Criminology

Hand out: 1

Topic : The concept of crime

A. what is crime?

Crime is an essentially contested concept. There is no universally agreed definition of what a crime is.
However, the most straightforward definition of crime can be- crime is an act or omission which
constitutes an offence.

There are two elements of crime.

1. Actus reus (Involves act or omission)

2. Mens rea (Involves mental elements)
 Knowledge- Knowing the consequence of an act.
 Intention- Doing/desiring an act even after knowing the consequence of such act.
 Negligence- Neither knowing the consequence nor desiring/ doing an act, rather the
breach of duty to care.

B. What are the ingredients of crime?

There are seven ingredients of crime.

Namely-

1. Act/omission
2. Legality
3. Harm
4. Causation
5. Mens Rea
6. Concurrence
7. Punishment

C. Is there any debate regarding the harm element and enforcement of morality?

Yes, there is debate

The debate regarding harm element is known as “Hart v. Fuller debate”. And the debate regarding
enforcement of morality is known as “Hart- Devlin debate”.
 D. What are the two groups of arguments of this debate? Present the arguments with examples
of some victimless crimes.

The two groups of argument of heart Devlin debate are:

1. Individuals’ right supporter

2. State or social norms supporter

According to Prof. HLA Hart- Morality is a subjective matter. And as Prof. HLA Hart supports
individuals’ right, according to him Law shouldn’t cover morality.

On the other hand, Devlin’s arguments were that since a society is based on some stablished norms, moral
harms affect the society and thus, moral harm should be criminalized.

Example of victimless crimes:

1. prostitution
2. consensual homosexual activities

E. What was the position of HLA Hart in this debate?

HLA heart was a positivist and according to him morality is a subjective matter. So, he argued that moral
harm should not be criminalized.

F. What is the position of Lord Devlin in the debate?

Lord Devlin was a social norms supporter. So, he argued that since society has a moral fabric (established
morality) thus moral harm should be criminalized.

G. Can you differentiate the core points of Hart- Fuller debate with heart Devlin debate?

The core point of HLA Hart-Fuller debate was that, it questioned the validity of law without morality.

On the other hand, the core point of Hart-Devlin debate was should morality be criminalized or not.
 Handout 2

Topic: schools of- criminology

A. Draw the classification of schools of criminology through a chart.

Criminology

A. Spiritual theory B. Natural Theory

Free Will Theory Determinism Theory

1. Pre-Classical 1. Positive school

school 2. Psychological
2. Classical School
School 3. Socialist School
3. Neo Classical 4. Sociological
School School

B. What is the basis of this classification timeline or subject matter?

Freewill theory is based upon timeline and the determinism theory is upon subject matter.

C. Focus of spiritual theory-

“All the good deeds are in the will of God and the bad dates are the result of Devils instigation.”

Spiritual explanations for crime were rooted in people's religious beliefs and superstitions.

The guilt or innocence of a crime was believed to be decided by divine intervention. Spiritual
explanations of crime are part of a general view of life in which many events are believed to be the result
of the influence of otherworldly powers. Here it was believed that all the good deeds are the will of God
and all the crimes or bad deeds are the result of Devils act.
 D. Focus of natural theory-

Natural theory focuses on the worlds objects and the events of material to determine the reason of
crimes.

Natural explanations for crime were rooted in people's ideas about the nature of reality in the physical
world. Natural explanations of crime make use of objects and events in the material worlds to account for
what happens.

E. What is pre-classical school?

Pre-classical school is an approach of both religious and material world.

Bing one of the oldest theories of the causes of crimes based on a general belief that man by nature is
simple and his actions are controlled by some superpower. A man commits crime due to the influence of
some external spirit too called demon or devil that's why it is also called demonological theory. Basically
pre-classical school is the combination of religious approach and social contract theory

F. Doctrine of fall-

Doctrine of fall is an idea of the Pre-classical school. The doctrine put raise the event of Adam and Eve as
the first violation of divine command and therefore the fall of them from the heaven.

The term doctrine of fall is used to describe that transaction of the first man and women from a state of
innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. It was the first violation of the order of divine
by human despite having free will of not following the suggestions of devil.

G. Divine rights of King

The divine rights of King or divine right theory of kingship is a political and religious doctrine of Royal
a political legitimacy. It asserts that monarch is subject to no artillery authorities, deriving his right to
rule directly for from the will of God. There was a perception that King can do no wrong because at that
time it was believed that Kings are the representatives of God. So, their orders were considered as a part
of divine command.

H. Social contract and state of nature.

Social contract theory is the view that person's moral or political obligations are dependent upon a
contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live in. It says that people live
together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral or political rules of behavior.
 State of nature: The state of nature in moral and political philosophy is the hypothetical life of people
before societies came into existence. The state of nature is a war of all against all in which human
beings constantly seek to destroy each other in an insult to pursuit for power. If there is no law or rule in
the society everyone would act in whichever way he or she wants to. It is called the state of nature. To
prevent this state the social contract theory has been established.

In simple words- Without law there shall be chaos in the social order, and it is called state of
nature. To tackle it social contract theory came.

I. Idea of individual and free will

Individualism: Individualism is a social theory favoring freedom of actions for individuals over
collective or state control. It is the belief and practice that every person is unique and self-reliant.

Free will: freewill is the capacity to make choices in which the outcome has not been determined by past
events. It is the power or capacity to choose among alternatives or to act in certain situations
independently.

Free will is another feature of individualism. Individuals are rational thus they don't need any book or
society to take a decision of what to do and what not to do.

J. Did pre-classical school accept the idea of free will? If yes, to what extent?

Yes, pre-classical school accepted the idea of free will but to a considerable extent.

Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action. Free will is closely linked
to the concept of moral responsibilities even though good or devil influence human will. Yes, it is free
to some considerable extent so that punishment can play a role to control crime. Human behavior can be
diverted to good moral responsibilities through free will and thus human can stay away from
punishments.