In America, the economic challenges have had impacts in all walks of life. When it comes to crime, Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys have found themselves defending more and more alleged theft crime offenders. According to the Federal Government, property theft crimes have falled drastically over the last 30 plus years. However, the current economic crisis is driving more and more people away from stable jobs to acts of desparation.
These theft crimes will increase in the specific areas where people have lost, or are losing, their jobs, homes and possessions.
A theft crime is a criminal act of taking another individual’s personal property without the individual’s consent. In California, theft crimes are classified as grand theft or petty theft. Petty theft is taking another person’s property (valued at below $400) without the person’s consent. In most cases, petty theft is considered a misdemeanor. Grand theft is taking another person’s property (valued at $400 or greater) without the person’s consent. Many grand theft crimes are considered felonies; which means that the offender can be sentenced with over a year of jail time if convicted.
Frequently committed theft crimes include: shoplifting, carjacking, burglary, robbery, armed robbery, credit card fraud, identity theft, vehicular theft, embezzlement, larceny, and money laundering.
In places where foreclosures are on the rise, criminal defense attorneys across the country have seen property damage, petty theft and even grand larceny on the rise. In Los Angeles, the foreclosures have hit some neighborhoods worse than others, and the crime rate over the next 12 months will most likely mirror the foreclosure rates.

Source: Law Blog

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 1969 at 6:00 pm and is filed under 32. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.