Basic Types of Crimes

According to arrest data, personal and property crimes are more often committed by urban, poor, young, and racial minorities. However, we do not intend to go deeper into the matter of why people commit crimes, we are going to see what the basic types of crimes are. A crime is the act that is against the law and there are different types of crimes.

Personal Crimes (crimes against persons)

Personal crimes involve crimes against persons. These crimes include aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery. Aggravated assault involves unlawfully attacking a person to injure him/her bodily. This is usually done with the help of a weapon or some other means likely to produce death or harm. Murder involves the willful killing of one person by the other. Rape is defined as the carnal knowledge of a female against her will. Robbery involves taking or trying to take anything valuable from a person by force and violence.

Property Crimes (crimes against property)

These types of crimes involve the theft of property without bodily injuries. Some types of property crimes include arson, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft. Arson involves willfully burning a house, a vehicle, a public building or a personal property. Burglary involves forcibly entering a structure to commit a theft. Larceny-theft involves stealing or attempting to steal a bicycle or a similar product without violence. Larceny-theft also includes shoplifting and pickpocketing. Motor vehicle theft involves stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle.

Crimes against Morality (Victimless crimes)

It is believed that there is not victim in these types of crimes. Victimless crimes include illegal gambling, prostitution, and illegal drug use. Illegal gambling involves violating any laws that prohibit gambling. Prostitution involves offering to exchange sexual favors for money or some other goods. Illegal drug use involves violating any laws that prohibit possessing or selling certain drugs.

White-Collar Crime

White-collar crimes include embezzlement, tax evasion and other violations. Embezzling involves stealing money from one’s employer. People usually care less about white-collar crimes, however, they are too, rather dangerous, especially from the financial point of view.

Organized Crime

Organized crime is the crime committed by certain groups. These groups illegally trade drugs and weapons. They may also be involved in importing undocumented immigrants into the U.S.

There are many other types of crimes, too. If you liked this article, just bookmark our website to read more information and more articles about different crimes.

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