The crimes people get charged with most often in the United States are property and lower-level offenses: larceny-theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, fraud and identity theft, simple and aggravated assault, drug possession, and driving under the influence. Those categories fill the bulk of annual arrest and incident reports collected by the FBI from more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime/Law Enforcement Stats Each one carries its own penalty structure, and most carry a second layer of consequences that outlast the sentence.
Larceny and Theft
Larceny-theft is the single most reported offense in the country. It covers taking someone else’s property without force, threats, or breaking into a building: shoplifting, pocket-picking, grabbing a bike off a porch, lifting tools from an unlocked car. FBI trend data through late 2025 show larceny declining about 12 percent compared to the prior reporting period, and it still outnumbers every other offense category.2FBI Crime Data Explorer. FBI Crime Data Explorer
Every state separates misdemeanor theft (often called petty larceny) from felony theft (grand larceny), but the dollar threshold varies widely. Some states draw the line as low as $500; others set it at $2,500 or higher. Below that line, a conviction usually means a misdemeanor with fines and jail time of less than a year. Above it, you face felony charges that can bring multiple years in state prison and significantly larger fines. The exact penalty depends on your jurisdiction, the value taken, and your criminal history.
Retailers in most states can also pursue civil recovery separately from the criminal case. A store caught you shoplifting can send a civil demand letter seeking a fixed penalty plus the cost of unsellable merchandise. Paying or ignoring the letter does not resolve the criminal charge, and the criminal case does not block the civil claim.
Burglary
Burglary is entering a building without permission with the intent to commit a crime inside. The legal element that matters is the unauthorized entry itself, not what you do afterward. You can be charged with burglary even if nothing is stolen, as long as prosecutors can show criminal intent at the moment of entry. FBI data show burglary trending down roughly 8 percent through late 2025, continuing a long decline.2FBI Crime Data Explorer. FBI Crime Data Explorer
Most states break burglary into degrees. A nighttime break-in at an occupied home almost always draws the harshest treatment, often first-degree felony charges. Breaking into a commercial building during business hours tends to fall into a lower degree with lighter sentences. Across jurisdictions, penalties run from a few years for the least serious commercial burglaries to 20 years or more for armed residential break-ins. Courts weigh whether anyone was home, whether a weapon was involved, and the defendant’s record.
Motor Vehicle Theft
Stealing a car, truck, or motorcycle is tracked as its own category because of the high value involved and the organized networks behind much of the activity. Vehicle thefts surged during and after the pandemic, pushing annual totals well above pre-2020 levels before beginning to drop. FBI trend data through late 2025 show motor vehicle theft falling about 9 percent, though overall volume remains elevated compared to a decade ago.2FBI Crime Data Explorer. FBI Crime Data Explorer Automobiles account for roughly 78 percent of stolen vehicles, with trucks at about 12 percent.
Convictions are felonies in virtually every state. Sentences turn on prior history and on whether the theft involved carjacking or violence. Restitution for the replacement value of the vehicle is a standard part of sentencing. If your car is stolen, filing a police report immediately matters both for the criminal investigation and for your insurance claim.
Fraud and Identity Theft
Fraud is one of the fastest-growing crime categories, driven by online transactions and digital financial accounts. The Federal Trade Commission reported $12.5 billion in total fraud losses in 2024, up from $10 billion the year before.3Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft Those figures only capture reported losses, so the real total is almost certainly higher. Text-message scams alone accounted for $470 million in reported losses in 2024.
Identity theft is the most damaging subset. Someone uses your personal information to open credit accounts, file tax returns, access medical benefits, or drain existing accounts. Untangling the fallout can take months or years. If it happens to you, the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov walks through a step-by-step recovery plan, including fraud alerts, account disputes, and law enforcement reports.3Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft
Federal law treats identity theft seriously. Aggravated identity theft, which involves using stolen identity information in connection with certain felonies, carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that runs consecutively with the underlying crime. State fraud and identity theft statutes stack their own penalties on top.
Assault
Assault is the most frequently reported violent crime, and it splits into two categories with very different consequences.
Simple assault means intentionally causing someone to fear physical harm or inflicting minor injury. Bar fights, shoving matches, and road-rage confrontations without a weapon overwhelmingly fall here. It is almost always a misdemeanor, with penalties up to a year in jail and moderate fines.
Aggravated assault involves a weapon or serious bodily injury. The same shoving match becomes aggravated assault the moment someone pulls a knife or breaks a bone. It is a felony in every state, and sentences commonly run from several years to 15 or more depending on the circumstances and the weapon. FBI trend data show aggravated assault declining roughly 19 percent through late 2025, one of the steeper drops among major offense categories.2FBI Crime Data Explorer. FBI Crime Data Explorer
Protection Orders
Assault cases frequently trigger protection orders, especially when the people involved know each other. A court can order the accused to stay away from the victim, move out of a shared home, surrender firearms, and follow custody arrangements for shared children. These orders issue through criminal or family court. Violating one is a separate criminal offense that can result in immediate arrest, whether or not the underlying case has been resolved.
Firearm Prohibition
A conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers a federal ban on possessing or purchasing firearms under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g).4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The felony prohibition reaches any crime punishable by more than one year in prison, not just violent offenses. The domestic violence misdemeanor rule catches a category many people don’t expect: a conviction for slapping a spouse, even without jail time, permanently bars gun ownership under federal law unless rights are later restored through a state process.
