Criminal Behavior

Criminal law is essentially concerned with the regulation of

behaviour. This may involve prohibitions on some kinds of behaviour

such as stealing another person’s property or harming them

deliberately. Some criminal laws may require a specific action, such

as having insurance when driving a car, or complying with regulations.

In some instances it is the combination of behaviour with a particular

situation that defines a crime such as being drunk in a public place.

In others it is the combination of status with behaviour such as the

purchase of alcohol by someone under 16 years of age.

Illegality covers a multitude of actions, responsibilities,

circumstances and statuses and hence the diversity of acts that may be

characterised as criminal is considerable. Thus it is impossible to

offer a simple explanation of why someone acts criminal. Furthermore,

people do not act in an identical fashion. Some people are more prone

to self–indulgence; others are more violent in character.

The causes of criminal behaviour are complex and multiple. They are

multiple because crime does not relate to only one form of action. For

instance, the causes that lead a teenager to commit arson may be very

different from those that lead an old- age pensioner to fraud.

Therefore we should not expect to find a single cause for all types of

criminality.

RULES

The rules which determine whether or not behaviour is criminal are

found in legislation passed by Parliament or in decisions of the

courts. These form the starting point for understanding crime as they

provide the legal definition of criminal acts. These rules may change

over time, and the num...

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...fferent activities changes over time and legal

categories are subject to change. The law in our society is not based

on a fundamentalist or absolutist conception of morality but shifts

according to changes in public attitudes. This is reflected in

political pressure to change legislation that defines crime. Thus over

the last 50 years the way in which the law has dealt with drink

driving, homosexuality, prostitution and domestic violence has

changed. Changes in the public’s tolerance of activities lead to

campaigns to criminalise some behaviour and to decriminalise others.

For instance, parts of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

aimed to curb the activities of new age travellers and organisers of

raves, while lowering from 21 to 18 years the age at which men may

lawfully perform homosexual acts in private.