Summary of Introduction to Substantive Criminal Law

## Introduction Criminal law defines behaviours that the state prohibits and punishes to protect society. This guide focuses on selected offences against society, forgery and white-collar crime, and the main defences that can excuse or mitigate criminal liability. It is written for a not-attending student and breaks complex ideas into clear parts with examples and comparisons. ## Offences Against Society These are crimes that disturb public order or endanger communal life. They often involve behaviour in public spaces or actions that harm social peace. ### Disorderly behaviour > Definition: Disorderly behaviour is acting in a public place or police station in an offensive, threatening, or disruptive way. - Examples: - Fighting with another person in the street. - Using abusive or offensive language loudly in a public place. - Smashing bottles on a road, causing danger to others. Practical application: Police can arrest or warn individuals whose conduct risks public safety or provokes alarm. ### Being drunk in public > Definition: There is generally no crime simply for being drunk in public, but police may detain someone who cannot care for themselves due to intoxication. - Important points: - Detention is for the person’s safety (to take them home, to a station, or to a sobering centre). - Grounds for detention must be reasonable belief that the person is intoxicated and incapable of self-care. ### Throwing missiles > Definition: Throwing a missile (any object) without lawful cause with the intent to injure, annoy, frighten, or damage property is an offence. - Example: Throwing stones at passing cars with the intention to damage them or frighten drivers. ### Dumping rubbish (fly-tipping) > Definition: Placing rubbish on land without the owner’s or occupier’s consent is an offence. - Example: Leaving furniture or household waste in a public field or private driveway without permission. ## Forgery and False Instruments > Definition: Forgery is making, altering, or using a false instrument (document or object) intending to cause loss or harm or to gain an advantage. - Typical instruments: money, postal orders, stamps, share certificates, passports, cheques, credit cards, or a copy of an entry in a register of births, marriages, or deaths. - Additional offence: copying or using a known false instrument is a crime. Practical examples: - Producing a fake passport to travel under a different identity. - Altering a cheque amount to increase payment. ## White-collar crimes > Definition: Nonviolent crimes usually committed in commercial or professional contexts for financial gain, often involving deception or concealment. - Common types: - Credit card fraud - Insurance fraud - Securities fraud - Bribery and public corruption - Money laundering - Embezzlement - Trade secret theft - Counterfeiting Why they are hard to prosecute: - Perpetrators use complex transactions and concealment techniques. - Evidence often requires forensic accounting and document trails. Practical application: Regulators, auditors, and law enforcement collaborate; corporate compliance programs and whistleblowing systems help prevent or reveal offences. Fun fact: White-collar crimes often cause larger financial losses to society than many street crimes because they can involve corporations, investors, and widespread fraud schemes. ## Defences in Criminal Law Defences can either completely negate guilt or reduce responsibility. They often target either the mental element (mens rea) or the physical element (actus reus) of an offence. ### Complete defences (result: not guilty) These defences, if successfully proved, remove criminal liability entirely. 1. Infancy > Definition: Children below a certain age lack the maturity to form criminal intent and may be incapable of criminal responsibility. - Common law presumptions: - Under 7 years: irrebuttably incapable (doli incapax). - 7–14 years: rebuttable presumption of inc