UNIT 1

CRIME

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

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WHAT IS A CRIME?
An act that is in breach of law and that can lead a
person liable to be tried in court of law.
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 uses the word
Offence in place of Crime. Section 40 of the IPC
defines Offence as an act punishable by the Code.

 Here

is a list of 30 key crime facts

about India based on NCRB data
1.That

India remains one of the most violent nations to live in has

been further reinforced by NCRBs Crime in India report - 2012. The
total incidence of violent crimes has increased by 65 percent in 2012
over the previous year.
2. Safety and security of women in India remains questionable as
overall crime graph against women has witnessed 6.8 per cent rise in
2012.
3. Madhya Pradesh with 3425 cases in 2012 is the new rape capital
of India. Overall at the country level, incidence of rape has risen by
2.96 per cent in 2012 over the previous year.
4. Kidnapping& abduction of girls and women continues unabated. A
7.5 percent rise in cases of kidnapping &abduction of girls and
women has been reported in 2012.
Good news for women as number of women police stations have increased from 455 in
2011 to 510 in 2012.

6. A major relief to Indian brides as dowry deaths have fallen by four per cent in
2012.
7. Crime against children has increased by 15.33 percent in 2012 over the previous
year.

8. Incidence of murder and rape committed against children increased by 13 per

cent and 55 per cent respectively in 2012 over the previous year.

9. Cyber crimes (IT Act and IPC) in India have increased by 57.11 per cent in 2012. Cyber
forgery with 47.9 per cent (263 out of total 549) and cyber fraud with 39.1 per cent (215 out
of 549) were the main cases under IPC category for cyber crimes in 2012.
10. Maharashtra remains the centre of cyber crime with a maximum cases reported in 2012.
11. Crime involving children have increased from 2.1 per cent in 2011 to 2.3 per cent in
2012.
12. Children apprehended under both Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special & Local Laws
(SLL) has increased from 33,887 in 2011 to 35,123 in 2012.
13. The involvement of girls in juvenile crime has increased from 5.8 per cent in 2011 to 5.9
per cent in 2012.
14. Crime against Scheduled Tribes has gone up by 2.8 per cent in 2012 over the previous

15. In contrast, crime against Scheduled Castes has gone down by 0.18 per cent in 2012
over the previous year.
16. The percentage of persons arrested under Indian Penal Code (IPC) &
Special Local Laws (SLL) has gone down by 0.51 per cent in 2012
over 2011.
17. Travel via train seems to be a better option as incidence of crime
under Railways Act has decreased by 7.6 per cent in 2012 over 2011.
18. NCRB annual report for the year 2012 shows a 2.6 per cent
increase in cognizable crime rate in comparison to 2011.
21. The number of complaints registered against police personnel
reduced from 61765 in 2011 to 57363 in 2012.
21. The gap between sanctioned and actual strength of civil police
including district armed police have increased from 3, 79,636 in 2011
to 4, 03,346 in 2012.
22. The number of deaths reported in police custody have increased
from 29 in 2011 to 38 in 2012.
23. Showing negligence on the part of police department,
the number
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of persons escaped from lockup increased from 198 in 2011 to 250 in

24. Total number of cognisable crime (In a cognizable offense the police can take cognisance of
the offense on its own, it need not wait for the court orders) under IPC dropped from 856444 in
2011 to 845495 in 2012.
25. The number of motor vehicles with state police have increased from 148908 in 2011 to
162402 in 2012. Car, Jeep and Motor cycle number has also increased during the period.
26. The number of police personnel killed on duty has reduced from 867 in 2011 to 821 in 2012.
27. Representing excessive work pressure among policemen, the number of suicide committed by
police personnel in service have increased from 192 in 2011 to 214 in 2012. Among states, Tamil
Nadu again tops the list for police suicides.
28. Indias latest crime records indicate decline in loss of property due to criminal breach of trust
and cheating. While property worth Rs 6585 crore was lost in 2011, merely Rs 589 crore was lost
due to criminal breach of trust and cheating in 2012.
29. Projecting growing insanity against innocence, Delhi (City) with 38.5 per cent contribution is
marked as the most unsafe city for children in 2012.
30. Representing a negative trend, conviction rate in cases of crimes committed against children
has decreased from 34 per cent to 29 per cent in 2012 over the previous year.

