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Crimes » Crimes Against Persons

Crimes Against Persons

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Crimes Against Persons, include for example, murder, rape, and assault.

The victims are all persons.

The object of these crimes defines the category

The object of Crimes Against Property, is property.  For example, theft, bribery, and burglary, are Crimes Against Property.

The objective of these crimes is to obtain money, property, or some other benefit.

And our third category, Prohibition Crimes, includes prostitution, gambling, and certain drug violations.

These represent criminal prohibitions against certain types of activity.  But they are victimless “crimes,” in which property is not the object.   And they tend to be about government efforts to control and divide the People, for example, drug prohibition laws.

Crimes Against Persons

Policy-makes have categorized crimes for hundreds of years.  These are the three categories that dominate the discussion in American and English law.  We find them useful.  But they are not perfect.

Crimes Against Persons arrest
Crimes Against Persons arrest

The best definition of crimes against persons may be “crimes where a person is a victim, that don’t involve property.”

An example of a difficult crime to categorize is robbery.  Robbery is a crime against a person since by definition a robbery involves a person robbed.  But it is also a property crime, since the object of the crime is to get money or other property.

Another category buster is burglary

If a burglar steals from an empty building, we have a property crime.  But if a person is in the building, we have a crime against a person. 

And, what about a burglary of a building but the burglar didn’t know a person was in it?  When we analyze Minnesota Statutes on burglary, we can see that the severity of the punishments reflects these concerns.

We generally view Crimes Against Persons as more serious than Property Crimes.  And the criminal laws reflect that.

So, though these categories are not clean and perfect, we find them useful.

Three Categories of Crimes Against Persons

We have traditionally divided Crimes Against Persons into three categories:

  1. Homicide offenses
  2. Sexual offenses
  3. Non-fatal, non-sexual offences

Homicide Offenses

A homicide is when a person causes the death of another person.  But most homicides are not crimes.  Motor vehicles accidents resulting in death are rarely crimes, for example.

Yet some homicides are the result of a criminal act.  These range from:

Murder, to

Manslaughter, to

Criminal Vehicular Homicide.

While their common element is a resulting death, the severity of these crimes varies with the level of criminal intent

For example, premeditated, intentional murder is a more serious crime that a grossly negligent DWI resulting in a death.

Sexual offenses

Most sex crime laws involve a victim who is present at the time of the crime.  These are crimes against persons.  But whether there is an identifiable victim in the presence of a perpetrator at the time of the crime; is questionable for some sex crimes.

Crimes Against Persons: sexual assault
Crimes Against Persons: sexual assault

We have three act-based categories of sex crimes:

Penetration

Touch (contact)

Non-touch (e.g., child porn)

We also categorize sex crimes based on level of criminal intent (force vs. age-based), and level of harm (injury vs. consensual).

Non-fatal, non-sexual offenses

This is the “other” category.  The most common non-fatal, non-sexual offense is Assault.  And the most common assault charges today are domestic assault charges.

But other examples of these Crimes Against Persons include:

Assault with a weapon (Assault Second Degree)

Robbery

Kidnapping, Abduction, False Imprisonment

The severity of these Crimes Against Persons varies with the level of criminal intent and the level of harm caused.

Problems of false accusation, and problems of proof

People sometimes make false allegations. Sometimes they do so intentionally.  They seek to fool the police and make the prosecutors their weapon.

But often false allegations are the result of human error.  We are all subject to cognitive bias and error in perception and recollection. Yet we are completely unaware. 

The jury won’t see the truth. The jurors only see the available evidence that the judge allows. You know you’re innocent. But someone testifies falsely against you.

The result? 

The courts do convict innocent people for crimes they did not do.  It happens every day.

And because Crimes Against Persons are the most serious crimes, a person facing these charges needs serious criminal defense help. 

So, you need the best criminal defense lawyer with the most resources to fight for the truth, for liberty, for justice.

Gallagher Criminal Defense can help

We work hard to help you learn about the law and defenses.  Unlike others, this website contains a wealth of content to help you now.

And when you call Minneapolis Criminal Attorney Thomas Gallagher, you can get help right away on the phone.

Thomas C. Gallagher, Minneapolis Criminal Attorney
Thomas C. Gallagher, Minneapolis Criminal Attorney

Then, when you retain Thomas Gallagher as your defense attorney; he works to protect and defend you from a government hell-bent on destruction.

Question about defending against charges of Crimes Against Persons?  Call Minneapolis Criminal Attorney Thomas Gallagher at 612 333-1500

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