What is a crime?

The Miriam Webster online dictionary defines crime as:

1. 1 :  an illegal act for which someone can be punished by the government; especially :  a gross violation of law
2. 2 :  a grave offense especially against morality
3. 3 :  criminal activity <efforts to fight crime>
4. 4 :  something reprehensible, foolish, or disgraceful <It's a crime to waste good food.>

In my blog, I will be focusing on the first definition of crime.

How do you commit a crime?

You commit a crime by having the intent to do something that is against the law, while in a normal state of mind. However, if someone witnesses you commit a crime, and knowingly does not make any action to prevent the crime then, they are accomplices to you and have also committed the crime.


To put it simply, you don't have to pull the trigger to shoot the person.