Things That Need to Change in Indian

Prisons
Prison reform activist and lawyer Ajay Verma defines what's wrong with our prison system.

Over an interview in his south Delhi office, Verma laid out the 10 things that need to change
most urgently in prisons across the country.

1. Legal aid is insufficient

“The first thing that will help many inmates is effective legal aid,” said Verma, calling access
to legal aid “the biggest challenge inmates face in jails. Two-thirds of prisoners in India
are undertrials. Poor inmates are unable to afford a lawyer. Legal aid to an undertrial is a
constitutional right but in reality it is perceived as a privilege.”

In April 2017, the government actually asked lawyers to offer “Pro Bono legal services” to
underprivileged litigants who were unable to afford a lawyer. That July, the National Legal
Services Authority (NALSA), a government body that provides legal services to those who
can’t afford it, decided to map all prisoners in 1,401 prisons across the country, list charges
against them and provide legal aid to those unable to engage an advocate. That project is
ongoing.

2. Records are hard to access

“There should be a unified prison management system that has records of all inmates so they
don’t have to run from pillar to post for copies of documents like court orders. The
NLSA, also recommended this project. So once someone comes to jails, all his details can be
accessed through the prison management system. There should be collaboration of data so
when even if a lawyer visits a jail, he should be able to access charge sheet, court orders etc.
This project has worked well in Delhi’s Tihar.”

3. Prison staff need a lot more training

“It is of paramount importance that the prison staff is trained in how to treat and deal with
inmates. Sometimes officers who come from different departments have no experience of
prisoners. The Supreme Court, in September 2017, has directed that there should be proper
training manuals for senior staff,” Verma pointed out.

The Supreme Court has also asked the states to conduct training and sensitisation
programmes for senior police officers of all prisons on their functions, duties and
responsibilities and the rights and duties of prisoners. Verma said, “It is important so they are
aware of the rights of inmates”—for example the rights to legal aid, a speedy trial, protection
from torture, a reasonable wage, and protection from solitary confinement.

4. Inmate wages need to go up

Speaking of wages, Verma said “Wages that are paid to prisoners who are serving sentences
should be increased and should be at par with the outer world, society. So that when they
come out, they have some better finances.” The minimum wage in Delhi jails is rated
according to minimum wages, but hasn’t been hiked in several years. Out of these wages, 25
percent is deducted for a victims welfare fund to recompense victims of crimes.

5. Skill development leads to better chances of employment

“The major role prisons should play is of reformation and making sure that, once out, inmates
are properly integrated into society. That is possible when more skill development programs
are introduced in the jails to enhance their chances of earning,” said Verma.

“We have started a skill development course with Gems and Jewellery Skill Council of
India in Tihar .The other skills that the jail authorities teach are automobile repairs, electrical
skills, garment-making, air-conditioning work, construction, woodwork and others. Other
jails in India should also focus on imparting skills.”

6. Conjugal visits should be encouraged

“Currently, there are no laws that govern conjugal visits to inmates in the country,” Verma
told us. The status of conjugal visits varies from state to state: while the Punjab and Haryana
High Courts already allow married inmates to have sex with their spouses (only for the
purpose of procreation), the Maharashtra High Court also asked the state government, in
2010, why prisoners can’t have sex. Earlier this year, a prisoner at a Tamil Nadu prison was
granted a conjugal leave “for the purpose of procreation.”

Verma believes “conjugal visits should be allowed in every prison,” and not just for raising
families. “It helps in de-stressing inmates,” Verma told us, “and also helps them in bonding
with their family.

7. There aren’t enough welfare or law officers

“As per the Prison Act, 1894 and Prisoner Act, 1900, there should be a welfare officer and
a law officer in each jail. In Tihar for example, there is only one welfare officer for all the
jails.” That’s one officer for the nine central jails at Tihar, which house a total of 15,161
inmates as of 2017. “Similarly with law officers,” Verma said. “Recruitment of these officers
is still pending.”

8. Open jails may not be a bad idea

Open prisons are prisons without bars. The inmates stay with their families and earn their
livelihoods. This is considered a humane penal system, according to Reformative Theory
Law, which argues that the emphasis of punishment should be reform.

Open prisons are prisons without bars.

“Rajasthan has experimented successfully with open jails,” Verma pointed out.

“The Rajasthan Legal Service Authority has said that it’s a successful initiative. The inmates
serve their sentence and maintain their family lives too. Tihar has semi-open jail. Other states
should start open prisons.”
 9. Basic infrastructure is terrible
“In some jails, even basic facilities like soap for washing is not provided,” Verma said. “Jails
need to upgrade their infrastructure. There is overcrowding. There need to be bigger prisons.
There should be more space. There also is a vacancy for a lot of posts that need to be filled.
Be it welfare or law officers, recruitments need to be made.”

10. Parole can take years to process

“Sometimes inmates’ applications for parole are not processed on time,” Verma said. “Parole
application should not legally take more than 21 days. But in some cases, it was found that
the application wasn’t processed for two to three years.”

Need for prison reforms:

 Indian prisons face three long-standing structural constraints: overcrowding,

understaffing and underfunding. The inevitable outcome is subhuman living
conditions, poor hygiene, and violent clashes etc.
 Extradition of fugitive under UN Convention directly depends on prison reforms
1. g.: India lost the case of bringing KIM DEVY from Denmark who is accused of PURILA
ARMS DROP CASE.
 under trials lose four of their fundamental rights: the right to liberty, freedom of
movement, freedom of occupation, and freedom of dignity. And the legal right to vote
as well.
 NHRC figures show that prisoners cut off from family and friends had a 50% more
chance of committing suicide than those outside.
 While 33% of the total requirement of prison officials still lies vacant. Police personnel
in India is 181/lakh population which is much less than the UN prescribed 222/lakh.

Challenges in prison reforms:

 Prison is a State subject.
 Prison Act 1894, which governs prisons with modifications is more than a century old
and focus more on keeping them alive (headcount) not reform and rehabilitation.
 No separation between hard hand criminals and petty under trails.

Committees on Prison reforms:

Justice Mulla Committee 1983:
 All India cadre for prison staff and Bringing prison under the concurrent list
 Government should form a National Policy on Prisons
 Government to use alternatives to imprisonment such as community service, etc.
Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer committee on women prisoners 1987:
 Separate institutions with women employees alone for women offenders.
 Necessary provisions to restore the dignity of women even if convicted.
 Committee under the chairmanship of Director General, Bureau of Police Research
and Development (BPR&D) 2005:
 used the reports of Justice Mulla Committee Report & Justice Krishna Iyer Committee
and made several additional and new recommendations. It also drafted a National
Policy on Prison Reforms and Correctional Administration, 2007.

Draft National Policy on Prison Reforms and Correctional Administration

Amending the constitution to include principles of prison management and treatment of undertrials
under DPSP, and including prisons in the concurrent list.
Enactment of uniform and comprehensive law on matters related to prisons.
A department of Prisons and Correctional Services to be opened in each state and UT.

Justice Amaitava Roy panel on prison reforms:

In 2018, the Supreme Court appointed this panel. The committee submitted its report on
February 2020 with major recommendations includes
 For overcrowding
o Special fast-track courts should be set up to deal with petty offences.
o Lawyers – prisoners ratio: there should be at least one lawyer for every 30 prisoners.
 For Understaffing
o The Supreme Court should pass directions to start the recruitment process against
vacancies
o There should be use of video-conferencing for trial.
 For Prisoners
o Every new prisoner should be allowed a free phone call a day to his family
members to see him through his first week in jail.
o Alternative punishments should be explored.

Solutions:
 Government should frame a National Policy on prison and form a National Commission
on prisons to look into matters more seriously.
 Ensure the holistic development of prisoners like stress management, Yoga, etc.
 Ratifying the UN Convention against torture and sensitizing the staffs about the need to
treat prisoners as humanely as possible.
 Changing the people’s attitude that “Everyone inside the jail is not a criminal, he is either
an offender nor an under trail”.
 Increasing the budgetary allocation of the Criminal Justice System.
 Encourage Interactive and community policing in all possible ways.
 Open prison or semi open prison has to be encouraged like that in UP and Rajasthan.
 Open or Semi open prisons

Semi-open prisons or open prisons allow convicts to work outside the jail premises and earn a
livelihood and return in the evening.
BENEFITS:
Reduce overcrowding and operational costs in prison administration.
Reduce the psychological pressure and lack of confidence when they assimilate into society.
Develops a humane attitude about the offenders in society.
 Utilizing the first-of-its-kind advanced DNA FORENSIC LAB in CHANDIGARH
and pass The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018
to reduce the overcrowding by the faster conviction of offenders.
 Extending Legal Right to Vote prisoners and free legal aid (Directive Principle entrusted
in Article 39a of our Constitution).
Way ahead:
Indian jails dubbed as a university for grooming criminals structural changes are
needed to address the key issues. Else, prisons will continue to be heaven for politically
connected criminals and hell for socio-economically disadvantaged undertrials.

Schools of Criminology

Introduction of the School of Criminology: – In the year 1890, the term
criminology was extracted from the mixture of 2 Latin terms, crimen, which
indicates crime, and logus, which means analysis or knowledge. Criminology is
a socio-legal analysis that seeks to identify the possible reasons for felonious
behaviour as well as recommend effective solutions.

Explanations of criminology

Criminology, according to Edwin Sutherland, is the analysis of offence as a

sociological occurrence.

Donald Taft; Criminology, in its broadest sense, is the research study of

criminals. In a particular sense, it tries to examine criminal activity with the
goal of reforming criminal behaviour or conduct that society strongly
condemns.

Criminology is a field of study concerned with the aforementioned

important subjects:

 Acts of crime.
 The criminals’ victims.
 The perpetrators or criminals.
 Theory of crime and criminals.
 Prevention and control of criminal activity by potential culprits.
The criminal justice system’s effectiveness
Theories Of crime are an essential component of criminology. The principle is a
phrase that relates to a concept or set of principles that are developed to explain
actual facts or incidents. As a consequence, a theory was propounded or
discussed as probably true but not recognised or proven to be correct, and also
basic rules or concepts relating to a specific subject. Theories Of crime examine
why so many people commit offences and are extremely important in the
current discussion over how violent acts must be dealt with and effectively
prevented.

