Crime is behavior that violates a public law and may be punished by the state (government). In most modern societies there are rules and procedures to which all criminal investigations and trials must adhere. Crimes can be categorized as greater violations of public law (felony) or lesser violations of private law (misdemeanor).

For example, murder is generally considered to be the most serious crime a person can commit. Typically, it involves killing someone and taking their body away for burial or cremation. Other major crimes include robbery, arson and burglary.

Crimes are often reported to police and recorded in official statistics. These statistics are then used to identify trends, measure the effectiveness of police efforts and inform policy. Crime definitions are complex and can have a wide impact on how crime is measured, recorded and reported.

Some crimes are so appalling that they cannot be made public without causing further distress or potentially putting the lives of others at risk. If this happens, the police will ask journalists to keep the story out of the news. These requests are usually to protect continuing investigations or to prevent a suspect’s life being put in danger.

Read as much crime fiction as you can. It’s not just for inspiration, it will help you to understand how to develop characters with backstory and a sense of suspense. Read authors who are challenging the genre, not just the well known names. Ian Rankin and James Patterson are good examples of writers who are making their mark in the genre. Also consider reading true crime to learn how to handle the research, narrative structure and ethical issues that come with telling real stories about criminal behaviour.