Entry
Entries A-Z
Criminal Law (Sociology)
A set of statutes, also called penal law, enacted by the legislature to define crimes, to establish the punishment for such crimes, and to set forth the procedures for investigating and prosecuting such crimes. Each jurisdiction differs in its criminal law, and crime definitions vary according to state. The first written laws were established in early civilization by the Babylonian King Hammurabi, who was responsible for developing the Code of Hammurabi (1760 BCE).
Criminal law serves to publicize society's norms and values and serves several philosophical purposes: rehabilitation (to correct an offender's behavior), retribution (to punish offenders for the crime they have committed), deterrence (to prevent offenders from committing crime in the future), incapacitation (to incarcerate offenders so that they are unable to commit crimes in ...