Hello friends, in this article, what is a criminal? Who is a criminal in law? Classification of criminals? How many types of criminal-persons are there? has been explained.
If you are a lawyer, law student or preparing for judicial competitive examination, then it is very important for you to know about crime and about it –
Introduction (Who is a criminal)
Here, before knowing the criminal, it is important to know the crime, because crime is a necessary evil, by doing which a person is called a criminl. In simple words, the illegal act declared by the law of the state which is punishable by law is called a crime.
Sutherland has considered crime as such a human conduct, by doing which criminl law is violated and which is punishable by law.
In this way, crime is an act which is done against the state or society and the one who does this act is called a criminl and is punished according to the law.
Generally, a person who commits a crime by violating legal rules and laws is called a criminl.
The term criminl refers to a person whose conduct or behavior is against the rules and standards of society and harms the society and the common people and is punished under criminal law.
Criminals commit many types of crimes, such as stealing, murder, rape, etc. Under the legal process, the criminl person is arrested and legal action is taken against him and when the criminl act is proved, the criminl person is punished according to the law by the Hon’ble Court.
Definition of Criminal
Just as it is difficult to define the word crime, similarly it is difficult to define the word Criminal. Here, two types of definitions have been given –
(i) Criminological Definition
The person who commits a crime is called a criminl. In simple language, a person who violates the criminl law applicable by the state is a criminl. Apart from this, some criminologists consider a person who has the ability to do illegal work as a criminl.
(ii) Legal definition
A criminal person means a person who is accused of committing a crime and the court, following a prescribed procedure, considers such a person guilty of the charge and declares him guilty. But in the context of criminology, only the criminological definition of criminl has been accepted.
Three elements of a criminal person are clear from the legal definition –
(a) There should be an allegation of committing a crime
(b) The allegation should be considered by the court and
(c) Such a person should be declared guilty by the court.
Classification of criminal according to criminologists
Generally, there is a belief that a criminl person is different from a normal person and his characteristics are also somewhat different. Just as crime has been classified, criminals have also been classified in various ways, which are as follows –
(A) Sutherland has divided criminals into two categories –
(i) Simple Criminls
(ii) White Collar Criminls
(B) Classification according to Cesar Lombroso –
(i) Born Criminls
(ii) Insane Criminls
(iii) Lustful Criminls
(iv) Incidental Criminls
(C) According to Garofalo, there are four types of criminals –
(i) Typical Criminls
(ii) Violent Criminals
(iii) Criminls deficient in probity
(iv) Lustful Criminls
(D) Classification according to Enrico Ferri –
Enrico Ferri who was a disciple of Cesar Lombroso, after studying criminals like his teacher, has divided criminls into five categories –
(i) Born Criminals
(ii) Habitual Criminls
(iii) Insane or Epileptic Criminls
(iv) Occasional or Incidents Criminels
(v) Passionate Criminals
(E) W.A. Classification according to Bourg –
(i) Economic Criminls
(ii) Sexual Criminls
(iii) Political Criminls
(iv) Miscellaneous Criminels
(F) Classification of criminals according to Tarde –
(i) Urban Criminls
(ii) Rural Criminls
Types of Criminal Persons
(i) Born Criminals
Such criminals who have some physical characteristics from birth, i.e. those who are criminl by heredity from birth, are called born criminels and such criminals can be reformed only by harsh punishment, otherwise not.
Lombroso, Enrique Ferry etc. are considered to be its supporters but in present times criminology does not recognize this category.
(ii) Insane or crazy criminals
This category includes those criminels who are mentally abnormal and commit crimes due to mental disorder, i.e. people suffering from mental diseases like epilepsy, hysteria, paralysis do not have the ability to understand the nature of the work and its consequences. Instead of punishing such criminals, it is appropriate to treat them.
(iii) Lustful criminals
Such criminls have excessive lust and due to this they are unable to control themselves in impulse and commit crimes. Such persons often commit sexual offences and are called lustful criminals.
Such crimes are generally committed by adults and old people. Psychotherapeutic treatment method should be used for these criminls.
(iv) First Offenders
Such persons who commit crime for the first time are called first offenders. They are also called neo-criminls. Due to lack of courage in such persons, they are afraid of committing crime and their mind remains restless and they also have nervousness.
Such persons are afraid of committing crime due to fear of defamation and punishment in the society, while the possible benefit from this act motivates them to commit crime.
(v) Accidental/situational criminals
Accidental criminls refer to such criminls who are not habitual or professional criminls but suddenly commit crime under the pressure of special circumstances. They cannot protect themselves from such circumstances.
The nature of crime committed by these persons can be both ordinary and serious and a liberal punishment policy should be adopted towards such criminals.
(vi) Habitual offenders
Such persons who are generally involved in committing minor or serious crimes and repeat the crimes again and again are called habitual offenders. The treatment of these criminals is more appropriate in open prisons.
(vii) Professional offenders
Such persons who make crime their profession and their livelihood depends on crime are called professional offenders.
Such persons commit their crime in a planned manner and skillfully, this category includes criminals involved in smuggling, pickpocketing, theft, prostitution etc.
The possibility of reform of these criminls is very less because such persons knowingly participate in anti-social activities for their own benefit.
(viii) Common criminals
Common criminls are those persons who are found guilty of conduct prohibited by criminal law. Such criminls are generally lower and middle class persons who are unable to hide their crime due to lack of money.
(ix) White collar criminals
People who belong to the higher economic and social class and commit crime with the aim of earning more and more money by hook or crook are called white collar criminals.
Generally, reputed, educated and wealthy persons of the upper class, industrialists, high government officials, lawyers etc. come in this category who generally commit crimes like adulteration, smuggling, black marketing, bribery, tax fraud etc.
(x) Juvenile offenders
When crime is committed by teenagers and children, they are called juvenile criminls. In law, such criminls are called juvenile delinquents or juveniles in dispute with law. In present times, juvenile criminlity is taking a serious form.
One of the main reasons for this is family disintegration due to which children feel neglected in the absence of love and protection from their parents and hence they start moving towards crime.
(xi) Women offenders
When a crime is committed by a woman, she is called a woman offender. In India, the number of women offenders is very less as compared to male offenders.
The main crimes committed by women are foeticide, illegal abortion, use of poison, cheating, prostitution, adultery, theft, adultery, virginity, adultery.
Generally, women commit such crimes in which use of force is not required. In the crimes committed by women, men cooperate directly or in some form or the other and similarly, many times men also take the help of women in committing crimes.
(xii) Cyber Offenders
This crime is a result of the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. As soon as the modern system of information came into being, the computer era also started, which gave birth to cyber crime, which is increasing rapidly.
This crime is committed through computer, internet and other electronic devices which is mostly committed through cyber cafes because people using chatting, email and internet are frequent in the cafes, hence the chances of getting caught are very less.
The criminls committing such crimes can be called cyber criminls and the Information Technology Act, 2000 has been passed to prevent these crimes. Thinkers like Lombroso, Enrique Ferry, Sutherland, Garofalo, Donald Tefft, Goddard, Freud etc. are considered to be supporters of this category.
Important Articles –
The Ideology of Criminology: Unraveling the Theories Behind Crime and Justice
What is Women Crime : Definition, Causes And Preventive Measures
What is a Dying Declaration: conditions for its admissibility as evidence? Sec. 32 (1)
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