It reviews the classification systems of Sutherland, Clinared, and Quinney and the more narrowly focused categories of crime such as folk-mundane, white-collar, political, and criminal organizations. The most common crime types in research studies are the index offenses from the FBI Uniform Crime reports. This review indicates that a classification system based on explicit criminological theory development is still needed. It presents a theory of harm as a core legal concept in the criminal codes. On the basis of actual or assumed harms, it provides a classification of crimes from which various consequences of behavioral acts can be defined by law as having a negative impact upon society. This primary classification consists of seven categories of crime patterns: organization or white-collar crime, organized crime, workplace, street, social protest (political crime), violent crime, and folk or mundane crime. Although the fundamental problems of basic crime categories is not resolved, this classification provides a baseline for further elaboration. 22 references