Transcript Crime Against Property

Crime
Crime - any act prohibited by law and punishable by the government.
Is it a crime to rob a bank?
Is it a crime to refuse to help someone in distress?
Quick Facts:
-What percent of arrests are males?
- 80%
- What percent of arrests are under 25?
- 50%
Crime
Types of Crimes
-The FBI classifies crimes into 2 major sections and 29 categories.
-We will divide them into 5 categories:
I.
Violent Crimes
A. Offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim
B. Makes up a very small % of all crimes committed
C. 4 major crimes:
1. Aggravated Assault
a. Occurs every 29 seconds
b. 3.38% of crimes
2. Robbery
a. Occurs every 46 seconds
b. 1.22% of crimes
3. Rape
a. Occurs every 5 minutes
b. 0.28% of crimes
4. Murder
a. Occurs every 21 minutes
b. 0.16% of crimes
Crime
I.
Violent Crimes
A. Statistics
1. Over the past 20 years:
a. Violent crime rate has dropped from 42 to 24. (per 1000)
b. Murder rate has dropped from 8.6 to 5.9. (per 100,000)
c. Rape rate has dropped from 2.5 to 0.8. (per 1000)
d. Robbery rate has dropped from 7.9 to 2.6 (per 1000)
e. Aggravated assault has dropped from 10.8 to 5.4 (per 1000)
2. Who is most likely to victim of murder?
a. African-American male.
b. 5 times that of African-American female.
c. 7 times as likely as white males.
d. 22 times as likely as white females.
3. Weapon of choice?
a. 64% of murders by gun
b. 17% with knife
c. Rate of handgun homicide is higher in U.S. than in any other postindustrial country.
Crime
II.
Crime Against Property
A. Crimes that deal with property, but without violence.
B. Major crimes against property:
1. Burglary (breaking and entering)
2. Larceny (minor theft, shoplifting, pickpocket)
3. Motor Vehicle Theft
4. Arson
C. All deal with stealing or intentionally damaging of another’s property.
Crime
II.
Crime Against Property
A. Statistics:
1. Over the past 30 years:
A. Property crime rates have dropped from 531 to 160 (per 1000
households)
B. Burglary rates have dropped from 105 to 30 (per 1000 households)
C. Theft rates have dropped from 413 to 122 (per 1000 households)
D. Motor vehicle theft rates have dropped from 18 to 8.
Crime
III. Victimless Crimes
A. Infractions of criminal law without any identifiable evidence of an individual that
has suffered damage in the infraction.
B. Examples:
1. Prostitution
2. Gambling
3. Illegal Drug Use
4. Vagrancy
C. The myth of victimless crime.
1. Costs U.S. tax payers billions of dollars a year. The other side.
2. Very often leads to more serious crimes: assault, robbery, murder.
D. The other side:
1. 4 million people will be arrested for victimless crimes.
2. $50 billion will be spent to prosecute victimless crimes.
Crime
IV. White-Collar Crimes
A. Crimes committed by people of high social status in the course of their
professional lives.
B. Examples:
1. Fraud
2. Embezzlement
3. Tax Evasion
4. Counterfeiting
5. Insider Trading
C. Statistics:
1. White-collar crime accounts for 10 times the monetary loss of street crime.
2. 91% of convicted bank robbers go to jail, while 17% of convicted
embezzlement from banks go to jail.
D. Why is white-collar crime rarely punished?
1. Better lawyers
2. Favorable laws
3. Individual perception
4. Little police effort
5. Difficult to assign blame
Crime
IV. Organized Crime
A. Crime Syndicate - large-scale organization of professional criminals that control
some vice of business through violence or intimidation. (Extortion)
B. They make crime a big business.
C. Often use legitimate business as a front and a place to channel money through
(money laundering).
D. Vices → loansharking, drug trafficking, illegal gambling, hijacking merchandise.
E. Examples:
1. Cosa Nostra (Mafia)
2. Columbian drug cartels
3. Al Capone
4. Five Points