Chapter 10, Crimes Against Property

1. Chapter 10, Crimes Against Property

2. Crimes Against Property • Occurs when property is destroyed, stolen, or taken against the will of the owner. • Preventative behaviors that reduce property crime: • security lighting • home and automobile alarm systems • steering wheel locks • greater attention to locking doors and windows • a tendency to carry less cash due to the greater use of credit/debit cards.

3. Arson • Def. willful and malicious burning of another person’s property. • Most states it is a crime to burn any building (even if you own the structure you are burning) • Burning with the intent to defraud an insurance company is usually a separate crime, regardless of the type of property burned or who owned it. • Can be racial violence Church fires • Church Arson Prevention Act in 1996 helps to federally prosecute racially motivated church arsons.

4. Vandalism (AKA malicious mischief) • Def: willful destruction of or damage to the property of another. • Causes millions of dollars a year in damages. • Includes breaking windows, ripping down fences, flooding basements, etc. • Can be a felony or misdemeanor depending on the extent of the damage.

5. Discussion Time • Why do young people sometimes commits act of vandalism? • What do you think can be done to reduce vandalism? • Should parents be criminally responsible for willful damage caused by their children?

6. Larceny • Def. unlawful taking and carrying away of the property of another with intent to steal it. • Can be divided into two classes: • Grand Larceny: the theft of anything above a certain value (often $100 or more) and is a felony • Petty Larceny: The theft of anything of small value (usually less than $100) and is a misdemeanor. • Warning!!! Also includes keeping lost property when a reasonable method exists for finding the owner AND keeping property delivered to you by mistake.

7. Larceny (cont.) • Shoplifting: form of larceny where you take items for a store without paying or intending to pay for them. • Concealment: crime of attempting to shoplift. • Consequences of shoplifting: • Businesses losing billions of dollars each year • Customers have to pay higher prices

8. Discussion Time • Why do you think people shoplift. • What would be effective ways to deal with or prevent shoplifting. • What would you do if you saw a stranger shoplifting? • What would you do if you saw someone you knew shoplifting.

9. Other Property Crimes • Embezzlement the unlawful taking of property by someone to whom it was entrusted. • Ex. a cashier taking money from the cash register. • Extortion (AKA blackmail) use of threats to obtain the property of another. • Covers threats to do future physical harm, destroy property, or injure someone’s character or reputation.

10. Robbery • Def. unlawful taking of property from a person’s immediate possession by force or intimidation. • Always a felony but you can receive stricter punishment for armed robberies. • Involves two harms: • Theft of property • Actual or potential physical harm to the victim • Most states the element of force is the difference between robbery and larceny. • Ex. pickpocket who takes your wallet unnoticed is liable for the crime of larceny. A mugger who knocks you down and takes your wallet by force is guilty of robbery.

11. Other Property Crimes • Burglary: originally defined as breaking and entering the dwelling of another during the night with intent to commit a felony. • Has been broadened to include the unauthorized entry into any structure with the intent to commit a crime, regardless of the time of day. • Forgery: a person falsely makes or alters a writing or document with intent to defraud. • Uttering: offering to someone as genuine a document (ex. check) known to be a fake.

12. Other Property Crimes • Receiving stolen property: receiving or buying property that you have reason believe to be stolen. • Felony if property is over $100 • Misdemeanorif property is under $100 • Unauthorized use of a vehicle (UUV): committed if the person only intends to take the vehicle temporarily. (joyriding) • If a person intends to take the car permanently it can be viewed as larceny or auto theft (normally stiffer penalties than a UUV) • Carjacking: a person uses force or intimidation to steal a car from a driver (federal crime and can receive life in prison)

13. Discussion Time • Would you ever get into a car of a friend’s who you know is stolen? • Would you ever buy something for an extremely low rice from a friend? • How would you be sure that it was not stolen? • Why does society make receiving stolen property a crime? • Do you believe that it is a crime?

14. Computer Crime • Def. broaden to include any violation of criminal law that involves the use of computer technology to commit the prohibited act. • Large amount of computer crime is committed by employees who are angry with their company for some reason. • Hackers gain illegal access to government or corporate computer systems. • Disagreement over how to punish those who do it for fun for a challenge and mean no harm, those who do it to point out security flaws, and those that do it for criminal purposes to make money.

15. Computer Crime (cont.) • Breaking into a corporate or government systems to which one does no have access is a federal crime regardless of motive (as long as one has the guilty state of mind of intending to break into the site). • Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986: provided the gov’t with a specific law to prosecute hackers. • Made it a crime to modify, destroy, or disclose information gained from unauthorized entry into a computer.

16. Computer Crime (cont.) • National Information Infrastructure Act of 1996 makes it illegal to threaten to cause damage to a computer system unless the owner gives something of value. • Also includes to intentionally give or receive passwords that would permit unauthorized access to systems. • Jointly enforced by the secret service and FBI

17. Computer Crime (cont.) • Communications Decency Act: makes it a criminal act to transmit any indecent material to minors without effective methods of ensuring that anyone under 18 could not access the materials (obscene images, movies, and sounds) • Reno vs. ACLU (1997) U.S. Supreme Court struck down this law as a violation of the 1st Amendment.