Legal definition

• The legal definition of crime is a set body who decides on what crime is, which is commonly called the legal system.
• Actus and Mens rea- the UK law comprises of an actus reus(guilty act) and a mens rea(guilty mind). An example, is intending(mens rea) to shoot someone, taking deliberate actions, then actually shooting(actus reus) that person.
• Strict liability offenses- a person can be found guilty of a strict liability offense even if they had no intention to commit a crime and were unaware f the illegal nature. For example, selling alcohol to individuals below the legal drinking age is a strict liability offense.
• Changes over time- the full legal code is not fixed, new laws get added over time and old laws are changed. For example, homosexuality was illegal but then became legal over time
• Changes over culture- different countries will have different legal codes. For example, all drugs are illegal in Portugal but in other countries drugs like weed are legal.