Legal and Social Dimensions of Property and Computer Crimes

8/2/2019 Legal and Social Dimensions of Property and Computer Crimes

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William FullamCriminal LawProfessor PoulsenNov 18, 2010

Legal and Social Dimensions of Property and Computer Crimes

Property crime is a category of crime that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny,

theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime only involves the

taking of money or property, and does not involve force or threat of force against a victim.

Although robbery involves taking property, it is classified as a violent crime, as force or threat of

force on an individual that is present is involved in contrast to burglary which is typically of an

unoccupied dwelling or other unoccupied building.(Wikipedia Definition)

The five elements of larceny are (1) Taking (2) Trespass (3) Carrying (4) Tangible Personal

Property (5) Intent to Steal. Not having consent of the owner is trespassory taking. Going into

a store and handling the merchandise in a manner that a ordinary customer wouldnt, that creates

a trespass. One example is hiding merchandise in clothes or a briefcase, or wearing un-purchased

clothes despite not having yet left the store is trespassory taking. The owner retains constructive

possessionthat is, custody does not equal possession. If the offender lies to get consent for his

possession, the consent is not valid. This is larceny by trick.

Embezzlement is the (fraudulent) conversion of property of another placed in the persons care

to a use not shared by the owner. The key difference between embezzlement & larceny is that for

embezzlement to occur there must be a trust relationship involved. That is, for larceny, the


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person can have mere custody, but not possession. For embezzlement, the person has actual

possession. In larceny by trick there is fraud, to create consent to possess. In embezzlement,

there is no taking since the offenderis already in possession of the property. The offense

occurs when the person converts the property. .i.e., did the person have the right to possess the

property when the conversion occurred? For embezzlement, the consent for possession is valid,

but the consent for the conversion is invalid. Embezzlement was created by statute to close a

loophole in common-law larceny. Embezzlement is, therefore, a modification of larceny

designed to cover certain fraudulent acts that do not come within its confines. Although they are

mutually exclusive crimes, larceny and embezzlement do overlap slightly under statutes in some

states.

False pretence is the obtaining of title to anothers property with the intent to deprive the

owner through false statements of material fact, this induces the owner to pass title. The

statements must be false, if the person believes he is lying, but turns out to be telling the truth,

then there is no liability. The person must know the statements are false, and must intend to

defraud. The victim must rely on the statements. What distinguishes false pretenses and larceny

by trick? The Title. Larceny by trick is used to get possession of an item. False pretense uses

deception for the purpose of getting the title. Other underlying reasons of false pretense includes

credit card fraud, writing bad checks, unlawful changing of documents and any type of crime

through which ownership of property by way of fraud is achieved. Forgery is the making of a

false instrument or, the material alteration of an existing genuine written instrument. Forgery is

complete when the person making the fake item passes it off with the intent to defraud. Forgery

is the making of the false written item and uttering is the passing of it on knowing that the

material is fake and with intent to defraud. . Since 1998 it is a federal offense to knowingly

transfer or use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the


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intent to commit, or to aid or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a felony under applicable

state or local law. This is known as the Federal Identity and Assumption Deterrence Act.

People commit crimes for various reasons. For example, many persons steal things they could

not obtain otherwise. Others, such as drug addicts, steal to get money to buy narcotics or other

things they need. Some shoplifters steal for excitement, but others do so to stretch the family

budget. Many automobile thieves take cars for a joy ride, but others strip down the stolen autos

and sell them. Many embezzlers take money from their employers to meet a personal

emergency, intending to return the money. The motives also vary in crimes of violence. A

robber may kill his victim to avoid detection, some gangsters torture people to obtain money,

and a man may beat his wife in a fit of rage during a quarrel. According to the F.B.I. there are

more than 17 million property crimes such as burglary every year in the United States, including

a burglary every 12 seconds and a violent robbery every 70 seconds. The average dollar loss per

home invasion is about $1,725 - $2,000 and by far houses are the biggest targets for break ins.

Clearly property crimes are a huge problem in the United States. Historically speaking, property

crimes tend to rise when the economy is not doing so well.

Computer crimes are on an ever-advancing increase. We see today with all the new technology

out there that it makes it easier to steal some ones identity, commit sexual crimes on minors and

use the mask of not being in person to take advantage of people. Internet has spawned new forms

of crimes and mad old crimes easier to commit, cyber stalking, identity theft, child pornography,

fraud and scams, copy write violations, hacking, the list could go on forever. As is always the

case, the laws that take into account the new and constantly evolving technologies are always

slightly behind the criminals who make use of these technologies.

In 1978 Florida was first to enact a computer crime law. It did pertain to the attack or misuse to


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the computer, the software, and the user themselves. It was written without any thought of the

crimes that we have today. Use of digital technologies to commit crimes has made a dramatic

increase in the last thirty years, the various types of digital crimes have also. Problems of

stalking and now cyber bullying, continue to be one of the focuses of law enforcement, fraud of

all kinds is a growing concern for law enforcement. From identity theft with personal trespass

by computer, theft of computer services to computer tampering.While there is no silver bulletfor dealing with cyber crime, it does not mean that we are completely helpless against it. The

legal system is becoming more tech savvy and many law enforcement departments now have

cyber crime units created specifically to deal with computer related crimes, and of course we

now have laws that are specifically designed for computer related crime. While the existing

laws are not perfect, and no law is, they are nonetheless a step in the right direction toward

making the internet a safer place for business, research and just casual use. As our reliance on

computers and the Internet continues to grow, the importance of the laws that protect us from the

cyber-criminals will continue to grow as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_crime

http://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/crimes-a-z/property/default.aspx

http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_schmalleger_crimlaw_2/54/14058/3598868.cw/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_crime

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/State/statebystaterun.cfm?stateid=52
http://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/crimes-a-z/property/default.aspxhttp://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/crimes-a-z/property/default.aspxhttp://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/crimes-a-z/property/default.aspx

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Legal and Social Dimensions of Property and Computer Crimes