Property Crimes explained by criminal defense attorney in Tampa Hillsborough County FL

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Property Crimes in Florida

The criminal defense attorneys at the Sammis Law Firm, P.A., represent clients through the greater Tampa Bay area for a variety of criminal offenses that involve property crimes. Before you speak with any law enforcement officer about the allegations against you, call us to speak to an attorney about the specific facts and circumstances of your case.

We represent clients charged with property crimes in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida and the surrounding areas of New Port Richey and Dade City in Pasco County, Brooksville in Hernando County, Clearwater and St. Petersburg in Pinellas County, Bartow and Lakeland in Polk County, and Bradenton in Manatee County, FL.

Definition of Property Crimes

Property crimes are generally defined in Florida as an intentional criminal act that results in the taking or destruction of another person's property without the owner's consent. Property crimes can be charged as misdemeanor or felony offenses. Property crimes are usually distinguished from violent crimes that involve the a threat of force or actual force in order to accomplish the taking of property. The most common type of violent crime involving a taking of property is robbery or sudden snatching.

Types of Property Crimes in Florida

The severity of the offense depends on the value of the property taken or damaged. Finding the proper valuation of the property is offen an important part of the defense. Types of property crimes commonly prosecuted in Florida including the following:

criminal mischief or vandalism;
trespass;
arson or burning to defraud insurer;
theft crimes such as grand theft, employee theft, petit theft, larceny and shoplifting; and
burglary of a vehicle, occupied dwelling or unoccupied dwelling.

Criminal Offenses Involving a Taking of Property under Florida Law

A property crime is a criminal act that occurs when a person takes another person’s property without consent. When a person destroys another person’s property, it is also considered a property crime under Florida law.

Related Links for Crimes Involving Property Crime Statistics

FBI's Property Crime Statistics in the UCR Program - The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program shows crime statistics for property crimse including larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, burglary, and arson. Website includes crime statistics compiled by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Find graphs and figures showing a five-year trend from 2006-2010 which shows the estimated number of offenses by over the last five years.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) - published by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NCVS shows crime statistics for certain property crimes including theft, burglary and motor vehicle theft. These crime statistics are based on surveys of a sample of households. Therefore, the property crime statistics do not include crimes against businesses. The benefit of the household survey method for measuring property crimes includes a measurement of crimes against household members by other family members or friends even when those crimes are not reported to law enforcement. Any property crimes reported to law enforcement are also included in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR).

Finding an Attorney for Property Crimes in Florida

Contact the criminal defense attorneys at the Sammis Law Firm if you have been charged with a property crime in the Tampa Bay area including Tampa or Plant City in Hillsborough County, St. Petersburg or Clearwater in Pinellas County, Bartow or Lakeland in Polk County. New Port Richey or Dade City in Pasco County, Bradenton in Manatee County or Brooksville in Hernando County, Florida.

Sammis Law Firm, P.A.
1005 N. Marion St. Tampa, FL 33602
Phone: (813) 250-0500 · Fax: (813) 276-1600
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This attorney website may contain testimonials from past clients or information about specific results obtained for other clients. Not all results are provided, and the results are not necessarily representative of the results obtained by in all cases. Past results are not necessarily an indication of a future result for any prospective client because the individual facts and circumstances may differ from those criminal cases mentioned herein.

This website is maintained by Jason D. Sammis and Leslie M. Sammis. We created this website to provide general information and educational materials. For your convenience, we have added links within this internet website that may lead to other websites, including website maintained by public entities or private third parties. The presence of such a third party links does not imply an endorsement of the third party website or its owner or the accuracy of its content.

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