Chapter PowerPoint - Capital High School
Download
Report
Transcript Chapter PowerPoint - Capital High School
UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice
Chapter 10
Crimes Against Property
The category of crimes against property
includes two groups
crimes in which property is destroyed (such as
arson & vandalism) &
crimes in which property is stolen or taken against
the owner's will (such as robbery & embezzlement)
During the late 1990s, there were fewer
crimes against property, in part because
Americans developed better ways to prevent
these crimes
These behaviors include
○ Security lighting
○ Home & car alarm systems
○ Steering wheel locks
○ Greater attention to locking doors & windows
○ A tendency to carry less cash due to the greater use
of credit cards
Arson and vandalism are examples of crimes
involving the destruction of property
Arson is the intentional & malicious burning of another
person's property
○ In most states it is a crime to burn any building or structure,
even if the person setting the fire is the owner
○ Burning property with the intent to defraud an insurance co. is
a separate crime, regardless of the type of property burned or
who owned the property
○ Arson has also been a form of racial violence
To help federal prosecutors deal with a rash of racially motivated
church arsons, Congress passed the Church Arson Prevention Act of
1996
This act help oversee the investigation & prosecution of arson at places
of worship across the U.S.; it also seeks to increase the penalties for
such crimes
Vandalism is the willful destruction of or damage
to another person's property
Effects of vandalism include broken windows, graffiti,
& damage to cars
Costs include repair, cleanup, & replacement
It can be a felony or a misdemeanor
Juvenile statistics (doesn’t include # of incidents
in which an arrest was never made)
12% are female; 88% are male
80% are white; 17% are African American; 1% are
Native American; 1% are Asian
“Broken Window” Theory
If communities don’t react strongly to crimes like
vandalism, panhandling, & prostitution, worse crime
will follow
Suggests that when 1 broken window isn’t fixed, other
windows will be broken
○ When there is no response to “low-level crime” by law
enforcers, criminals will assume that crime is tolerated in
that community & crime will therefore escalate
○ This had led to “zero-tolerance” policies which punishes
first time offenders swiftly & significantly
○ People believe that communities are cleaner, residents
feel safer, & the general quality of life improves
People who disagree with these types of policies
believe that police & community leaders should
focus their resources on more serious crimes
Disproportionate effect on the poor because many
instances of vandalism & crime take place in povertystricken areas
These are people who are the least able to pay them
In some communities, the relationships between
residents & police are already strained & are made
worse when people feel like they are harassed for
minor offenses by police who are “just doing their jobs”
There are many other categories of crimes
that involve taking property against the will of
the owner
Larceny is the unlawful taking & carrying away of
another person's property with the intent never to
return it to the owner
○ Most states identify larceny as either grand or petty
Grand larceny—which is a felony—occurs when anything
above a certain value is stolen (usually $100)
Petty larceny is a misdemeanor that involves the theft of
anything of small value (usually < $100)
Larceny also includes keeping lost property
when a reasonable method exists for finding
the owner
Ex: finding a wallet that includes a driver’s license
You may also be guilty of larceny if you keep
property delivered to you by mistake
Shoplifting is a form of larceny
It is the crime of taking items from a store w/o
paying for them or intending to pay for them
○ Some states have a separate crime called
concealment (attempted shoplifting)
○ Shoplifting results in huge losses for businesses
Costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher
prices
Everyone pays for shoplifting
Embezzlement is the unlawful taking of
property by someone to whom it was
entrusted
Ex: bank tellers, stockbrokers
Some states have merged the crimes of
embezzlement, larceny & obtaining property
by false pretenses (intentional misstatements
of fact into the statutory crime of theft
Robbery is the taking of property from a
person's immediate possession by using
force or threats
Robbery involves 2 harms:
○ Theft of property, &
○ Actual or potential physical harm to the victim
The difference between robbery & larceny is
the use of force
Ex: a pickpocket who takes your wallet unnoticed
is guilty of the crime of larceny
Ex: a mugger who knocks you down & takes your
wallet by force is guilty of robbery
Robbery is almost always a felony
Stricter penalties for armed robberies—thefts
committed with a gun or other weapon
Extortion, also called blackmail, takes place
when one person uses threats to obtain
another person's property
The threats may include harm to the victim's body,
property, reputation, or loved ones
Ex: a person who threatens to injure you or your
property unless you give him your car is guilty of
extortion
Burglary is the unlawful entry into any
dwelling or structure with the intention to
commit a crime (regardless of time of day)
Originally defined as breaking & entering the
dwelling of another person during the night
w/intent to commit a felony
Stiffer penalties for burglaries committed at night,
of inhabited dwellings, or committed w/weapons
Forgery is a crime in which a person falsely
makes or alters a writing or document with
intent to defraud
Ex: signing the name of another person to a
check or some other document w/o permission
Ex: changing or erasing part of a previously
signed document
