Criminology and its Scope Man is a social animal. Human beings live in communities and groups together engaged in mutual concourse. In order to keep order and avoid conflict it is essential to have a set of rules and regulations of collective behaviour. Each community and each group prescribes its own behavioural norms and standards which keep the wheels of society well-oiled and as far as possible frictionless; only thus can a community make progress. The norms and standards prescribed in a society determine the activities of the individuals which can be considered normal or permissible any deviation from these permissible acts is an abnormal behaviour. If these abnormal acts are pronouncedly deviant and pose threat to communal order and peace, these are called crimes. Thus, crimes may be defined as an act inimical to social peace and harmony. The crimes may be defined as an act inimical to social peace and harmony. The crimes are hurtful to social stability. In order to achieve prevention of crimes, we need to study the various causes and background of crimes systematically. The discipline engaged in such a systematic investigation is known as criminology. Before making a detailed study of Criminology it is essential to understand its meaning and scope. Meaning and Definition of Criminology The word criminology is composite of two words criminal + logy. Literally, it means a systematic study of the criminals, that is, persons who break or offend the social or group law. However, since the offences committed by criminals are crimes; and as crimes occur in society, the term criminology fully means a study of crimes as well as criminals in relation to society. It also tries to determine the causes of these and thereby recommends preventive measures. The science of criminology is a scientific and systematic study of a social phenomenon. Various scientific techniques and methods are employed for the study of this phenomenon. As criminology views man as a social animal, it tries to study social interactions and phenomena to place its subject matter in a proper perspective. The science of criminology also investigates the structure and function of social laws rules and regulations. How do the social laws, conventions and traditions get formulated? How and why does an individual break them? Is there an element of compulsion or coercion in his defiance of the law? Or is it deliberate? These and other allied matters are studied by criminology with a view to find adequate answers which may help to formulate the effective preventive measures and controls. The reaction of society towards a criminal and the disposition of criminal towards society are the important matters for investigation which help to understand adequately the phenomenon of crime. Only by a full appreciation of these matters can we learn ways and means to control crime. The above discussion makes explicit the meaning of criminology. But in order to appreciate fully the nature of criminology, it is essential to examine closely the definitions given by learned sociologists and eminent criminologists. Below we give the most important of these definitions: According to an eminent sociologist Sutherland: “Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon.” This definition exhibits sociological bias and regards crime to be reaction to certain set of social factors and causes. According to an eminent criminologist Elliot: “Criminology may be defined as the scientific study of crime and its treatment.” This definition, besides emphasizing the scientific investigation into the nature and etiology of crime, stresses the practical or utilitarian nature of this body of knowledge, namely, devising ways and means to prevent or reduce the incidence of crime and rehabilitate criminals as normal members of the society. According to renowned criminologist D. R. Taft: “Criminology is the study which includes all the subject matter necessary to understanding and prevention of crimes together with the punishment and treatment of delinquents and criminals.” This is a comprehensive definition and describes theoretical as well as practical aspects of the study. It brings out clearly the fact, which may get overlooked usually, that criminology is concerned not with the offences committed by adults only but also deals with juvenile offences. According to another noted sociologist Webster, the science of Criminology may be described to be “the scientific study of crime as a social phenomenon, or of criminals and their mental traits, habits and discipline.” This definition has the merit of emphasizing equally the sociological as well as psychological aspects of the crime and the criminal. Nature of Criminology The foregoing discussion about the meaning and description of criminology makes abundantly explicit and clear the nature of this science. Fundamentally speaking, the task of criminology is a scientific, systematic, statistical, structural and functional in-depth study of crime. The behaviour covertly deviant is liable to become overtly offensive of social norms and laws, both from sociological and psychological standpoints. Besides having a theoretical understanding of crime, criminal and his behaviour, the object of criminology is also to devise effective tools to minimize the incidence of crime, reform and rehabilitate the criminal. Lastly, criminology also tries to suggest reform in penal code and its enforcement in order to make these rational and humanitarian. Scope of Criminology Like other social sciences, the scope of criminology is also quite vast and extensive. It is related to every social class and structure. Though the scope of criminology is very vast and coextensive with many sciences, the criminologists have tried to limit its scope in order to be able to study the subject scientifically, systematically and exhaustively. The viewpoints of certain notable criminologists are given below: According to Sutherland the science of criminology, “includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting towards the breaking of laws.” In the opinion of Sutherland criminology has three distinct aspects of departments. Though distinct, these are nonetheless not independent, but inter-linked. A thorough study of these aspects exhausts the scope of criminology; to study all of them is the same as studying the whole science of criminology. In accordance with Sutherland’s description of the scope of criminology, we can divide it into departments: 1. The sociology of law: In this we study the nature of crime from legalistic point of view. Also, we investigate into the effects of present laws upon them and study the possible reforms in the laws in order to prevent and control the occurrence of crime. The major concern of the sociology of law is to critically examine the impact of various legal systems upon crime. This study can go a long way to evolve suitable changes in the laws to curb crime. 