BASIC CONCEPT OF CRIME (DEFINITION, NATURE AND SCOPE)

INTRODUCTION: A crime is a breach of a statutory duty, it is also known as an offence. When a person does a crime his
liability is determined the elements of crime. Which are guilty intention and wrong act/ thus when these too constitute
together and crime is performed.

The term crime denotes an unlawful act punishable by a state. The term crime does not, in modern criminal law, have
any simple and universally accepted definition, though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes.
The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime or offence (or
criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual or individuals but also to a community, society or the
state. Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIME

Ideally, a human behaviour cannot be called as crime unless at least seven characteristics are person, which are as
under.

1 Harm should have been caused; mere intention is not enough.

2 The harm must be legally forbidden. Anti-social behaviour is no crime unless prohibited by law.

3 There must be conduct, which brings harmful results.

4 'MENS REA' or 'criminal intent' must be present.

5 There must be fusion or concurrence of Men Sea and conduct. For example, if a policemen goes to a house to make an
arrest and commit theft, he cannot be guilty of trespass through he would be guilty of theft.

6 The harm caused must be a natural consequence of a voluntary act. If one shoots at a person and the victim dies due
to suffocation in the hospital while recovering form wound no murder.

7 There must be legally prescribed punishment.

SCOPE OF CRIMINOLOGY

The word criminology originated in 1890. The general meaning of the term is the scientific study of crime as a social
phenomenon, of criminal and of penal instructions. Prof. Kenny analysed that; criminology is a branch of criminal
science which deals with crime causation, analysis and prevention of crime. Criminology as a branch of knowledge is
concerned with those particular conducts of human behaviour which are prohibited by society. It is, therefore a socio-
legal study which seeks to discover the causes of criminality and suggest the remedies to reduce crimes. Therefore, it
flows that criminology and criminal policy are interdependent and mutually support one another. Thus criminology
seeks to study the phenomenon of criminality in its entirety.

The problem of crime control essentially involves the need for a study of the forces operating behind the incidence of
crime and a variety of co-related factors influencing the personality of the offender. This has eventually led
development of modern criminology during the preceding two centuries. The purpose of study of this branch of
knowledge is to analyse different aspects of crime and device effective measures for treatment of criminals to bring
about their re-socialization and rehabilitation in the community. Thus criminology as a branch of knowledge has a
practical utility in so far as it aims at bringing about the welfare of the community as a whole.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN
Pakistan is an Islamic republic Islam is the state religion, and the constitution requires that law be
consistent with Islam.the country has an area of 310,527 square miles abd population of 170 million.
The legal system of Pakistan is derived from English common law and is based on the much amended
1973 constitution and Islamic law(sharia).the supreme court, provincial high courts and other courts have
jurisdiction over criminal and civil issues.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM:
"A generic term for the procedure by which criminal conduct is investigated , arrests made, evidence
gathered, charges brought, defences raised, trials conducted, sentences rendered, and punishment
carried out."
"Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of Governments directed at upholding social
control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and
rehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime have protections against abuse of investigation and
prosecution powers."
CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
Refers to the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting
criminal conducts. The criminal justice system is essentially an instrument of social control: society
considers some conducts dangerous and destructive that it either strictly controls their occurrence or
outlaws them outright. It is the job of the agencies of justice to prevent these behaviours by
apprehending and punishing transgressors or deterring their future occurrence. Although society
maintains other forms of social control, such as the family, school, and church, they are designed to deal
with moral, not legal, misbehaviour. It is only the criminal justice system in a legal system which has the
power to control crime and punish criminals.
The main objectives of the criminal justice system can be categorized as follows:
To prevent occurrence of crime.
Punish the transgressors and the criminals.
Rehabilitate the transgressors and the criminals.
Compensate the victims as far as possible.
Maintain law and order in society.
Deter the offenders from committing any criminal act in the future.

