The Chronicles of Crime Vol 1

These 275 crimes committed in Britain are listed in chronological order by Camden Pelham, a lawyer at the Inner Temple in the late 19th century. The first case is from 1700 and the last case is in 1816. A few of the well known cases in the period are given, such as from Dick Turpin and Captain Kidd, to the murder of Spencer Perceval MP, and the Luddites. Most of the cases are terrifying and some crimes are done with utter lunacy. These horrifying acts are informative and give its readers a stupendous outlook on what Britain looks like during the 18th and 19th century.

Crimes are defined as acts or omissions of violent crime and non-violent crime that are in violation of a law or an ordinance.

The elements of a crime are actus reus, mens rea, causation, and concurrence. Actus reus is also known as the external element of the objective element of a crime. It is derived from Latin which means guilty act, or when proved beyond a reasonable doubt along with mens rea or guilty mind, causes criminal liability in the common law-based criminal law jurisdictions of some countries.

Mens rea is the mental element of the commission of a crime. It is an important element of most of the crimes. The standard common law test of criminal liability is stated in Latin, actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea or the act is not culpable unless the mind is guilty.

Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result". Causation is a way of linking conduct with a resulting effect, like an injury. It is only given when a result is yielded and is irrelevant with inchoate crimes.

Concurrence is material to prove the guilty action and the guilty mind. A crime is understood as life threatening, harmful or a danger to property, health, safety, security and welfare of the people. The reason why criminal justice is administered.