Throughout the decades, numerous methods have been propounded and

thoroughly researched. These ideas are still being researched, both
independently and in combination, because researchers seek the most important
elucidations in ultimately limiting the forms and different intensities of
offences.

4 School of Criminology
During the 18th and 19th centuries, criminology schools flourished.
Criminology is divided into four distinct schools:

1. Pre-Classical school
2. Classical school
3. School of Positivists
4. School of Neo-Classical
5. Sociological School
6. Geographical School
7. Multi Factor School
Pre-Classical School

The demonological school is another term for the pre-classical school. With the
supremacy of the catholic religion in Europe during the 17th century,   There
were few scientific explanations for the causes of offence at the time, and the
idea of a criminal act was ambiguous and uncertain.

As a consequence, spirits, inner demons, as well as unidentified energy were

invoked to explain illegal acts. The core idea was that a man commits a criminal
act due to the influence of an exterior power which is beyond person’s control
and comprehension. God’s wrath was thought to be used to penalise the
wrongdoers. The violators were pursued through fights and rock pelting, with
the belief that if the wrongdoer was innocent, no injury would be done.

The school is divided into 2 parts. 

(a) Devil Based school 
(b) Free- Will based school 
Devil based school is the oldest school. The school originated at the time when
the spiritual thinking was at its extreme point. At that time, the power of god
was considered supreme. A man commits a crime when the devilish power
enters the man and controls him. A man does not commit any crime voluntarily.
It is the external devilish power which compels a man to commit crime.  

Classical School

Cesare Beccaria, Romilly, & Romilly are the founders of classical theory. The
core principle of this school is that all men are self-centred and thus highly
susceptible to criminal behaviour. Men, as per this school, have free will and act
as per their pleasures and pains (hedonism). This school rejects the demonism
theory, which states that men act under the influence of bad spirits.

According to Beccaria, a crime’s punishment must be equivalent to its severity.

Beccaria believed that torture and abuse were inadequate and that the strong
would be managed to find to be innocent before the adjudication if the
vulnerable could incriminate. Classicalists, who focus solely on offence rather
than the lawbreaker, as per Beccaria’s ideology. Deterrence, rather than harsh
punishment, is the primary focus of the classical theory of classical school.

The Classical School of Criminology was brought to light in the late 1700s and
early 1800s. The classical school developed during the Enlightenment in
response to excessive and cruel punishments to crime. Beccaria argued for more
humanitarian forms of punishment and against physical punishment and the
death penalty. He believed that punishment should fit the crime and not be
excessive. 

The classical school developed three main theories, which are still in use
nowadays. They are as follows:

The classical school developed three main theories which are still in use
nowadays. They are as follows:
  Rational Choice Theory
According to this theory, crimes were committed as a result of conscious
decisions. Individuals are said to decide to commit the crime out of their own
free consent. Individual people may choose to commit an offence whenever the
benefits exceed the expected costs of breaking the law.

 Theory of Routine Activities

According to this concept, the routine activity theory has three important
components: a focused violator, a desirable specifically target, and a lack of
competent guardian. It is thought that a person’s daily routine activities
influence the likelihood of an attractive prospect encountering a wrongdoer in a
circumstance in which there was no efficient guardian present. Changes in
society’s everyday routines can have an impact on crime rate increases.

 Theory of Situational Choice

The rational choice concept is the foundation for the situation-specific choice
theory. The offence is committed based on situation-specific constraints and
possibilities, according to this theory. In simpler terms, it means that a person’s
actions are influenced by their surroundings. Because of the circumstances, the
offender acts in a certain manner. It’s highly unlikely that he’d act differently in
a different scenario.

Positivist School

This positivist school disagreed with the classical school’s perspective of crime.

Because everyone is distinct, their perceptions of good and bad differ as well;
this is required to be a criterion for sanctions. The individual should be
penalised, not the crime.
The positive method entailed closely examining the aspects of perpetrators in
order to receive insight into the issue of aggressive behaviour or conduct. Ferri
certainly doesn’t agree with all of Lombroso’s assumptions, such as that several
humans are born criminals and certain physical aspects, such as a person’s head
structure or bone structure position, can predict criminal behaviour. Ferri, on the
other hand, used the inductive approach to develop scientific knowledge that
would describe in detail the causes of criminal acts both in society and among
individuals.

The school began by assuming that crime is caused by both heredity

& environment. The focus has shifted from criminal conduct to criminal
behaviour. Environmental variables such as economic and social conditions &
burdens communicate with a person’s genetically inherited factors to make
them predisposed to criminal conduct. The predetermined school was much
more concerned with existing or potentially criminal behaviour than with
criminal behaviour itself.

The emphasis on the individual that the Positivist approach brought to

criminology and the law enforcement agencies may well have been its most
significant contribution. It resulted in perpetrators ( offender) categorizations,
such as repeat offenders, as well as distinctions between lunacy and sanity. This
also paved the way for the use of psychoanalytic theory in the research of
perpetrators, paving the way for various types of sentences & remedies adapted
to the criminal rather than the crime.

School of Neo-Classicism

The neo-classicist school arose, in part, to address some of the issues raised by
the classical school.
Inconsistencies in classicism, as per  Young, Walton & Taylor, embodied
themselves in widespread punitive policy measures as well as in day-to-day
practise. In practise, it was hard to overlook the factors that influence of human
behaviour and simply continue as if appropriate punishment and confinement
could be accurately measured on a certain widespread calculation: aside from
lack information on the application of the law itself, classicism seemed to
contravene commonly held rational and reasonable aspect of human behaviour
& behaviour.

Individual distinctions between lawbreakers were ignored by classicism, which

focused on the criminal offense. Neo-classicism even now believed in
completely free will, but that it could be limited by environmental as well as
physical aspects.

The neo-classicist school emerged, in large part, to remedy some of the

problems created by the classical school. The supporters of classical school
believe that punishment should be same for same offences, they also believe
that a man does that work which gives him greatest happiness whether it may be
crime. This theory of classical school did not convince many criminologists and
with the result. They developed new thinking known as Neo-classical school.
The neo-classical school emerged as a reaction to the theory of classical school
that there should me same punishment for the same crime.  

As a result, Neo-classicists initiated changes to account for classicism’s

defects:

Enables for extenuating factors by taking into account the individual’s situation
(physical and social environment).
A certain amount of allowance was made for an offender’s previous record.
When determining on a sentence, a court must consider the offender’s criminal
history as well as his or her personal circumstances.

Incompetence, disease, lunacy, and impulsive behavioural patterns should all be

properly considered. Furthermore, some people, such as innocent children and
the mentally unwell, are less capable of exercising their reason than others.

Neo-classicism places a strong emphasis on freewill human rationality and

logic; it merely simplified these concepts to make them operate in the real
universe and in the criminological system’s day-to-day activities. This concept
glanced at influential factors that might jeopardise volition. This concept of
human habits has been implemented by social control government entities in all
developed industrial civilisations.

(5) Sociological School

This is also called as socialistic school. The supporters of this theory consider
lack of money, economy disparity, poverty are the main causes of crime. When
the difference between the rich and the poor becomes wider and wider and the
problem of poverty and unemployment becomes terrible, then a person commits
crime.

 According to Sociological school main reasons of crime are 

(a) Social Disparity 
(b) Social disorganization 
(C) Economic Disparity 
(d) Unemployment and idleness 
(e) Class discrimination 
(f) Geographical Atmosphere 
(g) Social change 
(h) Overpopulation 
The crimes are leant the man does the type of work according to the type of
society in which he lives.

(6) Geographical School

This school says that crimes are committed due to external human atmosphere 
According to the thinkers –

The number of crimes committed in favourable social climate is less as

compared that in adverse social climate. In summer, the crimes against human
body and in winter against property are committed. Crimes committed are more
in overpopulated and crowded places. The number of crimes committed is more
near line of equator while they are less near other lines. The number of crimes
committed is less in plain lands while they are more in areas of valleys and
mountains.   

(7) Multi Factor School

 The multi-factor school is the most popular school. The supporters of this
school say that there are many causes of crimes. According to them, there is no
definite scientific theory of crime.

Conclusion of the School of Criminology

In theories of crime, including such Green Criminology & eco crime, individual
rights, and human protection, the idea of social serious harm can also be used to
establish new narrative structure possible outcomes. It opens the door to new
ideas about how to regulate worldwide social relationships and innovative facets
of doing things about justice. A range of social as well as criminological
specific concerns could be believed about completely different within such
social damage and supranational institutions set of rules.

Critical criminological points of view all relate to a school of thought in

criminology that perceives offences as the consequence of social-political
conflict, inequitable force & social connections and classifying as well as
significance operations. As a consequence, crucial criminologies have prompted
us to shift our attention from criminology to social and economic justice.

What could you say about the theory of born criminals?

Lombroso's (1876) biological theory of criminology suggests that criminality is
inherited and that someone "born criminal" could be identified by the way they
look. In 1876 Lombroso, an Italian criminologist, proposed atavistic form as an
explanations of offending behavior.

Can we still use the theory of born criminal?

Although “Born Criminal” is a theory remained in the past and considered as a
ridiculous idea, unfortunately, today such judgments still exist. Today, still
ethnicity, gender, and physical properties lead to discrimination.