PROBATION
The probation of offender’s ordinance 1960 was promulgated by the president of Pakistan to cater to the
needs of first time offenders who can be rehabilitated under the supervision and proper guidance of the
probation officer without being sent to prison.
In the words of Abuja ram (1979); probation is the postponement of final judgement or sentence in a
criminal case, giving the offender an opportunity to improve his or her conduct, often on conditions
imposed by the court and under the 1 guidance and supervision of an officer of the court. Probation can
be considered as a formative and flexible program for the first time offender because it overcomes rigidity
of imprisonment.
PROBATION PROCEDURE:
The probation of offender’s ordinance (1960), section 5 empowers judiciary/courts to place certain
offenders on probation not more than 3 years who are eligible to release on probation. After release of
offender on probation, the Reclamation and Probation (R&P) department in the province is to supervise,
monitor and rehabilitate them in community. Probation and Parole officer plays the key role in the whole
process of probation system from release of offenders to successful rehabilitation.
The courts empowered to release offenders on probation;

1. High courts
2. Session courts
3. Judicial Magistrate 1st class
4. Any other Magistrate especially empowered in this regard

SOCIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT (SIR):

After hearing the arguments of the prosecution and defence, if the court feels the case fit for probation,
then it orders the probation officers to submit (SIR) that includes the following information about
offender:

1. Character
2. Antecedent
3. Commission and nature of offence
4. Home surrounding and other circumstances

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
MEANING OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: Delinquency is a kind
of abnormality. When an individual deviates from the course of normal social life, his
behaviour is called "delinquency".
When a juvenile, below an age specified under a statute exhibits behaviour which may
prove to be dangerous to society and to him he may be called a 'Juvenile delinquent’.
Each state has its own precise definition of the age range covered by the word
'Juvenile'.
DEFINITION: Cyril Burt defines delinquency as occurring in a child "when his antisocial
tendencies appear so grave that he becomes or ought to become the subject of official
action".
Friedlander says, "Delinquency is a juvenile misconduct that might be dealt with under
the law."
WHO IS A JUVENILE DELINQUENT: Juvenile delinquent is those
offenders including boys and girls who are normally under 16 years of age. A juvenile
delinquent is a young person incorrigible, or habitually disobedient. Acts of delinquency
may include:

1.
2. running away from home without the permission of parents,
3. habitual truancy beyond the control of parents,
4. spending time idly beyond limits,
5. use of vulgar languages,
6. wandering about rail-road, streets, market places,
7. committing sexual offences,
8. Shop-lifting and stealing etc.

FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO JUVENILE

DELINQUENCY
1. PHYSICAL FACTORS
1.
2. MALNUTRITON
3. LACK OF SLEEP
4. DEVELOPMENT ABBERATION
5. SENSORY DEFECTS
6. ENDOCRINE DISORDERS
7. DRUG ADDICTION
8. PHYSICAL EXUBERANC

2. MENTAL FACTORS
1.
2. MENTAL DEFECT
3. PSYCHOSES
4. MENTAL CONFLICTS
5. PSYCHONEUROSES
6. ABNORMALITIES OF INSTINCT AND EMOTION
7. SEX HABIT AND EXPERIENCES
8. OBESSIVE IMAGINARY AND IMAGINATION

3. HOME CONDITONS
 1.
2. UNSANITARY CONDITIONS
3. MATERIAL DEFICIENCIES
4. POVERTY AND UNEMPOLYMENT
5. BROKEN HOMES
6. MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ABNORMALITIES OF PARENTS,OR SIBLING
7. STIGMA OF ILLEGITIMACY
8. "SUPERIOR" EDUCATION OF CHILDREN

