Past-Paper MCQs & Long-Question Bank — Ch 2 — Criminology

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How to use this page. (1) Learn the must-know facts. (2) Attempt the 25 MCQs under a 20-minute timer, then check the key. (3) Write the blueprints for the long questions from memory. Full model answers for the real past questions are on the sibling page "Past Papers & Model Answers — Ch 2".

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Honest note on the MCQs. These are original practice MCQs in FPSC Part-I style, built from facts Chapter 2 repeatedly tests. They are not copied from past papers and are not predictions. I could not access the official Part-I MCQ sets; if you have them, tick off which of these facts already appeared.

⚡ Must-Know Facts (the MCQ cheat sheet)

Conventional definition: crime = conduct that causes social harm, is prohibited by statute and carries a penalty enforced by the state. Simple form: a social harm made punishable by law.
Blackstone: an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it.
Tappan (1947): crime is an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law, committed without defence or excuse, and penalised by the state as a felony or misdemeanour.
Relativity: an act is a crime only under the penal code of that state and time.
Mala in se = wrong in itself (murder, rape). Mala prohibita = wrong because prohibited (kite-flying ban, traffic offences).
Characteristics of criminal law: public, uniform, penal, procedurally protected (due process, proof beyond reasonable doubt). Sutherland's list: political, specific, uniform, penal.
Maxims: nullum crimen sine lege (no crime without law); actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea (the act is not guilty unless the mind is guilty).
Elements: actus reus, mens rea, causation, concurrence, harm, legality.
Cases: R v Faulkner (1877): mens rea must match the harm (rum theft, ship fire); R v White (1910): causation (poisoned drink, mother died of heart failure, convicted of attempted murder); Thabo Meli v R (1954): concurrence (one continuous transaction).
Objectives: retribution, deterrence (specific and general), incapacitation, rehabilitation, restoration (the only victim-centred one).
Sources: common law, constitution, statutory law (most modern law), administrative law.
Substantive vs procedural: PPC 1860 defines offences and punishment; CrPC 1898 governs process. Evidence: Qanun-e-Shahadat 1984.
History: Code of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100–2050 BCE, earliest extant code) → Hammurabi (c. 1760 BCE) → Twelve Tables (451–450 BCE) → Islamic law (7th century CE) → English common law after 1066.
Deviance → Crime: deviance is broadest (all crime is deviance); sin = religious violation; vice = self-regarding, often victimless; evil = moral-philosophical category.
Social harm vs legal wrong: harm is the injury and the reason to criminalise; a legal wrong is conduct the law actually forbids. They overlap but do not coincide.
Heterogeneity of norms: diverse groups hold different norms, so what counts as deviant is contested.
Criminology vs criminal law: criminology explains why (empirical); criminal law prescribes what and how much (normative).
Pakistan hooks: PPC s.302 (murder), s.375 (rape), Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance 2020 (Anti-Rape Crisis Cells), PECA 2016, ATA 1997.

📝 25 Practice MCQs (FPSC Part-I style)

Q1. The conventional criminal-law definition of crime does not require:

A. social harm
B. prohibition by statute
C. a penalty enforced by the state
D. proof that the act is also a religious sin

Q2. Blackstone defined crime as an act committed or omitted in violation of a:

A. private contract
B. public law forbidding or commanding it
C. social custom
D. religious opinion

Q3. The definition of crime as an intentional act in violation of criminal law, committed without defence or excuse and penalised by the state, is associated with:

A. Sutherland
B. Paul Tappan
C. Garofalo
D. Merton

Q4. Acts that are wrong in themselves, whether or not a law exists, are called:

A. mala prohibita
B. mala in se
C. status offences
D. torts

Q5. Which of these is the best example of mala prohibita?

A. murder
B. rape
C. a ban on kite-flying (basant) for public safety
D. robbery

Q6. Nullum crimen sine lege means:

A. no punishment without a victim
B. no crime without law
C. no law without a court
D. no crime without a motive

Q7. Actus reus refers to:

A. the guilty mind
B. the guilty act or omission
C. the victim's harm
D. the trial procedure

Q8. R v Faulkner (1877) illustrates that:

A. causation can be presumed
B. mens rea must correspond to the specific harm caused
C. omissions are never crimes
D. motive replaces intent

Q9. In R v White (1910), the son was convicted of attempted murder rather than murder because:

A. he lacked mens rea
B. his act was not the cause of death
C. the victim consented
D. he confessed late

Q10. Thabo Meli v R (1954) is cited for the requirement of:

A. concurrence
B. legality
C. restoration
D. deterrence

Q11. The element requiring that the act be the factual and legal cause of the harm is:

A. harm
B. causation
C. legality
D. concurrence

Q12. Which is not a characteristic of criminal law?

