Criminal Law

Chapter 1

Introduction and General Principles

• 1.1 About this Book

• 1.2 What is Crime?

• 1.3 Presumption of Innocence and the Burden of Proof

• 1.4 Classifi cation of Crimes and Courts

• 1.5 The Criminal Trial

• 1.6 Sources of the Criminal Law

• 1.7 The Criminal Justice System

DPP v Woolmington [1935] All ER Rep 1—the burden of proof is on the prosecution.

1.1 About this Book

• 1.1.1 Introduction

• 1.1.2 Sequence of Chapters

• 1.1.3 Explanation of the Law

1.1.1 Introduction

You will no doubt already have a good idea of what crime is. The riots in London in August

2011 were a graphic example of wide- scale criminal damage, theft, burglary, and public order offences. The government’s response was to promise that gang injunctions, to prevent gangrelated violence under the Policing and Crime Act 2009, would be used nationally for both adults and children. The courts’ response was tough sentencing. Rarely a day passes without yet another news headline of the latest tragic UK murder. In 2008, 26 teenagers were stabbed and killed in London alone. In 2010, the fi gure was 19 (Guardian, 30 December 2010). Public concern regarding the rising tide of violent crime is palpable, as are the comments of police commissioners that they need more powers to control it. Court- room dramas regularly grace our television screens and crime thrillers are best- selling novels. Crime is always in the public domain. Some of you will have experienced the criminal justice system, whether as victims or witnesses. Some of you will have been stopped, questioned, searched or even detained by the police. (See Gillan &

Quinton v UK (2010) EHRR 45 in respect of the overbroad use by the police of stop and search powers.) We are all under increasing surveillance in public places. It is hard to escape the reality that crime is going on around us all the time or the perception that we live in a police state.

This book is not about the criminal justice system nor is it about the criminal process, litigation or evidence although sometimes reference is made to one aspect or another in order to key DPP v Woolmington [1935] All ER Rep 1—the burden of proof is on the prosecution.

cases

3About this Book emphasise a relevant legal point. The book is about the principles and structure of criminal law. What is crime? How is it committed? What state of mind is necessary? When are you entitled to a defence? How are the major offences defi ned? How does the law work when applied to problem- solving? How to pass exams!