A crime is an act that violates a very important political or moral command. In many nations, informal relationships and sanctions have been found to be ineffective for avoiding and controlling some types of antisocial behavior, so the system of social control has had to be formalised by the government who is able to use the force to costrain individuals who would not otherwise adhere to the norm. To protect its citizens, laws and prevention policies are designed to regulate human behavior and the State provides crime prevention policies, remedies and sanctions if the laws are broken. Not all breaches of the law are considered crimes, however, for example breaches of contract. The label of "crime" and the accompanying social stigma are usually reserved for those activities causing more serious loss and damage to the citizens of the State. Its use is intended to reflect a consensus of condemnation for the identified behavior and, in the event that an accused is convicted following a trial applying principles of due process, to justify the State imposing punishment, although the term is used technically also when criminal law is used to regulate minor infractions, e.g. traffic violations. Usually, the perpetrator of the crime is a natural person, but in some jurisdictions and in some moral environments, also legal persons are considered to have the capability of committing crimes. In common parlance, even the State can be said to commit a crime, although in judicial sense this is often not the case.

Economics is the science of choice. "The science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses." Economic analysis of crime and punishment will be the main focus of this course.