What is crime?

A crime in and of itself is defined as: is any act or omission (of an act) in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it, but this does not cover the whole aspect of defining crime. There are two types of crimes classified as felonies (serious) and misdemeanors (less serious). What is interesting about these types of crimes is that the laws that govern crimes vary from state to state and that the crime is not even considered a crime unless it is precedented. From a Legal standpoint crime consists of two elements: an act called "actus reus" and a mental state called "mens rea." It is up to a prosecutor to make the case beyond a reasonable doubt; they represent the state and must convince a judge and a jury of the guilt of the person who committed the crime. Crimes can be classified into two basic groups; "mala in se" which are crimes that are wrong in and of themselves, rape, murder, assault, etc., and "mala prohibita" its wrong because it is prohibited, it infringes upon others rights because it is prohibited; drunk driving and such. To clarify further there are crimes against the state as in treason or sedition, crimes against people like murder, assault, rape, and kidnapping. There are crimes against habitation like burglary, arson and home invasions. Further, there are crimes against property; theft, larceny, robbery, vandalism, forgery, extortion, fraud, and embezzlement. There are crimes against public order; disorderly conduct, vagrancy, incitement to riot, motor vehicle offenses, and alcohol and drugs. There are crimes against administration of justice; contempt of court, resisting arrest and escaping from jail. Finally there are crimes against public morals; prostitution, gambling, obscenity, and incest.

Criminology
Criminology, the scientific study of criminals and criminal behavior. Criminologists attempt to build theories that explain why crimes occur and test those theories by observing behavior. Criminological theories help shape society's response to crime both in terms of preventing criminal behavior and responding to it after it occurs.

Social Stigma
Social stigma is the extreme disapproval of (or discontent with) a person on socially characteristic grounds that are perceived, and serve to distinguish them, from other members of a society. Stigma may then be affixed to such a person, by the greater society, who differs from their cultural norms. Social stigma can result from the perception (rightly or wrongly) of mental illness, physical disabilities, diseases such as leprosy (see leprosy stigma),[1] illegitimacy, sexual orientation, gender identity,[2] skin tone,education, nationality, ethnicity, religion (or lack of religion[3][4]) or criminality. Attributes associated with social stigma often vary depending on the geopolitical and corresponding sociopolitical contexts employed by society, in different parts of the world. Erving Goffman defined stigma as 'the process by which the reaction of others, spoils normal identity'. The three forms of social stigma according to Goffman are: 1. Overt or external deformations, such as scars, physical manifestations of anorexia nervosa, leprosy (leprosy stigma), or of a physical disability or social disability, such as obesity. 2. Deviations in personal traits, including mental illness, drug addiction, alcoholism, and criminal background are stigmatized in this way. 3. "Tribal stigmas" are traits, imagined or real, of ethnic group, nationality, or of religion that is deemed to be a deviation from the prevailing normative ethnicity, nationality or religion.

TYPES OF STIGMA
In Unraveling the Contexts of Stigma, authors Campbell and Deacon describe Goffman's universal and historical forms of Stigma as the following.

Overt or External Deformities - such as leprosy, clubfoot, cleft lip or palate and muscular dystrophy.

Known Deviations in Personal Traits - being perceived rightly or wrongly, as weak willed, domineering or having unnatural passions, treacherous or rigid beliefs, and being dishonest, e.g., mental disorders, imprisonment, addiction, homosexuality,

unemployment, suicidal attempts and radical political behavior.

Tribal stigma - affiliation with a specific nationality, religion, or race that constitute a deviation from the normative, i.e. being African American, or being of Arab descent in the United States after the 9/11 attacks.

Symbolic Interaction
Symbolic Interactionism is a social theory that focuses on the analysis of the patterns of communication, interpretation and adjustment between individuals. The theory is a framework for understanding how individuals interact with each other and within society through the meanings of symbols. Both the verbal and nonverbal responses that a listener then delivers are similarly constructed in expectation of how the original speaker will react. The ongoing process of Symbolic Interaction is like the game of charades; only it is a full-fledged conversation.

Basic Premises and Approach

The term "symbolic interactionism" has come into use as a label for a relatively distinctive approach to the study of human life and human conduct (Blumer, 1969). With Symbolic interactionism, reality is seen as social, developed interaction with others. Most symbolic interactionists believe a physical reality does indeed exist by an individual's social definitions, and that social definitions do develop in part or relation to something real. People thus do not respond to this reality directly, but rather to the social understanding of reality. Humans therefore exist in three realities: a physical objective reality, a social reality, and a unique reality. Both individuals and society cannot be separated far from each other for two reasons. One, being that they are both created through social interaction, and two, one cannot be understood in terms without the other. Behavior is not defined by forces from the environment such as drives, or instincts, but rather by a reflective, socially understood meaning of both the internal and external incentives that are currently presented.

Herbert Blumer (1969) set out three basic premises of the perspective:

"Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things." "The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and the society."

"These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters."

The first premise includes everything that a human being may note in his world, including physical objects, actions and concepts. Essentially, individuals behave towards objects and others based on the personal meanings that the individuals has already given these items. The second premise explains the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with other humans. Blumer, following Mead, claimed people interact with each other by interpreting or defining each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions. Their 'response' is not made directly to the actions of one another but instead is based on the meaning which they attach to such actions. Thus, human interaction is mediated by the use of symbols and signification, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning of one another's actions (Blumer 1962). Meaning is either taken for granted and pushed aside as unimportant or it is regarded as a mere neutral link between the factors responsible for human behavior and this behavior as the product of such factors. (Blumer 1969). Language is the source of meaning and is negotiated through the use of it. We have the ability to name things and designate objects or actions to a certain idea or phenomenon. The use of symbols is a popular procedure for interpretation and intelligent expression. Blumer contrasted this process with behaviorist explanations of human behavior, which does not allow for interpretation between stimulus and response. In Blumer's third premise the idea of minding comes into play. Symbolic interactionists describe thinking as an inner conversation. (Griffin 62). Mead called this inner dialogue minding. Minding is the delay in one's thought process that happens when one thinks about what they will do next. The third premise is that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he encounters. We naturally talk to ourselves in order to sort out the meaning of a difficult situation. But first, we need

language. Before we can think, we must be able to interact symbolically. (Griffin 62). The emphasis on symbols, negotiated meaning, and social construction of society brought on attention to the roles people play. Role-taking is a key mechanism that permits people to see another person's perspective to understand what an action might mean to another person. Roletaking is a part of our lives at an early age. Playing house and pretending to be someone else are examples of this phenomena. There is an improvisational quality of roles; however, actors often take on a script that they follow. Because of the uncertainty of roles in social contexts, the burden of role-making is on the person in the situation. In this sense, we are proactive participants in our environment.