Property Crime And Typologies Performance Task

Property Crime and Typologies Performance Task

Name

Affiliation

Date

Property Crime and Typologies Performance Task

Introduction

Property crime is one of the most common aspects of crime, which is further classified into burglary, theft, larceny, arson, vandalism, shoplifting and motor vehicle thefts. It can be committed without the knowledge of the victim and even by the use of threat, extortion, and force. This paper will focus on a criminal incident which took place on the 20th of May, 2016. The case, which was identified by the number 0998881, was classified as property crime. This paper will discuss as well as determine the charges of the crime, and the penalties applied to the charges. In addition to that, the paper will also discuss and argue the opinion whether the criminal activity was carried out by professional or the amateur criminals. Lastly, this paper will discuss the criminal typologies which can be applied to the suspects, based on their criminal conduct.

Charges and Penalties for the Charges

Before determining the charges of the crime and penalties for the charges, it is quite important to discuss the details of the incident and suspects. A case of property crime was reported which took place at the ‘Socks for Feet Outlet.’ Three suspects, Bubba Hurt, Skeeter Redrum, and Summer Breeze were seen shoplifting and aiding the activity. According to the details of the incident which were revealed by witnesses, as well as recorded evidence from the store, the first suspect Hurt placed three dozen pairs of the ‘Big Guy Brand’ socks in his pants. After that, the second suspect Redrum picked and placed two dozen pairs of the ‘Hang Nail Free' sock in the purse of the third suspect, Breeze. value of the items stolen by the two suspects were four hundred and thirty-two dollars and two hundred and forty dollars respectively, which collectively reached the amount of six hundred and seventy-two dollars. According to the details of the scenario, it is evident that the three suspects carried out the theft, while cooperating with each other, which can be identified as shoplifting. Shoplifting is defined as the act of stealing from some store or retail, acting as an individual unit or while collaborating with some other individuals. In this case, the three suspects stole the socks from the store while collaborating with each other, so the charge identified in the scenario is that of shoplifting (Code).

detail of the prime suspect Hurt highlights that he has previous convictions as well. At the time of the present criminal activity of shoplifting, the criminal was seen having a piercing in his left ear and his record revealed that he had a scar on his right leg. The details of other suspects were not presented, due to which it can be assumed that they do not have any previous convictions. Moving forward to the point of identifying penalties for the charges, statements of the witnesses, as well as the footage retrieved from the store, crime of the suspects was proven to be shoplifting and the penalty will be discussed according to this charge. The penalty will be determined according to O.C.G.A 16-8-2. According to Georgia Codes title, 16 - crimes and offenses, article 1, section 2 theft by taking, which is the unlawful possession or stealing of the property of some other individual, penalty of the scenario will be imprisonment of the criminal. The code states that the criminal will be subject to imprisonment of not more than ten years and not less than hundred and twenty days if the cost or the total value of stolen goods is more than five hundred dollars. The punishment will be applicable in case of conviction to all criminals involved in the crime. In this particular case, the total value of stolen items was six hundred and seventy-two dollars, which is more than five hundred dollars so all three criminals will be charged with penalty as they actively took part in shoplifting or aided the crime (Code).

Opinion about Criminals’ Professional or Amateur Status

After examining the crime scene, it can be said that the crime was committed by amateur criminals and not by professional criminals. One of the most important reasons for this particular opinion is that there is a distinctive difference between the crimes committed by professional criminals and amateur criminals. professional criminals plan a crime beforehand, as well as keep a plan B, in case they encounter some unexpected situations. On the other hand, amateur criminals just act out according to the opportunity which they get at any time. Although Hurt had a previous conviction, it does not mean that he is a professional criminal. shoplifting crime committed by Hurt and his partners depicts that they are amateur criminals as they had not planned to shoplift beforehand and just tried to utilize the opportunity. They could have threatened the witnesses to not report them or the store owner to get more items, however, they just secretly tried to conceal the stolen goods and leave the store. professional criminals consider crime as their profession, while amateur criminals do not consider it their profession and just commit crimes to satisfy their adventurous or risk-taking nature, which also highlights that Hurt and his partners were not professional criminals (Weaver, & Carroll, 2017).

Criminal Typology

In the case of shoplifting, discussed in this paper, criminal typology is applied to the suspects of criminal activity. This typology is applied according to the GA Statute 943.10 and Georgia Code Section 16-2-20, Title 16. According to the criminal typology, suspects of the criminal activity were not repeated offenders and had not caused serious harm apart from the financial loss, which was recovered later. first suspect of the criminal activity who had stolen the socks and placed them in his pants had a previous criminal conviction. On the other hand, the other two criminals involved in the act did not have any prior criminal record, which highlights the fact that these criminals were not repeat offenders and did not deserve any severe punishment, though punishment to their crime is inevitable. They would have committed the criminal activity being motivated by risk-taking or adventurous nature. Moreover, they had not previously planned shoplifting, which highlights that they were just to get more of the chance they had availed. They did not have any motive of harming the store or its owner, which is another point that this shoplifting was not a preplanned criminal activity (Clinard, Quinney, & Wildeman, 2014).

Conclusion

Shoplifting is one of the most common property crimes, in which there are less tragic incidents of physical harm but the financial loss is greater. According to Georgia Codes title 16 - crimes and offenses, shoplifting is a serious crime in which the convicted criminals can be punished for up to ten years in prison, if the total value of shoplifted items is more than five hundred dollars. In the criminal scenario described in the paper, criminals had committed shoplifting and were liable to the penalty of four months to ten years in prison. They were not professional criminals but amateurs and the crime typology highlighted that they did not have a specific motive of causing any harm to store or its owner.

References

Clinard, M. R., Quinney, R., & Wildeman, J. (2014). Criminal behavior systems: A typology. Routledge.

Code, G. Title 16 Crimes, and Offenses.

Weaver, F., & Carroll, J. (2017). Shoplifters' Perceptions of Crime Opportunities: A Process-Tracing Study. In The Reasoning Criminal (pp. 19-38). Routledge.