Offenders Vs Conventional Offenders Essay

Compare and contrast the criminal careers of occasional and conventional offenders. Should the criminal justice response to these types of offenders vary? Support your answer. Property crimes can be divided into several categories two of which are occasional and conventional crimes. Occasional crimes can include vandalism, shop lifting, auto theft, and writing bad checks (Hagen, 2013). The other type of crimes are conventional crimes. These crimes can include burglary and theft often with the intent to sell the item (Hagen, 2013). The criminals who commit these property crimes can also be divided into categories, they are occasional offenders and conventional offenders (Hagen, 2013). Occasional crimes are most often committed by individuals who are not serious criminals who have rap sheet filled with acts of crime. These individuals, the occasional offenders, are not making a lifestyle out of their actions, it is just an occasional event and when over then they go back to their regular life which often includes normal employment (Hagen, 2013). Shop lifting is a common occasional crime. Shoplifting is where someone steals an item from a store, the item could be worth just a penny and still consider an act of shoplifting. Mary Owen studies the act of shoplifting and discovered that there are two types of shoplifters, the boosters and the snitches (Hagen, 2013). …show more content…
A crime is a crime regardless of the person that committed it. It would be like saying that if a person drinks his very first drink ever, and then drives his car into a school bus killing children he should receive a lessor punishment than the lifelong alcoholic who has tons of DUI’s and commits the same act. Punishments for crimes and reactions by the justice system need to be based on the act committed and nothing