Focus Areas
White

collar crime
Crime against women
Juvenile crime

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White collar crime

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

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 White-collar

crime refers to financially

motivated nonviolent crime committed by
business and government professionals.[1]
Within criminology, it was first defined by
sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a
crime committed by a person of
respectability and high social status in the
course of his occupation." Typical whitecollar crimes include fraud, bribery,
insider
trading,
embezzlement,
cybercrime,
copyright
infringement,
money laundering, identity theft, and
forgery.

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White-Collar Crime
Other

Terms for White-Collar Crime

Elite Deviance
Respectable Crime
Upperworld Crime

 White-Collar

Crime illegal activities of

people/institutions whose
acknowledged purpose is profit
through legitimate business
transactions.
Organized

Crime
illegal activities of
people/organization whose
acknowledged purpose is profit
through illegitimate business
enterprise.

Types of White Collar Crime In India

Bank Fraud:To engage in an act or pattern of activity where the purpose is to

defraud a bank of funds.
Blackmail:A demand for money or other consideration under threat to do
bodily harm, to injure property, to accuse of a crime, or to expose secrets.
Bribery:When money, goods, services, information or anything else of value
is offered with intent to influence the actions, opinions, or decisions of the
taker. You may be charged with bribery whether you offer the bribe or accept
it.
Cellular Phone Fraud:The unauthorized use, tampering, or manipulation of
a cellular phone or service. This can be accomplished by either use of a stolen
phone,or where an actor signs up for service under false identification or where
the actor clones a valid electronic serial number (ESN) by using an ESN reader
and reprograms another cellular phone with a valid ESN number.
Computer fraud:Where computer hackers steal information sources
contained on computers such as: bank information, credit cards, and
proprietary information.
Counterfeiting:Occurs when someone copies or imitates an item without
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having been authorized to do so and passes the copy off for
genuine or
original item. Counterfeiting is most often associated with money however can

Reasons For Growth Of White Collar Crimes In

India

White collar crimes are committed out of greed. The people who
usually commit these crimes are financially secure.
# Financial or physical duress.
# White collar crimes are estimated to cost society many times more
than crimes such as robbery and burglary. The amount of death
caused by corporate mishap, such as inadequate pharmaceutical
testing, far outnumbers those caused by murder.
# The emergence of cutting edge technology, growing businesses,
and political pressures has opened up new avenues for these
criminal organizations to prosper.
# This increase is due to a booming economy and technological
advancement such as the Internet and fast money transfer systems.
Law enforcement is sometimes reluctant to pursue these cases
because they are so hard to track and investigate.
# It is very difficult to detect as white collar crimes always
committed in privacy of an office or home and usually there is no
eyewitness.
# But naturally a question arises that if we have specific legislations
to trace out White Collar Criminality then why these offenders go
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unpunished.

Ramalinga Raju And The Incredible Story Of India's Greatest

White Collar Crime

On January 7, 2009, Ramalinga Raju, Chairman and founder promoter

of Satyam Computer Services (SCS) vanished. He left a confessional
letter. He said he had falsified accounts to the tune of thousands of
crores. At the time, SCS was an IT major. It was headquartered in
Hyderabad and listed on the New York Stock Exchange with over
45,000 employees and over $2 billion in reported turnover.

On 26 February 2014, theSupreme Court of Indiaordered the arrest

ofSubrata Roy, Chairman & Founder ofSahara India Pariwar, for
failing to appear in connection with the Rs.24,000-crore deposits his
company has not refunded to its investors. He was eventually
arrested on 28 February 2014 by Uttar Pradesh police on a
Supreme Court'swarrant, in a dispute withMarket Regulator - SEBI.[1]
I

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

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SPEAK ASIA SCAM (2011)

Protagonists: Harender Kaur, Manoj Kumar Sharma,

Tarak Bajpai& others

Amount Rs. 2000 + Cr

What was it about?

An online business survey firm that collected thousands of
crores of rupees from over 24 lakh investors, asking them to
fill surveys and guaranteeing to quadruple their income in one
year, Speak Asiawas accused of running a Ponzi scheme. A
criminal case was registered against the firm in 2011, some
accounts frozen and its business shutdown.

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

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-SARADHA CHIT FUNDSCAM (April 2013)

Protagonist Sudipta Sen

Amount Rs. 2060 2400 Cr

What was it about?

