from acting in violation of the law (e.g mental illness) then it's difficult to determine the act as a crime. There are circumstances in which the legal system can take the situation into account.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The definition of crime changes to reflect society's changing norms and values.
E.G until the 1960, any male homosexual behaviour was considered to be a criminal act, punishable by imprisonment. The law was changed in 1967, however, the age of consent was set at 21 years. As society's acceptance of homosexuality changed, the age of consent was lowered to 18 in 1979. In 2000, this was deemed to be discriminatory and was lowered to 16 years, in line with the heterosexual age of consent.