n.
the intentional commission of an act usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited, and punishable under criminal law .
Crimes in the common-law tradition were originally defined primarily by judicial decision. Most common-law crimes are now codified. According to a generally accepted principle, nullum crimen sine lege , there can be no crime without a law. A crime generally consists of both conduct (the actus reus ) and a concurrent state of mind (the mens rea ). Criminal acts include arson , assault and battery , bribery , burglary , child abuse , counterfeiting , embezzlement , extortion , forgery , fraud , hijacking , homicide , kidnapping , perjury , piracy , rape , sedition , smuggling , treason , theft , and usury . See also arrest ; conspiracy ; criminology ; felony and misdemeanour ; indictment ; rights of the accused ; self-incrimination ; sentence ; statute of limitations ; war crime .