Characteristics of Crime – Criminal Law

Notes
Characteristics of Crime
Ideally, a human behavior cannot be called as a crime, unless at least seven characteristics of
crime are present which are as under:

1. Harm should have been caused, mere intention is not enough.

2. The harm must be legally forbidden. Anti-social behavior is not crime unless prohibited by
law.
3. There must be conduct which brings harmful results.
4. Men’s rea or criminal intent must be present.
5. There must be a fusion or concurrence of men’s rea and conduct.
6. The harm caused must be natural consequences of the voluntary act.
7. There must be legally prescribed punishment.
 However, there are many exceptions to the above generalizations of criminal behavior, some
legal philosophers have tried to determine how society is protected when certain behavior is
treated as crime, for example, in the following circumstances:

1. Firstly, crime is said to be violations of the fundamental morality in a society is to survive.

2. Secondly, crime calls for punishment and if it is not punished, the society would take the
law inot its own hands.
3. Thirdly, crime is where State interference is very effective in preventing it since it cannot
be controlled in any other way.
4. According to Stephen, it is an act which is both forbidden by law and inciting the moral
sentiments of the society.

juvenile delinquent
A juvenile delinquent is a young person who is guilty of committing crimes, especially destruction of
property or violence.

What is criminology? The study of crime

and the criminal mind
Criminology definition and history
Criminology is the study of crime and criminal behavior, informed by principles of
sociology and other non-legal fields, including psychology, economics, statistics, and
anthropology.

Criminologists examine a variety of related areas, including:

 Characteristics of people who commit crimes
 Reasons why people commit crimes
 Effects of crime on individuals and communities
 Methods for preventing crime

Section 30 in The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007

30 Shelter Homes. —
(1) For children in urgent need of care and protection, such as street children and run-
away children, the State Government shall support creation of requisite number of shelter
homes or drop-in-centres through the voluntary organizations.
(2) Shelter homes shall include: *(g) short-stay homes for children needing temporary
shelter, care and protection for a maximum period of one year, *(h) transitional homes
providing immediate care and protection to a child for a maximum period of four months,
*(i) 24 hour drop-in-centres for children needing day care or night shelter facility.
(3) The shelter homes or drop-in-centres shall have the minimum facilities of boarding
and lodging, besides the provision for fulfilment of basic needs in terms of clothing, food,
health care and nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation.
(4) There shall be separate shelter homes for girls and boys as per rule 40(2)(d) of these
rules.
(5) All shelter homes shall provide requisite facilities for education, vocational training,
counselling and recreation or make arrangements for it in collaboration with voluntary
organizations or corporate sector.
(6) The Committee, Special Juvenile Police Units, public servants, childlines, voluntary
organizations, social workers and the children themselves may refer a child to such
shelter homes.
(7) All shelter homes shall submit a report of children using the shelter home facility
along with a photograph of the child to the Committee, the missing persons bureau or
special juvenile police unit and the District Child Protection Unit or the State Child
Protection Unit.
(8) The requirements of producing a child received by a shelter home before the
Committee, inquiry and disposal under sections 32, 33, 38 and 39 of the Act shall apply
only to shelter homes other than drop-in-centres as specified in rule 30(2)(c) of these
rules.
(9) The services of Officer-in-charge, child welfare officer, social worker shall be
provided for the proper care, protection, development, rehabilitation and reintegration
needs of children in shelter homes.
(10) No child shall ordinarily stay in a short stay home for more than a year except in
special circumstances with the approval of the Committee.

What do you mean by parole?

Parole is conditional freedom for a prison inmate. The prisoner (called a
"parolee") gets out from behind bars but must live up to a series of responsibilities. A
parolee who doesn't follow the rules risks going back into custody (prison).

Syndicate Crime:
This is the most significant area of organized crime and consist of the supply
of illegal goods and services; smuggling, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution and
foreign exchange violations are examples of such crimes. There are frontmen at
various levels executing the work assigned to them.

What do you mean recidivist?

: one who relapses into a previous behavior or condition especially : a habitual
criminal. Other Words from recidivist. recidivist adjective.
 intermittent sentence 

An intermittent sentence is a jail sentence that the offender serves in ”chunks” of time,
instead of all at once. For example, if an offender gets an intermittent sentence, they may
go jail on the weekends, (i.e., Friday night until Monday morning) but be out of jail during the
week.

What is Recidivism?
The definition of Recidivism is a relapse, or return, to a specific behavior, generally in a
negative context. Criminal recidivism is a return to illegal behavior following release from
prison. In the United States, recidivism is assessed over the three-year period following an
individual's release. If an individual relapses in criminal behavior and gets arrested or sent
back to prison, theirs is considered a case of recidivism.
Recidivism is one of the biggest obstacles incarcerated individuals face upon prison release.
One of the most effective means of combatting this phenomenon within prisons is
rehabilitative programming. Through these initiatives, which equip individuals with
emotional coping skills to aid in the transition out of prison, vocational skills to support a
return to the workforce, and educational opportunities to support inmates who wish to further
their learning. Lack of this programming correlates directly with higher rates of recidivism.
The more training, education, and support that incarcerated individuals receive whilst in
prison, the higher their chances are of successfully avoiding recidivist actions.

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Causes of Recidivism
Recidivism rates are the metrics of individuals returning to criminal activity after being
released from prison. This can happen for many reasons.
Gender
It has been proven that men experience higher rates of recidivism in all criminal categories
(drugs, property, assault, battery, etc.), while women only experience slightly raised rates of
recidivism in the categories of property and drug-related crime. These differences may be due
to the social groups individuals return to, employment opportunities or lack thereof, need for
vocational skills in order to step away from criminal forms of earning income, familial
responsibilities, and more. On the whole, however, women are markedly less likely to
experience recidivism than men, but both groups have shown reduced rates of recidivism
when given the chance to complete probation instead of prison time.
Race
Race impacts recidivism in rates of arrest and imprisonment, sentence length, and life after
prison. Non-white individuals receive notably harsher sentences than their white counterparts.
These longer sentences directly correlate to higher rates of recidivism, as the longer an
individual is kept out of mainstream society, the harder it is to reenter it successfully.
Additionally, non-white communities (particularly Black communities) experience
disproportionate rates of poverty, resource access, and police violence.. These factors
contribute to rates of recidivism, as community members return home to the communities
where they chose, or felt forced to choose, criminal activity in the first place.
Police Misconduct
Police misconduct can also contribute to recidivism. Excessive and inappropriate use of force
by officers on individuals can elicit responses or trigger arrests that return an individual to the
carceral system. Police misconduct has been experienced more often by individuals
previously involved in the criminal justice system, as well as people of color.
Mandatory Sentences
The 1984 Sentencing Reform Act made minimum sentences (also known as mandatory
sentences) required in all trials, removing the power that judges previously had to assign
prison term lengths based on individual cases. Mandatory sentencing has caused an uptick in
imprisonment, sending more individuals into incarceration instead of offering alternative
means of serving time for criminal activity (parole, probation, etc.). Because The Sentencing
Reform Act sent more people to prison, more individuals experience recidivism. The best
way to combat recidivism is to reduce the number of individuals sent to prison. Mandatory
sentencing makes that much harder to do.

Recidivism Rate Definition

The recidivism rate definition is the rate at which individuals reenter the criminal justice
system within the first three years following release from prison. Since the passage of the
Sentencing Reform Act, rates of recidivism have been on an upswing; mandatory
 minimums, combined with economic instability and lack of support resources in prisons,
have contributed significantly to these increases. There is no significant difference between
rates experienced by prisoners who have been released from private institutions and public
ones. As per the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, rates of recidivism
remain at 40% across both the private and public sector. In the end, the lack of training,
emotional and mental care, and educational resources at American prisons compromise
inmates' returns to life "outside," and increase the odds of return to criminal activity.

Born Criminal
“Born Criminal” is a theory brought forward in the 18th century by Italian
criminologist Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso's theory suggested that criminals are
distinguished from noncriminals by multiple physical anomalies.

Double Jeopardy
The doctrine of double jeopardy is a rule that states that no one should be put
twice in peril for the same offence. “No individual shall be arrested and punished
for the same offence more than once,” the Indian Constitution said in article 20(2).
What is atavism criminal justice?
Cesare Lombroso's atavism theory argues that criminals are primitive savages
who are evolutionarily backward compared to normal citizens. According to
Lombroso, born criminals possess an array of stigmata or markers that may be
considered putative evidence of their criminality.

Jail Manual

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the new Model Prison Manual
consisting of 32 chapters which aims at bringing in basic uniformity in laws, rules and
regulations governing the administration of prisons and the management of prisoners
all over the country.

What is open prison in criminology?

An open prison can be understood to mean any penal establishment in which the
prisoners serve their sentence with minimal supervision and perimeter
security, and are not locked up in prison cells

Here is the list of 8 Indian Jails You Can Go To Without Getting Convicted
 Tihar Jail, Delhi. ...
 Yerwada Jail, Maharashtra. ...
 Madras Central Jail, Chennai. ...
 Naini Central Jail, Uttar Pradesh. ...
 Rajahmundry Central Jail, Andhra Pradesh. ...
 Hijli Jail, West Bengal.

Definition of on probation
Probation is a type of criminal sentence that is served by an offender instead of a jail
sentence. It is a period of supervision of a criminal offender by a corrections officer, usually
in the form of a probation officer.

penology
the study of the punishment of crime and of prison management.

What do you mean by victimology in criminology?

victimology, branch of criminology that scientifically studies the relationship
between an injured party and an offender by examining the causes and the
nature of the consequent suffering.

Causes of crime
 Poverty. Poverty is one of the main reasons for crime. ...
 Peer Pressure. It is an established fact that peer pressure plays a significant role in
the lives of all teenagers and young adults. ...
 Drugs. Crime and drug abuse are closely related. ...
 Politics. ...
 Religion. ...
 Background. ...
 Society. ...
 Unemployment.

What is Political Graft?

Graft is a form of political corruption that involves the misdirection of public funds by a

government official for the benefit of private interests.

