PSYC39H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: World Health Organization, Intellectual Disability, Arson
Document Summary
Crime intrigues people, sometimes it attracts us or sometimes it repels us, and occasionally, it does both at once. Most crime leaves victims in its wake; most crime harms. Crime can frighten, especially if we believe that what happened to one victim might happen to us or those we love: for example, news of a child abduction places parents at heightened alert. Crime also angers, as when a beloved community member is brutally killed, a person or animal is subjected to abuse, or individuals who had their credit card data stolen. To be convicted of crime, a person must have acted intentionally and without justification or excuse; for example, even an intentional killing may be justified under certain circumstances, as in defense of one"s life. Although there is a very narrow range of offences that do not require intent (called strict liability offences), the vast majority of crimes requires it.
