Time and motive required for crime (7)
I believe the answer is:
treason
'for crime' is the definition.
(treason is a kind of crime)
'time and motive' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'motive' becomes 'reason' (reason is a kind of motive).
't'+'reason'='TREASON'
'required' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for treason that I've seen before include "Senator (anag)" , "Disloyalty (to one's country)" , "Act of betrayal of a government" , "LEse-majestE" , "Criminal attempt to overthrow a government" .)