Which are Organised crimes?

organized crime, complex of highly centralized enterprises set up for the purpose of
engaging in illegal activities. Such organizations engage in offenses such as cargo
theft, fraud, robbery, kidnapping for ransom, and the demanding of
“protection” payments.
Who Is Recidivist? What Are The
Causes of Recidivism?
September 6, 2020 by Law Corner

Table of Contents  hide 

1) CAUSES OF RECIDIVISM

1.1) Lack of education

1.2) Poverty

1.3) NOT CHANGING LIFESTYLE/SOCIAL CIRCLE UPON RELEASE

1.4) DEPRESSION AND DESPERATION

2) MEASURES TO CURB RECIDIVISM

3) CONCLUSION

One of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice system

is Recidivism. Recidivist is a person who commits the crime
repeatedly. It means the person after receiving punishment for
the crime committed again returns back to the criminal behavior.
He gets habituated to commit the crime. For example- A person
commits murder and for this he got imprisonment and after
completion of punishment when he came out of jail he again
commits a murder. As a result of repetition of crime rearrest,
reconviction takes place.

Recidivists are those people who have enough courage to commit

crime again and again even after receiving punishment. They
remain always deliberate in committing crime continuously in a
calculated manner. More often recidivists are considered as anti-
social, aggressive. The reformative theory of
punishment completely fails for them. To prevent them from
further committing a crime it is always preferred them to keep in
imprisonment.
CAUSES OF RECIDIVISM
The cause of recidivism is a combination of personal, sociological,
economic, and lifestyle factors. Following are those:-

Lack of education

The lack of education of a person leads him to become a

recidivist. Suppose taking example of two people, one person is
getting education, developing his skills, learning new things
where as other person is not getting proper education thus he
remains unskilled. As a result in today’s world of competition the
later one can’t stand with the one who have enough skill. So to
earn his livelihood the people start to indulge him in criminal
activity.

Poverty

One of the reasons of poverty is unemployment. To run livelihood

person choose one way or other to earn money and most of the
time it is found that the person indulge himself in criminal
activity. Also it is found that offender after coming out of the
prison they face rejection. People reject offenders for their past
criminal activity. It is the society only who doesn’t allow the
offender to reform. As result they finds it difficult to earn money
and run their livelihood which result into poverty. Thus, they
return back in doing criminal activity.

NOT CHANGING LIFESTYLE/SOCIAL CIRCLE UPON

RELEASE

For a successful rehabilitation offender after begin released must

distance himself from all those people who are involved in
criminal activity. If the offender remains with the person who is
involved in such type of criminal activity then there is more
chance that the person may return to commit such type of crime
again. However the problem is that after offender being released
from prison, it become difficult for the offender to make new
friends because all the new friends shall ignore him for his past
criminal activity. Thus offenders return back to old friends who
are involved in criminal activity.

DEPRESSION AND DESPERATION

Offenders suffer from serious mental issues in prison and without

proper treatment, they are being released. Even after release,
they face lots of stigma like unemployment, ignorance, lack of
support which forces them to go into a deeper state of depression
and lead to involve themselves n taking drugs and involving in
criminal activity.

Not proper Rehabilitation

Prison states that their goal is to treat and rehabilitate them. But
it is found that offenders are not properly reformed. In prison the
offenders suffer from mental distress. Thus after releasing from
jail they again join back o criminal activity.

MEASURES TO CURB RECIDIVISM

Following are the measure to curb recidivism:-

1. Adequate treatment to be provided to prisoners before they

are released.

2. Offender should be given proper education so that after getting

released they find a way to earn their livelihood.

3. Society needs to change the attitude towards the offenders

because criminal gets born from society only.

CONCLUSION
In simple word Recidivism means some people will re-offend after
they have been convicted. Recidivism is a vital component to
understand criminal justice system. However, determining why
people re-offend and measuring how often they do so proves to
be much more difficult. In this I have given the reason for
recidivism but there are many other reasons which need to find
out which lead offenders to commit the crime again. Further,
proper measure need to be taken to curb recidivism.

Cesare Lombroso: Theory of Crime,

Criminal Man, and Atavism
Lombroso's (1876) biological theory of criminology suggests that criminality is
inherited and that someone "born criminal" could be identified by the way
they look.
In 1876 Lombroso, an Italian criminologist, proposed atavistic form as an
explanations of offending behavior. This explanation was focused on the
notion that criminals have physical distinguishing features.
In The Criminal Man (“L’Uomo delinquente”), first published in 1876, he
suggested that there was distinct biological class of people that were prone to
criminality. These people exhibited ‘atavistic’ (i.e. primitive) features. Atavistic
derives from the word “avatus”, which means ancestor in Latin.
These atavistic characteristics, he argued, denoted the fact that the offenders
were at a more primitive stage of evolution than non-offenders; they were
“genetic throwbacks”.
This made them, according to Lombroso, wilder, untamed and unable to fit in
the 1870s society and therefore they would inevitably turn to crime. This
implies that criminality is inherited and that it can be identified by physical
defects.

Atavistic Form
 Features of the thief: expressive face, manual dexterity, and small,
wandering eyes.
 Features of the murderer: cold, glassy stares, bloodshot eyes and
big hawk-like nose.
 Features of sex offenders: thick lips and protruding ears.
 Features of women offenders: shorter and more wrinkled, darker
hair and smaller skulls than ‘normal’ women.

He also claimed the 'born criminal' had a liking for tattoos, cruel and wicked
games and their own language through a primeval slang (a throwback to their
savage ancestry).
Lombroso argued that criminals were not to blame for their criminal activities
as their behavior was determined by their physiology. This theory was
influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution. (The Origin of the Species was
published in 1859)

Measuring Crime: The “Born Criminal”

Lombroso examined over 4000 offenders (living and dead) to identify physical
markers indicative of the atavistic form.
Examples of things Lombroso measured were people’s height, weight, the span
of their arms, the average height of their body while seated, the sizes of their
hands, necks, thighs, legs, and feet, their eye color and so on.
In a study of 383 dead Italian criminals and 3839 living ones he found 40% of
them had atavistic characteristics.

Critical Evaluation
 Lombroso became known as the father of modern criminology. He was
one of the first to study crime and criminals scientifically, Lombroso’s
theory of the born criminal dominated thinking about criminal behavior
in the late 19th and early 20th century. This was an important shift from
the thinking which had dominated this field for thousands of years
which had analysed crime on moral and religious terms and therefore
crime was not seen as a legitimate topic for scientific study.
 However, the research carried out by Lombroso lacked the rigour we
now expect from scientific studies. He did not use a control group
against which to compare his participants. Furthermore, Lombroso
interpreted the presence of some physical characteristics as a cause of
offending behavior but it could be argued that these traits might have
interacted with social factors.
 According to Agnew (1992), possessing these unpleasant physical
characteristics might lead to unpleasant social interactions, this leads to
frustration and anger which, in turn, lead to offending behavior.
 Goring (1913) carried out a study comparing over 2000 London convicts
with a control group. He failed to replicate Lombroso’s findings.
 Lombroso argued that the physical characteristics he identified were
innate but this might not have been the case, they might have been
influenced by environmental factors such as poor nutrition in
childhood.
 This theory is deterministic as it implies that possessing particular
innate physical characteristics is likely to lead to crime. It does not take
into account the influence of free will and moral/ religious values. This
limits its usefulness as it cannot explain individual differences.
  This explanation is socially sensitive; some of the features described by
Lombroso are linked to skin colour and other traits are associated with
the concept of race so it has been accused of scientific racism.
 Furthermore this theory has also been used to support eugenics.
Eugenics is a philosophy arguing that those who are born with genetic
advantages should be allowed to breed for the good of society but those
who are born with genetic disadvantages should be eliminated to
improve the genetic quality of the human population.

White-Collar Crime
A type of non-violent crime that is financially motivated

Written by CFI Team

Updated February 8, 2022

What is a White-Collar Crime?

White-collar crime is a non-violent crime where the primary motive is

typically financial in nature. White-collar criminals usually occupy a
professional position of power and/or prestige, and one that commands
well above average compensation.
The term “white-collar crime” was coined in the 1930s by sociologist and
criminologist Edwin Sutherland. He used the phrase to describe the types of
crimes commonly committed by “persons of respectability” – people who
are recognized as possessing a high social status. Sutherland eventually
founded the Bloomington School of Criminology at the State University of
Indiana.
 Prior to Sutherland’s introduction of the concept of white-collar crime, the
upper classes of society were thought to be largely incapable of engaging
in such criminal activity. Such a belief was so deeply entrenched in society
that when Sutherland first published a book on the subject, some of
America’s largest companies successfully sued to get the book heavily
censored.

Summary

 White-collar crime is a type of non-violent crime that is financially

motivated.
 White-collar crimes may be perpetrated by individuals or at a corporate
level. Due to the sophisticated technology now available, however, even
white-collar crimes committed by an individual may result in tens of
millions in losses for the victims.
 A sociologist and criminologist, Edwin Sutherland, invented the phrase
“white-collar crime” in 1939. Prior to his writings on the subject, many
people resisted believing that members of the “upper class” engaged in
criminal activity.
Blue-Collar vs. White-Collar Crimes

The difference between white-collar crime and blue-collar crime stems from
the different types of criminal activity that the criminal has access to
engage in.

Blue-collar crime, because of the more limited means of the people

committing it, tends to be more straight-on – robbery, burglary, etc. In
contrast, white-collar criminals are more often in a position – such as being
a loan officer in a bank – to commit widespread and complex fraud
schemes.

Types of White-collar Crime

White-collar crime encompasses a wide range of offenses, including the

following:

1. Fraud

Fraud is a broad term that encompasses several different schemes used to

defraud people of their money. One of the most common and simplest is
the offer to send someone a lot of money (say, $10,000) if they will simply
send the fraudster a little money (say, $300 – the fraudster may represent
the smaller sum as being a processing or finder’s fee). Of course, the
fraudster gets the money that is sent to him but never sends out the money
he promised to send.

2. Insider trading

Insider trading is trading done with the benefit of the trader possessing
material, non-public information that gives him or her an advantage in the
financial markets. For example, an employee at an investment bank may
know that Company A is preparing to acquire Company B. The employee
can buy stock in Company B with the expectation that the company’s stock
will rise significantly in price once the acquisition becomes public
knowledge.

