What Is Crime

WHAT IS crime

A crime is a wrongdoing classified by the state or Congress as a felony or misdemeanor.
A crime is an offence against a public law. This word, in its most general sense, includes all offences, but in its more limited sense is confined to felony. Crimes are defined and punished by statutes and by the common law. Most common law offences are as well known and as precisely ascertained as those which are defined by statutes; yet, from the difficulty of exactly defining and describing every act which ought to be punished, the vital and preserving principle has been adopted; that all immoral acts which tend to the prejudice of the community are punishable by courts of justice. The term offence may be considered as having the same meaning, but is usually understood to be a crime not indictable but punishable, summarily or by the forfeiture of a penalty.
Felony. - A felony is a serious crime punishable by at least one year in prison. Some family law felonies include kidnapping and custodial interference (in some states).
People convicted of felonies lose certain rights, such as the right to vote or hold public office. During the term of sentence, the convicted person may also be prohibited from making contracts, marrying, suing or keeping certain professional licenses. Upon release from prison, the convict may also be required to register with the police.
Misdemeanor. - A misdemeanor is a crime for which the punishment is usually a fine and/or up to one year in a county jail. Often a crime which is a misdemeanor for the first offense becomes a felony for repeated offenses. All crimes that are not felonies are misdemeanors.
Crimes are 'mala in se,' or bad in themselves, and these include all offences against the moral law; or they are 'mala prohibita,' bad because prohibited, as being against sound policy which, unless prohibited, would be innocent or indifferent. Crimes may be classed into such as affect:

There are two major approaches taken in determining the extent of crime. One perspective is provided by the FBI through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR). The FBI receives monthly and annual reports from law enforcement agencies throughout the country, currently representing 98 percent of the national population. Each month, city police, sheriffs, and State police file reports on the number of index offenses that become known to them. The FBI Crime Index offenses are as follows: * Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, is based on police investigations, as opposed to the determination of a medical examiner or judicial body, includes willful felonious homicides, and excludes attempts and assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, justifiable homicides, and deaths caused by negligence * Forcible rape includes forcible rapes and attempts * Robbery includes stealing or taking anything of value by force or violence or threat of force or violence and includes attempted robbery * Aggravated assault includes assault with intent to kill * Burglary includes any unlawful entry to commit a felony or a theft and includes attempted burglary and burglary followed by larceny * Larceny includes theft of property or articles of value without use of force and violence or fraud and excludes embezzlement, ``con games,'' forgery, etc. * Motor vehicle theft includes all cases where vehicles are driven away and abandoned, but excludes vehicles taken for temporary use and returned by the taker