Crimes Against Property

Crimes Against Property




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Crimes Against Property
Strayer University
Professor – Zara Sette
Assignment #4
LEG 320
Online Summer 2012
August 31, 2012
Felicia McCaw
Crimes Against Property
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ABSTRACT


Crimes against property include the crime of shoplifting that causes financial hardships and deficits in liquid capital, home invasion, elements of general burglary and cyber crime and the committance of internet crimes against people, government and businesses.


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One of the crimes that exhibit the form of taking is the crime of shoplifting which is a form of a criminal act against a business’s property. The element of taking and the requirements to establish involves the concealing of items and leaving the store without paying. Shoplifting also includes the factors of switching prices, refund fraud, returning clothes after wearing them (wardrobing) and eating products owned by the business through the store (also known as grazing).
Unfortunately, shoplifting is a foe of any business and is one of the most common crimes that literally depletes a business’s profits and sometimes if the thefts are of a plentiful nature this sometimes devastates a business financially. Further according to statistics more than 13 billion of merchandise has been stolen from businesses and the Better Business Bureau has estimated that at least 90% of the population has shoplifted or stolen once. Estimated tallies reflect 27 million shoplifters exist in our nation (1 out of 11 people). Because it is a crime that requires little skill it can be accommodated and merged into a normal lifestyle and is not restricted to any race or gender. The average shoplifter is usually apprehended with at least $200 worth of merchandise and as estimated over 10 million have been caught in the last five years.
Shoplifting is a problematic trial and affliction to every business and due to heavy losses security guards are trained to follow certain procedures to apprehend and utilize the right to make a citizen’s arrest, detain a person suspected of shoplifting based on a reasonable belief and call the police for further processing.
Another crime against property is the crime of home invasion which involves the act of illegally entering a private structure (housing) and occupied dwelling with intent to commit a crime against the occupant. In some jurisdictions there is a defined crime of home invasion that
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differs from state to state. Based on this some state laws vary and do not compel the need to be occupied to be classified as home invasion. Further home invasion may also be classified as criminal trespass, residential burglary, burglary, entry of occupied dwelling while armed, breaking and entering at night, illegal entry-other circumstances and home invasion and because of that it allows the regulation of criminal penalties and charges to be levied.
The elements of a general burglary offense includes the breaking and entering of a dwelling or a house with intent to commit a criminal offense punishable under the statutes Articles 118 through 128. Modern burglary statutes also known as statutory burglary is described as the offense of breaking and entering into any building to commit a felony whereas common law definition of burglary involves the breaking and entering of a dwelling house of another at night to commit larceny therein.
` Cyber crime is a computerized age criminal act that targets other people’s computers which involve the spreading of viruses. It also involves the use of a computer as a weapon to commit the traditional acts of crime that we see in the physical world. Further it is an accessory device to harbor and retain illegal records of stolen information to be used in criminal activities. The State and Federal government are addressing cyber crime by creating teams of people dedicated to tracking cyber criminals. In the United States the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a special Cyber Investigation Department which can be contacted through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) which allows the submission of complaints of suspected criminal violations by internet. To further combat violations or acts of criminality utilizing the internet the police department are training internet or computer crime units that can be contacted for information and assistance in initiating an investigation in cyber crime and tracking down cyber
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criminals. All resources that may be available to help halt crimes against property are available at the local police department.















REFERENCES

Wikipedia. Shoplifting. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoplifting
Wikipedia. Home Invasion. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_invasion
National Learning and Resource Center. (2006) Shoplifting Statistics. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://www.shopliftingprevention.org/whatnaspoffers/nrc/publiceducstats.htm
In Brief. Free Legal Information. Power of Security Guards regarding Shoplifting. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://www.inbrief.co.uk/offences/secuirty-guards-shoplifting.htm
Old Research Report. (2008). Home Invasion Laws in otherstates. Retrieved August 31, 2012,
from
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0088.htm
About.com. U.S. Military. Punitive Articles of the UCMJ. Article 129 – Burglary. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/mcm/bl129.htm
US Legal Definitions. Statutory Burglary Law and Legal Definition. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/statutory-burglary/
Yahoo. Answers. What is the common law definition of burglary? Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101130060848AAkqLsg
Cyber Citizen Partnership. What is Cyber Crime? Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://www.cybercitizenship.org/crime/crime.html
Carnegie Cyber Academy. Catching Cyber Criminals. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from
http://www.carnegiecyberacademy.com/facultyPages/cyberCriminals/catching.html