The exact form it takes will depend on the stage of the community's cultural evolution. A civilization may even be said to create forms of illegal conduct corresponding to its own degree of development.
Crime adapts itself to the age, and in that sense is relative.
It violates the cultural values protected by the law, but the form and characteristics of the violation are invariably dictated by the social conditions under which it takes place. The illicit traffic in narcotic drugs clearly illustrates this point. The various systems of law throughout the world have been compelled to provide for these newest forms of crime, and a great many sections have been devoted to them in criminal law and penal codes. According to modern concepts of criminal law the only weapon against crime, apart from the elimination of social factors which may give rise to criminal conduct or moral degeneration, is punishment, which under a system of safeguards can take place only after an offence has been committed. Consequently the creation of offences, essentially a legislative task, is of paramount importance in the fight against crime.