2. Criminal Etiology: In this department a systematic investigation into the various causes of crime is made. Here we study the social and personal factors responsible for the occurrence of crime and growth of criminals. 3. Penology: Besides knowledge and determination of the causes and factors which generate or encourage crime, it is equally, if not more essential to know the ways and means of controlling and preventing the crime. This aspect is studied systematically and in a scientific manner to achieve control over crime. The facts and theories in this regard from the scope of Penology, an important department of criminology. Furthermore, the eminent scholars Elliot and Merrill have made an exhaustive study regarding the scope of criminology. According to these scholars, in criminology we study four sets of facts. These are as follows: 1. The Nature of Crime: What are the features of crime? What type of action is crime? In what respect does a criminal act differ from a social or moral act? Is it just the action which may be considered criminal or can the motive make difference to our description of a crime? For example, the theft committed for personal gain and the theft committed for impersonal reasons or social gain are both cases of theft. Can we make any distinction between the two? The answers to these questions tell us the nature of crime. 2. Investigations into the causes of Crime-Under this aspect of Criminology we study the reasons of criminal behaviour. The different types of crime have different causes. Are these differences apparent or real? Can we come by a general theory of crime which will be adequate to explain all types of crime? Are there relations, inverse or direct, between various crimes. These questions are investigated under this head. Besides, we also study the question of responsibility of crimes. If criminals are made and not born, who is responsible for encouraging criminality? Is it parent education or social system that is responsible in conjunction or one of these alone? All these questions form the subject mater of this aspect of criminology. 3. Individualized Study of Criminal: How and when does one turn into a criminal? What event or series of events happen which turn man towards criminality? In order to know all these facts we have to study in detail the personal lives of the criminals. Also, we have to study the life of a person in totality for understanding the nature of crime and criminal. For this purpose, we make use of what has come to be known as the technique of casehistory method. 4. Study of Prevention of Crime & Reform of the Criminal: Most obviously crimes is inimical to the interests of the society. They not only disturb the social equilibrium but make life hell for the criminal as well as his relatives. Even more, due to crime the normal law-abiding citizen lives in fear. Therefore it is most essential to devise ways and means to prevent crime and reform the criminals. Should the system of punishment the deterrent, preventive, reformative or exemplary? What type of punishment is adequate for each type of crime? Such questions are studied under this head. Importance of Criminology Each discipline is unique and has especial value and importance. Some disciplines have value and importance primarily in theoretical sense, whereas others are important for their practical value. The science of criminology is important and valuable both in practical and theoretical senses. The science of criminology is related to society and society has been likened to an organism. This fact makes plain and evident the value and significance of the science of criminology. The scope of criminology is the various social crimes and disturbances in their each and every aspect. As the science of medicine studies various ills and their cures which afflict human body, in the same manner criminology studies ills and their cures of society. The value and significance of the science of criminology is theoretical as well as practical. Its theoretical importance lies in the fact that it investigates and determines the cause of social disintegration. The practical or applied aspect of this science is that besides determining the factors and causes of social disintegration, it also studies the ways and means of preventing or eradicating these evils, that is, remedial measures. This multifaceted value and significance of criminology is brought out by following facts. Theoretical significance of Criminology Explaining the theoretical significance of the science of criminology the eminent criminologist Sutherland writes; “This knowledge will contribute to the development of other social studies and through other social studies it will contribute to efficiency in general social control.” The foregoing observation of Sutherland is extremely significant as it brings into relief the theoretic importance and value of the science of criminology. The chief theoretic benefits of criminology are the following: (1) Knowledge of Crime-Data-In every social community and group, there are always some criminals and incidence of crime. It is not humanly possible to bring about an ideal republic or perfect society in which every chance of criminal behaviour has been