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Preferred term

theft  

Definition

  • Theft is the act of taking property (physical or intellectual) from someone (including businesses and corporations) with the intent of keeping the item permanently. Various criminal codes throughout the United States subdivide theft into different areas, although the primary theme is identical: taking property, thus depriving the rightful owner of his or her goods. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Problems; Theft]

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URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/theft

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