Property Crime and Typologies

Assignment 2: Property Crime and Typologies

CRJ 105: Crime and Criminal Behavior

Strayer University

On the date of May 20th, 2016 three suspects entered the Socks for Feet retail store. The three suspects that were observed in the retail store were two young men, Bubba Hurt and Skeeter Redrum, and a young woman, Summer Breeze. The security officer of Socks for Feet, Mr. Bo Foot, observed the three suspects go into two separate aisles in the store where they attempted to steal merchandise. Security Officer Foot observed Bubba Hurt in the Big Feet aisle where he proceeded to stuff three dozen pairs of socks into his pants.

Security officer Foot then observed Skeeter Redrum and Summer Breeze, the other two suspects, in the Hang Nail Aisle where they stuffed two dozen pairs of socks into Summer Breeze’s purse. When Security Officer Foot approached the three suspects about the socks, the three suspects immediately ran out of the store. Bubba Hurt, one of the suspects, knocked Security Officer Foot down while fleeing out the back of the store. In regards to this incident, we will be deciding what the charges and penalties will be, if these three suspects are amateur criminals or professional criminals, and what typology applies to these three suspects.

Before we can determine the charges and penalties, we must first examine each of the three suspects. The first suspect is Bubba Hurt whose full name is Bubba Beauregard Hurt, and he is a twenty-eight-year-old white male. Bubba stands six-foot-five-inches tall and weighs two-hundred-ninety pounds. The second suspect is Skeeter Redrum, and he is a twenty-six-year-old white male. Skeeter stands six-foot tall and weighs one-hundred-eighty-five pounds. The third suspect is Summer Breeze, and she is a twenty-two-year-old white female. Summer stands five-foot-seven-inches tall and weighs one-hundred-forty-five pounds.

All three suspects have prior incidents, but only Bubba Hurt’s criminal record was given to us. After reviewing Bubba Hurt’s past criminal record, we determined that, for some unknown reason, the charges of drug possession and shoplifting against him were dropped. One could assume that Happy Town’s Police Chief, Rodney Hurt, Bubba Hurt’s father, might have had a hand in getting the charges against his son dropped.

For the current incident, the charges that will be applied to all three suspects is O.C.G.A. 16-8-2, Theft by taking. Theft by taking is when an individual commits the offense of theft by taking when he or she unlawfully takes or, being in lawful possession thereof, unlawfully appropriates any property of another with the intentions of depriving him or her of the property, regardless of the manner in which the property was taken or appropriated as is stated in the Georgia Codes, tile sixteen – crimes and offenses, chapter eighteen – offenses involving theft. The penalties for theft, as stated in the Georgia Codes, are that the suspect will be charged with a misdemeanor unless the value of the items stolen exceeds five-hundred dollars. The total cost of the items that our three suspects, Bubba, Skeeter, and Summer, stole from the Socks for Feet Outlet store is six-hundred-seventy-two dollars.

Since the total of the items stolen is over five-hundred-dollars, the punishment is to be one but no more than ten years of imprisonment. The penalty for theft is also at the discretion of the judge. There is also a theft by shoplifting charge that will be added to the charge of theft by taking. The charges for shoplifting are almost identical to those of theft by taking, but the defendant will also have a fine of no less than two-hundred-fifty-dollars. The two-hundred-fifty-dollar fine is for anyone with a second conviction, like our three suspects.

Along with the fine, if the property value of the items stolen exceeds three-hundred-dollars and the suspect commits a felony, the penalty is one but no more than ten years of imprisonment. Since our three suspects, Bubba, Skeeter, and Summer entered the store and then proceeded to “seize” the socks, it is safe to assume that they intended to steal five dozen or more pairs of socks. All three suspects could face the charge of robbery as well, and the penalty for that could be no more than twenty years of imprisonment.

The next question we must answer is if our suspects are amateur criminals or professional criminals. In order to determine if our suspects are amateurs or professionals, we must first examine the differences between the two. There are several differences between an amateur criminal and a professional criminal. A professional criminal has no morals, and they can have more than one victim. A professional criminal plans their crimes in advance and the only thing that can stop them is for them to be incarcerated. When it comes to an amateur criminal, they have fewer victims than a professional criminal would have. An amateur does not plan out their crimes in advance; instead, they work in a spur of the moment kind of way. Amateur criminals are less likely to have to be incarcerated, and instead might be put back on the right path with the help of boot camps, sociological programs, and psychological programs. In retrospect, an amateur criminal is more likely to be rehabilitated than a professional criminal.

When we examine our suspects, Bubba, Skeeter, and Summer, some might consider them to be amateur criminals, but in truth, they act more like professional criminals. They have all had previous incidents with the law, but since we do not have Skeeter or Summer’s criminal records, we do not know if they have committed a theft before. Bubba, on the others hand, has been caught shoplifting in the past and has also been in possession of illegal substances, drugs. Looking at Bubba’s criminal history, we determined that for unknown reasons the charges filed against him were dropped. In the current case against Bubba and his associates, it can be seen that they were keeping a lookout for each other. Bubba wore clothing that would make it easy to hide items in and Summer brought a purse big enough to hide items within. It can also be observed from their actions that they planned to steal socks from the Socks for Feet Outlet store, which is professional criminal behavior. Their actions made it clear that they knew what they were doing when they entered the store.

The previous examination poses another question. We must question if our three suspects are occasional property thieves or if they are more conventional thieves. At first glance, Bubba Hurt’s criminal typology might appear as an occasional property criminal. However, when we examine his criminal records and his other vital records, he appears as a professional criminal. On the information provided for Bubba Hurt, his date of birth is listed as January 5th, 1990 and yet when we look at his work history, it states that he has worked at Happy Metal Works since 1985 which is years before his listed date of birth. Also, to his convenience, his past crimes have been dropped, even when those charges were felony charges. In truth, Bubba Hurt should have already been incarcerated, but unfortunately, he is still walking the streets free as a bird.

We cannot say where Skeeter Redrum and Summer Breeze fit since we do not know the extent of their criminal history. We can assume that all three suspects are boosters which are professional criminals who carefully plan out their crimes in advance and carefully execute those plans. We can also assume from their actions that these three suspects may be a part of something bigger than stealing socks from the outlet store.

In conclusion, Bubba Hurt, Skeeter Redrum, and Summer Breeze are the three suspects that were identified by multiple witnesses as the thieves who stole socks from Socks for Feet Outlet store. All three suspects have prior offenses, and they now face new charges which include theft by taking and theft by shoplifting. The punishments for their crimes could include a fine of two-hundred-fifty-dollars and up to ten years in prison. When we first looked at these three individuals, they appeared to be amateur criminals, but upon closer inspection, we conclude that they are in fact, professional criminals. Bubba Hurt’s typology fits that of a professional criminal, and it also begs the question of if he is involved with something bigger then theft. In the end, these three suspects should be justly punished for their crimes, and they should have to face their punishments instead of being let off with a simple slap of the wrist. Their punishments have been a long time coming, and we hope that by making them face their punishments that they can learn and grow from their past transgressions. Maybe one day these three individuals can live a life free of crime.

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