eliminated. The nature of crime and criminals may undergo sea-change, but the very existence of crime cannot be uprooted. This is not difficult to appreciate. In crime psychosis we have two kinds of factors: personal and social .It is not possible to eliminate the aggressive and acquisitive tendencies from man and, again, it is equally impossible to eliminate all inequalities and anomalies from any society. This is borne out by the fact that even under communist regime crimes are not non-existent. Therefore, given the kinds of men and societies known to man, we can safely say that each society, even a social group, harbours some criminals. A systematic, scientific and unbiased study of criminology furnishes us with factual, true and realistic data about crimes and criminals; this results in increase in our knowledge. By studying criminology, we also learn about the kinds or types of crimes and criminals and also about the modus essendi as well as modus operandi of crimes. This enables us to compile what may be called taxonomy of crime, that is, an extensive and deep classification of crimes. We also learn about the causes and reasons of criminals behaviour. (2) Penal Legislation-The science of ___________ upon the penal legislation, that is, it helps formulation of rational and humane laws regarding crime and punishment. Criminology attempts both extensive and intensive study of crime under all perspectives and by taking into account every possible viewpoint. Thus its analysis and description of crime is scientific, authentic and reliable. This analytical description helps in determination of the exact causes of various categories of crime, and this information, in turn, helps to formulate preventive and remedial laws regarding crime. Besides helping to make laws, criminology also carries out extensive surveys regarding the impact of various laws on the actual incidence of crime. It is found that a particular law, instead of curbing crime, encourages it, the law is amended in the light of fresh evidence. Thus, the various laws regarding prohibition and narcotics are cases in point. In the light of modern knowledge gained by extensive surveys and in-depth studies, there are proposals to declare suicide not criminal. In Denmark and many other civilized nations, pornography has been declared non-criminal. This has had salutary impact upon society. In England, homosexuality among consenting adults is now no longer criminal. Thus we find that constant review of the relationship between crime and law help to make penal laws more and more rational and humane. Even in a highly orthdox society like Indian, abortion has been made non-criminal. There is also growing public opinion in favour of relaxation of obscenity laws in India. Kissing and nudity on screen should be permissible is the view of G. D. Khosla Commission. The rationale behind all such moves is the discovery by Criminologists that greater the repression of natural instincts, greater the thwarting of sensuous pleasure, greater is the incidence of perversions and sadistic crimes. It is better to let people decide what is good for them and as long as this “good” does not contravene the rights of others, it must be allowed. From the above discussion it is plain that the science of criminology goes a long way in rationalizing and humanizing the penal legislation. (3) Information about White-Collar Crime-To an average man, the nature and number of crimes is quite definite. Asked to enumerate crimes, he will name only murder, assault, dacoity, rape, loot and arson, burglary and theft, sodomy and reduction as the only instances of crime. He may have difficulty in appreciating that maltreatment of one’s cattles, bestiality with them are criminal. But he will certainly be baffled if he is told that misuse of power, nepotism etc; are criminal and equally, if not more, harmful to society than other crimes. However, the not easily recognizable crimes are not considered crime by an average person because they are committed by well-to-do, upperbracket persona and normally involve little violence. But such acts, whosoever may commit them, are very much criminal. For example, if a man earns a huge ransom by letting out the secrets of someone, he is indulging in black mail. The private secretaries and yalets of top political and finance magnets usually have access to many intimate secrets and there is strong temptation to earn big money by the threatening exposure. Many innocent persons are made victims of this vicious commercial mal practices, for example, under-invoicing, graft etc. To gain some advantage by production of false testimonials is an act of forgery and the crime of forgery is quite widespread. Again, sexual abuse of private secretaries is fairly common in advanced countries. All these are white-collar criminals and their crimes are really criminal activity. The Watergate scandal threatening the office of President Nixon is a classic instance of white-collar crime. The Practical Importance of Criminology Apart from having theoretical value and importance, criminology also has much practical use and importance. In the words of Sutherland, “Criminology is concerned with the immediate application of knowledge to the programmes of social control of crime.” Following are some of the specific practical uses of criminology. (1) Elimination of Crimes-The elimination of crime is one of the specific aim of criminology. It helps society in controlling and eliminating the crime both directly and indirectly. It is most obvious that if one knows the cause of a malady, its cure becomes easy. It is a truism in medical practice that correct diagnosis is more than half the cure. The same holds good in regard to the phenomenon of crime. By the knowledge of the causes of the crime, we can undertake specific measures to remove them. (2) Helpful in understanding the Psychology of the Criminal-Criminology is practical study. With the help of its knowledge we can easily assess the attitudes and opinions of the criminals. The study of criminology helps us to pinpoint the factors