Crime is an act or omission prohibited and punished by law (The Collins Concise Dictionary Plus, Collins London and Glasgow 1990). Crime can be committed against a person, place or company. In this essay 4 types of crimes will be explained, defined and measured, along with prevalence and offender/victim characteristics.
How do we define property crimes, violent crimes, white-collar crimes and Internet crimes?
• Property crimes are defined and categorised as household and vehicle theft, burglary, arson, theft including shoplifting, pick pocketing, bag snatching, graffiti and vandalism
• Violent crimes, being homicide, kidnapping/abduction, assault, sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and child abuse against a person
• White-collar crimes defined as crimes or activities that include theft, fraud, deception, embezzlement harmful behaviours, environmental or health and safety hazards
• Internet crimes consisting of cyber-crimes, piracy, frauds, identity theft, cyber-stalking, computer hacking and hate/harmful speech and obscene imagery.
What are property crimes, violent crimes, white-collar crimes and Internet crimes?
Example of property crimes is breaking into a car and the stealing of a mobile phone, trespassing into a property to commit an offence or the setting of fire to property. Unlike Property crimes, violent crimes are committed against a person and as such explained as the indecent assault of a person/s against their will, taking a life with or without intent to kill, taking of a person against their will or threats, force or violence against a person. In general there is no agreed definition for white-collar crime. Rather, the term covers a range of criminal activities or breach of regulatory activities undertaken by highly regarded professionals/educated professional in positions of trust such as employer provides inadequate working conditions causing serious personal injury to employees
References: Collins London and Glasgow (1990) The Collins Concise Dictionary Plus p. 299 Victoria Police News. My Police Crime Statistics for Your Area. Retrieved from http://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/index.php?option=com_statistics&task=search Hennessey Hayes and Tim Prenzler (2009) An Introduction to Crime and Criminology 2nd Edition Pearson Education Australia Australian Institute of Criminology. Selected Crime Profiles. Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/en/publications/current%20series/facts/1-20/2009/2%20selected%20crime%20profiles.aspx Last modified 18 August 2009 Australian Institute of Criminology. Recorded Crime. Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/facts/1-20/2009/1%20recorded%20crime.aspx. Last modified 17 March 2010