Legal Definitions - high crime

Definition: High crime refers to any act that is punishable by law and is considered a breach of legal duty. It is also known as a criminal wrong. The term crime includes both serious crimes like murder and minor crimes like overparking. However, the law recognizes that there are more serious and less serious crimes.

Examples:

• Administrative crime: An offense that violates an administrative rule or regulation and carries a criminal sanction.
• Commercial crime: A crime that affects commerce, such as robbery of a business, embezzlement, counterfeiting, forgery, prostitution, illegal gambling, and extortion.
• Corporate crime: A crime committed by a corporation's representatives acting on its behalf, such as price-fixing and consumer fraud.
• Computer crime: A crime involving the use of a computer, such as sabotaging or stealing electronically stored data.
• Economic crime: A nonphysical crime committed to obtain a financial gain or a professional advantage, such as embezzlement, tax evasion, and insider trading.

These examples illustrate how high crime can take many forms and can be committed by individuals, corporations, or even involve the use of technology. Regardless of the form it takes, high crime is a serious offense that can result in legal consequences.