There are a set of facts that must be proven to convict a defendant of a crime, which are said to be the crime elements. These elements include;
- Concurrence: This is a situation where two elements occur simultaneously—for example, guilty mental and guilty act.
- Causation: This is an action from which an effect arose, and it is due to the state of mind of an individual—this leading one to become guilty.
- Criminal act: This takes place when an act is committed in violation of the law. Where the court decides on the punishment due to the consequence of conviction.
- Harm: it is an essential substantive element of every crime.
- Criminal intent: This is usually a state of mind that is accompanied by acts that lead to crime to constitute a violation.
Positivist criminology shows that no one was born a criminal, but as one grows and becomes exposed to the nurture, some start getting themselves into crime. This influences the individual’s life negatively since he or she is doing the wrong thing. Positivist criminology took place in public, and a lot of people change from being criminals since they learned from those who were being punished. The public punishment would come with wrongdoing and adjust their actions. This brought an idea about criminals’ punishment. Positivist criminology emerged, which has been the study of criminal behaviors and how to deal with the criminals.
Deviance can either be criminal or non-criminal. Therefore, it can be termed as a behavior that violates social norms, and it is usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society. For a person to perform deviant behavior, they usually have different kinds of theories that cause them to behave in such a way. These theories include; social integration, deviant behavior, positive deviance, and social disorganization.
First, social integration is a structured process in which all members participate in making sure that they achieve and maintain peaceful social relations. Secondly, deviant behavior violates social norms, and it is disvalued behavior by society. A certain individual brings positive deviance in a community whose behaviors are observed. They are said to have uncommon behaviors and strategies that help them look for a better solution to their problems. Lastly, social disorganization is the disruption of social relations and values, resulting in the loss of social controls over individuals.
Juvenile delinquency is the habit of a young person committing an offense. Mostly, young people commit a crime when they are below the age that ordinary criminal prosecution is possible. There are different causes of juvenile delinquency where they include;
- Violence in the home
- Poor educational standards
- Peer pressure
- Substance abuse
- Lack of moral guidance
These factors mostly usually contribute to juvenile delinquency. This is due to how a child is brought up by the parents and the society the child has come from.