What Most People Are Arrested for in California
There are many different crimes a person can be charged with. Interestingly, there are some charges that no one ever seems to be charged with and other charges that the California courts handle every single day.
Here are the crimes that most people are arrested for.
Drug Related Charges
You could face many different types of charges if you’re caught with drugs, but all of them are lumped together as drug crimes.
Some people are arrested and charged with a drug-related offense because they were a person of interest in a police investigation, which ultimately turned up enough evidence to justify an arrest.
In other cases, the person makes a mistake, such as having drugs in plain sight during a traffic stop and getting charged with a crime.
Larceny
Larceny, or as it’s also called, petty theft, is a common charge. While people commit larceny throughout the state, the largest concentration of larceny charges tends to be in areas that are struggling economically. The reason for this is that the average person steals because they’re desperate for money to help them cover their living expenses.
To be charged with larceny rather than a more serious burglary charge, the incident could not have involved the use of force, and you could not have used coercion during the crime. You’ll face significantly more serious charges if there is even a hint of violence.
Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol
Despite all the warnings and public service announcements, DUIs are still a huge problem in California. If you’re caught driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you will be charged and arrested. It’s extremely difficult to fight a DUI charge. Once you’ve been convicted, you’ll have a criminal record, be unable to drive for a period of time, and face some heavy fines. It’s even possible that you’ll be sentenced to some jail time.
Homicide and Other Gun Related Charges
One of the interesting things you discover when you look at California’s current crime-related statistics is that when you compare the crime rate of 2021 to 2019, some crimes dropped. The number of robbery-related crimes showed significant change, dropping a full 15.8% in 2021. While the decrease in robberies was good, the increase in gun-related crimes, including homicides, was significantly more alarming. During that same time frame, homicides and aggravated assaults that involved the use of a firearm increased by 52% (homicides) and 64% (aggravated assaults.)
The Most Common Crimes in California
There are some crimes that the California court system deals with more than others.
DUIs
It doesn’t seem to matter how often drivers are warned about the dangers of drinking and driving, people are still doing just that. Every single day, someone in California gets caught driving after they’ve had too much to drink.
This is a fairly simple crime to avoid. If you want to drink, either make sure you have a reliable designated driver, are prepared to call for a ride home, or give yourself plenty of time to sober up before you get behind the wheel. If none of these things are possible, either stay home and drink or stick to non-alcoholic beverages while you’re out on the town.
Drug Related Crimes
Like most states, there is a serious drug problem in California. While California is often praised for being progressive about both drug laws and drug treatments, there is no getting around the fact that drug crimes are still abundant in the state. The number of fatalities connected to drug use has been steadily climbing. In 2000 there were only 500 deaths in California were attributed to drug use. That number climbed to about 2,200 in 2019.
Drugs commonly linked to drug-related crimes in California include:
- Cocaine
- Opioids
- Meth
- Heroin
Theft
Many cases involving theft make their way through the California court system every single year. Many people don’t even realize how many different types of theft occur in the state during a year. When the average person hears about theft, they usually think about breaking and entering and shoplifting. The truth is that there are numerous different ways you can be charged with theft.
Different types of theft charges in California include:
- Breaking and Entering
- Fraud
- Car theft
- Embezzlement
- Shoplifting
- Robbery
- Petty theft
- Grand theft
Assault
It is rare for 24 hours to pass without at least one person in most of California’s cities getting charged with some type of assault. The circumstances surrounding the incident determine how serious the assault charges are. In some cases, the charge is a simple assault which is something that generally happens when a conversation gets heated and punches are thrown. Simple assault is typically a misdemeanor.
The opposite end of the scale is aggravated assault which generally involves the use of some type of weapon and someone getting seriously hurt.