Criminal Justice: The Seven Elements Of Crime

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There are seven elements of crime that define if an act is a crime. However, the definition does not detail if all seven elements must be present to consider an act a crime. In the criminal justice arena someone's actions are considered a crime if more than one element is displayed. The seven elements are listed as harm, legality, actus reus, mens rea, causation, concurrence, and punishment. When considering illegal drug use, prostitution, and gambling in relation to these seven element the following is learned. Bohm & Haley (2012) describe harm as an physical or verbal act upon another person. The authors describe illegal drug use, prostitution and gambling as, “victimless crimes by those who argue that only those people involved in these

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