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What Are the Types of Criminal Offenses?
It’s very responsible to want to get to know more about the six basic types of criminal offenses, especially if you’re thinking of asking help from a criminal defense attorney. It’s the first step in the process of preparing for a criminal trial, and a step you should not skip. So, here is what you should know about criminal offenses before going in for a consultation with a criminal attorney in San Diego.
What are considered criminal offenses?
Explaining what a criminal offense is seems simple enough, but is actually anything but. The best way to attempt to explain what the California Department of Justice deems a criminal offense is to compare it to a civil offense.
Civil offenses are those offenses that involve non-violent misbehavior toward a specific victim, and not toward the society as a whole. And this is the important bit of the definition of a civil offense – society.
On the other hand, a criminal offense is wrongdoing that “offends” not only a specific victim, but also the entire moral code of a society. It can be violent or non-violent, but the important bit is that it is a crime against the sensibilities of an entire society.
Why is robbery a crime? Well, because the entire society frowns upon an individual being violently separated from his valuables. Embezzlement? Because the society as a whole depends on the dealings within a business to be honest, so taxes can be paid, etc.
And that is what the law considers a criminal offense. If you’re harming an individual, but also the moral code of the rest of the society you live in, you’re committing a criminal offense. And there are several different types of these offenses, as we are about to see.
What are the 6 types of crime?
There are six basic types of criminal offenses. They involve misbehavior towards society as a whole in six distinct categories:
- Personal crimes – When an individual willingly chooses to impart harm on another person, that’s when we talk about personal crimes. These crimes are almost always considered violent, and can be further divided into homicide, as well as other violent crimes. Crimes that fall into these categories are:
- First-degree murder
- Vehicular homicide
- Voluntary manslaughter
- Arson
- Assault and battery
- Kidnapping
- Domestic and child abuse
- Rape and statutory rape
- Property crimes – If an individual or a group of people interfere in any way with the property of another individual, we’re dealing with property crimes. Property crimes cause mental or physical harm, or they deprive an individual from enjoying the property. The following are property crimes:
- Burglary
- Robbery
- Larceny
- Auto theft
- Shoplifting
- Inchoate crimes – If an individual initiates a crime, but fails to finish it, we’re talking about inchoate crimes. Also, inchoate crimes include acts of assisting another individual in commissioning a crime. In order for a crime to be categorized as inchoate, an offender has to have made a substantial step toward completing the crime. These crimes include:
- Aiding and abetting
- Conspiracy
- Attempt at a crime
- Statutory crimes – If you’ve committed a statutory crime, it means you’ve harmed the postulates of a statute. There are three main categories of statutory crimes:
- Alcohol-related crimes:
- Driving under the influence
- Public intoxication
- Underage DUI
- Boating DUI
- Open container violations
- Minor possessing alcohol
- Refusing to undergo a sobriety test
- Drug crimes:
- Drug possession
- Drug trafficking
- Drug manufacturing
- Traffic crimes:
- Driving under the influence – It is both a traffic offense and an alcohol-related offense, as it involves both alcohol and driving.
- Driving a vehicle without a license
- Hit-and-run
- Reckless driving
- Driving with a suspended license
- Financial crimes – Financial crimes have to involve some sort of financial gain to be considered financial crimes. These crimes usually involve a type of fraud, and the most common subtypes are:
- Blackmail
- Embezzlement
- Tax evasion
- Cybercrime
- Money laundering
- Organized crime – When there is a structured group of organized individuals who are committing crimes, it’s called organized crime. This usually involved the distribution of illegal services or goods. It can involve many of the aforementioned crimes, but is a type of criminal offense nonetheless.
“Who is the leading San Diego criminal attorney I can turn to?”
If you’re in need of the services of a criminal defense attorney, you should definitely only consider asking criminal law professionals from the Monder Criminal Lawyer Group for help. We are a well-oiled machine of criminal law pundits who always give it their all to secure a not guilty. We understand that, in these trying times, it’s difficult to even go for a walk to Balboa Park, but, give us a call and we’ll make it work!
