The most common type of crime

The most common type of crime is property crime most likely because it can be committed anywhere and by anyone. T. Gabor in the book ?everybody does it! crime by the public gives the definition, as the unlawful acquisition of anothers property through theft or deception? property crime can be as small as taking towels from a hotel room with you. So it could be send that everyone at some point in their lives has committed property crime no matter how small.

Nine times out of ten major offenders of property crime are juveniles their crimes are usually in the form of petty theft, vandalism, car theft etc. Though there are a lot of cases of everyday citizens when given the opportunity would in fact take advantage of their employer. There are many instances of cashiers not ringing up purchases and taking the money for themselves or waiters charging their customers more so that they can pocket the difference.

There is no single characteristics of a shoplifter research shows that men and women are involved about the same. It is not just isolated to one class, it seems to be well spread among the different social classes, for example middle class house wives figure quite highly among shop-lifters. Where age is concerned though teenagers are well known for this, the problem spans across all age groups.

Employee theft is also a problem a big problem of property crime, it can be in the form of stealing office supplies, merchandise or a group of employees premeditating and planning a complex crime. Although large-scale obvious incidents of theft are isolated incidents, the amount an individual worker can take during years of service in the form of petty crime can amount to a significant loss to the company especially if half its employees are doing it.

Employee theft can be categorised into three types: time theft, theft of cash and theft of merchandise. Time theft alone which is estimated to cost businesses a loss of billions each year seem to justify the statement that ?property crime is committed by ordinary people in their everyday life take into account that the average person has slacked at some point of their employment, people who stop working to have a cigarette, people who engage in non-stop chattering with other employees, people who use the ploy of going to get a drink of water or coffee to get an extra break, people who read books or newspapers while at work, etc all those actions are done during company time and lose company money. Theft of cash and merchandise depending on if done on a small scale level or not is done by employees who believe they are in a position to take and not get caught and most of them believe a little bit of money here and there and a little bit of company stock or produce here and there will not be missed as there are hundreds and thousands more.

Hidden economies involve a range of illegal activities by normal working people to get goods and services, though some of these activities may involve stealing from the state or the employer, they differ from stealing because they are done by a large number of people at different levels and some cases different companies and this is therefore accepted behaviour in that setting.

Property crime in its different forms is still quite popular because it can appeal to people on different levels. For instance for juveniles vandalism, car theft and petty crime may be a form of gang initiation or a means of gaining respect and street credibility. Employees steal merchandise from shops because there is a market for cheap stolen goods and people a willing to buy products at reduced prices. Employees are willing to take small amounts of money from the till and steal money from their employers because they feel they can take advantage of the opportunity and everyone is an opportunist in one way or form, who does not like easy money?

To answers the question stated as the title of the essay would depend on what level of property crime you look at, if you look at the small petty insignificant crimes like leaving a hotel with their towels or reading a newspaper during work time then yes property crime is committed by ordinary people in their everyday lives. Though if you look at property crime at its highest levels such as theft it tends to happen in slightly poverty stricken areas because there is a demand for cheaper goods and people are desperate for money. Ironically though property crime done at highest levels where a large amount of sophistication is needed is usually done by professionals at work living middle class lives. So in conclusion property from my research done by everyday citizens in their everyday life if the opportunity arises and every body is an opportunist