What is crime?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the changing nature of crime and how societal structures, such as the law, keep up with these changes.
Key learning points
- A crime occurs when an illegal act, punishable by law, is committed, regardless of whether it's seen as immoral or not.
- Crime rates fluctuate due to factors like legal changes, technological advances and shifts in societal structures.
- Society has systems in place that aim to reduce crime such as education, crime deterrents and adapting the law.
Keywords
Law - rules, usually made by parliament, that are used to order the way in which a society behaves
Illegal - not allowed/forbidden by law
Crime - an illegal act that is punishable by law
Social structure - the way different customs, relationships and institutions work together to make up society
Common misconception
An action is only considered a crime if it's seen as morally wrong.
In reality, a crime is defined by breaking the law, regardless of whether it seems unethical to the individual.
Teacher tip
Use real life scenarios or current events to help students understand what defines a crime. Compare actions that are illegal but may not feel "wrong" with actions that feel wrong but aren't criminal.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is not a main function of Parliament?
Q2.In the UK, the law must be followed by ...
Q3.Which of the following are examples of criminal law?
Q4.What is the final stage of an Act of Parliament?
Q5.When can a law be amended or created?
Q6.Parliament consists of two houses: the House of Lords and ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.An Act of Parliament is another name for a ...
Q2.What is the definition of a crime?
Q3.Why is it important to record and monitor crime data?
Q4.Match the crime or societal issue to the crime reduction strategy.
increase in food banks
advice on online banking apps
age restriction laws
equality laws
Q5.Match the word to its correct definition.
rules made by parliament that everyone must follow
forbidden by law
the way different customs, relationships, institutions work together
Q6.Which of these external factors might impact crime rates?
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: What is crime?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: What is crime?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the What can we do to reduce crime? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.