ADMINISTRATION OF JUVINILE JUSTICE IN

PAKISTAN

Juvenile justice is the area of criminal law applicable to person who at the time of
commission of an offence have not attained the age of 18 years. The main goal of a
juvenile justice system is rehablition rather than punishment for juvenile criminal
behaviour: to avoid the stigmatisation resulting from a criminal convication and the
phenonmenon of reoffendring.
It is not possible to know exact number of prisoners, including children, in jails at any
given time simply because the number changes daily as some prisoners are released
and new ones are brought in.However, in dec 2011, there were 1,421 children in
Pakistan's jails.only 165 of these had been convicted nad the remaining 1256 children
were still under trial.
SPARC is working to creat awareness about the plight and needs of children in conflict
with the law, about Pakistan's juvenile justice systemand about the international
guideline and agreements concerning juvenile justice.Trian relevant authories about
their responsibilities under the juvenile justice system ordinance 2000 and about
children right.
Although there are a number of laws and consituttional guarantees for the protection of
the rights of children accused or convicted of crime, in reality they are seldom
upheld.Juvenile prisoners, the majority of whom are under trail, are among the worst off
in Pakistan.Immediately following arrest and during police remand, children suffer in
police custody and are maltreated by the police authority.Thet are denied access to legal
aid, their relatives and are not kept separate from adult.while in prison, children are
subjested to gegrading and inhuman treatment and punishment.Sadly, the juvenile
inmates in prisons faces problems such as extreme overcrowding,
malnutritution,physical,mental,and sexual abuse and a lack of medical care.

PAROLE

Parole refers to the early release of good conduct prisoners or offenders who have completed mandatory
period of substantive sentence as required under the good conduct Prisoner’s Probational release Act,1926
that provides for release of good prisoners on conditions imposed by the government. This is commonly
known as conditional release or Parole release.
PAROLE PROCEDURE: Good conduct Prisoner’s Probation Release Act, (1926) empowers the executive
(home secretary) of the province to release certain offenders on parole who are eligible to be released on
parole. This is commonly known as conditional release on parole. This act provides the release of chance
offenders with good antecedents and prison record with a view to remove them from the society of
hardened criminals in jail. There are to be engaged in suitable environments under the supervision of
parole officers of the R&P department in their respective province. The paroles are employed with
approved employers of R&P departments on fixed wages and under specific terms and conditions.
SELECTION OF PRISONERS ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE RELEASE: The cases of prisoners who are
likely to be released on parole may be taken up by the Assistant Director R&P department in the following
ways:
1. On application of the prisoners
2. On application of the relatives or friends of the prisoners
3. On recommendation of the superintendent of jail
4. The Assistant director and Parole Officer visit jail for selection of prisoner suitability to be released on
Parole.
FUNCTION OF THE PAROLE OFFICER:
1. Supervision and rehabilitation of offenders placed on parole
2. Visit jails and arranges interview of good conduct prisoners with the Assistant director R&P department
3. Consult history tickets, remission sheets, warrant etc of prisoners
4. Assists prison administration in preparation of rolls of selected prisoners for parole release
5. Receive prisoners on parole, find their suitable employment, solve problems
6. The duties of parole officers are assigned to Probation officers in many districts of Pakistan as there is
shortage of parole staff in R&P department of each province.

WHITE COLLAR CRIME

INTRODUCTION: The anti-social activities of person of the upper strata in their occupations, which
have come to be known as “white collar” crimes, have been given their due importance in the recent past
only after the pioneering work done by.
DEFINITION OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME:
A non-violent crime that is committed by someone, typically for financial gain. The typical white collar
criminal is an officer worker, business manager, fund manager or executive. Forensic accountant, auditors
and whistle blowers identify and report white collar crimes.
TYPES AND SCHEMES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME:
1. Bank fraud
2. Blackmail
3. Bribery
4. Cellular phone fraud
5. Computer fraud
6. Counterfeiting
7. Credit card fraud
8. Currency scheme
9. Embezzlement
10. Environmental schemes
11. Extortion
12. Money laundering
13. Insurance fraud
14. Investment schemes
15. Securities fraud
16. Tax evasion

GROWTH OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALITY: The rise of white collar criminality in many

countries has coincided with the progress made in those countries in the economic and industrial fields. It
is hardly surprising that the two processes should go together considering that most of the white collar
crimes are directly, or indirectly, connected with the, production and distribution of wealth.
During the last thirty years, the country has seen the execution of various five-year plans involving a
huge expenditure by the government for the various nation-building activities. Corrupt officers,
businessman and contractors never had it so good. No doubt the country did make some progress, but a
big chunk of money earmarked for development projects has been pocketed by the white collar criminals.