responsible for the various crimes, that is, we learn as to how a particular crime is generated. There by we are able to correlate specific crime with specific set of circumstances. Apart form learning about the psychology of crime, the knowledge of criminology helps us to classify the criminals, that is, we are enabled to correlate personal factors like age, family and social background, education and physical environs, physical and mental traits with different types of crime. Thus for example, it may be revealed traits with different types of crime. Thus for example, it may be revealed that sexual crimes are committed, contrary to general impression, by persons with low sex-drive rather than by highly-sexed persons. A prostitute-monger may be consorting with different women so as to cover up the self consciousness and guilt over inadequate performance or he may be doing so in order to receive the thrill of personal quirks and varied techniques of arousal exercise by the professional sex-vendors. These facts make it abundantly clear that the study of criminology goes a long way in helping us to appreciate the psychology of crime and criminal. (3) Reforms of Criminals-Besides controls, prevention and elimination of crime, it is the important task and responsibility of the science of criminology to device and suggest measures for the reforms and rehabilitation of the criminal. For example, to wean a prostitute from the sale of her bodily wares, we must know how and why she has taken to this profession. In the societies which do not stigmatize such persons and are prepared to accept them, the task is relatively easy. Again, it is easy if the prostitute has taken to this profession from economic hardships and other compulsions but it disgusted with what she is doing. But if, on the contrary, either the society is orthodox or the prostitutes like and enjoy what they are doing, the task of reform is extremely difficult, if not impossible. (4) Reforms of Evil Forces-Every society are under the influence of certain evil forces and their removal is the concern of every well-meaning member of the society. The science of criminology helps us a great deal in appreciating and understanding these evil forces and, thus, enables us to device ways and means for the effective check of those forces Purpose of Punishment: Deterrence: Deterrence prevents future crime by frightening the defendant or the public. It has been a popular notion throughout the ages that fear of punishment can reduce or eliminate undesirable behavior. Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham is credited with articulating the three elements that must be present if deterrence is to work: The punishment must be administered with celerity, certainty, and appropriate severity. These elements are applied under a type rational choice theory. Rational choice theory is the simple idea that people think about committing a crime before they do it. If the rewards of the crime outweigh the punishment, then they do the prohibited act. If the punishment is seen as outweighing the rewards, then they do not do it. Types: Specific deterrence is the idea that the individuals punished by the law will not commit their crimes again because they “learned a lesson.” Specific deterrence applies to an individual defendant. When the government punishes an individual defendant, he or she is theoretically less likely to commit another crime because of fear of another similar or worse punishment. General deterrence is the idea that every person punished by the law serves as an example to others contemplating the same unlawful act. General deterrence applies to the public at large. When the public learns of an individual defendant’s punishment, the public is theoretically less likely to commit a crime because of fear of the punishment the defendant experienced. When the public learns, for example, that an individual defendant was severely punished by a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty, this knowledge can inspire a deep fear of criminal prosecution. Criticism: Critics of deterrence theory point to high recidivism rates as proof that the theory does not work. Recidivism means a relapse into crime. In other words, those who are punished by the criminal justice system tend to reoffend at a very high rate. Some critics also argue that rational choice theory does not work. They argue that such things as crimes of passion and crimes committed by those under the influence of drugs and alcohol are not the product of a rational cost-benefit analysis. Incapacitation: Incapacitation prevents future crime by removing the defendant from society. Examples of incapacitation are incarceration, house arrest, or execution pursuant to the death penalty. Incapacitation is a very pragmatic goal of criminal justice. The idea is that if criminals are locked up in a secure environment, they cannot go around victimizing everyday citizens. The weakness of incapacitation is that it works only as long as the offender is locked up. There is no real question that incapacitation reduces crime by some degree. The biggest problems with incapacitation is the cost. There are high social and moral costs when the criminal justice system takes people out of their homes, away from their families, and out of the workforce and lock them up for a protracted period. In addition, there are very heavy financial costs with this model. Very long prison sentences result in very large prison populations which require a very large prison industrial complex. These expenses have placed a crippling financial burden on many states. Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation prevents future crime by altering a defendant’s behavior. Examples of rehabilitation include educational and vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling. The court can combine rehabilitation with incarceration or with probation or parole. In some states, for example, nonviolent drug offenders must participate in rehabilitation in combination with probation, rather than submitting to incarceration. This lightens the load of jails and prisons while lowering recidivism, which means reoffending. Rehabilitation is a noble goal of punishment by the state that seeks to help the offender become a productive, noncriminal member of society. Throughout history, there have been several different notions as to how this help should be administered. When US modern correctional system was forming, this was the dominate model. We can see by the very name corrections that the idea was to help the offender become a non-offender. Education programs, faith-based programs, drug treatment programs, anger management programs, and many others are aimed at helping the offender “get better.” Overall, rehabilitation efforts have had poor results when measured by looking at recidivism rates. Those that the criminal justice system tried to help tend to reoffend at about the same rate as those who serve prison time without any kind of treatment. Advocates of rehabilitation point out that past efforts failed because they were underfunded, ill-conceived, or poorly executed. Today’s drug courts are an example of how we may be moving back toward a more rehabilitative model, especially with first time and nonviolent offenders. Retribution: Retribution prevents future crime by removing the desire for personal avengement (in the form of assault, battery, and criminal homicide, for example) against the defendant. When victims or society discover that the defendant has been adequately punished for a crime, they achieve a certain satisfaction that our criminal procedure is working effectively, which enhances faith in law enforcement and our government. Retribution means giving offenders the punishment they deserve. Most adherents to this idea believe that the punishment should fit the offense. This idea is known as the doctrine of proportionality. Such a doctrine was advocated by early Italian criminologist Cesare Beccaria who viewed the harsh punishments of his day as being disproportionate to many of the crimes committed. In reality, the doctrine of proportionality is difficult to achieve. There is no way that the various legislatures can go about objectively measuring criminal culpability. The process is one of legislative consensus, and is imprecise at best. Restitution: Restitution prevents future crime by punishing the defendant financially. Restitution is when the court orders the criminal defendant to pay the victim for any harm and resembles a civil litigation damages award. Restitution can be for physical injuries, loss of property or money, and rarely, emotional distress. It can also be a fine that covers some of the costs of the criminal prosecution and punishment. Hayes classification: Hayes recognizes three chief categories of crime, these are: (1) Crimes concerning Property: Theft or misappropriation by any means of goods belonging to other persons and on which the person committing theft has no right or claim is a crime against property. The thefts of these types include stealing, dacoity, robbery, defalcation, pick-pocketing and misuse of public funds. All these crimes are termed by Mr. Hayes as property crimes; they are condemned by both the law passed by the government and the moral law. (2) Crimes against the person: Those crimes which involve physical hurt or bodily pain by any means are crime against the person. These crimes include assault, murder, rape etc. (3) Crimes against Social Order: The acts which result in social upheaval or disorder or undermine the established laws and values of a society are crimes against social order. These include violation of traffic laws, non-payment of governmental dues, public nuisance, malicious propaganda, unlawful agitation and communal riots etc. Bonger’s Classification: The classification of Bonger takes motive as the criterion of classification of crimes: (1) Political Crimes-The seeking of power is a legitimate aim of any political group in a democratic set up; but there are limits on the means which may be adopted for this purpose. Sedition, incitement to violence, alliance with an alien power, organization of violence etc, are means not admissible is any far as these are violative of the law. Any person or group taking recourse of these indulges in political crimes. (2) Economic Crimes-To hurt the economic and financial interests of others either by theft or by financial malpractices is an economic crime. Sometimes, certain groups seduce the labour of an industrial house or eliminate from competition the rival business group. This type of activity is included in economic crimes. (3) Sexual Offences-The offences included in this category pertain to sex. Included in this category are crimes like rape, prostitution, homosexuality, adultery etc. The sex acts which are recognized as cognizable offences by law constitute sexual offences. From this it will be clear that it is quite possible that the same act may constitute sex offence in one country but not in other. For example, in ancient Egypt, even incest was considered normal. Today sex exhibitionism in cinema and theatre is considered normal in West but in India it constitutes a sex offence. (4) Miscellaneous Crimes-The crimes which are covered by any of the above three categories are relegated by Mr. Bonger to the category of extra or miscellaneous crimes. Criticising Bonger’s conception of crime and the classification of crimes, Sutherland says that “The classification is clearly inadequate”. It is not based on any scientific principle. Lemert’s Classification: Lemert has divided crimes into three categories. These are: (1) Situational or circumstantial crimes-In this category are included crimes in which outward situation or circumstances are primarily responsible for the production of crime. There are situations under which man is forced into criminally he is unwilling. For example, in a procession of striking even though teachers, there may be sudden provocation from police as a result of which some of them, though essentially of peaceable nature, indulge in brickbating or some other violent act. As a matter of