Dumbest Things Criminals Do Online

We’ve all seen our fair share of criminal behavior online.  From people fencing stolen merchandise on Craig’s List or eBay, to someone live streaming a criminal act on Facebook.  If you’ve done something wrong, find a good criminal lawyer and don’t compound the error by engaging in any of the following activity. Here’s a list for us of the Dumbest Things Criminals Do Online….

Stop Talking

I’m serious, stop talking about what you did, to anyone, period.  This includes bragging about the crime on social media.  Do you think police won’t search your social media posts if they suspect you of something?  They will, I promise you.  Because of my profession I know many police officers, including detectives, and they have countless stories of finding criminals by doing searches online.  Also, do you think other people won’t rat you out once they see incriminating posts online?  Sorry, I guarantee you someone who as access to your social medial profile doesn’t like you and won’t hesitate to drop a dime.  There’s nothing to be proud of here, criminal behavior is not something you should boast about or even talk about.  The types of criminals who do talk about their crimes – those are the ones behind bars.

Smart Phones

These wonderful devices are your enemy if you’ve committed a crime.  Why?  They’re a walking talking trove of evidence about where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing.  These include GPS information about where you’ve been traveling and where you’ve made phone calls as well as providing police with time and date stamps on pictures you may have taken or texts you may have sent.  And they are so common most of us forget we even have them on our person.

3 Types of Criminal Offences

Criminal Lawyers are kept busy dealing with all kinds of crime, but these all fall under one of three categories. This is important because the type of crime committed depends on which sort of court the person will be tried under a magistrate’s court or the Supreme Court.

Based on the legal advice provided by the criminal lawyers, here are 3 types of criminal offences:

Summary or simple offences. These make up the majority of common offences and are defined as

  • They have no term or imprisonment but a fine of less than $120,000.
  • Having a maximum term of 2 years imprisonment
  • Most dishonesty offences of $2500 or less, not including robbery, violence or serial offences, or offences of more than $2500
  • Not including arson or bushfire offences

Examples are disorderly conduct, minor criminal damage to property, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. People charged with a summary offence must be tried in a magistrate’s court. They cannot be tested with the jury.

Minor indictable offences. These are more serious than summary offences but less severe than major indictable offences. They, too, are tried in a magistrate’s court, but the defendant can ask to have them tried in a higher court with a jury. They should only do so after taking counsel from a lawyer, as they could easily be given a harsher sentence. Examples of these offences are: –

  • Theft
  • Deception
  • Serious criminal trespass
  • Aggravated and indecent assault
  • Stalking
  • Gross indecency
  • Property damage less than $30,000

Community Based Correction Orders Explained

Criminal lawyers will tell you that being sent to prison is not always the best way to help a person who has broken a minor law. If you have committed an offence for which you should be punished but not sent to prison, community based correction orders may be instigated. This teaches you that there is always some kind of consequences for your actions, whether they are good or bad.

When you have community based correction orders applied to your case as a punishment, it usually means you have to do some kind of work to help and improve the community you live in. It may also include taking part in human development courses, educational or vocational training and undergoing rehab or some kind of treatment to address your problems.

To ensure you do what the court has ordered, a correctional officer will be assigned to you. You usually have to report to your correctional officer during the period of your orders. It is wise to do everything you have been ordered to do, otherwise worse punishment may be given.

Taking A Traffic Infringement To Court In Australia

Traffic infringements can be annoying things, especially if you feel that you didn’t deserve the penalty that you got. Perhaps you got booked for something that you didn’t think that you were doing, or perhaps you feel that the penalty for your offence was overly harsh. Whatever your situation, decent criminal lawyers can help you get around your traffic infringements. Unfortunately, this usually means that you have to go to court to have your case heard.

What are your rights?

As a citizen of Australia, you have the right to challenge any traffic infringement – be it a speeding fine, a parking ticket, or even a drink driving charge – in a court of law. Although you can go into a court without a lawyer supporting you, the chances of winning your case will be strengthened if you employ a high-quality criminal lawyer.