It is typical for a person to commit various acts. However, not all of his actions are approved by others, and some are even punished. Every citizen should know well what a crime is, its signs and what consequences it entails. Perhaps this will save someone from rash and risky actions.
Act, misconduct, crime - what is the difference?
An act is a short action, an act of behavior that has its goals and consequences. It demonstrates a person’s attitude to the world around him, to people, to himself. An act is not necessarily a physical action of a person. Demonstration of one’s attitude to something or to someone can be done with facial expressions, eyes or gestures, intonation or inaction (if a certain action is harmful).
Misconduct is an intentional or reckless act that harms an individual or society. However, compared with the crime, this harm is not serious. An act is punishable by administrative or disciplinary measures to influence the offender.
Crime - an act criminally punishable under the laws of the country, causing damage to the victim. Inaction can also be criminal if, as a result of it, events occurred that caused substantial damage to the object protected by law.
When planning and making some actions, a person always chooses the means and methods of their implementation, anticipates the results. That is, he always has behavioral options: to violate or not to violate social and legal norms. He must clearly know that misconduct and crime are punishable.
How to determine if a crime has been committed?
The correct qualification of the degree of unlawfulness of a person’s actions determines the measure of his punishment. When considering a case in court, the following shall be taken into account:
- What is the degree of danger, harm to society, objects under the protection of the law.
- Whether these acts were committed knowingly or due to one's own negligence.
- Are they prohibited by the Criminal Code.
- Are there penalties for such actions by one or more articles of the Criminal Code.
The absence of at least one of these signs gives reason to not qualify the act in question as criminal. If it falls under any article of the Criminal Code, then the degree of its severity (size, type of damage caused to the victim) and the punishment corresponding to the specific criminal article are established.
Crime and ...
So, the punishability of a crime is one of its mandatory features. What does it mean?
- The subject is prosecuted according to the legislation of the country if the act committed by him is worthy of criminal punishment (O. N. Bibik, Doctor of Law).
- The severity of the crime determines the degree of punishment.
- Crime and punishability of an act are provided for in an article in the Criminal Code.
Punishment in its essence is a measure of coercive influence on a criminal, with the aim of:
a) correction of his illegal behavior;
b) satisfaction of the natural needs of members of society, the public in retaliation for damage caused to them;
c) prevention, intimidation of those persons who have a tendency to illegal behavior.
Classification of criminal acts
For all their similarities, many of them are very different in the level of danger to society, which is why there is a need to separate them according to clear criteria.
- By severity.
- On the subject of the crime. Of course, under the protection of the law, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is the property and personal rights of a person, his freedoms, public order and security (as well as humanity), the environment.
- By form of guilt: committed intentionally or as a result of negligence.
Ultimately, the criminality and punishability of an act are determined by the degree of danger of the unlawful acts of the subject aimed at legally protected objects.
Intent is a form of guilt
The presence or absence of emotions about the actions performed and their results, the depth and nature of the experiences determine the moral attitude of the criminal and demonstrate his assessment of his own illegal behavior.
In criminal law, guilt is one of the main signs of crime, a basis for determining the degree of punishability of an act.
The first form of guilt is intent:
- direct, if the criminal imagined what possible or imminent danger his illegal actions carry for the object of his encroachment, and wants these consequences;
- indirect intent differs from direct intent in that the offender foresees the harm that his actions will inflict, but does not want him, shows indifference, indifference to the possible consequences of his act.
The most dangerous for society is a person who, consciously preparing for a crime, sets a criminal goal in advance, plans it, prepares means (vehicles, weapons, etc.), creates the necessary circumstances for its implementation.
Less dangerous is a crime committed under the influence of passion - a sudden psychological shock arising in an unexpected or lasting threatening situation. For example, the subject takes actions for his own protection, salvation (or another person) and, not wanting such consequences, harms the person provoking these actions.
When is frivolity and negligence considered criminal?
The second form of guilt is negligence. In determining the degree of its crime and punishability, justice proceeds from the size and nature of the damage caused to the object, and takes into account what led to this act:
- Frivolity - the subject did not foresee the whole danger of the actions performed by him. Or he foresaw, but arrogantly, mistakenly hoped to prevent them without taking into account his own capabilities.
- Negligence - the offender does not imply the dangerous consequences of his actions or inaction, although he is required by law and able to foresee and prevent them. For example, the position and status of a security guard is charged with his responsibility to be vigilant, attentive to those who come to the facility protected by him, to carry out certain protective functions in dangerous situations. But for this, he must be mentally and physically healthy, intellectually ready to make the right decisions.
Criminal law considers criminal negligence a less serious act than frivolity.
The devil is in the details ...
For all corpus delicti, their basic features are considered strictly binding. But the peculiarity of each of them is specific indicators, which together can significantly aggravate or alleviate the fate of the offender. Determining the degree of punishment is a decision of the fate of a person.
The constituent parts (elements) of a crime requiring careful investigation are:
- his object - attacks on him are subjected to criminal punishment;
- objective side - characterizes the signs of the act (which inaction is also recognized) according to the conditions, place, time, methods of commission and determines the severity of the consequences for the injured party;
- subject of crime - a detailed psychological description of the offender, taking into account his age, gender, position and other data;
- subjective side - facts relating to the identity of the offender: analysis of his own assessment of the committed, his motives (motives) and the desired results (goals) of the act, etc.
The study of all the details of the crime provides grounds for its punishment, this is the result of a thorough search and analytical work of the investigating authorities.
What to talk about with children
Raising children’s moral responsibility for their actions is the direct responsibility of parents. But the child should know that it extends far beyond the boundaries of the family: as he grows older, he will receive more and more not only rights, but also obligations to society and the state.
What is crime and its punishment are topics for serious conversations with teenagers, and their goal is not to scare, but to warn a growing person. The reasons for such purposeful conversations are diverse (incidents in other families, publications in the media, literature, movies), and sometimes life itself provides them:
- what are true human values
- how to get out of critical life situations,
- how to avoid criminogenic situations and companies,
- what is true friendship, mutual assistance,
- about frivolity and irresponsibility, their consequences in personal and public life.
If a child is warned about what illegal acts are and their punishability, this means that he is armed against them with social responsibility and consciousness. This is a kind of immunity against crime bacilli.