To Commit a Crime

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Skyrim) (and probably other computer games in that title), depending on the situation, a certain action may or may not be considered a crime:

• Picking an item up may or may not be considered theft.
• Attacking an actor may or may not be considered assault.
• Killing an actor may or may not be considered murder.

Except in cases with bugs (such as livestock's being able to report crimes), is there any rhyme or reason as to when a crime is recognised? Considering real-life positive law, there may well be.

Law of nature vs. law of the people
In real-life jurisprudence, any given law may be given authority by any of two sources:

• Natural law, which is the law as set by nature and comprehended by reason and justice. If a given law does not possess the authority of natural law, it simply does not feel just or right for it to be enforced. Such a sense of unjustness is strong for people with a developed sense of ethics.
• Positive law, which is the law given authority by the institution of government. If a citizen violates a law with this authority, they can be punished by the government (e.g. fine, imprisonment); where a law does not possess this authority, the government will simply refuse to enforce it, even if a citizen violates such a law.

Natural law appears in Skyrim somewhat subtly; it is the player's sense of ethics which affects their choices ingame, despite the numerous legal constructs Skyrim's nine Holds, well, construct. It is precisely those constructs, conveying the fear and pain of punishment, as which positive law manifest, and so are much more visible to the player. The remainder of this blog post will thus focus on positive law, and an overview of Skyrim's 'bounty' system is in good order.

The Dragonsreach Dungeon provides facilities for both humanoid and dragon prisoners.

Pay up or go to jail
In Skyrim, a crime only has repercussions (officially, at least) if it is detected, either directly by a Hold's Guard's guard, or by another actor (usually an NPC (non-player character)) which reports it to said guard. It is notable that each committing of a crime is recognised only in the Hold where the crime was committed. Every such crime has a fine (or bounty) attached to it, and include:

• Stealing
• Mounting a stolen horse
• Pickpocketing
• Picking a lock
• Trespassing
• Escaping from jail
• Assault (only for initial aggression; citizens are afforded the right of self defence)
• If a vampire, feeding on an actor
• If wearing the Ring of Namira, feeding on a corpse
• Murder (excludes cases of self defence)
• If lycanthropic, transforming into a werewolf

When a guard spots said criminal, the former apprehends the latter and offers three main options:

• Pay the bounty: The bounty is deducted from the criminal's gold holdings and is transported to the Hold's dungeon, where they are stripped of all stolen possessions (as 'evidence') and otherwise allowed to walk free.
• Go to jail: The criminal is transported to one of the Hold's dungeon's cells and stripped of all possessions except one lockpick (which the prisoner presumably smuggles in). Those possessions are sorted into evidence and prisoner's belongings. To be released lawfully, the prisoner must sleep for the duration of the sentence, in which case, they are automatically given their prisoner's belongings (but not evidence) on release; alternatively, they can attempt to escape, in which case, to say the least, they must retrieve their possessions manually.
• Resist arrest: All guards and some other actors in the immediate vicinity of the apprehension become hostile and attempt to kill the criminal without fear of prosecution for assault or murder. The aggressive actors cease aggression when the criminal evades apprehension, yields or is dead. On yielding, an involved guard apprehends the criminal again.

There are other options available to the player that are beyond the scope of this blog post.

Insert prisoner here.

Force of law
In a real-life society, the citizens surrender some amount of legal power to the government and, in doing so, trust this institution with this role. This can be seen happening in Skyrim's society, with citizens surrendering such lawmaking and law enforcement powers and duties to their respective Jarls and their Hold Guards. Some other smaller groups may also officially track bounties. Groups that practise such delegation include:

• The nine Holds of Skyrim: Eastmarch, the Falkreath, Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, the Pale, the Reach, the Rift, Whiterun and Winterhold
• The Tribal Orcs of Dushnikh Yal, Largashbur, Mor Khazgur and Narzulbur
• The Companions
• The Penitus Oculatus

As can be observed ingame, a reporting actor almost always is part of one of these groups. Also, these groups appear to give their laws positive law authority through their governments' enforcing them with fear and pain of punishment.

The Imperial Sword, used by the Imperial Legion and Imperial-backed Hold Guards when the apprehended opts to 'pay in blood'.

The player may encounter cases (such as dungeons and the open world) where all items not nailed down are up for grabs and all actors can be attacked and killed without assault and murder bounties being laid upon their character. In such cases, society (if any) is lawless, with no government construct to defend (with force, no less) the rights of the actors, and therefore no positive law authority at all is granted to laws attempted to be established. Such actors must then take it upon themselves to further such rights. This is often through personal threats and acts of violence to those they regard as unwelcome.

Giant: Get out or get this up yours!

It can thus be concluded that the positive law as set by a lawmaking group gives authority to its laws, and an action is criminal where it violates a duly authorised law.

Not my own doing
It is important to note that, in Skyrim, where the player character instructs their follower to commit a crime, it is the player character that receives the bounty. Is there any sensible basis for this?

This phenomenon appears very similar to the common law concept of vicarious liability, where someone (the superior) is liable for what another (the subordinate) does or refuses to do. This arises, and is limited to, where the superior has the power to control what the subordinate does or does not do, and is implicated in where that act or omission causes harm to someone else. The most popular case of vicarious liability is that of an employer for their employees for as far as the employment is concerned.

The game mechanics make it difficult for a follower to act on their own accord (that is, 'go on a frolic of their own') - notable exceptions include defending the player character and self defence - and so often act by direct command by the player character. In addition, the player character can be seen as 'employing' the follower, especially where the latter is a hireling (mercenary), with a fee being paid for the follower's services. Thus, the player character can sensibly be seen as vicariously liable for the crimes they instruct their follower to commit.

Inspired by real life
In carefully looking at Skyrim's bounty system, it becomes evident that it is well grounded in real-life principles of law. Thus, most commonsense perceptions of crime can comfortably be applied ingame, if the player so chooses.

Bibliography

• NSW v Lepore [2003] HCA 4.
• Skyrim:Crime - UESPWiki, wiki article, UESPWiki, viewed 20 February 2012, <http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Crime>.
• Terry, Andrew & Giugni, Des (2009), Business and the Law, 5th edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.