Chapter 11

1. Chapter 11 Property Crimes

2. A Brief History of Theft • Economic crimes: acts in violation of the criminal law designed to bring financial reward • Skilled thieves: typically worked in larger cities and congregated in “flashouses” • Smugglers: moved freely in the sparsely populated areas and dealt in spirits, gems, gold, and spices • Poachers lived in the country taking game that belonged to a landlord

3. Modern Thieves • Occasional Criminals • Most crime committed by amateurs whose acts are unskilled, and unplanned • Occasional crime occurs when there is a situational inducement • Frequency of occasional crime varies according to age, class, race, and gender • Occasional criminals have little group support for the crimes

4. Modern Thieves • Professional Criminals • Make a significant portion of their income from crime. • Professionals do not rationalize their criminality • Pursue their craft to make the most money with the least amount of risk

5. Modern Thieves • Sutherland’s Professional Criminal • Professional thieves engage in limited types of crime • Exclusive use of wits, front (demeanor), and talking ability • Must acquire status in the profession • Pickpocket (cannon) • Thief in rackets related to confidence games • Forger • Extortionist from those engaging in illegal acts • Confidence game artists • Thief who steals from hotel rooms • Jewel thief who substitutes fake gems for real (pennyweighter) • Shoplifter (booster) • Sneak thief from stores, banks, and offices (heel)

6. Modern Thieves • The Professional Fence • Earns a living buying and reselling stolen merchandise • May operate through legitimate business fronts • Fences use complex pricing policy

7. Modern Thieves • The Nonprofessional Fence • Often legitimate business people who integrate stolen merchandise part-time • Associational fences: barter stolen goods for services • Neighborhood hustlers: buy and sell part-time and keep some merchandise for themselves • Amateur receivers: strangers approached in a public place with a great deal on valuable commodities

8. Larceny/Theft • The trespassory taking and carrying away of the personal property of another with intent to steal • Constructive possession: refers the legal fiction that applies in situations in which persons voluntarily and temporarily give up custody of their property (i.e. watch repair)

9. Larceny/Theft • Larceny Today • Petty larceny involves small amounts of money or property • Grand larceny involves greater values of property punishable by imprisonment • Larceny/theft is the most common of all crimes (7 million acts in 2003)

10. Larceny/Theft • Shoplifting – taking of goods from a retail store • Boosters: professional shoplifters (Mary Owen Cameron) • Snitches: amateur shoplifters who steal for themselves • Criminologists view shoplifters as likely to reform

11. Larceny/Theft • Controlling Shoplifting • Fewer than 10 percent are detected by store employees • Merchant privilege laws protect retailers from lawsuits • Target removal strategies: involve dummy or disabled goods for display • Target hardening strategies: involve locking racks or displays such as EAS systems (situational deterrents)

12. Larceny/Theft • Bad Checks • Knowingly and intentionally drawn on nonexistent or under-funded bank account • Edwin Lemert classified check forgers as: • Naïve check forgers: are amateurs who have a pressing need for money • Systematic forgers: make a substantial living passing bad checks • Often it is difficult to separate the true check forger from the neglectful shopper

13. Larceny/Theft • Credit Card Theft • Approximately $1.8 billion per year lost to stolen or fake credit cards • To combat losses Congress passed a law in1971 limiting losses to $50 • Use of bogus Internet sites to obtain credit card numbers • Digital signatures and digital keys are an attempt to reduce credit card theft

14. Larceny/Theft • Auto Theft • Approximately 1.2 million in 2003 • Types of Auto Theft • Joyriding: motivated by a desire for power or prestige • Short-term transportation: similar to joyriding • Long-term transportation: Intend to keep vehicles for personal use • Profit: motivated by the hope for profit • Commission of another crime: vehicle taken for use in the commission of a crime for anonymity • Luxury cars and SUVs most in demand • Vehicles are frequently shipped abroad where they command higher prices

15. Larceny/Theft • Carjacking: legally considered a form of robbery • Victims and offenders tend to be Black • Urban residents most likely to experience carjacking • Committed in groups and often in the evening • Combating Auto Theft • Situational crime prevention efforts (HEAT) • Lojack systems utilize a tracking device • Public campaigns to lock vehicles • Closed-circuit TV cameras

16. Larceny/Theft • False Pretenses or Fraud • Misrepresenting a fact to gain property • Victims willingly give up their money or property • Does not require a “trespass”

17. Larceny/Theft • Confidence Games • Getting a person interested in get-rich-quick schemes (Mark) • Most common forms are “pigeon drops” • Con artist may pose as bank employees • Pyramid schemes involve the selling of phony franchises • Shady contractor repairs

18. Larceny/Theft • Embezzlement • Occurs when someone who is trusted with property fraudulently converts it for his or her own use • Number of people arrested for embezzlement has increased over the last two decades • More employees are willing to steal from employers • More employers are willing to report embezzlement • Law enforcement officials are more willing to prosecute

19. Burglary • Legal definition has undergone considerable change • Common law required “breaking and entering” and at “night” • Recent laws have discarded forced entry and eliminated nighttime requirement

20. Burglary • The Nature and Extent of Burglary • NCVS reports about 3.3 million residential burglaries in 2003 • Residential Burglary: Experienced burglars tend to avoid rental properties and willing to travel to find rich targets • Commercial Burglary : Business are quick sources of merchandise that can be easily sold

21. Burglary • Careers in Burglary • Good burglars must learn many skills to be lucrative • Must be able to team-up with trustworthy companions • Must have inside information • Must cultivate fences and buyers • Neal Shover suggests a person becomes a “good burglar” by learning techniques of the trade from experienced burglars

22. Burglary • The Burglary Career Ladder • Paul Cromwell, James Olson, and D’Aunn Wester suggest burglars go through stages of development: • Novices (learning the trade) • Journeyman (lucrative targets and careful planning) • Professional (advanced skills)

23. Burglary • Repeat Burglary • Research suggests many burglars return to strike the same victim • Less effort to burgle a suitable target • Aware of target’s layout • Entry/escape target has not changed • Lack of protective measures (alarms, etc.) • Goods were observed in first strike

24. Arson • The willful, malicious burning of a home, public building, vehicle, or commercial building (71,000 in 2003) • To obtain money during a period of financial crisis • To get rid of outdated or slow-moving inventory • To destroy outmoded machines and technology • To pay off legal an illegal debts • To relocate or remodel a business • To take advantage of government funds • To plan bankruptcies • To eliminate business competition • To employ extortion schemes • To conceal another crime

25. Arson • Weblink http://www.atf.treas.gov/