3. Ponzi scheme

Named after Charles Ponzi, the original perpetrator of such a scheme, a

Ponzi scheme is an investment scam that offers investors extremely high
returns. It pays such returns to the initial investors with the newly deposited
funds of new investors.

When the scammer is no longer able to attract a sufficient number of new

clients to pay off the old ones, the scheme collapses like a house of cards,
leaving many investors with huge losses.

4. Identity theft and other cybercrimes

Identity theft and computer system “hacking” are two of the most
widespread computer crimes. It’s estimated that losses from identity theft
in the United States alone totaled nearly $2 billion in 2019. California, with
over 73,000 cases of identity theft reported, was the state whose citizens
suffered the most from the crime – Florida was a very distant second with
37,000 reported cases.

5. Embezzlement

Embezzlement is a crime of theft, or larceny, that can range from an

employee taking a few dollars out of a cash drawer to a complex scheme to
transfer millions from a company’s accounts to the embezzler’s accounts.
6. Counterfeiting

Our money has become more colorful and expanded in detail because it
had to in order to combat counterfeiting. With today’s computers and
advanced laser printers, the old currency was just too easy to copy.
However, it’s questionable how successful the government’s efforts in this
area have been. Rumor has it that very high-quality copies of the new $100
bill were available within 24 hours of the new bill first being issued.

7. Money laundering

Money laundering is a service essential to the needs of criminals who deal

with large amounts of cash. It involves funneling the cash through several
accounts and eventually into legitimate businesses, where it becomes
intermingled with the genuine revenues of the legitimate business and is
no longer identifiable as having originally come from the commission of a
crime.

8. Espionage

Espionage, or spying, is typically a white-collar crime. For example, an agent

of a foreign government that wants to obtain part of Apple Inc. technology
might approach an employee at Apple and offer to pay them $10,000 if
they will provide a copy of the desired technology.

Classifying White-Collar Crime

White-collar crime is commonly subdivided into two broad, general

categories:

1. Individual crimes

Individual crimes are financial crimes committed by an individual or a group

of individuals. An example of an individual white-collar crime is a Ponzi
scheme, such as the one run by Bernie Madoff. Other individual crimes in
this category include identity theft, hacking, counterfeiting, and any of
dozens of fraud schemes.
2. Corporate crimes

Some white-collar crime occurs on a corporate level. For example, a

brokerage firm may let its trading desk employees engage in an insider
trading scheme. Money laundering may also be conducted on a corporate
level.

A Contributing Factor – The Internet

The explosion of the internet and ever-advancing technology has been

accompanied by a corresponding rise in what is referred to as “cybercrime”
– which is comprised of a myriad of online fraud schemes and various forms
of “phishing” for people’s personal information to commit the crime of
identity theft. Cybercrime is basically any crime that is committed with the
aid of computer technology.

It’s difficult to keep in mind that the term “hacking” – where a computer
criminal breaks into a large database, such as the credit card records of a
retail store, to steal both identity information and money – didn’t even exist
in the mainstream culture 30 years ago.

Also, many considered the terms “phishing,” “email scam,” and the all-
encompassing “cybercrime” as foreign. Computers gave us tools and
capabilities that formerly didn’t even exist.

However, “progress” always comes with a price – and the price tag for our
computerized and cell phone-connected world is a whole new category of
crimes that, like computers and cell phones themselves, simply didn’t exist
until the advent of new technology made such crimes possible.

What is cyber crime types of cyber crime?

Various types of Cyber crime attack modes are 1) Hacking 2) Denial Of Service
Attack 3) Software Piracy 4) Phishing 5) Spoofing. Some important tool use for
preventing cyber attack are 1)Kali Linux, 2) Ophcrack, 3) EnCase, 4) SafeBack, 5)
Data Dumber

What is an open prison?

Rajasthan Prison Rules define open jail as, "Prisons without walls, bars
and locks." The jail does not confine them completely but requires
them to earn their living to support their families, living with them
inside the jail.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to hold meetings with prison officials
across the states and the Union Territories in the first week of February to set up open prisons
in the country. The issue came up when the court was hearing a PIL on the poor state of the
prisons in the country.
Prisons in India are governed by the Prisons Act, 1900 and each state follows their prison
rules and manuals. India has a maximum number of central jails, sub jails, which are
controlled jails, and 63 open jails according to the amicus curiae in the case above.
What are open prisons?
Open prisons have relatively less stringent rules as compared to the controlled jails. They go
by many names like minimum-security prison, open air camps or prison without bars. The
fundamental rule of an open prison is that the jail has minimum security and functions on the
self-discipline of the inmates.
Every state in India has a prison law, like the Rajasthan Prisoners Rules and Andhra Pradesh
Prison Rules, 1979. Seventeen states are reported to have functional open jails with Rajasthan
having 29 such prisons, the highest that any state has.
The Rajasthan Prisoners Open Air Camp Rules, 1972 define open prison as, “prisons without
walls, bars and locks.” Inmates in Rajasthan open prisons are free to go out of the prison after
a first roll call and have to return before the allotted second roll call. The jail does not confine
them completely but requires them to earn their living to support their families, living with
them inside the jail.
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, popularly
known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, laid down the objectives of open prisons stating, that
such prisons provide no physical security against escape but rely on the self-discipline of the
inmates, provide the conditions most favourable to the rehabilitation of carefully selected
prisoners.
The All-India Committee on Jail Reform constituted in 1980 recommended the government
to set up and develop open prisons in each state and UT similar to the Sanganer open camp.
Sanganer open camp is the largest open prison in Rajasthan and houses nearly 400 prisoners.
The Committee also stated the number of open prisons and prisoners each state has.
Who are eligible for open prisons?
Every state law defines the eligibility criteria of inmates who can be in an open prison. The
principal rule is that an inmate eligible for open air prison has to be a convict. Good conduct
in prison and at least five years spent in a controlled jail are the rules followed by the
Rajasthan open prisons. The Rajasthan open prison do not take in undertrial prisoners. The
Rajasthan Prison Rules also specify the ineligibility criteria for admission of inmates in open
prison.
The All-India Committee on Jail Reform too recommended that life convicts who offer good
prognosis should be transferred to semi-open & open prisons.

Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) collects data on persons held under
sentence of death and persons executed during the calendar year from the
state department of corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons,
see Capital Punishment series. Reports produced from this collection
summarize the movement of prisoners into and out of death sentence status.
The data describe prisoners’ sex, race, Hispanic origin, education, marital
status, age at time of arrest for the capital offense, and legal status at the
time of the offense. Reports also include information on removals, including
execution trends and time between imposition of death sentence and
execution. BJS also collects preliminary counts of executions during the
following year to provide web users with the most recent available data,
see Prisoners executed.

Terms & Definitions

Capital punishment
Capital punishment refers to the process of sentencing convicted offenders to
death for the most serious crimes (capital crimes) and carrying out that
sentence. The specific offenses and circumstances that determine if a crime
is eligible for a death sentence are defined by statute and are prescribed by
Congress or any state legislature.
Death row
Death row refers to incarcerated persons who have been sentenced to death
and are awaiting execution (as in "inmates on death row"). Historically, death
row was a slang term that referred to the area of a prison in which prisoners
who were under a sentence of death were housed. Usage of the term
continues despite the fact that many states do not maintain a separate unit or
facility for condemned inmates.

organised crime in India

Concept of organised crime

Organised crime means the commission of a crime at regular intervals in
order to make money or profits. Some examples could include human
trafficking, money laundering, smuggling, etc. Certain characteristics of
organised crimes have been discussed hereafter to get a better
understanding of the concept. 

Nature and characteristics of organised crime

Presence of mens rea and actus reus

The very first step in any crime is the intention. The presence of mens rea
and actus reus are the two imperative essentials to prove that a certain
crime has been committed. The former implies a guilty mind i.e. a person
being mindful of his/her actions and knowing that a successful attempt would
result in a crime and the latter implies a physical activity or omission by the
person which gives effect to the crime. To know more about these two
elements, check out this article.

Commission of crime
To commit a crime (including organised crime), there are four stages that
needs to be fulfilled. First, there should be an intention to commit a crime.
Secondly, there must be some preparation to give effect to the crime. Third,
there should be an attempt, i.e., presence of some action in pursuance of the
crime being committed. Lastly, the attempt should be accomplished for the
commission of that crime.

Objective of earning profits

It is important to understand that the purpose of committing an organised
crime is not to take revenge or harm someone, rather it is a kind of illegal
business or a way for people to earn profits. However, the crime which is
committed is incidental to such activity and ultimately, there is some kind of
physical and/or mental injury.

Regularity
Another important characteristic of an organised crime is that it is not a one-
time event, but rather on a regular basis, just as a business. It is because of
this aspect of continuity that the term is referred to as ‘organised’, since a
structure has been created wherein similar activities (crimes) are being
conducted regularly to earn profits.

Types of organised crimes

There are various activities that may be termed as organised crimes. Though
there cannot be a definite list, some of the most common types of organised
crimes in India have been discussed below.

Money laundering
Money laundering is one of the most serious crimes which can severely affect
any economy in several aspects. This crime is specifically governed by
the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. It is a way by which illegal
money earned from sources such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc.
are diverted to create an impression that such money comes from a
legitimate source. Many criminals are engaged in this profession where they
help people with an illegal income to convert it into a legitimate income.

Smuggling
Smuggling is another major economic offence in a form of organised crime.
This is mostly governed by the Customs Act, 1962. It is natural that the
goods which are illegal in the territory of India or heavily taxed are smuggled
to continue their trade or maintain profits. With a change in fiscal policy, the
definition of smuggled goods vary but it is mostly items such as contraband
substances, valuable jewels, electronics, certain fabrics, etc. which are
smuggled in India. Due to the vast coastline, it becomes easy for people to
smuggle goods.

