Order of Secondary Importance of the Crime – Crimes against Property
The second order of precedence in crimes against persons is that of crimes against property. For example, theft is classified as a crime against a person. Burglary, for its part, is classified as a crime against property.
In this article, I will describe the three most common property crimes:
- Heist
- environmental crime
- Arson
Heist It is a crime that occurs when a person, without permission and with or without force, enters any structure such as a building, house, car, apartment with the intention of stealing.
Places such as parks, historic sites, and recreation areas, and natural resources such as minerals, water, and forests contain criminal statutes that relate to environmental crime. Environmental laws vary from state to state and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For example, in most states it is a misdemeanor to drive a motor vehicle without a permit on sand dunes or beaches. Similarly, it is an offense to enter a park without following all the rules and regulations related to the use of the park. It is also a violation of excavation laws regulating archaeological exploration of a historic site. Indian burial grounds fall into this category.
Arson refers to the intentional and malicious burning of property. This crime can be quite complicated because there are many motives to perpetrate this crime.
Emotion is what motivates some arsonists. They do it for the thrill or attention. Sometimes they are motivated to set a fire for their own sexual gratification. Revenge is another motive for committing arson. Perhaps the offender felt wronged by his employer, a corporation, or by society itself. Sometimes arson is committed to conceal another crime, such as embezzlement, fraud, murder, or theft. Some arsonists intentionally set fire to their own property to file a fraudulent insurance claim and thereby commit insurance fraud.
At a crime scene, an accelerant such as gasoline or an explosive device will often be evident. It is often difficult to link the crime to a particular offender because much of the physical evidence is destroyed.
Theft, environmental crimes and arson are the three most common crimes against property. Whenever you call 911 to report a motor vehicle theft, and it takes three hours for the police to get to the scene, you know they were probably busy with other calls for crimes against people who take precedence over a robbery.