Property crime is any illegal activity that involves the destruction or transfer of property whether or not an act of violence is used or threatened in doing so. It is essential that people understand the definition of property crimes in the United States. More so people who live in Austin, where the rates of property crime are high. According to Neighborhood Scout, Austin residents are likely to experience property crime at a higher rate than most Texans. Therefore, it’s imperative that Austinites learn more about it and all its nuances.
Below we have a list of the different types of property crimes:
Violent Property Crime
This type of property crime involves the offender using or threatening to use force upon a victim during the incident. This involves both crimes where the violent act is the objective, e.g. murder or rape, and crimes where violence is the means to an end. Violent crimes might involve the use of weapons, and at the same time, these violent crimes might not require the use of firearms. Depending on the jurisdiction, cases of violent crimes vary from harassment to homicide. Common examples include carjacking and armed robbery.
Fraudulent Property Crime
Fraudulent property crime is the use of intentional deception to secure unlawful gains or deprive victims of their legal rights. For instance, fraud is a violation of Civil law. Thus, fraud victims can sue offenders either to avoid the fraud or to recover monetary compensation for their damages. All fraudsters are subject to imprisonment. Common examples of this include tax evasion and embezzlement.
Stealthy Property Crime
The law defines this as the non-consensual, non-violent, and non-fraudulent theft of property. For the crime to be considered stealthy, it must be completed in the victim’s absence. The most common form of these crimes is larceny or burglary.
Destructive Property Crime
This type is defined as the illegal or illicit destruction of property. Common examples include vandalism and arson. Destructive property crime usually begets other criminal charges. For example, an individual who sets another person’s property on fire may be guilty of arson as well as the attempted murder (violent property crime).
Entrepreneurial Property Crime
This occurs when someone manufactures, sells, purchases, transports, or distributes a property illegally. This includes counterfeiting, selling or transporting stolen goods and trading illegal items and substances. Similar to their stealthy counterparts, entrepreneurial crimes can beget other criminal charges. For example, it isn’t uncommon to see violent crimes go hand in hand with drug charges.
Although the law can take steps to decrease the probability of these crimes’ occurrences, bad luck can happen without a moment’s notice. That is why the Texas property crime attorneys at Austin LRS we work hard to make sure we match our clients with exemplary property crime attorneys.
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