Criminal Terminology

Types of Crime

Words to Understand Arson: the deliberate burning (or attempted burning) of a building

Since the first days of civilization, people have made rules to help them live together. These rules usually tell people how to behave and often give the weak protection from the strong. In some so- cieties, people believed these rules came from the gods; in other places, the ruler made the rules; while elsewhere, the community got together to make rules. As time went on, societies began to write down the rules by which they lived. The first set of written rules we knowof is the Code of Hammurabi fromBabylon in 1800 B . C . Later, the Bible says that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (around 1300 B . C .). Another famous set of laws, called the Edicts of Emperor Asoka, was Police arrest this man after he used an ax to behead an effigy of a controversial attorney in a one-man protest outside her office in New York City. Protests such as this are viewed as a breach of the peace by law enforcers. Circumstantial evidence: evidence that tends to prove a fact by proving other events or circumstances that afford a basis for a reasonable inference of the occurrence of the fact at issue Embezzlement: stealing of any form of property (including money) by a person to whom it has been entrusted—a bank clerk, for example Felony: the most serious category of crime, carrying a penalty of more than one year in jail Fine (v.): to punish someone by making him or her pay a sum for an offense Jurisdiction: the power or right to exercise authority Legislature: an organized body that has the authority to make laws. Misdemeanor: a lesser crime, punishable by under one year in jail

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