One of the biggest Ponzi schemes in West Bengal that enjoyed
political patronage and lured millions of investors to deposit
money with the promise of abnormally high returns including
fancy holidays etc. The chit fund eventually collapsed leading
to defaults after a crackdown by SEBI and the Reserve Bank of
India. The default, apart from leaving small depositors high
and dry, also led to 10 media outlets owned by Saradha being
forced to wind up, leaving 1000 journalists jobless.
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White-Collar Crime
Types

Clinard & Quinney

Occupational
Corporate

White-Collar Crime
Clinard

& Quinney Types of WCC

Occupational Crime
is committed by individuals in the
course of their occupation for personal
gain.
Corporate Crime
crime committed by corporations.

Occupational Crime
Law

Breaking for Personal Gain

Employee Theft
Pilferage
Embezzling
Fraud (Professions)
Physicians Health care, improper
billing, Medicaid Fraud, unnecessary
surgery.

Occupational Crime
Lawyers

Billing clients for more time

Computer

Crime

Corporate Crime
Organizational
Criminality

Corporate

Financial Crime
Price Fixing, Price Gouging
False Advertising
Corporate Fraud Antitrust violations

Corporate Crime
Organizational
Criminality

Corporate

Violence Workers and Unsafe Workplaces

Consumers and Unsafe Products
Automobile Industry
Pharmaceutical Industry
Food Industry
Public and Environmental Pollution

Components of White-Collar
Crime
Other

divisions of White-Collar
criminality Herbert Edelhertz
Ad-hoc violations Committed
episodically for personal gain.
(Welfare fraud, tax cheating)
Abuses of trust Committed by
a person in a place of trust in an
organization against the
organization. (Embezzlement,
bribery,taking kickbacks)

Components of White-Collar
Crime
Collateral

Business CrimesCommitted by organizations to

further their business interests.
(Antitrust violations, use of false
weights/measures, concealment of
environmental crimes)
Con Games Committed for the
sole purpose of cheating clients.
(Fraudulent land sales, sales of
bogus securities, sales of
questionable tax shelters)

CRIME AGAINST WOMEN

TYPES OF CRIMES COMMONLY PREVALENT IN

INDIA AGAINST WOMEN

Female foeticide and infanticide

Gender discrimination
Domestic violence
Dowry
Child marriages/forced marriages
Sexual offences
Rape
Molestation
Trafficking
Forced prostitution

SOCIAL FACTORS
What are Social Factors?
Man is a social animal. Social structures, mores and norms have
profound impact on a persons life. This comes under social factors.

Patriarchal structure of society

Feudal

mindset
Gender discrimination
Subservient role of women
Objectification of women
Continuation of family name
Khap panchayat

POLITICAL FACTORS
What are Political Factors?
An activity related to government policy and
its administrative practices that can have its effect on
people.
Some Major Factors
Under representation of women in
judiciary/executive/parliament
Gender discrimination in other elected bodies
Low representation of women in law enforcing bodies
Criminalization of politics

ECONOMIC FACTORS
What are Economic Factors?
Economic factors are those factors that affect employment,
standard of living, income generation and income
equality/inequality.
Some Major Factors:

Non-inheritance of assets
Economic dependence on men
Siphoning off funds allocated to economically deprived women
Stereotyping of vocations
Large scale migration of men

ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES TO
PROTECT WOMEN
Women Reservation Bill in Parliament (Pending)
Reservation of 33%for women at each level of legislative starting
with the Lok Sabha, down to state and local legislatures.
If the Bill is passed, one-third of the total available seats would
be reserved for women in national, state and local government.
In continuation of the existing provisions already mandating
reservations for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, one-third
of such SC and ST candidates must be women.
Women farmer reservation bill tabled by M.S. Swaminathan as a
private member bill in Rajya abha in 2011

SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY JUSTICE J.S.VERMA COMMITTEE

SUBMITTED ON 23RD JAN, 2013

Rape-

10 years to life imprisonment

Gang rape- 20 years to life imprisonment
Rape and murder- 20yrs to life
imprisonment
Rape of a minor- minimum 10 yrs to life
imprisonment

Trafficking-7

to 10 years for trafficking a

person, at least 10 years for more than 1 person,
10 yrs to life for trafficking a minor, 14 yrs to
life for more than 1 minor
Acid attack- 10 years to life, pay compensation
to victim for atleast medical expenses
No death penalty for crimes against women
Juvenile age- Till 18 years

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SOME OF THE POINTS OF THE

PRESIDENTIAL ORDINANCE DECLARED ON 3RD
FEB,2013

Rape

that leads to death of the victim or leave the victim in vegetative

state can attract death penalty.

