Property Offenses

The Criminal Code has sought to accomplish three goals in the area of property crimes: consolidation, simplicity, and consistency in the treatment of similar offenses. The consolidation of a variety of previously separate crimes into the single crime of theft may be the most drastic change from prior law in the entire Code. Almost all of the ways in which a person may be deprived of his property or services to the gain of another are now included in this single crime. The consolidation under the heading of burglary of a variety of crimes involving entry of buildings in combination with particular criminal intent (ordinarily theft) has resulted in greater ease in charging, fewer elements, and a fully justified expansion of conduct considered criminal. The more serious and comprehensive treatment of crimes involving the destruction of property is at last a recognition that this type of conduct is at least as detrimental to the victim and the community as theft.