NCJ Number
211531
Journal
Trends in Organized Crime Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: Summer 2005 Pages: 6-14
Date Published
2005
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper explains why fraud will likely characterize the crime of the 21st century as larceny characterized much of the 20th century.
Abstract
Larceny is defined as "taking property of another with intent to deprive the owner." This crime remained at high levels throughout the 1900s and is the most common of all crimes. Fraud is defined as "purposely obtaining the property of another through deception." Fraud is likely to replace larceny as the crime of choice for criminals because of changes in property ownership, storage, and movement. Regarding property ownership and storage, for much of the 20th century, personal and business cash and property were kept physically on a premise, in safety deposit boxes, or in local banks. The owner had quick, direct physical access to the property at all times. Currently, however, credit and debit transactions are overtaking cash transactions in volume, and personal property is increasingly leased or borrowed rather than owned; therefore, fewer people are holding cash or valuables on their persons or in their homes, making larceny less attractive as a crime. The movement of property has been made easier by the emergence and growth of the Internet, facilitating wireless transactions and making the conversion of cash to property and property to cash easier. Given changes in the ways people hold, store, and move cash and property, fraud has become an easier, more profitable, and less risky way to steal in the 21st century. In addition, the opportunities for fraud are increasing while the chances of apprehension are declining. Whether efforts to prevent fraud will limit opportunities and provide quick reactions to changes in criminal technology remains to be seen. 18 references