Drug trafficking 
Drug trafficking is another major crime that poses a threat to the younger
population of India, considering its drastic effects on physical and mental
health. It is usually considered that the most important reason for the high
rate of drug trafficking is the geographical condition of India. It is located
between the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos) on the
northeast and Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran) on the
northwest- both of which are the two largest sources of illicit drugs in Asia.
Resultantly, this form of organised crime has become more prevalent and
significant in the country.

Human trafficking
Article 23 of the Indian Constitution explicitly prohibits human trafficking.
Further, there are various trafficking prohibition laws discussed in the latter
part of the article. Human trafficking is one of the most significant and
heinous organised crimes. This involves women trafficking, child trafficking,
trading in sex workers, etc. A book titled “Indian Mafia” by S.K. Ghosh has
revealed that there are more than twenty-five lakh prostitutes in the country
and roughly, three lakh prostitutes get into the profession every year.
Prostitution per se is not a crime but forcefully dragging young girls or
running a brothel imposes criminal liability. Moreover, human trafficking is
undoubtedly a crime.

Contract killings and kidnapping

These are governed by the Indian Penal Code. Contract killings means
murdering someone for money on a contractual basis. This is usually
prevalent among the highly influential and public personalities who are being
murdered by their enemies/competitors through some other criminal for a
ransom. Similarly, kidnapping incidents are also prevalent wherein people
pay a certain sum of money to get someone kidnapped or these criminals ask
someone for a ransom. Such crimes are performed by organised criminals
who do such tasks on a regular basis.
Laws governing organised crimes in India

Indian Penal Code

Criminal conspiracy
Section 120A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) deals with criminal
conspiracy. Where two or more persons agree to commit a crime, then they
can be punished for criminal conspiracy. The exception clearly provides that
it is immaterial whether the object of such crime committed is the main
intention or incidental. Hence, organised crimes shall definitely be governed
by this provision. Further, Section 120B of the IPC imposes criminal liability
which can extend up to death punishment and even heavy fines.

Specific crime under the IPC

Additionally, these organised criminals shall also be charged for the specific
crime which they have committed. For instance, criminals engaged in
contract killings shall be liable under Section 300 and Section 302 of the IPC
which deals with murder. Similarly, an organised criminal engaged in
kidnapping shall be dealt with under Section 360, Section 363 and Section
364A of the IPC. A person engaged in human trafficking shall be charged
under Section 370 and Section 370A of the IPC.
Organised crime-specific law
There is no central legislation on organised crime. However, owing to the
high rates of organised crimes in Mumbai, Maharashtra came up with
the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999. It provides for
different provisions dealing with the evidence to be admitted, protection of
witnesses, presumption of the court to consider the accused as criminals on
fulfilment of certain conditions, etc.

Preventive laws

National Security Act, 1980

There are various preventive laws existent in India which are applicable to
organised crimes, explicitly and implicitly. One of them is the National
Security Act, which provides for the detention of individuals “acting in any
manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign
powers, or the security of India”. The scope of the term ‘defence’ is very
wide and it includes operations carried out by gangsters and since the
preventive detention is carried out by the executive, there is very little role
of courts to play.

Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic

Substances Act, 1988
Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Act is another preventive law enacted with the aim of controlling the actions
of people engaged in the illicit trafficking of drugs and other narcotic
substances. Under this law, a person can be detained for upto one year if
found to be engaged in drug trafficking. In certain cases, this period can be
further extended to one more year depending on the severity of the case.

Miscellaneous laws
Apart from these laws, there are various other laws that govern certain
specific organised crimes. To exemplify, the Narcotics Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1884 govern the cases relating to trafficking of
different narcotic substances; Customs Act, 1962 governs and imposes
liability for cases related to smuggling; Prevention of Money Laundering Act,
2002 governs the cases relating to money laundering. Apart from these,
there are many other laws such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,
1956; the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, the Public Gambling Act,
1867 etc.

Legal problems associated with organised

crimes

Law-making and enforcement

There is no central legislation specifically governing organised crime in India.
It is important that specialised steps are taken to curb this menace. Specific
laws are required and the executive needs to be empowered to take steps
accordingly. Moreover, the enforcement should also be stringent failing
which, the whole object of enacting such a law would defeat.

Slow trials
Though these organised criminals are tried under different laws, the whole
process of trials is very slow and there is a very low conviction rate because
in most of the cases, in such a long period of time, the witnesses deny to
come out of fear and in some cases, the pieces of evidence are lost.

Obtaining proof
As mentioned earlier, most of the witnesses deny coming out of fear, so even
if they are arrested, they are later acquitted because of insufficient evidence
and longevity of time. These players are really strong and influential in their
area of operations and naturally, people would not wish to risk their lives by
providing statements against them.

Lack of resources
A major part of the country is still unorganised and lack of proper resources
and technology become an obstacle in way of curbing organised crime. The
lower-ranked police officers are not given sufficient powers and a statement
before them is not an admissible evidence. Further, these officers do not
have sufficient equipment to tap these criminals. 
Lack of coordination
Since there is no central agency controlling these activities, every state has
its own way of functioning. These criminals do not stay for long at one place
and keep migrating every now and then. In such cases, due to lack of
coordination, it becomes difficult and sometimes, impossible to catch them.

Conclusion
The aforesaid discussion reveals the concept of organised crime where the
ultimate intention of the criminals is not to harm someone but rather make
profits, however, some form of injury is caused. Some common features of
these crimes have also been mentioned above. Such crimes occur in various
forms including drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering,
contract killings, etc. There are various central and state laws such as the
Indian Penal Code, PMLA, NDPS Act, preventive laws, etc. to govern and curb
organised crimes. Despite the existence of various legislation, the State has
not been successful in curbing these crimes to a considerable extent. This is
because of various challenges faced by the State such as lack of proper
enforcement, lack of resources, slow trials, difficulty in obtaining proof, etc.
In light of these circumstances, it is imperative that the Parliament bring in
some laws specifically governing organised crimes and form diplomatic
relations with other nations since many of these crimes are transnational in
nature.

Difference Between Probation and Parole

The term probation and parole are the two alternatives to the
incarceration, wherein the conduct of the offender is supervised
according to the law. Probation can be understood as a penalty
imposed by the court in which the criminal offender is not detained but
allowed to remain in the community, on the promise of good behaviour,
subject to the supervision of the probation officer.

Difference Between Probation and Parole

Last updated on August 31, 2017 by Surbhi S

The term probation and parole are the two alternatives to the
incarceration, wherein the conduct of the offender is supervised
according to the law. Probation can be understood as a penalty
imposed by the court in which the criminal offender is not detained but
allowed to remain in the community, on the promise of good behaviour,
subject to the supervision of the probation officer.

In contrast, parole, or otherwise called as supervised release, is one in

which the inmate is released from the jail either temporarily or
permanently, before the completion of sentence, subject to good
behaviour.

While studying criminal law, it is important to stay aware of these two

concepts and their difference as well, So, here in this article, we’ve
simplified the difference between probation and parole.

Content: Probation Vs Parole

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion
Comparison Chart
BASIS FOR
PROBATION PAROLE
COMPARISON

Meaning Probation is the suspension of Parole implies the early release of the
sentence of an offender and allowing convict before the expiry of the sentence
them to stay in the community while term, to serve the rest of the protion in the
inculcating good behavior, under the community, while ensuring good behavior
supervision of an officer. and subject to specific conditions.

Nature Determinative Administrative

What is it? Alternative to jail Conditional release from prison

Imposed by Court Parole Board

Grant Prior to the incarceration. After the offender has completed a certain
portion of his prison sentence.
 BASIS FOR
PROBATION PAROLE
COMPARISON

Allowed to First time offenders and crimes that Criminals that are already under detention.
does not involve violence.

Offender Probation Officer Parole Officer

reports to

Definition of Probation

Probation can be defined as the release of the offender, from police

custody, subject to the good behaviour of the convicted offender under
specific conditions. It is considered as the supervision period, in which
the offender has to follow certain rules prescribed by the court, under the
supervision of the probation officer.

A person is granted probation when he is found guilty for commission of

an offence, in which the accused is not sent to jail rather he is allowed to
stay in the community, provided that he adopts ethical conduct and not
commit any crime in future, or else he will be sent to jail.

The condition of probation differs regarding the accused and the criminal
offence, which encompasses community service, fines, reporting to a
probationary officer, restriction on consumption of drugs and alcohol,
counselling, jail time and so forth.
Definition of Parole

By the term, parole is meant the grant of release to the convict, only
when he has served a part of his punishment in jail.

In this, the prisoner is temporarily or permanently released from the jail,

subject to the conditions set forth by the parole board. These conditions
ensure the safety of the members of the society include appearing
before the parole officer whenever needed, obeying the law, restriction
on the consumption of alcohol or drugs, avoiding contact with certain
people, restriction on leaving the specified geographical area without the
permission of the officer, getting employment and so forth.
While on parole, the convicts are not considered as free from their
sentence, rather they have to serve the community and rehabilitate
themselves and comply with the rules specified, or else they will be sent
back to jail on the grounds of the original sentence.