Uttering is offering to someone as genuine a
document (such as a check) known to be a
fake
Identity Theft
A serious criminal action that has the potential to
affect anyone w/a Social Security #
Children are ideal targets – can be used for years
w/o detection
○ Generally identity theft is discovered when a person
applies for a credit card, driver’s license, or gets a
credit report
For adults, $ & power often increase the likelihood
of victimization because important information
about celebrities is generally easier to access
Receiving stolen property involves receiving
or buying property that you know or have
reason to believe is stolen
Knowledge that the property is stolen may be
implied by the circumstances
○ Ex: buying goods out of the trunk of a car or for a
price that is unreasonably low
It’s a felony if the value of the property
received is > $100 & a misdemeanor if < $100
Unauthorized use of a vehicle
If the person only intends to take the vehicle temporarily
○ Includes joyriding
If the intent is to take the vehicle permanently, then
the crime may be larceny or auto theft (stiffer
penalties)
Carjacking occurs if a person uses force or
intimidation to steal a car from a driver
A federal crime & is punishable by a sentence of up to life in
prison
Anti Car Theft Act (1992)
○ Law covers the use of force or intimidation to steal a car from a
driver
The Internet has led to an increase in computer
crime
Any violation of criminal law that involves the use of
computer technology to commit the prohibited act
○ Involves traditional crimes that now may be committed
through the use of a computer
Ex: the use of a computer to make fake identifications or making
fraudulent credit card purchases w/someone else’s credit card #
that has been intercepted over the Internet
○ It also involves crimes that are relatively new & specific to
computers
Ex: the intentional spreading of a computer virus or using
programs to steal passwords
Computer crime is committed for several
different reasons
Employees who are angry with their company
Hackers who gain illegal entry to gov. or corporate
computer systems
○ they are relatively harmless & tend to break into sites
for fun, for a challenge, or to point out security flaws
Crackers (criminal hackers) who seek to make $
from breaking into computers
Hackers tend to be middle- or upper-income
males who begin their criminal activity in HS &
usually stop after college
Tend to think of themselves as an elite group of
information seekers who are adept at exploring
computer systems & networks
Have the time & access to computers necessary
Do not fear loss of jobs or personal wealth (factors that
deter adults)
An outlet for social anxiety – fills a social void
Share a similar profile to the students responsible for
violent school rampages, such as Columbine (1999)
Breaking into a corporate or government
system to which you don’t have access is a
federal crime – regardless of motive (as long
as there is a guilty state of mind of intending
to break into the site)
Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (1986)
Provided the government with a specific law to
prosecute hackers
Electronic Communication & Privacy Act
(1986)
Offers protection to computer operators
The federal gov. & law enforcement officials are
required to obtain a search warrant before seizing
or reading any electronic mail
This doesn’t apply to private employers
National Infrastructure Act (1996)
Illegal to threaten to cause damage to a computer
system unless the owner gives something of value
Illegal to intentionally give or receive passwords that
would permit unauthorized access to systems
Children’s Internet Protection Act (2000)
Limits access to obscene images, movies, & sound at
libraries
USA Patriot Act (2001)
Gives gov. & law enforcement officials broader powers
to access a suspect’s Internet communications than
has typically been permitted by the 4th Amendment
Most computer crimes probably go
unreported
Companies are reluctant to publicize their
vulnerability to computer criminals or customers
Many are discouraged by the time & resources
needed to prosecute individuals
Cyberstalking & Internet Pornography
Young people are particularly vulnerable
Challenge is to find ways to protect children from
people who abuse the Internet w/o overly
restricting access & discussion groups for the
majority of adults who use the Internet for lawful,
constitutionally protected uses
Child pornography & minors’ access to adult
pornography through use of the Internet are
forms of computer crime
Actions aimed at effectively curbing these
illegal uses of computers often threaten to
infringe upon important First Amendment
rights concerning freedom of speech,
expression, & association, as well as access
to information
Child pornography is always illegal in the US
Use of the Internet to promote such images is
also illegal
The Internet is an international tool – access
is available to child pornography that is shot
in places where it is not illegal
The US has no jurisdiction over such web sites
The First Amendment doesn’t protect the right of any
minor to access pornography
Laws that prevent sales & rentals of such materials
to minors have been upheld as constitutional
Minors are generally not viewed as having the full range of
rights as adults
Infringements on constitutional rights are acceptable where
there is an important gov. interest
○ The gov. has an interest in restricting minor’s access to
pornography
○ It is not difficult to pass & enforce laws that prevent businesses
from selling porn to minors; it is more difficult to limit access to
this information on the Internet
The government also watches bulletin boards
Exchange of computer files & messages
Illegal download of software programs
Illegally copying software
Violates federal copyright laws
Subject to a possible jail term & a fine of up to
$250,000