Property Crimes

With this chapter, we shift from the "general part" of criminal law--meaning general rules and principles that are relevant to all sorts of criminal offenses--to what traditionally has been called "special part" of criminal law, meaning the definition specific criminal offenses. In this chapter and most of those following, we examine issues that arise in the interpretation and application of criminal statutes that address particular types or categories of wrongdoing. Subsequent chapters take up offenses specific to illicit drugs, conspiracies, sexual assault, and homicide. In this chapter, the subject is crimes targeting property. All fall under the broad category of theft, although in some of these offenses such as robbery and extortion, threats to persons are integral to the wrongdoing and the definition of the offense.

Property crimes, although likely familiar, sometimes present challenging questions and rely on subtle definitions and distinctions. In simple theft offenses--when the owner/victim is not present--tricky issues occasionally arise about the ownership status of the property. In offenses defining thefts from persons, other challenging distinctions arise. For example, in federal law, robbery is the wrongful taking of property from another "against his will, by means of actual or threatened force," while extortion is the wrongful faking of property from another "with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force." See 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b). In the crime of blackmail, the challenge is defining precisely when a threat to do something that is in other contexts perfectly lawful crosses the line from permissible negotiating or pressure tactics to criminal extortion.