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What Is Theft?

Theft, also known as larceny, can be defined as the wrongful taking and carrying away of the property, such as money or gas, of another with the intent to deprive the person of the property permanently. Theft can be committed in a number of different ways, many of which are described below.

What Are the Elements of Theft?

In order to be properly convicted of theft, all of the following elements must be proven:

• Wrongful Taking – The property was taken without consent and was unlawful
• Carrying Away – The property need was moved from where the owner had placed it or intended it to be placed
• Property of Another – The property must belong to someone other than the thief
• Intent to Deprive Permanently – The thief intends that the owner not own the property ever again.

It is a defense in most cases of theft if the thief reasonably believed the property belonged to him.

What Are the Types of Theft?

The specific elements needed to prove theft depend on the type of theft committed.

Auto Theft: Theft of a motor vehicle. Motor vehicles include cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, etc.

Petty Theft: The theft of anything with a value less than a specified money amount. In most states, theft of anything under a value of $400 is petty theft. Petty theft is usually a misdemeanor.

Felony Theft: Sometimes also known as grand theft, is theft of anything over a specified value, usually over $400. As indicated by the name, this type of theft is a felony.

Theft by Embezzlement: Embezzlement occurs when you take property that has been entrusted to you. It is necessary that the property be acquired through a relationship of trust, also known as a fiduciary relationship.

Theft by Forced Entry: Theft by forced entry onto a property, such as a house, room, apartment, motor vehicle or tent, is considered burglary. Note that the thief does not have to actually break into the property for it to be burglary. Trespass, entry without consent, is enough to trigger burglary if the trespass was committed to enable theft.

Theft by Force: Theft through the use of force or fear of force is known as robbery. Note that the actual application of force is not required; the victim merely has to be afraid of the thief for the crime to be considered robbery. Robbery may be enhanced, be given extra punishment, if a deadly weapon was used to commit the crime.

Theft by Deception: There are two kinds of theft by deception. One is called false pretenses and the other is known as larceny by trick.

• False Pretenses – When you deceive someone into giving up possession and ownership of his or her property through some misrepresentation of the truth, such as lying, you have committed the crime of false pretenses. For example, if you lie to someone and tell them that you will pay $5000 for his or her car and they give you the car, with the pink slip, you have committed false pretenses.
• Larceny By Trick – Unlike false pretenses, to commit larceny by trick all you need is to trick someone into giving possession of his/her property to you. For example, if you just tell a person you want to borrow his or her car, yet you do not intend to return it, you have committed larceny by trick.

Theft By Possession: This occurs when you are in possession of stolen property. In order to be guilty of theft by possession, you must have possession of stolen property, know that it is stolen or have reason to believe it probably was stolen, and meet the other elements of theft.

What Can You Do If You Are Accused of Theft?

If you are accused of theft you should speak to a criminal defense lawyer immediately to learn more about your rights, your defenses, and the criminal justice system. A criminal defense lawyer has the experience and knowledge to help defend you.

What If I Am a Victim of Theft?

If you are a victim of theft you should call the police. If there is sufficient evidence, the police will forward your case to the Prosecutor’s office to prosecute the person who committed the crime against you.

According to the formal definition , any action that is legally prohibited by the law can constitute a crime. At present, crime has become an integral part of our lives in the sense that we are all so much used to it simply because we hear or face crime every other day. In a society that we live in today the mass media has so much influence and sway that it is not a big deal when we wake up in the morning get a hold of a newspaper and read about some brutal murder the story of which is intentionally put in the paper for the sole reason of getting the reader’s attention. Then later in the day we might as well turn on the television and see the official footage where the police apprehend a serial killer who has murdered 15 people up to that point in different areas across the country. And finally in the evening we find some time to relax and watch a movie with a criminal content, which give a vivid thrilling story of an enraged sadistic murderer who kills innocent people left and right in order to accomplish his sinister and mysterious scheme. This is a typical day that a person spends in today’s world and it cannot but influence his or her social attitudes and perceptions

Juvenile crime and delinquency has become a very vital issue in the society at this point in time. Officially a juvenile crime is any offense committed by children or adolescents under the age of 18 years. These crimes are legally referred to as delinquency and would be considered serious offenses, if they were they committed by adults. There are also minor transgressions that are termed status offenses. Those include some minor misconduct such as acts of social disobedience. Status offenses are not usually punished by serving term in prison and delinquency offenses along with the status crimes are all handled by the Juvenile court. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2001) Nevertheless, there are more serious offenses such as murders, rapes committed by minors and those can also be brought to the criminal court and involve more serious punishment. There was a social debate that caused a great deal of controversy concerning the age that children can be actually held accountable for their personal actions.

What happens during a riot: the rioters do not represent the majority of community members As mentioned above, MPs and the general public in Canada have concluded that there were only two ways to cope with the riots: severely punish the looters or help these communities cope better with their social problems. However an understanding of what actually happens during a riot and looting helps avoid such over simplistic responding. In a recent paper aptly called “Burn, Baby, Burn”, Jonathan Bean (2000) points out that looters in the United States (US) riots of the 1960s and 1970s constituted only a small minority of those living in the community and were definitely not those community members who dedicated their time to improving their communities through enlightened and peaceful means. Surveys taken after several riots have shown clearly that most community members did not approve of the rioting and looting. They believed the looters were acting out of pure self interest. Moreover the rioters and looters were actually making it more difficult for those who were trying to improve the lot of their community through peaceful, legal, and orderly means.

The minority status of the rioters raises the important question of why there is this sub group of unreflecting, short-sighted, and asocial individuals. What factors lead to these individuals developing such distorted sense of values and acting in such maladaptive ways? The answer to this question is complex but the important point is that the solution to such riots and looting is not to just punish the subgroup. In fact this will not help even change the behaviour of this subgroup and does nothing to help those in the disadvantaged communities and prevent similar disturbances in the future.