Natural Crimes and Legal Crimes

Throughout I will compare and contrast natural crimes with legal crimes, relate each with the terms mala in se and mala prohibita, and provide examples of crimes I believe fall under these categories. Moreover, I will discuss and provide information, such as statistics that display the number of individuals affected by each serious criminal offense listed on the FBI's UCR and a ratio. In addition, an explanation-definition will further be provided in regard to these eight major crimes.

Natural crimes in general, are crimes that are considered to be harmful to society or to other individuals and can be related to the term mala in se. Natural crimes and mala in se are crimes society believes that an individual should understand and acknowledge as wrong. The FBI's part one and part two offense list in the UCR are examples of natural crimes, such as murder and rape. Legal crimes, on the other hand, are in relation to mala prohibita. Legal crimes and mala prohibita are not necessarily wrong but have been deemed wrong by society as a whole. When determining what offenses fall under the legal crimes category, a particular offense is evaluated by society then that offense is considered as morally or ethically wrong. Examples of legal crimes are: statutory rape, drug abuse, and trespassing (World Almanac, 2006).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation uses an updated version of the old crime index known as the "Uniform Crime Reports." The FBI's UCR divides criminal offense into two categories: part one offenses are for serious criminal acts, such as murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle-theft and arson which is considered-listed as a part one and part two offense, and a second category part two offenses, which are minor property violations. The information provided is for the year 2004 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009).

The most serious part one offense is murder. Murder defined is the unlawful act of one individual killing another individual. In 2004, the FBI's crime index reported there were 16,137 murders that took place across the United States. The ratio equaled 5.5 individuals per 100,000 U.S. residents. Statistics include non-negligent manslaughter but do not include suicides, self-defense and other justifiable homicides, negligent and accidental deaths, and attempted murder (World News Digest, 2005).

The second serious offense listed is forcible rape. Forcible rape defined is the "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly against her will" or when a male forces himself upon a woman without her consent and penetrates the women digitally or with an organ. Unfortunately, the FBI does not include males who are raped by other males or by women but instead list these criminal offenses in the assault category or other sexual offense category. The crime index reported for the year 2004 there were 94,635 forcible rapes throughout the United States with a ratio of 32.2 per 100,000 (University of Phoenix, 2005).

Robbery, third on the list involves a face-to-face situation between a victim and an assailant where a weapon was used during the criminal act or the strong arming method was used. Additionally, the FBI's UCR does not consider the unlawful taken of one's pocketbook or picking of one's pockets to be a crime of robbery. In 2004 there were 401,326 robberies in the U.S. making the ratio 136.7 individuals per every 100,000 (University of Phoenix, 2005).

Aggravated assault can be categorized in two ways: simple misdemeanors which involve pushing and punching and aggravated felonies, where a weapon was used during the attack or where the weapon may have been in reach of one's persons, or when the victim of the attack requires medical attention. Moreover, some aggravated assaults are placed in the attempted murder category even when no serious injury occurred. For the year 2004, 854,911 assaults were reported, thereby, making the overall ratio 291.1 per 100,000 individuals.

The fifth major crime listed on the FBI's UCR is burglary. Burglary is determined by an individual's intent to steal. In addition, no forcible entry is needed as the court states entering through an unlocked door or open window still constitutes the crime of Burglary. Burglary consists of three classifications: forcible entry, unlawful entry without the use of force, and an attempt to use force in order to make entry. In 2004, there were 2,143,456 reports and the ratio was 729.9 per 100,000 individuals (University of Phoenix, 2005).

Larceny-theft, number six on the FBI's most serious crimes index list, is another name for theft. Depending on the state, larceny-theft can be defined as a simple larceny or grand larceny. What determines and differentiates the two is a result of the dollar value each state places on the items-property stolen. The FBI does not set a dollar amount when listing larceny-thefts on its UCR. Examples of larceny-thefts are motor vehicles and picking one's pocket. In 2004 a total of 6,947,685 larceny-thefts were reported making the overall ratio across the United States 2,365.9 to every 100,000 individuals. According to the crime report, larceny-theft was the leading crime over all other serious offenses (University of Phoenix, 2005).

The seventh serious crime that occurs on a wide-scale basis is motor vehicle-theft. Motor vehicle-theft, with a ratio of 421.3 per every 100,000 individuals, negatively affected 1,237,114 people throughout the United States in 2004 and holds second place on the UCR list for most serious incidences. The FBI defines motor vehicle as any self-propelled vehicle that runs on the ground and not on rails, such as automobiles, motorcycles, motor scooters, trucks, buses, and snow mobiles. What is not included on the UCR list are trains, airplanes, bulldozers, construction and farm equipment, ships-boats, and space craft. These items are placed on under the larceny-theft section of the FBI's UCR (University of Phoenix, 2005).

The last serious criminal offense on the UCR list is Arson. Arson was added by congress to the crime index list back in 1979 and is considered a serious part one offense and part two property offenses. Arson is the intentional unlawful burning or charring of structures, such as houses, buildings, and storage facilities. Additionally, the most common reported type of arson is that of the motor vehicle. In 2004 68,245 reports of arson were recorded making the ratio 32.4 per every 100,000 individual's (University of Phoenix, 2005).

I believe murder and forcible rape are both crimes that can be considered mala in se or wrong in itself. The unlawful taken of an individual's life by another without just cause and the forceful rape of an individual by another individual are both crimes that have detrimental effects on the individual, family and friends; therefore, one should already know the severity of these crimes.

I consider robbery, burglary, and aggravated assault to be crimes of mala prohibita. Each of these crimes though can be considered wrong in itself do not affect the victim in a negative manner the same way murder and rape would. Any category of stealing could be justified by others as a result of one needing money or items for the sole purpose of surviving. Aggravated assault is natural in sense as humans are all imperfect animals who at times do get into verbal arguments which in return, can lead to physical confrontation. Fighting in many countries and even throughout the U.S. is done for sport. Individuals are able earn a substantial living off the art of fighting and train for many years to do so. Why I believe aggravated assault is a mala prohibita is due to the fact humans are the most sophisticated creatures on earth, therefore, fighting is seen as unacceptable behavior in while in public.

After careful review, one might say mala prohibita and mala in se are extremely close in terms especially when comparing each with natural crimes and legal crimes. I would have to agree due to the only thing that distinguishes the two is, one directly violates the law while the other is considered a societal evil. Murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, Larceny-theft, motor vehicle-theft, and arson have all been covered.

References

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2009). UCR Frequently Asked Questions: The Basics. Retrieved August 23, 2009, from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr_general.html

University of Phoenix. (2005) Week one overview. Retrieved August 24, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Week One, rEsource. CJA303-Criminal Justice Today The Crime Picture.

World Almanac. (2006). World News Digest: Measuring Crime 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2009, from World News Digest database.

World News Digest. (2005). Crime: Murder Numbers Dropped in 2004; Other developments. Retrieved August 24, 2009, from World News Digest database.