A. public
B. uniform
C. penal
D. private, with the victim alone as prosecutor

Q13. Which objective of criminal law is the only victim-centred one?

A. retribution
B. incapacitation
C. restoration
D. deterrence

Q14. Jailing a repeat thief so that he stops reoffending is an example of:

A. general deterrence
B. specific deterrence
C. restoration
D. rehabilitation

Q15. Locking up a dangerous armed robber so he cannot rob while confined is:

A. incapacitation
B. rehabilitation
C. retribution only
D. restoration

Q16. Written laws passed by a legislature are called:

A. common law
B. statutory law
C. customary law
D. administrative guidance

Q17. In Pakistan, the substantive criminal law is mainly the:

A. Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
B. Qanun-e-Shahadat 1984
C. Pakistan Penal Code 1860
D. Police Order 2002

Q18. English common law developed after the:

A. Magna Carta
B. Norman Conquest (1066)
C. Glorious Revolution
D. Industrial Revolution

Q19. The earliest extant written legal code is generally taken to be the code of:

A. Hammurabi
B. Ur-Nammu
C. the Twelve Tables
D. Justinian

Q20. Which concept is the broadest?

A. crime
B. vice
C. deviance
D. sin (as a legal category)

Q21. Vice is best described as:

A. a religious violation
B. self-regarding, often victimless, morally degrading behaviour
C. a violation of the penal code only
D. a civil wrong

Q22. Which statement is correct?

A. All deviance is crime
B. All crime is deviance, but not all deviance is crime
C. Crime and sin are the same
D. Deviance is always illegal

Q23. Criminology differs from criminal law mainly because criminology:

A. prescribes punishments
B. explains why crime occurs using empirical methods
C. drafts statutes
D. conducts trials

Q24. Social disorganisation theory was developed by the Chicago School researchers:

A. Shaw and McKay
B. Cohen and Felson
C. Hirschi and Gottfredson
D. Becker and Lemert

Q25. Anti-Rape Crisis Cells in Pakistan were provided for under the:

A. Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance 2020
B. Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960
C. Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016
D. Anti-Terrorism Act 1997

✅ Answer Key with One-Line Reasons

Q	Ans	Why
1	D	Harm, statutory prohibition and a state penalty are required; sin is not.
2	B	Blackstone: violation of a public law forbidding or commanding the act.
3	B	Paul Tappan (1947).
4	B	Mala in se = wrong in itself.
5	C	Not wrong in itself; wrong because a law prohibits it.
6	B	No crime without law (legality).
7	B	Actus reus = guilty act; mens rea = guilty mind.
8	B	The sailor's intent was theft, not burning the ship.
9	B	The mother died of heart failure; the poison did not cause death.
10	A	Concurrence: act and intent treated as one continuous transaction.
11	B	Causation links act to harm.
12	D	Criminal law is public: the state prosecutes.
13	C	Restoration puts the victim back where they were.
14	B	Specific = this offender; general = society at large.
15	A	Incapacitation removes the ability to offend.
16	B	Statutory law = acts and ordinances of the legislature.
17	C	PPC defines offences; CrPC is procedural.
18	B	Common law emerged after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
19	B	Ur-Nammu (c. 2100–2050 BCE), older than Hammurabi.
20	C	Deviance covers any norm violation; crime is the narrow legal subset.
21	B	Vice: gambling, substance abuse and similar.
22	B	Crime is a subset of deviance.
23	B	Criminology explains; law prescribes.
24	A	Shaw and McKay (Chicago School, 1920s–30s).
25	A	The 2020 Ordinance created the legal basis for Anti-Rape Crisis Cells.

Scoring guide: 22 to 25 = exam ready; 18 to 21 = revise the must-know facts; below 18 = re-read the chapter and retake in 3 days.

