Three Criminals in Georgia: Property Crime Implications - Essay Sample

Introduction

In criminal law, property crime refers to a category of crimes that involve violations against private property such as theft, burglary, carjacking, shoplifting, vandalism, and larceny, among others (Miller et al., 2020). The main work of the District Attorney is to determine what categories of charges apply and their respective penalties, in line with the relevant criminal codes. The case study given involves three individual criminals in the State of Georgia and the implications of the Criminal Code of the State of Georgia. This paper, therefore, addresses different types of charges and their penalties, and an elaborate analysis of the case study and its legal implications.

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Types of Charges That Apply and Their Penalties

As mentioned earlier, there are several types of property crimes that attract different charges and different penalties. Based on the account statements of the three witnesses, one was a customer who came shopping, the other one was an employee of the store, the third one was the owner of the store, and the last one was the reporting officer. According to the statement of Susan Bunion, she was allegedly shopping at the Socks for Feet Store when she saw a guy with a white lady (Skeeter and Summer) in the Hang Nail Free Socks store. Susan further alleges that she saw the guy pick some pairs of socks and stuffed them into the white lady's purse. Someone later yelled, and the two thieves ran through the back door of the store.

According to the Georgia Criminal Code, shoplifting refers to the act of entering a store with the intent of stealing, while larceny refers to the actual picking of property and hiding it (Miller et al., 2020). Based on witness (Susan's) statement, the two entered the store and actually picked the merchandise and hid it in the purse. In that light, the District attorney will look at the statements and prefer charges of shoplifting and larceny against the arrested persons.

Secondly, Andrea Sianturi is the second witness who is an employee of the Socks Feet Outlet Store. According to Andrea, he was working at the store on the day May 20, 2016, when he saw Bubba pick and place three dozens of socks in down his pants. He then saw three people (two men and one lady) ran out through the back exit. He alleges to have identified the man as Bubba, however, did not know the other two persons. Still, the District attorney will prefer the charges of shoplifting and larceny against the accused person since his activities involved entering a store with an intent to steal and went ahead to pick a property and hid it under his pants.

According to the Criminal Code for the State of Georgia, penalties for shoplifting and larceny depend on the value of the merchandise stolen (Miller et al., 2020). If the total value of the stolen goods is below $500, the District Attorney will level charges of misdemeanour and petty theft. If convicted, the fines will range between $50 and $1000, and or a jail term not exceeding six months. However, if the value of the stolen property is above $500, the attorney will level charges of Grand Larceny Felony against the accused persons. The judge will use his discretion to determine appropriate penalties, but the jail term will not exceed one year (Miller et al., 2020). Other factors, such as previous criminal records and the nature of theft, will also come into play as the judge determines the verdict of the case. According to the cases study, the Socks for Feet Store charged the three thieves with theft of merchandise worth $672, way above the $500 threshold for misdemeanor. That means the penalty will be a fine not exceeding $1000 and a jail term of not exceeding 12 months, depending on the discretion of the judge.

Cost of Merchandise Stolen

According to the inventory sheet of Socks for Feet Outlet, the three thieves stole 36 pairs of the Big Guy Brand men's' socks, and 24 pairs of Hang Nail Free men's socks. According to the prices of the store, the big guy brand men's socks cost $12 per pair, while the hang nail-free socks cost $10 per pair. In that case, the total value of merchandise stolen from the store was worth $672.

My Opinion on Whether Crimes Were Committed by Amateurs or Professionals

Amateur property offenders are those petty criminals who engage in criminal activities when an opportunity arises. On the other hand, professional property offenders are those ones who make a living out of thieving activities, and can also be organized to steal from government or corporate organizations. In most cases, professional thieves get protection of the law. Therefore, the primary difference between amateur offenders and professional offenders is that amateurs are outlawed, while professionals are legalized, because many professions thrive on thievery.

In that context, my opinion is that the three offenders in the case study were amateur offenders. In most cases, amateurs are folks who inconsistently or consistently steal of shoplift from shops, stores, or steal from private residences or businesses but not as a way of making a living. According to the scenario, Bubba Hurt, Skeeter Redrum, and Summer Breeze were arrested the reporting officer Colt Winchester for stealing several pairs of socks from a store. It is imperative to realize that they engaged in petty outlawed activities categorized under amateur private property offenders.

Typologies of Crime Applicable to the Suspects

Crime typology is a theory that criminologists apply to classify, organize, manage, and make sense of out of specific behaviours that break the law (Rice, 2017). There are several categories of crime typologies applicable to property crime. Based on the case study, all the characteristics and nature of the three criminals involved "theft by taking," where they picked property and hid. Based on this information, criminologists will distinguish this typological behaviour of crime under larceny.

Conclusion

In conclusion, property crime generally involves several categories of private property violations such as theft, burglary, larceny, carjacking, shoplifting and arson, among others. Property crimes are either amateur or professionals, depending on the nature and intent of the theft. The case study presented highlighted three persons arrested after allegations of entering a Socks Outlet Store and picking products and hiding them. Under crime behaviour and typology, such behaviour amount to larceny. When such people are convicted of such crimes, they will get varied sentences based on the value of the property they stole. Based on the case study, the Socks Store alleges that the three amateur criminals stole goods worth $432. According to the Criminal Code of the State of Georgia, that amounts to a misdemeanor charge with a projected fine of not more than $50 and a jail term of not more than six months.

References

Miller, T. R., Cohen, M. A., Swedler, D. I., Ali, B., & Hendrie, D. V. (2020). Incidence and Costs of Personal and Property Crimes in the United States, 2017. Available at SSRN 3514296. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3514296

Rice, B. (2017). A Reform Long Overdue: Raising Virginia's Felony Grand Larceny Threshold. Rich. Pub. Int. L. Rev., 21, 1. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/richlapin21&section=6