Is There a Difference Between Theft, Robbery, and Burglary?

Most individuals use the phrases theft, housebreaking, and theft interchangeably. Whereas that is effective for informal dialog, there are important distinctions between every of those offenses within the context of felony regulation. If one among your family members has been arrested for stealing, it is necessary to know precisely what the fees concerned.

The Philadelphia Police Division (PPD) publishes Philadelphia crime statistics yearly. In response to the PPD’s 2014 crime stats report, there have been 15,999 instances of theft, 6,924 instances of theft, and 9,567 instances of housebreaking. In fact, it is not simply regulation enforcement that makes a distinction between these offenses – so does state regulation.

Theft, which is the least widespread of those three crimes in Philadelphia, is outlined by 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3701. This statute describes theft as theft (which we’ll cowl shortly) plus one of many following components:

Briefly, a theft is a theft that particularly entails some kind of drive, assault, or intimidation. An extra statute (18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3702) is devoted solely to the theft of a motorized vehicle, typically referred to as carjacking.

Relying on the circumstances, theft might be graded as a 3rd, second, or first-degree felony. The utmost felony penalties for every class of felony offense are listed under:

Housebreaking, which is outlined by 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3502, particularly entails coming into a constructing or different piece of property “with the intent to commit against the law therein.” State regulation permits defendants who’re charged with housebreaking to boost three defenses:

Theft, which is the commonest of amongst these offenses by a large margin, is typically referred to as larceny. For example, you might have heard the phrases “grand larceny” (grand theft) or “petit larceny” (petty theft).

Not like housebreaking and theft, that are extremely particular in nature, theft is a really broad cost which encompasses quite a few offenses. A few of these offenses are widespread (like shoplifting), whereas others are so obscure they’re nearly unknown. Examples of Pennsylvania theft crimes are listed under:

Illegal use of computer systems was once a theft offense, however the related statute was repealed in 2002.

As you’ll be able to see from the above listing, theft covers a really wide selection of each tangible and intangible objects. Theft may contain stealing a bodily merchandise (like a handbag or a motorbike), a service or utility (like cable or web), or just precious info (like one other individual’s id, or an organization’s commerce secrets and techniques).

Relying on the character of the alleged offense concerned, theft grading runs the gamut from third-degree misdemeanor to first-degree felony. Thus, a defendant who’s convicted of theft is likely to be going through wherever from one to twenty years in jail, and/or fines starting from $2,000 to $25,000. It relies on the kind and greenback worth of the property concerned, amongst different components. For example, theft is routinely a second-degree felony if the property stolen is a firearm, or if the worth of the stolen commodity is at the least $100,000 however lower than $500,000.