Abstract
‘What is crime?’ considers the definitions of crime. Should the focus be simply on violations of legal codes or should we extend it to violations of moral and social codes? The relativity of crime is also discussed: not everything that was once criminal remains so, and vice versa, and not everything considered criminal in one place is treated as criminal everywhere else. Is criminal justice effective? Through the process of criminal justice, criminals are constructed, but asking questions about what and who becomes labelled as a ‘crime’ or a ‘criminal’ necessarily invites one to contemplate the importance of power. Who makes the rules? Who do the rules affect, or protect?
