legal Studies crime part 1

• Crime


  An act or omission against the community at large that is punishable by the state
• What is situational and social crime prevention?


  • situational aims to make it more difficult to commit a crime and stop them before they happens (alarm systems, CCTV cameras)
  • social attempts to address the difficultunderlying social factors that could lead to criminal behaviour (school education programs)
• Criminal law


  • Protects society
  • Deals with crimes against a person, the state and/or property
  • Prosecution is initiated by the police and/or Director of Public Prosecutions (the Crown/state)
  • The Crown must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt
  • Aims to protect the community and punish offenders
• Actus reus


  The physical act of carrying out a crime
• Mens rea


  The accused intended (to some degree) to commit the crime, knowing their actions were wrong
• Causation

  The link between the act and the harm
• Summary Offence

  less serve offence like shop lifting or drink driving, heard in local court, punishment includes fines, community service
• Indictable Offence

  more serious offence like murder or sexual assault, heard by a judge and sometimes a jury, punichment is incarceration
• Recklessness


  When the accused was aware that their action could lead to a crime being committed, but chose to take that course of action anyway
• Criminal negligence


  Where the accused fails to foresee the risk when they should have and so allows the avoidable danger to occur
• The different parties to a crime

  • principle in first degree (directly responsible)
  • principle in second degree (assisted the offender)
  • accessory before the fact (helped plan crime)
  • accessory after the fact (assist offender after the crime)
• Strict liability offence


  An offence where the mens rea does not need to be proved; only the actus reus (the guilty act) needs to be proved
• A speeding offence is a strict liability offence and as such the police do not need to show that a person intended to break the speed limit (that is, had mens rea); they only have to show that the person did so (committed the actus reus).
• What are the 5 factors affecting criminal behaviour?

  • psychological (mental illness)
  • social and economic factors (less money, poor education)
  • political (doesn't agree with head of state or nation)
  • Self-intrest and greed (motivated by money)
  • genetics (characteristic of a person)
• Causation


  The link between the behaviour of the accused and the result (that is, that the behaviour of the accused actually caused the alleged criminal act)
• Trafficking


  Dealing or trading in something illegal, particularly drugs
• Homicide


  The unlawful killing of a human being
• Murder


  The deliberate killing of a person
• What is the piece of legislation that covers police powers?

  Law Enforcement (Power and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA)
• What are the different categories of crime?

  • Offences against the person
  • Offences against the sovereign
  • Economic offences
  • Drug offences
  • Driving offences
  • Preliminary offences
  • Public order offences
  • regulatory offence
• Proving murder in court

  1. Accused intended to deliberately kill the victim

  2. Accused set out to inflict serious bodily harm, which resulted in death

  3. Act was done with reckless indifference to another human life

  4. Act was done while committing or attempting to commit another serious crime punishable by life or 25 years' imprisonment
• Murder is one of the most heinous crimes possible and attracts some of the harshest penalties
• The murder rate per 100,000 population in New South Wales from April 2018 to March 2019 was 0.9
• Most murder victims are killed by a family member or friend, and up to 41% of all homicides are domestic violence-related
• Manslaughter


  The killing of a person in a manner that is considered to be less intentional than murder
• Types of manslaughter


  • Voluntary manslaughter
  • Involuntary manslaughter
  • Constructive manslaughter
• Voluntary manslaughter


  The killing of a person where the accused intended to kill or was reckless about killing someone but there were mitigating circumstances
• Provocation


  The defence where the defendant claims that their actions were a direct result of another person's actions, which caused them to lose control of their own actions
• Mitigating circumstances


  Circumstances that make an offence less severe; they can lead to a reduced sentence
• Involuntary manslaughter


  The killing of a person where the death occurred because the accused acted in a reckless or negligent way without intending to kill
• Constructive manslaughter


  The killing of a person while the accused was carrying out another dangerous or unlawful act
• Infanticide


  The death of a baby under the age of 12 months at the hands of its mother
• Many women suffer from a condition called post-natal depression after the birth of a child, which can be seen as a mitigating circumstance in infanticide cases
• Dangerous driving causing death


  Occurs when a person drives in an unsafe and reckless way, such as under the influence of alcohol or a drug, or at excessive speed, and in so doing causes the death of another human being
• Assault


  A criminal offence involving the infliction of physical force or the threat of physical force
• Common assault


  Assault where there is no actual physical harm to the person assaulted; it includes threatening to cause physical harm to another person
• Sexual assault


  When someone is forced into sexual intercourse against their will and without their consent
• Sexual intercourse


  Broadly defined in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) to include oral sex or penetration of the vagina or anus by any part of another person's body or by an object manipulated by another person
• Lack of consent is central to the crime of sexual assault and is defined in detail in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
• Indecent assault


  An assault and 'act of indecency' on or in the presence of another person without their consent