Criminal Justice

Introduction

A crime is an action or omission that is considered an offense and is legally punishable. The law is applied systematically on a case by case basis to determine whether an action constitutes a crime, who the perpetrator is and to whom the offense has been caused. In essence, crimes occur in various ways, some of which may be less recognizable than others. Therefore it is essential to understand the principles of criminal law to understand what constitutes an offense.

Identifying the Crimes and Civil Action

In this case it is possible to identify four crimes and one civil action. The woman who approached Officer Jones had a severe cut on her head and lip which had caused her shirt to become drenched in blood. She reported to the Officer that a man in a red shirt and white trouser had beaten and robbed her of her wallet. She claimed that she could not identify the man because he was in a ski-mask when the incident happened. She also alleged that the incident had just occurred a few minutes earlier, therefore, increasing the likelihood that the perpetrator may not have escaped too far from the scene of the crime. Officer Jones saw a man who fit this description roughly but could not really tell because the area was poorly lit. He asked the man to stop and raise his arms, but the man refused and kept walking.

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Four crimes occurred, two of which happened as a result of the attacked woman giving false information to a police officer. The first crime, therefore, is knowingly giving a police officer false details of a criminal incident. Being an area that has a high crime rate, this false report seemed believable and led to the officer's subsequent actions. The second crime was the man’s refusal to comply with the police officer’s instructions to stop and surrender as lawfully instructed. The third crime is the man’s possession of what appears to have been baggies of cocaine. The fourth crime is Officer Jones shooting an unarmed man out of mere suspicion that he was the person who had attacked the woman.

The man who was shot by Officer Jones may take civil action against the police officer, the department, and the city. He may state that the police officer wrongly attacked him as a suspected perpetrator of the crime and that despite appearing to threaten to attack the police officer he was not in possession of a gun. He may also file a lawsuit against the police department for excessive use of force, and the city for the poorly lit neighborhood which has contributed to the rampancy of crime in the area.

Analysis of the Facts of the Case and their Pattern

For an action or omission to be considered a criminal act, it must possess two essential features. Firstly, the criminal act must be committed; this is referred to as acts reus (Gledhill, & Livings, 2016). Secondly, there must be evidence that the perpetrator of the crime had the intent to commit the crime, and was in the frame of mind where they had deliberately decided to do it; this is referred to as mens rea (Samaha, 2016). In this scenario, the attacked woman may be charged with giving false information to a police officer, leading him to believe that the attacker might have been close-by. Incorrect information is the acts reus, while the mens rea is creating a story and approaching a police officer to tell them. The information sounded believable enough for the police officer to act on it. In this scenario, the police officer may not be found culpable of the crime because he followed legal protocol in every situation. He told the man to stop and surrender since he partially fit the description provided by the attacked woman; he identified himself as a police officer and gave the man time to do as instructed. The area was poorly lit, therefore, it was not possible for Officer Jones to ascertain whether the shirt was red as had been described by the woman. The man pulled out what appeared to be a weapon and it is only then that Officer Jones shot him on the shoulder. On shooting him, he called medical personnel to attend to him. His action does not constitute a crime because he was defending himself from the man who was approaching him and refusing to comply, and there was also no intent to commit a crime. The man who shot the police officer committed two crimes, and both were intentional. Firstly, refusing to obey a police officer’s instructions and secondly, being in possession of a narcotic.

Principles of Criminal Law

The first principle of criminal law states that there must be a burden of proof that an individual is guilty of the crime through sufficient evidence; until that is clearly demonstrated, an individual shall be considered to be innocent. The second principle states that until the court of law declares a person guilty, it should be presumed that they are innocent. Even in the presence of evidence, the person is innocent until they are legally proven to have committed the crime (Simester, & Brookbanks, 2012). The third principle states that an individual has the right not to answer the questions they are asked by the police; unless they are found in the action or with the intent to commit a crime, where they are obligated to state their name and address. The fourth principle states that the court cannot charge a person twice for committing the same offense once they are declared innocent unless there is new criminal evidence or proof that the trial process was skewed in favor of the person acquitted.

Conclusion

Five parties are directly or indirectly involved in this scenario; Officer Jones, the attacked woman, the man who was shot at, the police force and the state. For justice to be applied appropriately, it is essential to understand their role in the crime and whether their action or inaction constitutes a crime.