Property Crime
Surprisingly, a significant percentage of crimes in the United States deal primarily with property instead of physical harm. Some of these crimes include arson, as well as theft from both automobiles as well as larceny. Many of these crimes take place without involvement of any victims, as they primarily take place while the criminal is in isolation. However property crime also includes any financial loss associated with damage to a house or car during an altercation.
Alcohol-Related Offenses
This category covers a wide variety of offenses from violation of state and local laws of liquor to drunken behavior. With the prevalence of alcohol throughout the country, crimes as a direct result of alcohol exposure and/or sale populate the federal crime list. Although on a much minor scale than previous decades, bootlegging is also considered a relatively prevalent alcohol-related offense that occurs in certain areas on the country today.
Drug Abuse
Considering the amount of drugs that are annually smuggled into the country as well as domestic sale, the production and sale of narcotics also dominates the federal crime statistics. The most frequently abused drugs include marijuana as well as cocaine and opium. However, this number is expected to decrease based on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by a few states.The exploitation of prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Opioids continues to be an ongoing issue on the pharmaceutical scene .
Violent Crime
Perhaps the most publicized crimes by the media, this category includes any crime which results in the physical harm of another human being. Most common crimes include murder, manslaughter, and rape. Unfortunately, child abuse also proves to be a prominent issue across the nation as a form of violent crime. Violent crime is also considered to be an offense that is under-reported when you take into account the amount of altercations that go unreported to any state or federal authority.
Disorderly Conduct
Also known casually as “disturbing the peace”, disorderly conduct is a term which relates to anytime the public is deemed to be disturbed by an individual’s actions, however are not under a serious threat of violence. This includes shouting obscenities as well as producing too much noise in the middle of the night. The consumption of alcohol is a very frequent factor in disorderly conduct arrests, as arrests are frequently associated with the criminal being drunk.
Fraud
Plain and simple, fraud is the resulting offense whenever someone fraudulently represents certain information in order to appear as someone else. This is very frequently associated with financial situations in which individuals inaccurately identify as an individual in order to achieve personal economic gain. Identity theft is also a crime which is an accurate representation of fraud. With the increase in the power of the internet, more and more fraud cases are now becoming battles through cyber space, with the off-site hacking of encrypted data also proving to be a major issue.