It has proposed enhanced punishment for other crimes against women

like stalking, voyeurism, acid attacks, indecent gestures like words
and inappropriate touch and brings into its ambit 'marital rape'.

It also proposes to replace the word rape with sexual assault to

expand the definition of all types of sexual crimes against women.

If the acid attack victim kills the accused in the process of selfdefence, then she will be protected under the right to self defence.

SUGGESTIONS TO REDUCE CRIME

AGAINST WOMEN
Implementation

of the laws is the key

Need of fast track courts
Introduction of new school curriculum
highlighting equality of women
Reforming society by launching a strong
movement by social/political/spiritual leaders

JUVENILE CRIME

JUVENILE
1986 :A BOY WHO HAS NOT
ATTAINED THE AGE OF 16YRS OR A
GIRL WHO HAS NOT ATTAINED THE
AGE OF 18YEARS

2000: 18 yrs

DELINQUENT
THE

CHILDREN ACT 1960 DEFINES

DELINQUENT AS A CHILD WHO HAS

COMMITED AN OFFENCE

Delinquency

is not merely juvenile crime.

Includes

all deviations from normal youthful

behaviour.

Eg:

Children who are habitually disobedient,

who desert homes, mix with immoral people,
those with behavioural problems, indulging in
antisocial practices.

INCIDENCE
In

US 2% of children
between 7 & 17 years
attend juvenile courts.
India Increasing during
the past 2-3 yrs due to
changes in cultural pattern
of people, urbanization and
industrialization.
Highest incidence 15
yrs & above
Among boys 4-5 times
more than girls.

INCIDENCE
In

Highest
incidence
15 yrs &
above
Among boys
4-5 times
more than
girls.

THEORIES
STRAIN

THEORY
DIFFERENTIAL THEORY
LABELLING THEORY
MALE PHENOMENON

STRAIN THEORY
STRAIN

THEORY HOLDS

THAT CRIME IS CAUSED BY

THE DIFFICULTY FACED IN
ACHIEVING SOCIALLY
VALUED GOALS BY
LEGITIMATE MEANS BY
THOSE IN POVERTY

DIFFERENTIAL THEORY

IT SUGGESTS YOUNG PEOPLE

ARE MOTIVATED TO COMMIT
CRIMES BY DELINQUENT
PEERS AND LEARN CRIMINAL
SKILLS FROM THEM

LABELLING THEORY
THE

IDEA IS THAT ONCE

LABELED AS DEVIANT A
YOUNG PERSON MAY
ACCEPT THAT ROLE AND
BE MORE LIKELY TO
ASSOCIATE WITH
OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN
SIMILARLY LABELLED

CAUSES
BIOLOGICAL
SOCIAL
OTHERS

CAUSES

CAUSES

BIOLOGICAL
HEREDITARY

DEFECTS,FEEBLE MINDEDNESS,

PHYSICAL DEFECTS, GLANDULAR IMBALANCE

A

SURVEY OF CRIMINAL PATIENTS

DEMONSTRATED SOME OF THEM HAVING AN

EXTRA Y CHROMOSOME

SOCIAL
BROKEN

FAMILY EG:DEATH OF

PARENTS, SEPARATION OF PARENTS,

STEP MOHER,DISTURBED HOME
CONDITIONS
POVERTY

OTHER CAUSES
CINEMAS

AND

TELEVISION
ABSENCE

OF

RECREATION

URBANISATION AND
INDUSTRIALISATION

SLUM DWELLING etc

OTHER CAUSES
DRUG

ADDICTION

MORDERN WAY OF LIFE

ALCOHOLISM

PREVENTIVE
MEASURES

Improvement of family life:

Well adjusted family.
Parents prepared for parenthood.
Meeting needs of children.

Schooling:
Healthy teacher pupil relationship.

Social welfare services:

Recreation facilities, parent
counseling, child guidance,
educational facilities & adequate
general health services.