Introduction
Criminal law encompasses “rules and statutes that are written by the congress and state legislators dealing with any criminal activity that can cause harm to the general public” (Allen, 2005, p. 4). Different kinds of theft are among the commonest forms of crime and often involve the taking of property belonging to someone else without consent or permission (Allen, 2005).
Theft can be categorized as burglary, fraud, robbery, looting, larceny, or embezzlement, depending on the specific elements identified in the given theft case. This paper seeks to evaluate different situations that involve the theft of a laptop with the aim of establishing the types of crime they represent and the differences between them.
The scenarios
In the first Scenario, Sarah goes to Makoto’s house at night and takes a laptop computer that is left unattended on a porch. She goes with the laptop computer to her place and informs everyone that it belongs to her.
In the second scenario, Sarah forcefully snatches the laptop from Makoto while holding him at gunpoint and runs away with it. The crime happens at night, outside Makoto’s house.
In the third scenario, Sarah breaks the door to Makoto’s house at night, enters, picks a laptop computer and goes with it to her place.
Classification of the three scenarios
The three scenarios can be classified under larceny, burglary and armed robbery depending on the specific elements that make up the crimes.
Larceny
All three scenarios constitute a crime referred to as larceny. Larceny can be described as a crime that involves the wrongful acquisition of another person’s property. Under the common law, larceny is identified as a “trespassory taking and carrying away of a tangible property belonging to someone else with the intention to permanently deprive him or her it’s possession” (Ormerod, 2005, p. 14). Larceny has the following elements:
Possession versus custody
Larceny can be regarded as a crime against possession (Dressler, 2001). An individual who commits larceny takes the physical control of a property and therefore denies the actual custodian the right to use the property (Dressler, 2001).
Take
As specified by the common law, an offender must actually be in physical control of the property, even if it’s for a moment (Ormerod, 2005). The term deprives can also be used to imply the same.
Carry away
This constitutes the removal of a property from where it was originally placed by the owner. Larceny takes place even when there is a slight movement of the property. Provided it’s proven that the offender intended to steal it.
Personal property
The property involved should be tangible personal property that exists physically (Allen, 2005). This implies that if the theft involves properties such as land, buildings or any intangible good then the crime cannot be described as larceny.
Without consent
The offender must take control of the property without permission or consent from the owner (Allen, 2005). Taking can be achieved through different means such as force, deceit, the threat of force or stealth.
Of another
The property in question must be a lawful possession belonging to someone else.
Intent to steal
An offender must have taken control of the property with the intention of permanently depriving it of the rightful owner (Allen, 2005).
The object stolen must have value
The properties or objects involved in larceny must have an economic value (Ormerod, 2005). Usually, a good that has an economic value should have a price.
All the three scenarios described above have all the elements of larceny. The first scenario does not have any additional elements that can qualify it for further crime description. However, the second and third scenarios have some have additional elements that require further classification.
Armed Robbery (Second Scenario)
A robbery is described as a crime that involves taking or attempting to take something of value by use of force or threat to use force (Dressler, 2001). A robbery may or may not have all the elements discussed under larceny. For instance, a robbery does not require the actual control of a property belonging to someone else for it to be accomplished.
The basic elements of a robbery are the use of force and intimidation, often to place the victim in fear. This should take place during or immediately after the crime (Dressler, 2001). Robbery can also be described by the type of weapon used to threaten, harm or intimidate the victim. For instance, if the offender used a gun to accomplish his robbery, then the robbery is described as an armed robbery.
In the second scenario, Sarah used a gun to intimidate Makoto before snatching his laptop. This can therefore be described as an armed robbery. It should be noted that the theft case outlined in scenario two has all the elements of larceny but it’s further described as armed robbery because a gun was used to threaten and intimidate the victim.
Burglary (third Scenario)
Burglary can described basically as the breaking and entering into a building purposely to commit an offense (Ormerod, 2005). In most cases the offense committed is theft, though there are more offenses described under burglary in some jurisdictions. The common law describes a burglary as the breaking and entering the house of another person at night with the intention of committing a felony (Allen, 2005). In the third Scenario, Sarah broke into Makoto’s house at night and took a laptop and thus committing a burglary. There are several elements that are used to differentiate burglary from other forms of larceny. The elements include:
Breaking
Breaking can take different forms. For instance, breaking can be actual in the sense that the offender forces the door to open or it can be constructive whereby the offender uses threats or fraud to gain entry into the house (Ormerod, 2005). The “breaking” in burglary does actually necessitate any physical damage (Allen, 2005,p. 34).
Entering
This can be accomplished through physical entry or insertion of an instrument to retrieve a property. Additionally, the common law requires entry to take place as a consequence of breaking (Allen, 2005).
House
This refers to a building that is used for habitation, including dwellings that are temporarily unoccupied (Dressler, 2001).
Night time
In addition to the above elements, the common law requires the offense to be committed at night. Night is defined as hours half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise (Ormerod, 2005).
Conclusion
This paper sought to identify the different types of crimes committed in the three scenarios and identify the differences between them. The first, second and third scenarios have been identified as larceny, armed robbery and burglary respectively. The differentiating elements include time, types of properties stolen, and the use of threats and intimidation.
References
Allen, M. (2005). Textbook on Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dressler, J. (2001). Understanding Criminal Law. London: Blackstone.
Ormerod, D. (2005). Smith and Hogan Criminal Law. London: Nexis.