What You Need To Know About Property Crimes in California
While the term property crimes gets tossed around by the media, in California, you aren’t going to be charged with a “property crime.” The reason for this is because, in California, the phrase property crime is actually a blanket term that’s used to describe multiple crimes.
The four most common property crimes in California are:
- Arson
- Theft
- Burglary
- Vandalism
If the media says that you have been charged with one or more property crimes, it means you’ve been charged with one or more of these offenses.
Arson is pretty self-explanatory. Arson happens when you deliberately set fire to a property. In California, arson is always a felony. If you’re convicted, you will spend anywhere from 16 months to nine years in prison. One of the big factors that determines how long you’re incarcerated includes if you set fire to your own personal property, if the burned structure was inhabited, and if anyone suffered a serious injury as a result of the fire.
One of the interesting things about arson is that it’s the only property crime you can be charged with, even when the property is your own.
There are multiple types of theft charges in California. For a theft to be considered a property crime, it had to have been committed on someone else’s property. Examples of theft that fall into the category of property crime include:
- Shoplifting
- Grand theft auto
- Robbery
- Embezzlement
- Package theft
Whether your charges are for misdemeanor theft or felony theft depends on the collective value of what was stolen. If the property was less than $900, you’d only face misdemeanor theft charges. If it exceeded $900, you’d be charged with a felony.
Most people not only think of burglary as a property crime but also as a violent crime. To be charged with burglary in California, not only do you have to break into someone’s property (house, barn, shed, storage unit), but you have to do so for the purpose of stealing something. If you’re convicted of second-degree or first-degree burglary in California, you’ll face up to 20 years in a California state prison.
Vandalism, while serious, is often considered the most minor of California’s property crimes. Vandalism is simply the destruction of someone else’s property. To be convicted of vandalism in California, you had to intentionally create the damage and knew the property wasn’t yours. The degree of punishment connected to vandalism in California depends on how much damage was caused. Restitution is often part of the sentence.
Consequences of Shoplifting in California
A surprising number of people have shoplifted during their lifetime. It’s especially common with young children who will often take something from candy racks. Teenagers will also sometimes shoplift because they were dared by their friends or because they are simply looking for a way to rebel.
The problem with shoplifting is that it is against the law. If you’re caught, you face some serious legal consequences.
Shoplifting occurs when you remove something from a store without paying for it. There are times when this happens by accident, such as a pair of earrings getting overlooked by a cashier or a small item getting forgotten in a cart because you were distracted by a grumpy toddler, but most of the time, shoplifting is done deliberately.
In most accidental cases, the store management will review any security tapes they have or talk to the cashier who waited on you. If it’s clear that the item was accidentally taken from the shop, they’ll likely ask you to pay for it and let you go.
However, if they discover that the shoplifting was intentional, they’ll likely file criminal charges.
If you’re arrested as a result of your shoplifting, you’ll be charged with theft. The value of the merchandise you removed from the store determines if you’re charged with petty theft or grand theft. If the total value of merchandise taken during a single shoplifting episode is less than $950 you’ll be charged with petty theft which is a misdemeanor. If you took more than $950 worth of stuff, you’re facing felony grand theft charges.
With both petty and grand theft, you could face possible jail time, though the amount of time you spend incarcerated and the location varies. With a petty theft conviction, the maximum sentence is 6 months in a county jail. The maximum jail time associated with a grand theft conviction is a year.
It isn’t unusual for a judge to look at the circumstances surrounding the shoplifting incident and decide that community service, a fine, restitution, and probation are sufficient sentences.
One of the big things the judge will look at while they are trying to settle on an appropriate sentence is your criminal history. They will be far more willing to entertain a mild sentence that includes nothing more than a small fine and community service if this is your first brush with the law. If you already have a criminal record, especially that record includes other theft charges, they may decide to hit you with the maximum sentence.
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.