Interviewer: What are the different types of crime that you see on a day-to-day basis or annually what are some crimes that you see that you work with people on? Glen Malia: The frequent crimes you run across obviously first and foremost is DWI, driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence. Some states, they call it "driving under the influence." Driving while intoxicated. Then you have drug possession charges, whether it's a controlled substance. Right now there's a lot, in my area, where I live in Westchester County, there's a lot of heroin actually. Then you have the cocaine. You have the cocaine, so you have the drug possession charges. Then you have other charges like petty larceny, the basic theft charges, and then another large category charge would fall into the domestic violence type charge. By Far the Largest Number of Crimes Committed in New York are Misdemeanors Then we further break down crimes. Serious crimes are felonies and less serious crimes are misdemeanors, and by far the largest numbers of crimes you find are misdemeanor charges. Most of the larceny charges are misdemeanors. Most DWI charges are misdemeanors. Generally speaking, the drug charges, a large percentage of drug charges would fall into felony categories than would be for larcenies or for DWIs or even for domestic violence type charges. Burglaries and Robberies are a Bit Different From Standard Theft Charges Interviewer: Would burglary and robbery fall within the category of Theft as well? Glen Malia: Burglary and robberies in New York State are actually a little bit different than a standard theft charge. A larceny charge, it would be when there's been no force used. A perfect example is someone going into a local store, just stealing something off of the shelves and walking out of the store. A Robbery Charge Generally Requires the Use of Force or Threat of Force A robbery charge generally requires that the theft occurs either with some sort of force or threat of force and/or actually taking from the person, like a purse snatching is a robbery type charge. On the burglary charge, usually think of burglary charges involving theft. Burglary really is someone going into a house usually or it can be a business with the intent, the aim of committing some other crime within that premises. The Burglary Charge Goes Well Beyond the Standard Theft Charge In theory, you could break into someone's house with the intent to beat somebody up and that's still a burglary. Most people think of burglaries as the person coming in stealing stuff, but a burglary goes well beyond the theft. It goes, going into a house or a business building or a premises and committing another crime in there whether it's theft, whether it's an assault crime. Those are the two big crimes that occur with burglaries. |