AIM: HOW ARE CRIMES

CLASSIFIED?

DO NOW: BASED ON AN EARLIER LESSON HOW DO WE CLASSIFY THE THREE LEVELS OF CRIME IN NYS AND NYC?

NEW YORK CRIME CLASSIFICATION

• Felonies: Serious Crimes usually punishable by more than 1 year in prison (sometimes jail).

• People convicted of felonies will usually be sent to an upstate prison but may be kept on Riker’s Island in NYC especially if they sentence is less than 2 years.

• Misdemeanors: Less Serious Crimes usually punishable by less than 1 year in jail (between 16 days and 1 year)

• People convicted of misdemeanors will usually serve very short jail sentences if any at all due to overcrowding on Riker’s Island

• Violation: Classified as a very minor public order crime. Traffic infraction fall into this category and other minor crimes like drinking in public and jumping a turnstile.

• People convicted of violations face up to 15 days in jail and/or a fine. Most often, those convicted of a violation pay a fine.

HOW DO CRIMINOLOGISTS CLASSIFY CRIME?

• Criminologists recognize two primary classifications of crime with multiple sub divisions incorporated in those two classifications

• Mala in Se: Crimes that are “Wrong in Themselves”• The vast majority of people in society deem these

crimes to be so terrible that any perpetrator should be punished.

• Mala Prohibita: Crimes that are “Prohibited by the Government”

• Some in society do not believe that these crimes are necessarily wrong nor that the perpetrator should even be punished for it.

WHAT IS VISIBLE CRIME?

• Visible Crime:

• Also known as “Street Crime” or “Ordinary Crime”.• Visible Crime is divided into 3 sub categories:

• Violent Crime: Criminal Acts that when committed result in death or serious physical injuries to the victim or other innocent bystanders

• Property Crimes: Criminal acts which threaten property owner by the victim

• Public Order Crimes: Criminal acts which threaten the moral order

Are Visible Crimes Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL CRIME?

• Occupational Crime:

• Also known as “White Collar Crimes” because often times it’s business in white shirts and suits who commit these crimes.

• Occupational Crimes are generally non-violent (but can be)

• They can go undetected for years• Costs businesses and tax payers billions of dollar per

year• Often time will result in huge sentences for perpetrators

because of the dollar amount and length of the criminal activity

Are Occupational Crimes Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

WHAT IS ORGANIZED CRIME?• Organized Crime:

• Organized Crime is Criminal Acts committed by well organized “Gangs” or groups also known as syndicates.

• In New York, Organized Crime includes acts committed by the Italian Mafia, the Russian Mob, Asian Gangs operating out of Chinatown and Flushing, as well as various organized Grand Larceny Auto groups who steal cars and ship them overseas.• The Italian Mafia in New York have been amongst the

most powerful of these groups through the 1990’s. • New York has 5 Italian Mafia Crime Families; Gambino,

Lucchese, Bonanno, Genovese, and Colombo. The Gambino and Lucchese Families controlled much of Queens and Brooklyn throughout the 1990’s.

Is Organized Crime Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

WHAT ARE CRIMES WITHOUT VICTIMS?

• Crimes without Victims:

• Crimes without Victims are acts which go against the morality of society.

• These Crimes usually consist of willing and private exchange of goods or services which are in demand but which are Illegal.

• If someone is willing to participate are they really a victim?

Are Crimes without Victims Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

WHAT IS POLITICAL CRIME?

• Political Crime:

• Political Crimes are Crimes committed by Politicians who hold public office and have been duly elected by the people to service

• Political Criminals take advantage of the public trust because they generally hold a public office and have been entrusted by the voters to act properly

• Many of these crimes can go undetected for years and cost taxpayers billions of dollars

• These crimes can also affect large numbers of peoples depending on what crimes the politician or other government official committed.

Are political crimes Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

WHAT IS CYBERCRIME?

• Cybercrime:

• Are criminal acts involving computers and the internet.

• Includes many different acts such as:• Identity Theft• Child Pornography• Computer Viruses

Is Cybercrime Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT?

• Identity Theft:

• Fastest growing crime in the United States and world wide.

• The stealing of Social Security Numbers is the number one way in which a person’s identity is stolen

• Identity thieves pretend to be the person whose identity they have stolen to get money, goods, or other services

Is identity Theft Mala in Se or Mala Prohibita?

PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM IDENTITY THEFT

5 Ways to Protect your Identity:

1. Do not give out your social security number

2. Do not give out your mothers maiden name

3. Do not give personal information over the phone

4. Protect your phone, tablet, or computer with a lock codes and do not use public Wi-Fi which is unsecure

5. Purchase Life Lock or other Identity protection services

CONCLUSION

The job of a Criminologist is to classify the different types of crime in order to study their causes and effects on society.

As we have seen, many crimes are Mala in Se and many crimes are Mala Prohibita. But I think that we can agree that many crimes fit into both categories at the same time.