Organized crime
Introduction: The object of organized criminals is to wrest exorbitant profits from society by any
possible means and the objectives is sought to be achieved by making available illegal goods and services
to the consumers, who may need such goods and services, and in a number of other ways. Organized
crime is thus the product of a self-perpetuating criminal conspiracy involving the ruthless exploitation of
the social, political and economic institutions of the society.
DEFINITION OF ORGANISED CRIME: Defining the concept of organized crime and its methods of
committing crimes has been a source of controversy in legal and criminological debate throughout the
20th century. The term “organized crime” is that it denotes a process or method of committing crimes,
not a distinct type of crime, nor a distinct type of criminal.
The most global definition of organized crime is the UN definition that is broad enough to cover the
different forms of organized crime around the world. Organized criminal In Article 2(a):
• a group of three or more persons that was not randomly formed;
• existing for a period of time;
• acting in concert with the aim of committing at least one crime punishable by at least four years'
incarceration;
• In order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.
TYPES OF ORGANISED CRIME:
1. Gang criminality
2. Racketeering
3. Syndicate crime
CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANISED CRIME:
• Size which engages itself in continuous crime over a long usually indefinite period of time.
• It has a tendency to dominate, through political clout or corruption, the law enforcement agencies.
• The organization is generally highly centralized; the authority is vested in one or just a few members of
the group.
• Criminal organizations adopt measures to protect the group and to guard against the preservation of
their activities. To this end, arrangements are made with doctors, lawyers, policemen, judges, politicians
and government officials.

CORPORATE CRIMES
In criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation (i.e., a business entity
having a separate legal personality from the natural persons that manages its activities), or by individual
acting on behalf of a corporation or other business entity. Some negative behaviors by corporation may
not actually be criminal; laws vary between jurisdictions.
DEFINITION: corporate crime is a crime committed by a corporation or business entity or by individual
who are acting on behalf of a corporation or business entity. The law reform commission of New South
Wales corporate crime as “Corporate crime poses a significant threat to the welfare of the community.
Given the pervasive presence of corporation in a wide range of activities in our society, and the impact of
their actions on a much wider group of people than are affected by individual action, the potential for both
economic and physical harm caused by a corporation is great.”
TYPES OF CORPORATE CRIME:
1. Bribery
2. False claims

CLASSICAL SCHOOL
THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY: The field of criminology began with the classical school
of criminology. The classical school views human behaviour as rational and assumes that people have the
ability to choose right from wrong.
The classical school of criminology was developed by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham in response to
the primitive and cruel European justice system that existed prior to the French revolution of 1789.
Basically, the 18th century was classical school.
1. Viewed human behaviour as essentially rational in nature;
2. Felt that people had the ability to choose right from wrong;
3. Believed that the major element governing a person’s choice of action was the basic human desire to
obtain pleasure and avoid pain.
Classical theory is based on following three assumptions:
1. All of us have free will to make a choice between getting what we want legally or illegally.
2. The fear of punishment can deter a person from committing a criminal act.
3. The community or society can control criminal and noncriminal behavior by making the pain of
punishment and penalties more severe than the pleasure from criminal activities and their gain.
Cesare Beccaria
Cesare Beccaria and other members of the Classical school of criminology believed that criminal behavior
could be minimized using the basics of human nature. The school was based on the idea that human
beings act in their own self-interests. They believed that rational people enter into a social contract in
which they realize that having a peaceful society would be in their most beneficial to themselves. The
school sought to reduce crime through reform to the criminal punishment system, which they felt tended
to be cruel and excessive without reason as well as an ineffective deterrent.
BECCARIA:
 A more rational approach to punishment.
 Utilitarianism: behavior is purposeful and not motivated by supernatural forces.
 Deterrence
 Punishment and sentences: proportional to the seriousness of the crime
The idea behind the Classical school's fight for swift trials and clearly defined punishments was that
criminals were more likely to be deterred if they knew what type of punishment they would receive and
how quickly. Members of the school believed that preventing crime was actually more important than
punishing it, but by having a clear punishment system in place, criminals would use reasoning to deduce
that crime would not be in their best self-interests. The classical school of criminology was accepted by
European rulers in the late eighteenth century and is considered to have influenced the Western justice
system.

