Deck 11: Property Crimes

Question 1

Jane received an email outlining a fantastic way to earn money which only required that she pay $29.95 to receive a training manual. Jane sent money to the address but did not ever receive the manual. She later learned that the online company was a hoax. What crime was Jane a victim of?

A)embezzlement
B)fraud
C)larceny
D)forgery

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which group does your textbook report as being responsible for $1 billion in thefts from the retail sector each year?

A)shoplifters
B)employees
C)professional thieves
D)cheque and credit card forgers

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is reported by police to be the most common purpose given for motor vehicle theft?

A)transportation
B)profit
C)joyriding
D)commission of another crime

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What type of event is an example of "false pretences"?

A)committing a robbery while in disguise
B)providing false information to someone which results in the person giving property or money to an offender
C)providing false information to the police about one's identity, address, or business in a particular place at a particular time
D)enabling a theft to take place in a workplace without stopping it, where possible, or reporting it after the fact to the police

Question 5

Who is most likely to be deterred and/or rehabilitated by being charged and arrested?

A)enterprise criminals
B)white-collar criminals
C)occasional criminals
D)professional criminals

Question 6

What are retailers and their employees permitted to do to detain a suspected shoplifter according to Section 494(2) of the Canadian Criminal Code?

A)citizen arrest and restraint
B)clerk privilege
C)arrest by owner of property
D)target arrest

Question 7

During the Middle Ages, thieves were pickpockets or con artists and smugglers avoided taxes. Which of the following did poachers do?

A)stole from the church
B)plotted against the monarchy
C)vandalized property
D)stole game

Question 8

What is the term used to describe a particular situation which creates enough pressure to push someone toward using crime as a solution to solve their problem?

A)situational inducement
B)occasional crime
C)criminal incentive
D)singular transaction

Question 9

What did Edwin Lemert's research reveal about cheque forgers?

A)They most often are males who belong to gangs in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
B)They often are naive individuals who did not intend to pass a bad cheque or who did not believe their actions were overly harmful.
C)The majority are "systematic" forgers who make a living from passing bad cheques.
D)They almost always are caught and prosecuted because of the ease of tracing their cheque cashing through automated signature checking.

Question 10

Professional theft typically refers to a form of criminal behaviour that is undertaken for monetary gain and with a high degree of skill. What form of criminal behaviour is this?

A)violent
B)homicidal
C)nonviolent
D)traditional

Question 11

What percentage of total retail sales are lost to shoplifting?

A)2 percent
B)8 percent
C)15 percent
D)45 percent

Question 12

Which of the following is the name of the system that installs in cars a hidden tracking device that gives off a signal, enabling police to pinpoint its location?

A)the Rebound system
B)the Bounce Back system
C)the Ricochet system
D)the Boomerang system

Question 13

Which crime does the phrase "five-finger discount" refer to?

A)burglary
B)auto theft
C)shoplifting
D)break and enter

Question 14

When a storeowner or employee encounters an individual stealing, what type of action is permitted?

A)arresting the thief even without a warrant
B)locking the thief in the office for the remainder of the store hours and then calling police
C)pointing a weapon at the thief to ensure he or she does not escape
D)detaining the thief using any means possible in order to teach him or her a lesson

Question 15

A few professionals make a substantial living by passing bad cheques. What term did Edwin Lemert use to refer to these persons?

A)amateurs
B)systematic forgers
C)embezzlers
D)opportunistic criminals

Question 16

Movie stores often remove movies from their cases and display the empty case on shelves for customers to read in order to choose a movie to rent. Which method of controlling shoplifting are these stores engaging in?

A)target interference
B)target removal
C)target confusion
D)target hardening

Question 17

What are people called who buy stolen property, usually at half the original price?

A)boosters
B)snitches
C)fences
D)targets

Question 18

Which of the following groups do not perceive themselves to be criminals and yet they commit the majority of the property crimes each year?

A)professional criminals
B)career criminals
C)occasional criminals
D)persistent criminals

Question 19

Who is engaging in the crime of "constructive possession"?

A)Sue failed to return her neighbour's bicycle which was leant to her by a neighbour.
B)Rob used his boss's key to remove merchandise from a storage closet to give to friends.
C)Tom signed his name on the back of his roommate's pay cheque and cashed it.
D)Jill successfully removed three chocolate bars from the corner store in her backpack.

Question 20

What type of situations prompted English judges to create the concept of constructive possession?

A)forgery in the taking
B)trespassing in commercial establishments
C)theft of small amounts of money
D)trespass in the taking

Question 21

False pretence and traditional theft involve taking what has been willingly handed over from the victim.

