Question

One of the earliest crimes under English common law was larceny. Today, larcenies much the same as it was under English common law. What are the elements of larceny under modern statutes? Today, we have a new law called identity theft. What are the elements for identity theft how do they differ from the elements of larceny?

Answer 1

Larceny refers to the theft or unlawful taking of someone’s property and this would mean that stealing was considered one of the classical crimes in olden days under English Common Law until 1968 when it was changed to theft. This would mean it’s directly borrowed from the Ten Commandments in the Bible which suggests do not steal and do not covet someone’s wife or property. Identity theft apart from other unlawful taking of one’s property both material and human beings has become a greatest threat in the modern and technology dominated world. One could comfortably steal the identity of another and use it to take money and use their privileges. Many people and corporations have lost plenty of money to these hackers and those who intentionally steal another’s personal information for one’s own gain. The problem with identity theft is that there is no international law due to the differences in each country and that the culprit would be located in a different jurisdiction or location.

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