Key Difference Between Probation and Parole

The points stated below are relevant, so far as the difference between
probation and parole is concerned:

1. Probation refers to the sentence given to the criminals, in which

they remain out of prison, under the supervision of an officer and
follows the rules set forth by the court. Parole connotes the before
time release of the inmate, on the condition that the inmate will be
under the supervision of the authority and detention will be
resumed upon the non-compliance of conditions specified.
2. Probation is granted by the judge instead of the imprisonment,
whereas parole is nothing but a form of conditional release from
the prison.
3. The decision of probation of an accused or suspect is taken by the
court. Unlike, the parole board takes the decision regarding parole
of a prisoner.
4. The probation is granted to the accused before incarceration, i.e.
in spite of directly sending the accused to the jail, they are given a
chance to rehabilitate themselves, through this process. On the
other extreme, parole is allowed after the offender has completed
a specified portion of their sentence term in prison.
5. Probation is awarded to those person’s who have no prior criminal
record so far and also for the crimes that do not involve violence.
As against, parole is allowed to those criminals which are already
in jail, and also available to serious offenders, who pursue good
conduct, during the term of their sentence.
6. A person who is granted probation, reports to the probation officer,
however, failure in reporting to the appropriate authority may lead
to resentencing to jail, for a particular period. Conversely, the
offender under parole has to report to the parole officer, but in
case if the accused defaults in reporting without reasonable cause,
the offender is sent back to the jail on the grounds of the original
sentence.
Conclusion

By and large, probation and parole share many similar aspects but are
not one and the same thing as probation is for those offenders who do
not have any previous criminal record, whereas parole is for those
convicts who are serving detention due to a serious crime committed by
them, but pursues good behaviour and follows the rules of jail properly.
So, for that, they are awarded parole.

Nature and Scope of Criminology

Criminology is an interdisciplinary science. It involves behavioral and biological
sciences such as Anthropology, Biology, Sociology, Psychology, Economics,
Psychiatry, and Political science. It also includes the police sciences such as
Criminal law, public administration, victimology, ethics, and penology.
Criminology is the entire body of knowledge regarding the causes and prevention of
crime. It also deals with the punishment of a certain crime committed. Criminology
focuses on the reasons and operational forces behind the commission of a particular
crime.
The main focus of criminology is the study of human behavior.

Interpretation
The term Criminology is derived from an Italian Professor of law “Raffaele
Garofalo” as Criminologia. After that, a French Anthropologist “Paul
Topinard” used the analogous French term Criminologie.

Definition
There is no universally accepted definition of criminology. However,
According to Law Lexicon
“Criminology is the study of crime, its nature, its causes, its detection, and prevention.”
According to Dr. Kenny
“Criminology is the branch of criminal science that deals with the causes of crime,
analysis, and prevention of crime.”
Main Purpose of Criminology
The main purpose of criminology is to know different aspects and causes of crime.
These will help in the treatment and rehabilitation of criminals again in society.
Nature of Criminology
Criminology is an interdisciplinary field of study, involving scholars and
practitioners. It represents a wide range of behavioral and social sciences as well as
natural sciences.
It deals with the research of sociologists, psychologists, and writings in law.   
Scope of Criminology
The word scope means the maximum extent to which a certain field is applicable or
has influence.
Scope:
1. It is the study of the origin and development of criminal laws.
 Criminology studies how criminal laws are evolved under different circumstances. It
also presents certain types of punishments to prevent crime.
2. It analyses the causation of crime and the personality of the
criminals.
In criminology, we study the reasons for criminal behavior and when and how a man
turns into a criminal. We study the subject that why some people commit crimes
while others do not commit crimes.
3. It helps us in the detection and investigation of crime.
 Criminology is modern science that helps us a lot to detect and investigate the
reasons behind the crime.
4. It is the study of different factors behind the crime.
Criminology also studies various factors that enhance a crime such as Criminal
Sociology, Criminal Psychiatry, Victimology, Criminal Ecology, Criminal
Demography, and Criminal Physical Anthropology.
5. It studies the reasons for the development of criminals.
After discovering the origin of crime, criminologists study the factors due to which
people develop a criminal attitude.
6. It tells us the ways to arrest and apprehend criminals
Criminology tells us various ways to arrest and treat habitual criminals as well. 
7. It helps us to understand the criminal behavior and the etiology
Understanding the behavior and psychology of criminals is of great importance. So,
criminology helps a lot in this noble job.
8. It studies the methods adopted by the criminals to commit crimes
Criminology studies various methods and measures which are adopted by the
offenders for the violation of criminal laws.
9. It looks at the reaction of society regarding crime.
After the commission of a crime, criminology as science looks upon the rection of
society towards the offender or the crime committed. The purpose is to get the views
of society about the crime.
10. It helps us in the prevention of crime
Criminology presents various methods to prevent crime. It plans different ways to
deter criminals. In this way, they are threatened to commit crimes because they
know that they will be punished if they were found accused of any criminal activity.
11. It develops the concept of rehabilitation
Criminology encourages us to establish rehabilitation centers in the country so that
the criminals must be treated in a fine and healthy way. In this way, they may
become responsible men in society.
Conclusion
Criminology is the scientific study of nature, extent, causes, consequences, and
prevention of criminal behavior on the individual as well as social levels.
Criminology is rewarding and a fascinating field due to its broad scope and
importance.
Criminal activities : their
nature, scope and problems in
identification
Any act that is forbidden by the law to perform is committed by any person
or any act that is ordered by the law to perform is refused to perform, then
such an act or refusal is called a crime. A crime is an unlawful or illegal
activity. Such activity, however, can be differentiated either as criminal
activity or civil wrong. The question that arises is, what can be denoted as
criminal activity or civil wrong? 

Through this article, we will be understanding the concept of criminal

activities, their nature, scope, etc.

proper definition to describe criminal activities. In India, the Indian Penal

Code of 1860 (IPC) states the punishment for most criminal offences. The
IPC has also not defined criminal activities. However, it has laid down certain
facts which can be considered as what can come under the purview of
criminal offences. As per Section 40, anything which is punishable by the IPC
can be stated as an offence. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908, also to
an extent defines criminal offences. It states that any act or omission which
is punishable by any law in force, and also any act on which a complaint is
made under Section 20 of the Cattle-Trespass Act, 1871, can be referred to
as a crime.

There have been several jurists and philosophers who have given their
definition of crime. Famous English jurist William Blackstone had defined the
term crime as any such act that had been committed or had been omitted in
the violation of any public law is termed as a crime. Sergeant Stephen, an
English philosopher, had also defined crime. According to his definition, crime
is not only any such act or omission which is punishable by law but also such
acts which hurt the moral sentiments of the society. Prof. Kenny, a famous
jurist, too had defined crime. As per him, crime can be only denoted to such
acts which are punishable and only remissible by the State, if the State feels
so. However, this definition has gained little criticism. This definition has
been criticized on the fact that criminal activities can only be remissible by
the State, but some compoundable offences can be amicably sorted out
within the private persons.
Nature of criminal activity
Certain principles determine the nature of criminal activity. Those principles
are:

1. Crime is either an act or omission of any act on the part of a human

being, which is harmful to society at large. Criminal activity must be
a public wrong.
2. The actions taken in criminal activities are always in rem, that is,
against the whole world. When any criminal activity is committed,
action is taken against the accused by the concerned State or
government.
3. Criminal activities are always punishable by the law. Such acts are
prevented by a threat or sanction of punishment administered by
the State.
4. A special legal procedure is followed after the criminal activity is
discovered. Usually, in these cases, the accused is taken into
custody following the law and investigation begins, trials take place,
and eventually, the judgment is delivered.

Scope of criminal activity 

So far, we have got an idea of what can be denoted as criminal activity.
However, let us look into the scope of such activities. Under the Indian law,
the Code of Criminal Procedure classifies the offences into different
categories. It classifies offences into cognizable and non-cognizable
offences. 

 Cognizable offences can be stated as any such offences where the

police can arrest the accused without any warrant. In such offences,
the police officer can start the investigation of the case without the
permission of the Magistrate. It has been observed that such
offences are usually grave and non-bailable. 
 On the other hand, non-cognizable offences are those where police
cannot arrest the accused without the arrest warrant from the
Magistrate. In such offences, the police need to have prior
permission from the Magistrate to start the investigation. Such
offences are usually less serious and bailable.
Classification of crimes under the IPC is as follows:

 Crime against the body – IPC recognizes crime against the body in
the form of murder, kidnapping, abduction, hurt, causing death by
negligence.
  Crime against property – IPC recognizes robbery, theft, dacoity,
preparation, and assembly to commit dacoity, burglary as crimes
against property.
 Crimes against public order – IPC recognizes riots, arson, etc.
 Economic crimes – IPC recognizes criminal breach of trust, cheating,
counterfeiting, etc.
 Crimes against a woman – Rape, assault, dowry death, cruelty by
husband and his relatives, etc.
 IPC also recognizes crimes against children. For example,
kidnapping for slavery, kidnapping from lawful guardianship,
procuration for minor girls, etc.
 All other crimes mentioned in IPC come under the scope of criminal
activity.
Certain special and local Acts also determine criminal activities and give
punishments. Some of them are the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Act,
1985, Arms Act, 1959, the Public Gambling Act, 1867, Excise Act,
1958, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, Indian Railways Act,
1989, Essential Commodities Act, 1955, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, etc.

Problems in the identification of criminal

activities
At times, it becomes very difficult to identify what can be constituted as a
criminal activity. Thus, to determine criminal activity, we can look into the
fundamentals that are required for an activity to be denoted as criminal
activity. The fundamental elements are:

Human beings
The term human being is not defined in the IPC, but IPC has defined ‘man’,
‘woman’, ‘persons’, ‘public’, and ‘gender’. As per IPC, the term ‘gender’
denotes both male and female unless stated anything else expressly in any
provision or statutes. In the case of Girdhar Gopal v. State (1952), the issue
was that the term ‘he’ used in Section 354 of IPC denoted only the male or
both male and female. The High Court of Madhya Pradesh had held that the
term ‘he’ will denote both men and women. Thus, a man or a woman will be
held guilty for outraging the modesty of a woman based on the
circumstances of the case.

The IPC has also defined the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’. According to IPC,
‘man’ can be stated as any male of any age and ‘woman’ can be stated as
any female of any age. IPC commenced in the year 1860. At that time, the
concept of the third gender was not recognized by IPC. However, over the
years, it has been observed that the third gender needs to be recognized
under IPC and other laws. Due to their non-recognition, they were
discriminated against from getting justice or rights and could not enjoy the
fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. Thus, in the landmark
case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union Of India (2012), the
honourable Supreme Court had held that all those persons who, at the time
of their birth, were neither male nor female will be denoted as the third
gender and they will be recognized under the Indian law. This was mainly
done to safeguard them and enable them to enjoy their fundamental rights,
social, economic, political, and other legal rights. The ambit of the term ‘man’
and ‘woman’ is very wide, but it does not include anyone in the womb of a
lady.

