Crime's Legal Characteristics
Imagine that you and the person you are significant in your life are out to dinner at a local restaurant. You are startled as a man dashes up behind you and takes your wallet just as you are taking the first bite of your dessert. On his way out the door, he trips and falls while carrying your suitcase, but he manages to get away with it. Has there been some kind of wrongdoing? Let's find out by looking at the defining aspects of a crime from a legal standpoint.
In order to prove that a person committed a crime, it is required to show that the following conditions were met:
- Carried out the commission of the real crime, which is referred to as the actus reus, and
- That the person who committed the conduct did so with the intention and purpose of doing the act, which is referred to as the mens rea.
Let's take a more in-depth look at the actus reus and the mens rea to acquire a more profound comprehension of just what each of these terms means.
Actus Reus
The real, voluntarily committed act that constitutes a crime is known as the actus reus. Let's imagine for this example that we have John, who has a reputation for being a thief. Let's say John has his eye on Florence and wants to rob her. It is necessary for John to actually steal Florence's money in order for him to have committed the actus reus component of the crime of robbery. John sneaks up on Florence as she is walking to her car after work, takes her handbag, and then takes off in the opposite direction. As a direct consequence of this, John is responsible for the actus reus, which is the theft perpetrated against Florence.
Mens Rea
The portion of an act that is intentional, deliberate, and purposeful is referred to as the mens rea. This portion is also frequently referred to as criminal intent. Mens rea, which originates from Latin, literally translates as "guilty mind." Imagine that John has returned, and that he has now set his sights on robbing a store. He makes preparations for the robbery and buys a gun in order to carry it out. John walks into the business while carrying the gun in order to commit the robbery. Simply committing this act proves that John had the intention, or mens rea, to commit the theft.
Mens rea can be broken down into four distinct subcategories. These include:
- Intentional
- Knowing
- Reckless
- Negligent
The term "intentional mens rea" refers to the fact that the criminal acted with purpose in order to accomplish what he wanted. In the case that we went through earlier, John's conduct would be seen to establish purposeful mens rea because John acted intentionally to steal money from Florence.
Next, knowing mens rea denotes that the offender acted while being aware that his acts will lead to illegal behaviour as a consequence of those actions. For example, if John's friend asked to borrow the keys to John's job at a local bank and John knew that his friend was a bank robber but still lent him the keys, John would likely have a knowing mens rea if the bank was robbed. This is because John would have known that his friend was going to use the keys to commit a crime. Knowing well well that his friend was a bank robber, John gave the keys to the bank to his friend who asked to take them.
The following variety of mens rea is known as the reckless mens rea. When an offender makes the decision to engage in behaviour while being aware of the hazards involved, this is a reckless mens rea on the part of the offender. Let's imagine for this example that John goes to a pub and consumes more alcohol than he should have. He is clearly over the legal limit as he makes his way to the automobile in a stumbling manner. Even though he is fully aware of the dangers he puts himself and others in by driving while intoxicated, he still makes the decision to drive home. John is responsible for an accident that leaves other people in a vehicle with life-threatening injuries. John's mens rea was one of recklessness. Although he had no malicious intent, he was well aware of the dangers associated with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Last but not least, there is the mens rea of negligence. A person is guilty of negligent mens rea, often known as criminal negligence, if they just fail to see the potential for causing harm to others. When applying this criterion, the court will consider whether or not a reasonable person would have behaved differently had they been in the same situation as the defendant. For instance, if a child's caretaker abandons the child at a park alone and the child later dies from injuries sustained from falling from the monkey bars, this could be considered criminal negligence.
Concurrence
You should now be familiar with the concepts of actus reus and mens rea. The commission of the act as well as the mental state constituting the crime must coexist simultaneously for there to be a crime. One cannot exist without the other; they are mutually exclusive. This aspect of a criminal act is referred to as concurrence, and it is the final fundamental component of a criminal act.
Other Aspects of Crime
There are five more concepts that serve as the foundation for the legal concept of crime, in addition to the three fundamental components that make up crime. Some academics think that these five ideas constitute additional components of crime, which, in addition to the previously mentioned three fundamental aspects of criminal behaviour, must be present. These five characteristics are as follows:
- Causation
- Harm
- Legality
- Punishment
- Attendant situations
Let's spend some time looking at each of these in more detail.
Causation
The concept of causation asserts that a particular outcome can only be brought about by the criminal act itself, rather than by any other factors. Take, for instance, the scenario in which John shoots Carmine in the course of a heist. Carmine falls into a coma, yet she does not pass away for another half a year. It is not the gunshot wound that causes Carmine's death; rather, it is a consequence of an existing medical condition that Carmine had before to the occurrence. Carmine passed away. As a result, one may make the case that the robbery did not result in the victim's death. In this scenario, one could make the argument that the death of Carmine as a result of the robbery lacks the necessary element of causality.
Harm
Some academics are o v f the opinion that causing harm should be considered a component of criminal behaviour. To put it another way, the criminal activity must have resulted in the suffering of at least one person.
