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What are the different types of crimes?
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A crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state.
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Crimes can be divided into four major categories.
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Personal crimes are offenses against the person and will result in physical or mental harm to another person.
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These include assault, battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, homicide, and rape or other offenses of a sexual nature.
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Property crimes do not necessarily involve harm to another person; they involve an interference with another person's right to use or enjoy their property.
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These include larceny, robbery, burglary, arson, embezzlement, forgery, false pretenses, receipt of stolen goods.
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Inchoate crimes means incomplete or the crimes that were begun but not completed.
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These include attempt, solicitation, conspiracy.
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Statutory crimes are violations of a specific state or federal statute and can involve either property offenses or personal offense.
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These include alcohol-related crimes such as drunk driving and selling alcohol to a minor.
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The different levels of seriousness for the crimes can be classified into felony and misdemeanor.
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Felony are serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping, and robbery and carries a year or more in state prison.
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Misdemeanor, on the other hand, are less serious crimes such as shoplifting or drunk driving.
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And usually carries a fine and jail sentence of less than a year.
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State laws may further divide the categories of crimes into subcategories.
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For example, offenses against the person may be divided into the categories of violent crimes and non-violent crimes.
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Some states also place sexual crimes in their own category.
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These categories are also developed for the purpose of sentencing.
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Crimes can also be divided according to criminal intent.
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The major intent categories are general intent crimes and specific intent crimes.
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Crimes are not easily defined and there are many different types and variations.
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Remember, each state is different in how the law is written, how the behavior is regulated,
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and the penalties that each crime potentially carries.
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Some behavior may be prohibited in one state and not in others.
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So it's important to check with a criminal defense lawyer in your state if you're facing criminal charges.
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