Drug Possession
Drug arrests sit near the top of annual crime data, and simple possession makes up the bulk of them. Federal law groups controlled substances into five schedules based on abuse potential and accepted medical use.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 812 – Schedules of Controlled Substances Schedule I includes heroin, LSD, and marijuana. Schedule II covers cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and oxycodone.6Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Scheduling
Under federal law, a first conviction for simple possession of any controlled substance carries up to one year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine. A second offense pushes the ceiling to two years and a minimum $2,500 fine. A third or later conviction brings up to three years and a minimum $5,000 fine. Courts also impose the reasonable costs of investigation and prosecution.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 844 – Penalties for Simple Possession State penalties vary widely, and many jurisdictions have moved toward lighter sentences for small quantities, especially marijuana.
Distribution and manufacturing charges operate in a different tier entirely. The substance, quantity, and whether the conduct occurred near a school or involved minors all affect sentencing. Federal distribution convictions can carry mandatory minimums of five or ten years depending on drug and weight, with maximums reaching life imprisonment for the largest operations.
Drug Court and Diversion
More than 2,600 drug courts now operate across all 50 states, offering an alternative for people whose substance use drives their criminal conduct. Participants typically plead guilty, then enter a structured program of treatment, regular drug testing, and frequent court appearances. Successful completion can result in reduced or dismissed charges. Failure sends you back to conventional sentencing. Research shows participants reoffend at rates 38 to 50 percent lower than similar defendants in the traditional system.
Driving Under the Influence
DUI is one of the most common reasons people interact with the criminal justice system for the first time. Every state except Utah sets the legal blood alcohol limit at 0.08 percent for adult drivers of noncommercial vehicles; Utah’s threshold is 0.05 percent.8Alcohol Policy Information System. Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles Impairment charges also apply to driving under the influence of controlled substances, prescription medications, or any combination that affects your ability to operate a vehicle safely.
In 2023, alcohol-impaired driving caused 12,429 deaths, roughly 30 percent of all traffic fatalities in the country.9National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Drunk Driving – Statistics and Resources That toll is why enforcement is aggressive and penalties are layered.
Administrative and Criminal Penalties
Every state has an implied consent law. By holding a driver’s license, you have already agreed to submit to chemical testing if an officer has probable cause to suspect impairment. Refusing the test triggers an automatic administrative license suspension, often longer than the suspension you’d receive for failing it. The administrative action runs through the motor vehicle department and is separate from the criminal case.
Criminal penalties for a first DUI generally include fines, a license suspension period, mandatory alcohol education, and the possibility of jail time. Repeat offenses escalate sharply, with longer mandatory jail sentences, higher fines, and extended license revocations. Once you add court fees, insurance increases, ignition interlock costs, and reinstatement fees, the total out-of-pocket cost of a first DUI routinely reaches several thousand dollars.
Ignition Interlocks and SR-22
An ignition interlock is a breathalyzer wired into your vehicle’s ignition. You blow into it before starting the car, and it prevents the engine from turning over if it detects alcohol above a preset threshold. At least 34 states and the District of Columbia require interlock installation for all DUI offenders, including first-time convictions.10National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Alcohol Ignition Interlocks Several additional states require them for repeat offenders or for first offenders who blew well above the legal limit. The device must stay installed for a set period, and any lapse can restart the clock.
Most states also require an SR-22 after a DUI conviction, which is a certificate confirming you carry the minimum required auto insurance. Your insurer files it with the state on your behalf, but high-risk premiums run dramatically above standard rates. The SR-22 requirement commonly lasts two to three years, and a single day of lapsed coverage can trigger a license suspension and extend the filing period. This is the part of a DUI that catches most people off guard, because it outlasts the court case by years.
Collateral Consequences of a Conviction
The sentence a judge imposes is only part of what a conviction costs you. A criminal record creates a web of restrictions that can last for years or decades. These collateral consequences are rarely explained at sentencing, and many people don’t learn about them until they hit a wall applying for a job or an apartment.
Employment
Many employers run background checks, and a felony can disqualify you from entire industries. Some states have fair-chance hiring laws that delay background checks until after a conditional job offer, but scope and enforcement vary. Federal law imposes no blanket ban on hiring people with records, though specific industries like banking, childcare, and healthcare have their own federal disqualification rules.
Housing
Public housing authorities have broad discretion to deny applicants based on criminal history. Federal rules mandate only two hard bans: people convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in federally assisted housing, and sex offenders subject to lifetime registration.11HUD Exchange. Are Applicants With Felonies Banned From Public Housing or Any Other Housing Funded by HUD Beyond those two categories, each housing authority sets its own standards. Private landlords in many markets run background checks as well, and drug or violent offenses can make securing housing extremely difficult.
Firearms
Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition, and a separate provision covers misdemeanor domestic violence convictions.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts These prohibitions are permanent unless your state offers a process to restore firearm rights, and violating them is itself a serious federal felony.
Other Restrictions
Depending on the offense and the state, a conviction can also cost you voting rights, disqualify you from certain professional licenses, cut off federal student financial aid for drug offenses, and create barriers to immigration status or naturalization. If you are facing charges for any of the offenses above, the collateral impact matters as much as the direct sentence, because the indirect restrictions often last longer and cost more.