logo search
книга ЗФН (2009р)

Classification of Crimes

Crime is a committed act, injurious to the public welfare and for which punishment is prescribed by law.

Crimes may be classified in a number of ways. The English common law classified crimes into treasons, felonies and misdemeanours (old classification).

Treasons cover those crimes, which amount to an attempt to overthrow the monarch or to destroy the power of the state. They are regarded as the most serious of all crimes.

A felony is a serious crime but not as serious as treason. Commission of a felony involves the automatic loss of the guilty per­son’s land and goods in addition to punishment as handed out by the court. All other crimes are regarded as misdemeanours and are generally of a less serious nature.

In the modern context the most valuable classification of crimes is into indictable and non-indictable offences.

Indictable offences are those, which are usually tried before a judge and jury with the jury responsible for determining the facts and the judge responsible for administering the law.

The indictable or more serious crimes may be classified further into six categories:

  1. The most serious of them cover offences against society or the state.They broadly cover those offences which were regarded as treason under the old common law classification. Specific examples are treason, riot and sedition.

  1. Those, which involve abuses and obstructions of public authority. These are those offences which would tend to prevent an organized society from functioning properly rather than lead to the destruction of the society itself. Examples are extortion, bribery and perjury.

  1. Those, which are regarded as offences, which will lead to injury of the public. These include offences against morality and offences which create nuisance to the public.

  1. Offences against a person. Examples of these would include homicide, assault, rape, abduction and libel.

  1. Offences against property. Examples of these would be stealing, robbery, forgery and burglary.

  1. The sixth group covers a variety of offences such as those connected with the driving of motor vehicles.

In non-indictable offences, which are usually known as summary offences, the trial will take place in a Magistrates’ Court without the jury.

They are generally concerned with the regulation of behaviour in a society and the maintenance of good order. Traffic offences of various kinds make up a very large proportion of the summary offences.

In accordance with the modern classification crimes are divided into arrestable and non-arrestable ones. An arrestable offence is any offence for which the sentence is fixed by law (murder) or for which a person, not previously convicted, may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for five years or more (all offences of theft). Otherwise, an offence is a non-arrestable one. The classification of arrestable and non-arrestable offences is not therefore synonymous with that of felonies and misdemeanours.