POSITIVE SCHOOL (sociological explanation)

In criminology, the positivist school has attempted to find scientific objectivity for the measurement and
quantification of criminal behavior. As the scientific method became the major paradigm in the search for
knowledge, the classical school’s social philosophy was replaced by the quest for scientific laws that would
be discovered by experts. It is divided into biological, psychological and social.
Social positivism: In general terms, positivism rejected the classical Theory’s reliance on free will and
sought to identify positive causes that determined the propensity for criminal behavior. Rather than
biological and psychological cause, this branch of the school identifies “society” as the cause. Hence
environmental criminology and other sub school study the spatial distribution of crimes and offenders.
Meanwhile, Emile Durkheim identified society as a social phenomenon. External to individuals, with crime
a normal part of a healthy society. Deviancy was nothing more than “boundary setting”, pushing to
determine the current limit of morality and acceptability.
Positivist theory: The primary idea behind positivist criminology is that criminals are born as such and
not made into criminal; in other words, it is nature of the person, not nurture, that result in criminal
propensities. Moreover, the positive criminologist does not usually examine the role of free will in criminal
activity.
Variations of positivist criminology: Today there are three major versions of positivist criminology:
biological, psychological and sociological.
• Biological positivism locates the causes of crime within the individual’s physical makeup;
• Psychological positivism suggests the causes are in faulty personality development;
• Sociological positivism stresses certain social factors within one’s environment or surrounding culture
and social structure.

Juvenile court process

Pretrial, trial, and sentencing
1. How juvenile cases are handled: In a juvenile case, the victim does not bring charges against the
accused. A crime is considered a wrong against the state, and the people of the state file charges. The
country attorney represents the state, and filing a petition against the juvenile is charging him or her with
a crime. In some situations, a law enforcement officer will issue a ticket, also called a citation.
A delinquent act is an act committed by a juvenile that would be a crime if committed by a person over
age 18. When a juvenile has been charged with a delinquent act, the legal process is significantly different
from the process used for adults.
2. Investigation and charging: a crime committed by a juvenile is investigated like any other crime.
After the crime is reported, the officer conducts an investigation to decide if there is enough evidence to
prove that the juvenile committed offense. If the officer believes that there is enough evidence, reports
are sent to the County Attorney’s Office or a citation may be issued.
3. Detention: the police officer may be release the juvenile to the custody of a parent or guardian, place
the juvenile in a shelter care facility, or continue and detention. The law requires that a juvenile be
released from detention unless certain extreme circumstances exist. Most juveniles in detention must
come before the court within 24 to 48 hours for a detention hearing.
4. Location of hearing: the hearing, described on the following page, may take place in different
locations. A juvenile offender’s arrangement hearing, pre-trial hearing and trial occur in the country where
the crime was committed.
5. Arraignment: At the arraignment hearing the juvenile will appear in the court and be asked to “admit”
or “deny” the offense alleged in the petition. Juvenile are entitled to an Attorney and may apply for an
Attorney to be appointed to represent.
6. Pretrial hearing: in some jurisdictions, the judge may order a pretrial hearing to decide issues of law
before trail. Citizen witnesses are usually not called to testify at these hearings. A juvenile may admit at
this hearing.
7. Trial: the judge or jury will make a determination that the petition is “proven” or “not proven”. If the
judge find the petition has been proven the case proceeds to a disposition hearing.
8. Disposition: the disposition will depend on the offense, the juvenile’s attitude, the juvenile’s criminal
history or the availability of appropriate service.