criminalize

1. (transitive) To make (something) a crime; to make illegal under criminal law; to ban.Examples: ""Ag-gag laws criminalize undercover investigations by prohibiting one or more of three types of behavior: trespass, recording of videos, and failure to submit a video to law enforcement.""; "The Nixon campaign in 1968[…] had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. […] [B]y getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities."; "Advocates for homeless people, the American Psychiatric Association and several left-leaning states, including New York, Illinois and Minnesota, argue that criminalizing homelessness only worsens the problem."transitive

2. (transitive) To treat as a criminal.transitive