A “crime against a person” involves an offense which involves bodily harm or actions against an individual’s will. “Crimes against property” are acts that destroy another’s property, or removes it from their possession. “Crimes against public morality” involve actions that would create public disturbances. “White collar crime” involves fraudulent misrepresentation. “Cyber crime” involves the use of a computer to commit a crime. In this paper we’ll consider all of these types of crime, and examples of them.
“Crimes against the person” include any actions committed against the will of any individual which involve harm to one’s body. These crimes can fall into fatal offenses, such as murder, or sexual offenses, such as rape. Any type of assault is a crime against a person. Even the threat of bodily harm is defined as assault. Domestic violence is included in this definition. Inflicting bodily harm, including poisoning, would be in this category of offense. Criminal harassment is a crime within this category (Find Law, 2015).
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“Crimes against property” include any acts that result in a destruction of another’s property holdings. These are not as serious as crimes against persons, but nevertheless are criminal acts. They constitute felony charges. Vandalism and arson are examples of these crimes. They unwillingly deprive an owner of his property rights. The acts of larceny, embezzlement, receiving goods that are stolen, and robbery all fall within this category of criminal activity. In addition, extortion and industrial espionage are this type of crime. In early British law, only one type of crime against property existed and it was called larceny. The punishment for that crime was death. Today no crimes against property are considered serious enough to warrant the death penalty (Electric Law Library, 2015).
“Crimes against public order and morality” are in place to ensure the peace of the public. If an individual incites to riot, is engaged in disorderly conduct, sounds a false alarm, or commits animal cruelty, then these all fall within this category of offense (Sage Publishing, 2015).
“White collar crime” involves the use of fraudulent representations with criminal intent. A wide range of crimes fall under this category. It creates a wide array of victims and investors. Many Fortune 500 companies have been the subject of white collar crime perpetrated by their officers. White collar crime involves bankruptcy fraud, financial statement fraud, financial institution fraud and bank fraud. Bank fraud is defined as a pattern of activity where the perpetrator’s purpose is to defraud a bank of funds. Blackmail is a form of white collar crime. This is a demand for money under a threat to do bodily harm or expose secrets. Bribery and corruption are other forms of white collar crime. This involves using money or goods offered to influence the actions of those in authority (White Collar Crime, 2015).
“Cyber crime” involves the use of one’s computer to violate federal or state laws. A person could use a computer to commit Intellectual Property theft (valuable corporate files) or to hack into proprietary networks. If this happened they would likely steal resources such as credit card data, or banking information. Computer crime involves fraud achieved by the manipulation of computer files. It can involve the deliberate manipulation of a computer system. Software piracy is a part of computer fraud. Unauthorized access to a network is another form of computer fraud (Computer Crime, 2015).
In the case of David S., where he was running around wildly in the middle of the night, this would be a crime against public order and morality. Specifically this would be disorderly conduct. In the case where David threw a garbage can into a car, this would constitute crime against property, as he was destroying another’s private property. Specifically he would be charged with vandalism.
In the case of Gary M., who solicited a minor (through a sting operation), this would involve moral turpitude, or a crime against a person. He would be charged with solicitation of a minor.
Finally, in the case of Elaine R., this is a classic case of larceny, where she is converting funds to her own accounts. This is a crime against property. If she had falsified corporate accounting records to deceive shareholders, this would be a case of white collar crime.