The IPC has also defined the term ‘person’. Under IPC, a ‘person’ can be both
a natural person like any human being and any artificial person like any
corporation or company, or association. The term ‘person’ also includes a
body of persons or any idols which is often stated as a legal person.
However, in criminal cases, the corporations are only held liable for any
quasi-criminal offences like non-repair of bridges, nuisance, trespass,
forgery, etc. Corporations can never be held liable for offences like murder,
robbery, or everything which falls under the purview of offences against the
State, and for any offence whose punishment has been prescribed as
imprisonment or death. An unborn child in the womb of a mother is also
considered a person under Section 11 of IPC.

Under IPC, the term ‘public’ is used for any class of public or community. IPC
does not lay down the definition but states out what can come under the
term ‘public’. This term cannot be interpreted widely. 

Mens rea
It is one of the most important essentials required to claim an act as a
criminal activity. Criminal law keenly observes the behaviour or conduct of
the person who had committed the crime. It is believed that the conduct of a
person is very important to determine an accused is guilty or innocent. In
criminal law, an activity to be denoted as criminal activity, the act must
consist of some manifestation of physical behaviour; any sort of mental
element present to execute the crime.

‘Mens rea’ means a kind of mental condition constituting an intention or

knowledge to commit a crime. An act only becomes criminal, when it is done
with a guilty mind. However, the guilty intent need not necessarily be to
commit any act which is forbidden by law to do. It can be just a mere
intention to do something wrong. Now, the question that arises is, what is an
intention? Intention can generally be defined as a purpose or a desire to get
a result out of certain circumstances. There have been certain tests to
determine mens rea. The first is to test whether the act committed was
voluntary or not. The second test is whether the accused had the result
foreseen.

Often the concept of an intention and motive is seen to be confusing. It

should be made clear that intention and motive are not the same things and
they should be distinguished. The intention is the execution of the act to fulfil
the desire. On the other hand, the motive is just a feeling of revenge against
any other person. In criminal activity, the liability of intention is taken into
account to a larger extent compared to motive. It is believed that intention
forms the basis of criminal activity and has no motive. For example, if a man
steals food for his starving child, the motive here is good but the intention
here is stealing. Thus, the law recognizes the theft and not the motive. 

In the case of Om Prakash v. State of Uttarakhand, (2003), it was held that
the motive of a crime is not necessary to determine conviction. In this case,
the court turned down the plea of absence of motive for the commission of
the crime where the guilt of the accused had been already proved. Under
Indian law, the doctrine of mens rea has been used in two different ways.
Firstly, in IPC, offences in themselves have been stated with words like
‘voluntarily’, ‘intentionally’, and ‘knowingly’, which thereby shows the usage
of the doctrine. Secondly, the doctrine of mens rea had also been
incorporated in Chapter IV of IPC where the general exceptions are stated.

Actus reus
‘Actus reus’ means an act or a deed committed by any person. Generally, it
means the physical commission of a deed either by committing something
which was prohibited by law to do or refusal of any act which was stated by
law to do. It is the physical result of human conduct. In the case of Moti
Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1963), it was observed that two gunshots
were fired at the victim. The victim, after two to three weeks, succumbed to
injuries. However, to prove that the victim was murdered, it was necessary
to prove that the victim died due to the gunshots fired at him. The mens rea
and actus rea are interlinked to each other. There is no mens rea without
actus reus. The presence of mere malice without the commission of any act
would not amount to criminal activity. For example, if a man had in mind
thought to kill a woman, but he had not done any such act, then it would not
amount to a crime.
Injury
Injury has been defined by the IPC. The term injury has a wider ambit under
IPC. It not only includes bodily harm but also includes harm to one’s mind,
reputation, or property. An injury will be only determined as an element of
an offence if it has been caused illegally. If the injury has not happened due
to any illegal activity, it will not amount to any offence. The injury can be
against one person, group of persons or society at large.

Conclusion
Any criminal activity does not affect just the victim or their family, it also
affects the whole society. It creates lifelong trauma in society because
society and crime are interrelated. They cannot be separated as the accused
at some point in his/her life had been part of the same society and also
where he/she commits such unlawful acts is also the society. Thus, it is very
crucial to prevent such criminal activities. There have been various laws
made to punish the offenders. As of 2021, it has been reported by Delhi, the
capital of India, that the crime rates have dropped down to almost 15% from
the previous year in Delhi. However, in some other states in India, the crime
rate has risen to an alarming rate as compared to the previous year.
Regarding the prevention of criminal activities, the main power lies with the
state governments, therefore more strict and speedy actions should be taken
to combat such activities. If any State feels that certain laws need to be
amended which would help prevent such criminal activity, they should
immediately convey it to the concerned authority.

Neo-Classical School of
Criminology and Its
Development
Published by Admin on March 10, 2022

Neo-Classical School of Criminology and Its Development

Written by Ms Nikita Rai
The word Criminology is deduced from the combination of two Latin
words, crimen which means crime, and logos which means study or
knowledge in the time 1890. Criminology is a socio-legal study that strives
to discover the causes of crime and suggests applicable remedies.
Criminological Propositions are an important part of criminology. The
proposition is a term used to describe an idea or set of ideas that are
intended to explain data or events.
Thus, a proposition is suggested or presented as conceivably true, but that
isn’t known or proven to be true, as well as, the general principles or ideas
that relate to a particular subject. Criminological Propositions examine why
people commit crimes and are veritably important in the ongoing debate of
how crime should be handled and averted. Numerous propositions have
been developed and delved throughout the times. These propositions
continue to be explored, independently and in admixture, because
criminologists pursue the consummate explications in ultimately reducing
types and intensities of crime.
Following the French Revolution, the Neoclassical Academy was developed
as a concession to the Classical and Positivists Seminaries of Criminology.
The French Code of 1789 was innovated based on Beccaria’s principles. Just
like Beccaria’s principles, the French Code of 1789 called for the judge
being the only medium for applying the law, and the law took the
responsibility for defining a penalty for every crime and every degree of
crime.
There was a problem with this still ago there’s a different condition in each
situation that was being overlooked. This allowed for the first time and
reprise malefactors to be treated in the same manner, as well as children
and grown-ups, stable and insane, and so on being treated as if they were
the same.
A new set of liberals argues that the treatment of others as the same was
illegal and complained about injustice. Gabriel Tarde suggested that there
was a difference between total free will and determinism and argued that
no one has free will. He suggested that factors similar as age, gender, social
and profitable surroundings, nonetheless everyone is still responsible for
their conduct. The Neoclassical Academy of Criminology had a base on the
lawbreaker’s character.
Responses to the impersonal features of no discretion came to a point of
action to give judges the discretion that was demanded to attain a fair
course of action and corrections for malefactors. The judges were suitable
to use discretion in cases where age, internal capabilities, and other
justifying circumstances were of issue. These conditions and variations
came to be known as the Neo-Classical School of Criminology.
The Neo-Classical School of Criminology allowed for mollifying factors to
be reviewed by a judge and allowed for discretion to be used. Before the
Neo-Classical School, all malefactors have treated the same no matter what
age, internal condition, gender, and so on. This was seen as illegal and
unjust and allowed for chance change. The Neo-Classical School called for
judges to have discretion which is necessary in some cases. The Neo-
Classical School was also suitable to blend the Classical School of
Criminology with the Positivist School of Criminology.
According to this proposition, there’s a difference between total free will
and determinism and argues that no person has free will. The neo-classical
academy allows for mollifying factors to be reviewed by a Judge as per his
discretion.
Before the arrival of this academy, all the malefactors were treated likewise
no matter what age, internal condition, gender, and so on. Neo-Classicalists
saw this as illegal and unjust and therefore allowed for chance change. This
proposition allows for the consideration of mollifying factors like physical
and social terrain where the existent was placed. The main tenets of the
neo-classical academe of criminology can be epitomized as follows
 1. Neo-classists approached the study of criminology on scientific lines by
recognizing that certain extenuating situations or internal conditions
deprive a person of his normal capacity to control his conduct. Thus they
justified mitigation of equal discipline in cases of certain psychopathic
malefactors. Editorializing on this point, Prof. Gillin observed that neo-
classists represent a response against the strictness of the classical view of
equal discipline for the same offense.
 2. Neo-classists were the first in point of time to bring out a distinction
between the first malefactors and the recidivists. They supported the
individualization of culprits a treatment styles which demanded the
discipline to suit the psychopathic circumstances of the criminated. Thus
although the act ‘or the crime’ remained the sole determining factor for
adjudging crime without any regard to the intent, the neo-classical academe
concentrated at least some attention on internal occasion indirectly.
 3. The attorneys of this academe started with the introductory supposition
that man acting on reason and intelligence is a tone- determining person
and therefore, is responsible for his conduct. But those lacking normal
intelligence or having some internal depravity are reckless in their conduct
as they do not retain the capacity of distinguishing between good or bad
and therefore should be treated differently by the responsible malefactors.
 Thus it would be seen that the main donation of the neo-classical academe
of criminology lies in the fact that it came out with certain concessions in
the free will proposition of classical academe and suggested that an existent
might commit lawless acts due to certain extenuating circumstances which
should be duly taken into consideration at the time of awarding discipline.
Therefore, besides the lawless act as analogous, the personality of the
lawless as a whole, his antecedents, motives, former life- history, general
character, etc., should not be lost sight of in assessing his guilt. It may be
noted that the origin of the jury system in lawless justice is an outgrowth of
the response of the neo-classical approach towards the treatment of
malefactors. As to the failing of the neo-classical academe of criminology, it
must be stated that the interpreters of this proposition believed that the
lawless, whether responsible or reckless, is menace to society and therefore,
needs to be barred from it.