fact, from moral point of view these should not be considered crime but these are crime according to law. Lemert has himself explained the essential nature of these crimes. According to him, “External stresses and strains temporarily disrupt a person’s equilibrium and induce tensions which are expressed in criminal behaviour”. Usually, due to extreme poverty man is lead to commit many a crime. (2) Planned or Deliberate crimes-These are the crimes which are committed by the person voluntarily and after careful deliberation. The white collar crimes are as a rule planned and deliberate. Such persons have no moral compunction about what they are doing; they tend to regard it as an inevitable part of their existence all enterprises, their argument runs, are more or less risky and the greater the gain the greater the risk. Therefore they regard punishment, if convicted, as a risk which is part of the game. There are professional crime syndicates who always keep an army of hired men to serve jail sentences. Even some prostitutes accept their work as a profession suited to their talents. Their prostitution is therefore deliberate. (3) Crimes involving confidence-There are certain crimes which may be regarded primarily as crimes of deception and crimes of confidence. A treasurer in bank, a government employee, a minister or a businessman all are expected to follow a code of conduct and be true to their oaths of allegiance. An army general who colludes with enemy forces and leads to downfall of his own country is a treacherous man; a big business executive who recruits a pretty girl not for her intellectual talents but for her willingness to offer her bodily talents against service is also guilty of the crime of confidence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In the science of Criminology, it is very essential to study the criminal law. Besides, no adequate understanding of the crime or the criminal is possible without having a prior under standing of the criminal law. This will be appreciated if we remind ourselves that the meaning and scope of crime is determined and guided by the constitution of the criminal law. Nude dancing or even sexual intercourse in cinema and theatre does not constitute crime in many European countries, while it is definitely criminal in India. Thus what is crime or not crime is governed by the criminal law of the land. There are so many acts which may be regarded immoral and perverse but are perfectly normal and constitute non cognizable offences. For example, copulation of some one with his secretary will be regarded immoral by many; yet it constitutes no crime. If an adult woman is forcibly raped but in court of law she declares it was through her consent, there is nothing criminal. Thus we can appreciate the intimate connection between criminal law and the crime. What Shakespeare said about good and bad: there is nothing good or bad only thinking makes it so-applies, mutatis mutandis to crime and criminal law. There is nothing criminal except what the criminal law declares it to be. According to Sutherland, “The criminal law is a body of specific rules regarding human conduct which have been promulgated by political authority, which apply uniformly to all members of the classes to which the rules refer, and which are enforced by punishment administered by the state”. Essential Features of Criminal Law The criminal laws are different from other laws. Some laws are determined by the customs and traditions of the society, community, family or group. Indeed, these laws are rules and cannot be said to be law in the regular sense of the term. The criminal laws are of some special type and pertain to the individuals in a particular field of activity. The laws have dual aspect: one is theoretical and the other is the practical. The theoretical aspect is concerned with the laws passed by various legislative assemblies, provincial and central. The legislative assemblies formulate, legislate, amend and repeal these laws. The practical aspect is concerned with police and law courts. Their function is executive and judicial. The function of the police is the implementation of the law and the maintenance of law and order. The function of the courts is to decide what is criminal according to law and to decide the amount of punishment due to particular act. Following are the main elements of the criminal law: Political Authority; Uniformity and Regularity; Specificity; Enforcement and Punishment (1) Political Authority – Every law must have the backing of political authority: and the criminal law is no exception to this general rule. Without political authority there can be no conception of the criminal. The political authority, as expressed in the forms of legislative bodies, is responsible for formulating the law and getting it the requisite sanction of the political authority, that is, getting it passed in the legislature houses and thus making it a law or an act which would have the force recognized by the executive and judicial authorities. There may however be certain societies where the political authority is concentrated in one person as in the case of monarchy or dictatorship. In tribal societies this authority lies with the tribal chief. (2) Uniformity and Regularity – An ideal law must have a uniform application to citizens and should make no distinction based on sex, caste, creed, status or religion. If a law makes such distinctions it is not a law but a whim. (3) Specificity – The CL pertains only to a field of activity which may be said to be limited to violations or transgressions of the law. The criminal law is not about observance but break of law. Thus it is limited to a specific field. (4) Enforcement and Penalty – Now law is worth the paper on which it is transcribed if there is no authority to enforce it and no authority to punish its violation. This means that besides legislative aspect, the law must also have executive and judicial aspects as well. According to Jhering, “A legal rule without coercion is a fire that does not burn, a light that does not shine”.
