Overview
Based on your reading for this week plus any other information you can find, are property crime laws, specifically those covering unlawful taking of property such as burglary, theft, and robbery, in the US effective? What changes should/could be made to make them more effective? What factors influence the level of property crime in a community, and are there any ways to deter these types of crimes? Are the distinct crimes associated with this area of the law logical and useful in meeting our societal goals? Can you find any examples of interesting cases to share with the class? What about people who steal because they need to eat/feed their families? What should we be doing with them? Make sure to read the article about pretrial justice reform before thinking about these questions.
Here is some basic information about the three main types of "stealing" crimes: https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/ncvrw2018/info_flyers/fact_sheets/2018NCVRW_Burglary_508_QC.pdf
Check out this guy, who is facing 22 separate charges: https://www.wrbl.com/news/crime/columbus-police-have-man-in-custody-on-22-charges-clearing-multiple-property-crime-cases/
And now here are some statistics: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/03/01/most-violent-and-property-crimes-in-the-u-s-go-unsolved/