Crime is behavior defined by statutory or common law as deserving punishment or penalty. The defining features include the extent to which the behavior harms others, the intent and culpability of the offenders, and the level of public consensus over moral significance. What is criminalized differs across societies and changes over time, reflecting the values of lawmakers as well as economic and political interests.
Journalists often face the ethical challenge of writing about crime when it is a matter of sensitive or personal information, or because the victims are still alive. It is essential to seek access respectfully, deal sensitively and collect victims’ versions of events, bearing in mind their stress and emotions. It is also important to consider the impact of your reporting on public perception: studies have shown a strong link between how crime is reported and levels of fear.
Some behaviors considered harmful to society fall within the definition of crime, such as murder (homicide), robbery, burglary, and arson. But many other acts can be equally damaging, but are not criminalized because they do not meet the definition of a crime – for example, industrial pollution, unsafe working conditions, and food safety violations.
There is a range of methods for investigating and analyzing crime trends and patterns. For instance, comparing crime rates across localities or over time can highlight underlying factors such as differences in housing stock and socioeconomic status, which may influence a community’s risk of being victimized. Other measures can provide a more nuanced picture of crime trends, such as calculating crimes per population by age group, or looking at crime by gender.