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1
Lesson 11 – Property Crime and Fraud
Robert WonserIntroduction to CriminologyCrime and Delinquency
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Introduction
• Property crime• Is very costly•Generally in the billions
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Defining Property Crime
• Burglary•Unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft
• Larceny-Theft•Unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another
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Defining Property Crime
• Motor Vehicle Theft• The attempted or completed theft of a motor vehicle
• Arson• Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.
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Defining Property Crime
• Forgery/Counterfeiting
• Buying, receiving, and possessing stolen property
• Embezzlement
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Extent of Property Crime
• NCVS and UCR note how common property crime is
• Has declined since the early 1990s• Target hardening•Demographic changes
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Patterning of Property Crime
• Highest in the South
• Offenders are predominantly • Young•Male•White
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Social Organization of Property Crime
• Social Organization• Refers to the roles that different property criminals play and the social networks that support their criminal ways• Professional theft• Amateur (opportunistic) theft
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Professional Property Criminals
• Older
• More skilled
• Careful planning
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Social Organization of Property Crime
• Shoplifters• Boosters – professionals who resell what they steal• Snitches – steal for their own personal use
• Motor vehicle theft• Joyriding
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Burglary• Types of burglars: (based on their scale of their
crimes and can move around the hierarchy through their careers)• Low-level – individual thieves with loose
connections to other thieves. They’re indiscriminate in their connections and choice of crimes.• Middle-range – involved in larger, less exclusive
thief networks• High-level – small network of highly committed
thieves who remain apart from other small-time criminals.
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Burglary Support System
• Tipsters• Let burglars know about safe, attractive targets
• Fences•Dispose of stolen property
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Decision Making in Burglary
• Some disagreement in the research
• Choosing geographic areas
• Look for signs of those on vacation
• Targets at work/school for long periods
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Property Crime Victimization: Costs and Circumstances
• Costs are
• Economic• In 2011, victims of burglary lost $4.2 billion
• Psychological• Violation of privacy and personal space
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Property Crime Victimization: Costs and Circumstances
• Larceny• In 2011, cost $5.4 billion
• Motor vehicle theft• In 2011, cost $4 billion
• Arson• In 2011, cost $600 million
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Explaining Property Crime
• Cultural emphasis on economic success
• Techniques of neutralization• Fencing
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Explaining Property Crime
• Economic deprivation and unemployment
• Routine activities and social process theories
• Thrill-seeking
• Example: shoplifting
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Reducing Property Crime
• The criminal justice system•Harsher sentences/punishments
• Situational prevention• Cameras• Improved lighting
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Situational Prevention
• Target hardening• Efforts to make residences and businesses more difficult to burglarize and motor vehicles less vulnerable to theft• Stronger locks and burglar alarms• Research supports target hardening practices
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Situational Prevention
• Community Prevention• Focuses on streets and whole neighborhoods• Street lights• Camera surveillance• Reconfiguring physical space•Neighborhood watch
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Fraud• Deceit or trickery used for financial
gain or for some other material advantage
• Identity theft
• Tax fraud
• Insurance fraud
• Computer fraud and computer crime
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The Cost of Fraud
• Property crime costs $16 billion annually
• Fraud• Identity theft: $53 billion• Tax fraud: $385 billion• Insurance fraud: $100-$400 billion