Provide some examples of acts that are considered involuntary. The reason that voluntary acts are required is because there is a belief that it would be fundamentally unfair to punish individuals who do not consciously choose to engage in criminal activity and who therefore cannot be considered morally to blame.

⇒ The voluntary act requirement means you cannot usually commit a crime without doing an act: a person is not guilty of an offence unless his criminal liability is based upon conduct that includes a voluntary act. ⇒ A voluntary act is defined as conduct which is performed consciously.

In law and philosophy, voluntariness is a choice being made of a person’s free will, as opposed to being made as the result of coercion or duress. For this reason, common law courts historically took a negative view of guilty pleas.

Example: a driver subject to frequent fainting spells, he decides to drive a car, faints, and hits a pedestrian. The act that counts is his decision to drive; this is a voluntary act. Most statuses or conditions don’t qualify as actus reus.

The elements of a crime are criminal act, criminal intent, concurrence, causation, harm, and attendant circumstances.

The discussion of substantive criminal law briefly defines the seven principles essential for a crime to have been committed, i.e., legality, actus reus, mens rea, fusion of actus reus and mens rea, harm, causation, and stipulation of punishment.

Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restoration. Jurisdictions differ on the value to be placed on each.

They “stipulate what is common in all crimes.”4 The seven principles necessarily present in all “true” criminal law include legality; nens rea, act, and their concurrence; causation; harm; and punishment.

Under criminal law, a principal is any actor who is primarily responsible for a criminal offense. Such an actor is distinguished from others who may also be subject to criminal liability as accomplices, accessories or conspirators.

Legality. The principle of legality is recognized in almost all legal systems throughout the world as the keystone of the criminal law. It is employed in four senses. The first is that there can be no crime without a rule of law; thus, immoral or antisocial conduct not forbidden and punished by law is not criminal.

3 The Criminal Act: The First Principle of Criminal Liability. “Conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens substantial harm to individual or public interests.”

Civil law deals with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim. Criminal law is the body of law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses.

Broadly, a crime is a socially harmful act or omission that breaches the values protected by a state. It is an event prohibited by law, one which can be followed by prosecution in criminal proceedings and, thereafter, by punishment on conviction.

Law makes no difference in the words crime and offence and, in fact, terms violation of penal laws as the definition of offence. An act or behavior that does not break a law is not an offence. The word offense comes from offender who is a person violating a law. However, a crime is always a violation of law.

Defining crime is problematic because crime is a social construct and therefore heavily reliant on the context in which it is set. For example, the law changes with the times, meaning that acts which are considered criminal at one point in time are not necessarily considered criminal at another point.

Reasons for committing a crime include greed, anger, jealously, revenge, or pride. Some people decide to commit a crime and carefully plan everything in advance to increase gain and decrease risk. Others commit crimes on impulse, out of rage or fear.

Crime Prevention Tips: Make Your Home Look Occupied: Leave some lights and a radio on when you’re out. Lock Your Doors: Never leave your house open for “just a moment,” always lock your doors when you’re out. Use Deadbolt Locks: A deadbolt lock is a good deterrent to burglars.

10 surprising ways to fight crime

1. Divert juveniles from the juvenile justice system.
2. Respect residents of high-crime neighborhoods.
3. Respect defendants in court.
4. Respect convicted offenders.
5. Take bullying seriously.
6. Aggressively investigate burglaries.
7. Collect DNA from everyone.
8. Encourage immigration.

Applied to the criminal realm, a criminal investigation refers to the process of collecting information (or evidence) about a crime in order to: (1) determine if a crime has been committed; (2) identify the perpetrator; (3) apprehend the perpetrator; and (4) provide evidence to support a conviction in court.

Effective, responsible crime prevention enhances the quality of life of all citizens. It has long-term benefits in terms of reducing the costs associated with the formal criminal justice system, as well as other social costs that result from crime.” (Economic and Social Council resolution 2002/13, annex), (above) .

ICT is used to store, retrieve, analyze the data. This technology will also be used to collect real-time data at the crime scene. For example, the system will help to identify in which area theft is at a high rate and this information can be used to deploy police in the area to stop further cases of thefts.