Defining Crime

This essay will examine the legal aspects of defining crime, there are many ways in which you can define crime whether it is deemed to be right or wrong. The concept of crime has changed throughout the years and there is no simple answer to what is crime, the idea of crime is constantly changing and it will keep changing as the perception is surrounded of what constitutes criminal behaviour. As stated in the sage dictionary of criminology crime “Depends upon which of its multiple constitutive elements is emphasized, this in turn depends upon the theoretical position taken by those defining crime” (The Sage Dictionary of Criminology, Eugene and John, P.85). Therefore defining crime is not as simple as it may look as it depends on which position you are thinking from.

This specifically highlights a difficulty associated with defining crime such as smaller incidents like stealing stationary which is not serious enough to be objected to by the courts. However the Oxford dictionary definition of crime is stated as an “Evil Act or an Injurious act” therefore this definition is of a different perceptive and understanding to what crime is as an evil act such as taking a person’s belongings, for example taking their credit card could be seen as an evil act but without the law knowing would this be seen as a crime to the sage Dictionary of Criminology’s definition of