Legality
According to the idea of legality, a course of action cannot be regarded as criminal if there is no statute that specifically labels it as such. In addition, according to this theory, individuals cannot be held accountable for behaviour that occurs today for which a law is drafted the following day.
Punishment
In accordance with the principle of punishment, the law is required to detail the appropriate punishment for the offence. Because of this, there can be no such thing as a crime if the law does not stipulate the punishment.
Attendant Circumstances
For a person to be convicted of violating some laws, it is necessary for there to be extra attendant conditions present at the time of the offence. The conditions that exist in the environment around an event are known as its attendant circumstances. For instance, in some places it is against the law to deliberately engage in an act that is considered sexually suggestive while in the company of a kid who is younger than 16 years old. Therefore, it is possible to engage in the obscene act; but, if it cannot be established that the act was carried out in the presence of a minor younger than 16 years of age, then there is no violation of the law. The presence of the child who is 16 years old is the scenario that is considered to be attendant.
Conclusion
Let's go through everything that we've picked up today. To begin, in order to prove that a crime was committed, it is required to demonstrate that a person actually committed the actual act that constitutes the crime, which is referred to as the actus reus. In addition, you are need to demonstrate that the act was done intentionally and purposefully, which is what is referred to as the mens rea. There are four different classifications of mens rea. Intentional, reckless, and negligent behaviour are all included in this category. In addition, in order for there to be a crime, both the act and the mental state that constitutes the crime have to take place at the same time. The term for this phenomenon is "concurrence." Last but not least, some academics are of the opinion that in order to have a complete understanding of what makes up the idea of crime, one must be familiar with five additional principles of criminal behaviour, even though these are not strictly obligatory. The concepts of causation, harm, legality, punishment, and associated conditions are included in these principles.
Now, let's revisit the situation at the beginning of our session, which took place in the café. Have any illegal acts been carried out? If you guessed "yes," then you got it right on the money! The fact that the purse was taken by the thief constitutes the actus reus of the crime. Because he took the bag with the aim to steal it, we can infer that he possessed the mental state of mens rea. Because both of these things took place at the same moment, we may say that there was concurrence. In spite of the fact that he misplaced the bag, he was nonetheless guilty of committing the offence.
Outcomes of Reading
When you've finished with this reading, you should be able to:
- Explain what an actus reus and a mens rea are.
- Describe the concept of concurrence as it relates to the following Latin sentences.
- Describe the five core tenets of criminal behaviour.
What is meant by Actus Reus?
The actus reus is the actual crime. Say John is a thief. How about John robbing Florence? Bob must steal Florence's money to commit robbery. After work, John grabs Florence's purse and runs away. John's actus reus is Florence's robbery.
What is meant by Mens Rea?
The mens rea is the act's intentional, deliberate, and purposeful portion. Mens rea means "guilty mind" in Latin. John wants to rob a store again. He buys a gun for the robbery. John robs the store armed. This proves John's intent to John.
What are the different types of Mens Rea?
There are four different types of mens rea: Intentional, Knowing, Reckless and Negligent.
What is meant by intentional mens rea?
The offender acted intentionally to achieve his goal. John's actions in the earlier example constitute intentional mens rea because he robbed Florence.
What is meant by knowing mens rea?
Knowing mens rea means a criminal acts knowing he'll commit a crime. If John's friend asked to borrow the keys to his job at a local bank, and John knew that his friend was a bank robber, John would likely have a knowing mens rea if the bank was robbed. John gave a bank robber the bank's keys.
What is meant by reckless mens rea?
An offender acts recklessly when he knows the risks involved. Let's say John overindulges at a bar. He's drunk and stumbles to his car. He knows the risks of drunk driving but drives home anyway. John's accident injures other car passengers. John acted rashly. He didn't intend to cause harm but knew drunk driving could.
What is meant by negligent mens rea?
A person with negligent mens rea fails to recognise the risks of harm. The court asks if a reasonable person in the same situation would have acted differently. Criminal negligence could occur if a caretaker leaves a child alone in a park and the child dies after falling from the monkey bars.
What is meant by concurrence?
You understand actus reus and mens rea. A crime requires both an act and a mental state. Both are necessary. The final basic component of crime is concurrence.
How many characteristics of crime?
Causation, Harm , Legality, Punishment and Attendant situations are the five characteristics of crime.
What is meant by Causation?
The concept of causation states that a particular outcome can only be caused by a criminal act. John shoots Carmine during a heist. Carmine falls into a coma and dies a half-year later. Carmine's death isn't caused by the gunshot wound, but by a preexisting medical condition. Died: Carmine. The robbery may not have caused the victim's death. In this scenario, Carmine's death due to the robbery lacks causality.
What is meant by harm?
Some academics believe causing harm should be a crime. The crime must have caused at least one person harm.
What is meant by legality in crime characteristics?
A course of action cannot be considered criminal if no statute labels it as such, according to legality. According to this theory, individuals cannot be held accountable for behaviour that occurs today and is criminalised tomorrow.