DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMATUER AND PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS
Setting aside our disgust at the disruption of our value system, there are three major differences between the professional property offender (thief) and an “amateur” thief. First, the professional has a diminished moral capacity and multiple victims, while the amateur’s damage is much more limited. Secondly, the professional plans ahead, has a modus operandi, and an outlet for his booty (fence). Thirdly, the professional can only be stopped by incarceration, while the amateur will stop when his situation changes, because his theft is often a crime of sociological pressure and temporary opportunity (addiction, extreme poverty, underlying psychological problems, etc.). In sum, the professional must be combated with all the forces of law, while the amateur needs more sociological and psychological help to get his behavior back on track. So the law’s identifying the difference is essential to the sociological remedy.
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Georgia Codes
TITLE 16 – CRIMES AND OFFENSES
CHAPTER 8 – OFFENSES INVOLVING THEFT
ARTICLE 1 – THEFT
§ 16-8-1 – Definitions
O.C.G.A. 16-8-1 (2010) 16-8-1. Definitions As used in this article, the term: (1) “Deprive” means, without justification: (A) To withhold property of another permanently or temporarily; or (B) To dispose of the property so as to make it unlikely that the owner will recover it. (2) “Financial institution” means a bank, insurance company, credit union, building and loan association, investment trust, or other organization held out to the public as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective investment. (3) “Property of another” includes property in which any person other than the accused has an interest but does not include property belonging to the spouse of an accused or to them jointly.
CRJ 105 – Crime and Criminal Behavior
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thereof, unlawfully appropriates any property of another with the intention of depriving him of the property, regardless of the manner in which the property is taken or appropriated.
§ 16-8-3 – Theft by deception
O.C.G.A. 16-8-3 (2010) 16-8-3. Theft by deception (a) A person commits the offense of theft by deception when he obtains property by any deceitful means or artful practice with the intention of depriving the owner of the property. (b) A person deceives if he intentionally: (1) Creates or confirms another’s impression of an existing fact or past event which is false and which the accused knows or believes to be false; (2) Fails to correct a false impression of an existing fact or past event which he has previously created or confirmed; (3) Prevents another from acquiring information pertinent to the disposition of the property involved; (4) Sells or otherwise transfers or encumbers property intentionally failing to disclose a substantial and valid known lien, adverse claim, or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the property, whether such impediment is or is not a matter of official record; or (5) Promises performance of services which he does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed. Evidence of failure to perform standing alone shall not be sufficient to authorize a conviction under this subsection. (c) “Deceitful means” and “artful practice” do not, however, include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or exaggeration by statements unlikely to deceive ordinary persons in the group addressed.