CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

CONTENT

Introduction 

Objectives

Main Content

1. Definition
2. Classification
3. Classification by Actus ReusConclusion

2. Summary
3. Tutor Marked Assignment
4. Reference 

INTRODUCTION

The statutes do not lay down how crimes are to be classified. As should be expected, crimes have been classified in various ways and no one mode of classification is superior to the other. We shall discuss some of these briefly.

OBJECTIVES

When you have studied this Unit, you will be able to:

1. classify crimes
2. critique each of the existing definition

MAIN CONTENT

Definition of Offence

An act or omission which renders the person, doing the act or  making the omission liable to punishment under the criminal or Penal Code, Order I Council, Law or Statute is called an offence.

In Nigeria, no person can be charged with offence unless:

That offence is prescribed in a written law Punishment for the offence is also prescribed

The act or omission must be prescribed prospectively

Classification

Offences may be classified according to:

• Source: Source of an  offence  maybe  Common  Law or       All offences in Nigeria are statutory.
• Type of Harm: Examples are offences against property, offences against the person,

c). Mode of Trial: that is to say

• Indictable Offences: Offences that can be prosecuted only, are offences which on conviction they can punished by:
  • a term of imprisonment exceeding two years, or
• imposition of a fine exceeding N400 Naira, not being an declared by the law creating it to be punishment in summary conviction. Indicted means the filling of an information against a person who is committed for trial to the High Court
• Summary Conviction offences: these are offences punishable by a magistrates’ court on summary conviction, and includes any matter in respect of which a magistrates’ Court can make an order in the exercise of its summary jurisdiction by a magistrate with the consent of an accursed: Obiyomi v Joloko (1954) 14 WACA
• Hybrid Offences: these are offences which can be tried summarily or on indictment. The punishment for the type of offences are provided for trial both summarily and on indictment. An offence declared to be punishable “either on summary conviction or on indictment” is not an indictable offence. (Ebiri (1967) NMLR. 35)
• Mode of Blameworthiness
• Gravity of the consequence of particular offences, occupation or motive
• Official Statistics: in official Criminal Statistics, offences are recorded according to the harm done, namely;

• offences against the person; these are offences decreted against the body of another, eg. Homicides, murders, manslaughter, infanticide, assault, abortion, kidnapping, seduction and abductioner, robbery
• offences against property; these are offences against another’s personal property, eg. Stealing, embezzlement, cheating, false pretends, robbery, material damages, forgery and witering
• offences against public order; these are disorganisational crimes which tend to disturb the peace not unlawful assembly.

Mode of Operation

Operationally, offences are classified into;

1. Felony
2. Misdemeanour
3. Simple offence

This classification is borrowed from the common law. It is also the classification adopted in the criminal code which provides:

Offences are of three kinds, namely

1. Felony: A Felony is any offence, which is declared by law to be a felony, or is punishable, without proof of previous conviction, with death or with imprisonment for three years or
2. Misdemeanour: A misdemeanour is any offence, which is declared by law to be a misdemenaour, or is punishable by imprisonment for not less than six months, but less than three years
3. simple offences: An offence, other than a felony and a misdemeanour is a simple offence

The statutory classification may be helpful to the legal practitioner. To the generality of the public, it is unhelpful. Indeed, it distorts facts.

If Chukwu steals an Orange valued N20.00, he commits an offence of stealing. This is a felony and Chukwu may be liable for imprisonment for three years or more.

If Titi, by means of any fraudulent trick or device obtains form Ngozi, property valued say N20 million, Titi commits an offence of obtaining. This is a misdemeanour and Titi may be liable to imprisonment for two years.

By statutory classification of offences, felonies are most serious crimes and do attract a punishment ranging from imprisonment for three years or more. Misdemeanouir, ostensibly a less serious category carries a punishment of less than three years. In essence, stealing an orange valued N20.00 is by this classification, a more serious offence than obtaining N20million. Is not the law an ass or is it the classification system that is anachronistic?

Crimes According to Act area.

Crimes may be classified also according to their act area and these may manifest in

Result crimes

Conduct crimes

Other circumstances

• Result Crimes

These are crimes which arise from the consequences that flow from the act or omission of the defendant. In these type of cases, what the defendant actually did or omitted to do and the result of that deed or omission. For these types of crime there are:

1. Causes in fact (or factual Cause)
2. Causes in law (or legal causes)

Unless the factual cause is also the legal cause, the presecution for the offence fails. Examples are murder, manslaughter etc.

Conduct Cases

Irrespective of the result of an act or omissioner, the doer or omitter is criminally responsible for his/her initial act or omission;

“If   Abubakar   drives   dangerously,   he   commits    the   offence   of dangerous driving simplicater”

“f Ibrahim lies under an oath before a judicial tribunal, he commits perjury. It is not material that the tribunal believes or disbelieves, or whether any body was injured by it or not. He perjured and so he/she is liable for perjury”

Circumstances

If a crime, not a result or conduct crimes which occur directly or indirectly form the act or omission of an offender, it could belong to a group of offences that are external to the physical act of the Accursed. In these cases, the actus reus consists of a “state of Affairs”

The group of crimes, which are neither result nor conduct crimes arise out of a state of affairs which had been found to exist with or without the participation of the offender. It is even possible that the offender would not have desired the state of Affairs. But the state of Affairs now exists, it is prescribed under pain of punishment and the law must have its free course. See the cases of R v Larsonneur (1933).

Accused a French, entered the UK Lawfully and scheduled to leave on 22 March 1933. she did leave that day for Ireland, instead of returning to France, Irish immigration officers refused her entry and deported her back to the UK. The Immigration (UK) took her to inland to Holyhead where she was arrested and charged for being found in the UK without permission. The court rejected her defence that her being found in  the UK was involuntary and that she was forcefully taken to Holyhead by the Immigration Authorities. She was found guilty.

In Wenzar v Chief Constable of Kent (1983). The  accused was taken to  the hospital on a stretcher. The doctor found he was only drunck, and asked him to leave. He would not. Having been called in, the Police took him in a car, drove along the highway to the Police Station, arrested and charged him for being found drunk in a public highway. He was found guilty. He appealed unsuccessfully on the ground that he had not been  to the highway on his own volition. The appellate Court said it was irrelevant how he came there: and it sufficed he should be perceived to  be drunk while on a public highway.

The two cases were based on the existence of a state of affairs – in UK without permission, or on the public highway while drunk.

Other example of this group of offences are public nuisance, theft or stealing.

CONCLUSION

Offences may be classified according to their nature and actus reus. The classification are of no relevance except for convence, exposition and discussion of law.

SUMMARY

Crimes may be classified according to the source, harm, tria procedure, degree of blameworthiness, gravity or convergence and autus reus.

TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Write a critique on either of the following:

1. Classification of crimes
2. The judicial decision in both cases of v Larsonneur (1933) and Winzar v. Chief Constable of Kent (1983)

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

1. Beatty V. Gillbbanks (1882) 9 QBD 308
2. RVBBryce (2004) Crime L.R. 936
3. Ormerod, D: (2005) Smith & Hogan Criminal Law, Oxford University Press,.