Question 22

During the Middle Ages, thieves worked as pickpockets and forgers.

Question 23

The research of Neal Shover involved the qualities of the "good burglar." Who, according to Shover, may become a "good burglar"?

A)Anyone can become a "good burglar" if they have the desire to commit the crime.
B)Someone who has demonstrated to a criminal mentor that he or she is solid and capable of the training required may become a "good burglar."
C)Only those who have committed other types of crimes are capable of successfully committing burglary.
D)Only males are capable of being "good burglars."

Question 24

The original common-law definition of larceny required a "trespass in the taking."

Question 25

Why is breaking and entering perceived to be a more serious crime than theft in the eyes of the criminal justice system?

A)It involves entering the residences of people who may be harmed.
B)The proceeds of crime are much more significant than in ordinary theft.
C)The offenders are more likely to be gang members who will use violence if needed.
D)It is committed more often by opportunistic individuals who may harm someone by accident.

Question 26

What is scenario which would result in an arson being also ruled as a fraud case?

A)A man burns his family business down after his parents refuse to give him sole ownership.
B)A young male starts a fire in order to draw attention away from the fact that he has also robbed the business which he has burned.
C)A business woman hires someone to burn down her store with the intention of avoiding all of the debt she is experiencing.
D)An arsonist starts a fire in order to draw attention to a business which has not been ethically operating.

Question 27

Almost every incident of shoplifting is detected by store employees before the suspect ever leaves the store with unpaid-for merchandise.

Question 28

Arson is a young man's crime.

Question 29

Boosters are professional shoplifters who steal with the intention of reselling stolen merchandize to fences.

Question 30

Criminologists suspect that most economic crimes are the work of professional criminals.

Question 31

According to Richard Wright and Scott Decker, professional burglars may choose to target the residences of drug dealers. Why does this group make a good target?

A)They are not likely to be home a great deal in the evening when burglaries usually take place.
B)The burglars may have been in the house on a previous occasion since most burglars are also drug users.
C)It is likely that there will be cash on hand and they are less likely than others to call the police.
D)The drug dealers are more likely to be unaware that they have been robbed as they may be under the influence of a substance.

Question 32

What Canadian Criminal Code offence would someone be committing if he or she used money collected for a charity event to pay for a personal vacation?

A)burglary
B)criminal breach of trust
C)criminal confidence games
D)false pretence fraud

Question 33

The need for money to buy drugs is a common motive for burglars.

Question 34

In Canada embezzlement can be defined as government mismanagement.

Question 35

According to police, joyriding remains a primary motive for motor vehicle thefts by youths.

Question 36

The crime of embezzlement was first codified into law by the English Parliament during the 16th century.

Question 37

Break and enter into a residence carries a higher penalty than breaking into any other type ofstructure.

Question 38

Because burglary involves planning and risk, it attracts professional thieves.

Question 39

Criminologists view shoplifters as people who are likely to reform if apprehended.

Question 40

Youth arsonists generally start fires for economic gain.

Question 41

Canada has an unusually high rate of motor vehicle theft. Discuss the facts pertaining to this phenomenon and explore why Canada may have higher rates of car theft than the United States.

Question 42

The legal definition of burglary has undergone considerable change since its common-law origins. Discuss these changes.

Question 43

Shoplifting is a common form of larceny/theft involving the taking of goods from retail stores. Discuss what the research tells us about both shoplifting and the shoplifter.

Question 44

Theft, or larceny, was one of the earliest pieces of common-law legislation created by English judges to define acts in which one person took for his or her own use the property of another. Discuss the history of the larceny laws.

Question 45

The use of stolen credit cards has become a major problem in Canada and the United States. Discuss what your text tells us about this problem. What has been done to combat individual losses from credit card theft? How is the problem of credit card misuse being compounded?

Question 46

Discuss the strategies and controls implemented in Canada in an attempt to eliminate or reduce shoplifting.

Question 47

A number of attempts have been made to categorize the various forms of auto theft. Charles McCaghy and his associates developed one of the most detailed typologies. Discuss the five categories of auto theft transactions they identified.

Question 48

Confidence games are not a new phenomenon. Describe what they are and discuss the future of these crimes given changes in technology.

Question 49

Arson is the wilful, malicious burning of a home, public building, vehicle, or commercial building. Discuss the types of perpetrators who are likely to commit arson and their varied motives.

Question 50

Discuss the nature and extent of the crime of break and enter in Canada and how burglars approach this job?