A property crime is interfering with someone’s property in the form of damage or destruction. It can also include taking, using, or disrupting the owner’s use of that property in any way. Property is typically defined as real property or personal property. Real property is fixed property like land or real estate and is often legally represented through the use of titles or deeds. Personal property is a broad category, consisting of anything movable a person owns (laptop, cell phone, vehicle, pencil, pets) or intellectual property (ideas or other intangible things created by a person).

Ownership is a vital component of property crimes. Determining who has the right of ownership, meaning who would be considered the victim if something is taken or damaged, requires investigating proof of ownership. Ownership can be established very clearly through receipts, deeds, or titles showing proof of purchase (or some other legal documents, too), but also sometimes a little less clearly through location or evidence of use. For example, someone may be able to show a photograph of an item in their home as proof of ownership.

In addition to ownership, the value of property is important. The item’s worth helps law enforcement and the courts decide how bad of a crime this was and how big of a victim the owner really is. Basically, if someone steals your bicycle then you are considered less victimized than if someone stole your car. The more money something stolen or damaged is worth, the more serious the level of property crime.

Remember back to Chapter 7 when we talked about the mens rea (criminal intent) and actus reus (criminal act) in all the different crimes against persons? We need to consider that with property crimes as well.

8.3.1 Mens Rea in Property Crimes

In order for someone to be charged with a property crime, mens rea must be established. It must be shown somehow that the offender had some awareness that they were messing with property that did not belong to them. This awareness is what demonstrates both the intent and the conscious decision to impose their control over something they knew they do not own.

As a reminder, The Model Penal Code (the guide used to define laws) divides criminal intent into four “states of mind”: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently. The law in property crimes, such as theft, requires evidence of specific intent, or a mens rea of purposely or knowingly performing the criminal action. Higher-order mental states like purposely and knowingly show volition, which means that a person made a choice.

The more clearly it can be shown that stealing was not just borrowing (it was meant to be permanent) and that the damage was total (it cannot be fixed), the more serious the property crime is considered under the law. In other words, the offender must clearly intend the criminal act of stealing and must also intend to never return the stolen property (Itin v. Ungar, 2000). Proving this aspect of the crime takes away any possible defense that they were just “borrowing” the property and intended to return it after they were done using it. After all, borrowing is not a crime. It may just be inconsiderate and that is not illegal.

8.3.2 Actus Reus in Property Crimes

Because property crimes cover many types of “interference” with property, the criminal actions that constitute a property crime are also varied. In general, the most recognizable type of property crimes are those that fall under the umbrella of “theft.” Those crimes require that property be taken or stolen. However, other actions that count as theft could also include keeping someone’s property from them (withholding it), moving someone else’s property without permission, receiving property that you have no right to have (accepting stolen property), or selling property you have no right to sell (selling stolen property). In this example, all of these would be the actus reus of theft. More examples of the actus reus of property crimes are entering a property without permission, remaining on property without permission, damaging property, or destroying property.