CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

Criminal law adopts certain classifications of crimes. We may refer to three of them.

Crimes are classed as treasons, felonies and misdemeanours. This is a historical classification, which was at one time of great importance, but has now lost much of its weight.
High Treason is the most serious crime known to English law. Felonies were those crimes a conviction for which formerly involved the forfeiture of the convict's property and also his capital punishment, except in the rare cases when a statute expressly provided otherwise. All other crimes are misdemeanours.

The second classification of crimes is into indictable offences and offences punishable on summary conviction. This classification has largely superseded the older classification into felonies and misdemeanours.

The third and last classification of crimes is based on the immediate objects of the crimes. Thus we have crimes against bodily security, crimes against property, crimes against religion and morality, crimes against the reputation and crimes against the State and Public Order.