What are three main problems in defining crimes, is that you have to take into account Historical Context, Cultural Context, and Age.
Defining crime is difficult because of our social construct and consequently profoundly reliant on the context in which it is set. Crime is simply an act against the community, that requires a legal punishment.
Historical context is an important consideration that as times change, so do our law. Some laws that were considered criminal at one time may not be considered a criminal act in the future.
Cultural context is also relevant to how we define crime. For example, in some cultures having more than one wife (polygamy) is acceptable, but in the U.S. is illegal. Another area of increasing concern is female genital mutilation, which is performed on young adolescent Muslim girls, which is considered acceptable in some cultures, they see it as a sign of womanhood this mutilation is incredibly dangerous to these young girls. …show more content…
Debated constantly is the age in which an individual is considered responsible for his or her acts. An example if this would be, a 3-year-old child takes a bag of candy from the shelf at the groceries store and placed it in the mother's cart, and left without their mother noticing them taking it, is it considered a crime? if the child was of legal age they might be criminally responsible. If the child was not of legal age and when do they actually know that they are breaking the law? (Forensic Psychology 2015)?
First norms differ from group to group in societies, and there is no unanimous definition for antisocial behavior, and public opinion often changes with
Defining crime is difficult because of our social construct and consequently profoundly reliant on the context in which it is set. Crime is simply an act against the community, that requires a legal punishment.
Historical context is an important consideration that as times change, so do our law. Some laws that were considered criminal at one time may not be considered a criminal act in the future.
Cultural context is also relevant to how we define crime. For example, in some cultures having more than one wife (polygamy) is acceptable, but in the U.S. is illegal. Another area of increasing concern is female genital mutilation, which is performed on young adolescent Muslim girls, which is considered acceptable in some cultures, they see it as a sign of womanhood this mutilation is incredibly dangerous to these young girls. …show more content…
Debated constantly is the age in which an individual is considered responsible for his or her acts. An example if this would be, a 3-year-old child takes a bag of candy from the shelf at the groceries store and placed it in the mother's cart, and left without their mother noticing them taking it, is it considered a crime? if the child was of legal age they might be criminally responsible. If the child was not of legal age and when do they actually know that they are breaking the law? (Forensic Psychology 2015)?
First norms differ from group to group in societies, and there is no unanimous definition for antisocial behavior, and public opinion often changes with