Comparing Natural Crime and Legal Crime
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- Category: Politics: Crime and Drugs
- Date Submitted: 02/23/2011 06:47 PM
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Comparing Natural Crime and Legal Crime
Introduction
Crime exists in the world only because of laws. Different bodies of government decide what behaviors or activities should become prohibited by the law thus labeling these behaviors or activities as crime. Throughout history crimes are placed into two categories. Those categories are natural crime and legal crime. Natural crime is any behavior that is not only against the law but also viewed as morally wrong and unaccepted in society. Legal crimes are behaviors, which are only illegal because they are prohibited by law. Some legal crimes are not prohibited in every state in America and are likely to receive less, severe punishment than natural crimes. Another name for these crimes are mala in se, which means wrong in itself and mala prohibita, which means prohibited by law. Natural crime referred to as mala in se while legal crime is mala prohibita.
Comparing Natural Crime and Legal Crime
The distinction between mala in se and mala prohibita is not always clear. Not all deviant acts are criminal nor are all criminal acts necessarily deviant (Hagan, 2010). Some crimes can take on the form of either classification. Rape is one crime that depending on the circumstances can be either mala in se or mala prohibita. When a man rapes a woman and he is an unknown assailant it is labeled mala in se. However, in some instances and states, if a man rapes a woman and he is her husband it is viewed as wrong only because of the law by some. Therefore, it would is considered mala prohibita. Mala in se crimes are those of a more serious nature than mala prohibita. Most mala prohibita crimes carry light punishment compared to its counterpart mala in se.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006), seven main classifications of crime were chosen to estimate changes in the volume and rate of crime. These classifications eventually became known as the Crime Index. The crime index includes violent crimes...
Introduction
Crime exists in the world only because of laws. Different bodies of government decide what behaviors or activities should become prohibited by the law thus labeling these behaviors or activities as crime. Throughout history crimes are placed into two categories. Those categories are natural crime and legal crime. Natural crime is any behavior that is not only against the law but also viewed as morally wrong and unaccepted in society. Legal crimes are behaviors, which are only illegal because they are prohibited by law. Some legal crimes are not prohibited in every state in America and are likely to receive less, severe punishment than natural crimes. Another name for these crimes are mala in se, which means wrong in itself and mala prohibita, which means prohibited by law. Natural crime referred to as mala in se while legal crime is mala prohibita.
Comparing Natural Crime and Legal Crime
The distinction between mala in se and mala prohibita is not always clear. Not all deviant acts are criminal nor are all criminal acts necessarily deviant (Hagan, 2010). Some crimes can take on the form of either classification. Rape is one crime that depending on the circumstances can be either mala in se or mala prohibita. When a man rapes a woman and he is an unknown assailant it is labeled mala in se. However, in some instances and states, if a man rapes a woman and he is her husband it is viewed as wrong only because of the law by some. Therefore, it would is considered mala prohibita. Mala in se crimes are those of a more serious nature than mala prohibita. Most mala prohibita crimes carry light punishment compared to its counterpart mala in se.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006), seven main classifications of crime were chosen to estimate changes in the volume and rate of crime. These classifications eventually became known as the Crime Index. The crime index includes violent crimes...