🧩 Long-Question Bank (blueprints)

#	Question	Status	Blueprint (write these headings first)
1	Criminal law (short note, 10 marks)	Past: 2016, Q9(c)	Definition (statutory plus common law) → Pakistan sources (PPC, CrPC, Qanun-e-Shahadat, PECA, ATA) → public wrong vs civil wrong → three functions for criminology → one-line conclusion
2	Differentiate crime, sin, vice and deviance; is crime a major social problem in Pakistan?	Past: 2022	Four-term table (basis, judge, remedy, victim) → overlapping-circles idea → crime as a social problem → Pakistan evidence → conflict twist → conclusion
3	Essential elements of crime with case law	Likely	Legality → actus reus → mens rea (Faulkner) → causation (White) → concurrence (Thabo Meli) → harm → how a missing element changes the charge → Pakistan (PPC) example
4	Objectives and sources of criminal law	Likely	Five objectives with one example each → offender-centred vs victim-centred → four sources → why statutes are preferred → Pakistan’s colonial legacy
5	Why is crime a contested rather than a consensual category?	Likely	Relativity to penal code → heterogeneity of norms → conflict view → interactionist view → evaluation → conclusion
6	Distinguish social harm from legal wrong	Likely	Definitions → overlap (murder) → harmful but legal (unregulated business harm) → legal but low-harm (victimless mala prohibita) → conclusion
7	Criminology vs criminal law: relationship	Likely	Comparison table → interdependence → how research reforms law (PECA, anti-rape law) → conclusion
8	Mala in se and mala prohibita	Likely	Meaning → examples → why the distinction matters (moral consensus, enforcement, legitimacy) → Pakistan examples
9	Substantive vs procedural criminal law; colonial legacy in Pakistan	Likely	PPC 1860 vs CrPC 1898 → history (Hammurabi to common law) → British imprint → reform debates
10	Recent developments in Pakistan's criminal law	Likely (current)	2020 amendments on rape, Anti-Rape Crisis Cells → PECA 2016 → ATA 1997 → evaluation

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OUTLINE (write first, about 3 minutes)

Introduction: two fields, one subject (crime)

Criminal law: definition, characteristics, role

Criminology: definition, role

Differences (table): nature, method, focus, aim

Interdependence: law defines the object; criminology tests and improves the law

Pakistan examples

Conclusion

1. Introduction. Criminal law tells us what is a crime and what happens to offenders. Criminology asks why crime happens and whether the law works. The two are partners.

2. Criminal law. A body of rules, promulgated by political authority, that applies uniformly and is enforced by state punishment. It is public (the state prosecutes), penal, uniform and procedurally protected (due process, proof beyond reasonable doubt).

3. Criminology. The scientific study of the making of laws, the breaking of laws and the reaction to law-breaking (Sutherland). It uses social-science methods such as surveys and statistics.

4. Differences

Criminology	Criminal law
Explains why crime occurs (empirical)	Prescribes what is criminal and the penalty (normative)
Uses social-science methods	Uses legal doctrine and precedent
Focus on causes and prevention	Focus on offences and penalties
Abstract social phenomenon	Concrete statutes, codes and enforcement

5. Interdependence. Criminal law draws the boundary that gives criminology its subject. Criminology evaluates whether punishment deters or rehabilitates and feeds findings back to lawmakers; the sociology of law also asks whose interests the law serves (consensus vs conflict).

6. Pakistan. Rising cybercrime and public pressure led to PECA 2016; concerns about rape cases and conviction rates led to the 2020 amendments and Anti-Rape Crisis Cells; criminological evidence on prison overcrowding supports probation and parole under the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960.

7. Conclusion. Law without criminology risks being blind to causes; criminology without law lacks a clear object. Effective crime control needs both.

📝 Model Answer B: Mala in Se and Mala Prohibita (10 marks)

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OUTLINE (write first, 2 minutes)

Meaning of both terms

Examples (Pakistan)

Why the distinction matters

Critical point: boundary is blurred and changes over time

Conclusion

Meaning. Mala in se means wrong in itself: acts condemned by almost every society whether or not a law exists, such as murder, rape and robbery. Mala prohibita means wrong because prohibited: acts that are harmless in themselves but forbidden by statute for public safety or order, such as the ban on kite-flying (basant), traffic and licensing offences.

Why it matters.

Legitimacy and compliance: mala in se laws have strong moral backing; mala prohibita laws depend on enforcement and public awareness.
Mens rea: serious mala in se offences usually require a guilty mind; many mala prohibita offences are strict liability.
Policy: it separates moral from regulatory aims of criminal law.

Critical point. The line is not fixed: acts can move between categories as values change (for example, some environmental and cybercrime laws began as regulatory and are now treated as serious wrongs). This supports the view that crime is socially and legally constructed.

Conclusion. The distinction helps explain why some laws command near-universal respect and others need justification and enforcement.

🔁 Revision Plan for This Page

Day 1: facts + 25 MCQs under a timer.
Day 2: write blueprints for long questions 1 to 5 from memory.
Day 3: write full answers to questions 2 and 3 in 30 minutes each; compare with the sibling page.
Day 4 onwards: redo wrong MCQs and update your Weak Areas list.