I'll tell you there is no better example of the ignorance and abuse coming from local yokel cops and DA offices.

Current news, North Country New York. Woman arrested for using a male friends debit card on several different occasions without permission. Total amount stolen equals approximately $400.00. She is being charged with GRAND LARCENY along with petite larceny.

All I can say is take whoever laid down the charge of GRAND Larceny, and remove him/her from office immediately, along with charging him/her with intentional abuse of powers or whatever you can get.

I mean, aybe things have changed since I was growing up, but whenI took Government and street law in high school 16 years ago, Grand Larceny meant the total amount of money you stole equaled a minimum of $1,000; hence the title GRAND Larceny, Grand defining one-thousand.
This is also the origins of the old phrase grand theft auto.

I just looked up the law for you, it is considered to be grand larceny:

§ 155.30 Grand Larceny in the fourth degree.
A person is guilty of grand larceny in the fourth degree when he
steals property and when:
1. The value of the property exceeds one thousand dollars; or
2. The property consists of a public record, writing or instrument
kept, filed or deposited according to law with or in the keeping of any
public office or public servant; or
3. The property consists of secret scientific material; or
4. The property consists of a credit card or debit card; or
5. The property, regardless of its nature and value, is taken from the
person of another; or
6. The property, regardless of its nature and value, is obtained by
extortion; or
7. The property consists of one or more firearms, rifles or shotguns,
as such terms are defined in section 265.00 of this chapter; or
8. The value of the property exceeds one hundred dollars and the
property consists of a motor vehicle, as defined in section one hundred
twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law, other than a motorcycle, as
defined in section one hundred twenty-three of such law; or
9. The property consists of a scroll, religious vestment, vessel or
other item of property having a value of at least one hundred dollars
kept for or used in connection with religious worship in any building or
structure used as a place of religious worship by a religious
corporation, as incorporated under the religious corporations law or the
education law.
10. The property consists of an access device which the person intends
to use unlawfully to obtain telephone service.
11. The property consists of anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia
gas and the actor intends to use, or knows another person intends to
use, such anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia gas to manufacture
methamphetamine.
Grand larceny in the fourth degree is a class E felony.

Thanks Suz, looks like the law has indeed changed since I went to school. It is just so sickening. Yes they were wrong for stealing, and deserve to be punished, but this isn't something that should qualify for THAT high of a charge.

Laws change every day, I work in it and what was yesterday is not necessarily that of tomorrow. And, when you think about it, making theft of a debit or credit card should be considered grand larceny. The prevalence of identity theft is enormous and often starts out with the loss of a credit or debit card. Once someone has that, they can access all sorts of information, open new cards in your name, etc. It's definitely something they should be, and are, cracking down hard on.

I agree that it is a serious issue, but still say grand larceny is too big for the situation. It is like using a baseball bat to swat a fly. When you start using too much punishment, people stop caring as they know they are screwed no matter what.

First offense should be something like petite larceny, 30 days in city lock up or even suspended if the person has a clean record prior to this, and some community service. And yes definitely restitution of the stolen money lol.
Basically, give the person a chance to learn from their mistake first. If they do it again, THEN turn it into grand larceny as it is now a repeating pattern.

But, see, you can't pick and choose. It is either Grand Larceny or it's not. It can't be one thing one time, then something else another time. Now, as far as sentencing goes, there is a lot of leeway for the judges there and they tend to do as you suggested, graduated sentences based on repeat patterns. New York, I believe, has a 3 strike rule.

I tend to agree with grand larceny when a debit card is involved. However I have to wonder what it costs the tax payer when someone commits this kind of crime and we pay for their incarceration, don't we? Just asking, because I don't really know...

I would imagine it would cost the same to house any prisoner, regardless of crime. The only difference would be length of sentence.

That's one reason I suggest a suspended sentence in the case of someone with no criminal history ;-) We have way too many in jail today than truly need to be there. But then I agree with that Sherrif from down south (Texas I believe) who puts his prisoners in tents, and removes most amenities and priviledges because they are basically in time out, and shouldn't have access to tv's and radios, play rooms and libraries (he allows religious books).
He keeps EVERYTHING as low cost as he can to the community. Maybe if more jurisdictions did this, there would be less people willing to risk going to jail. I mean hell, go in for two years on something like drug trafficking, come out with a degree for free cause it is paid for by the tax payers under the belief that it rehabilitates the inmate. You have all the study time you need, with very little distractions, three meals a day, visitation rights, exercise yard and rec room. That sounds like a darn good idea to me

I would think actual cost would be the same as well. Which is why I dont agree with automatically sending people to jail.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, Daniel. But, what most people don't realize is that the prison system in the U.S. is designed (and fails miserably most of the time) for rehabilitation into society. I think, in concept, it's a good idea but if you're going to do that, we need to put appropriate resources in place. Most people don't want to do that either. So, while jail is not meant to be "punitive" so much as "rehabilitative," until most people work to change the system, either by appropriate resources or deciding one way or the other what it's designed to do, we're going to have a prison system that fails on all levels.

Ok, I pulled this from a website discussing the cost of medical care for prisoners. It's not completely on point but I think it gives a general idea of the cost of housing a state prisoner in New York state. I would think that county/local prisons would be somewhat less. Other states, I would assume, would be roughly on par.

At NCCF, the average cost to house an inmate, without 24-hour officer coverage or medical care, is $150 a day, or close to $55,000 per year. This is exceeded only by Rikers Island, where the annual cost-per-inmate is an astronomical $58,536, averaging $160 per day. These costs escalate quickly when extensive psychological treatment, hundreds of routine clinical and specialty care visits and 24-hour protective custody are needed over a few months, as was the case recently with convicted subway murderer Colin Ferguson. According to a New York Times article, Ferguson's 15-month stay on Rikers Island cost taxpayers more than $1 million.

I agree with you completely on this issue Suz. I have gotten into many arguments that prison and jail are supposed to be rehabilitative, and people nowadays just want it to be a time out session so to speak. Please go see the thread I just posted under this one in politics, entitled "Here's an idea", let me know what you think. it still needs to be tweaked I am sure, but it is a start.

In the end, I am all for putting our criminals "in time out" but I am also adamant about rehabilitation, cause by the time they are adults, time out alone doesn't work well.

Good post Suz, however this only relates to the medical costs. it doesn't take into account the cost of food, housing (utilities etc), and the salaries of the guards. I for one, would like to see a general cost list for all of this combined. I know when I went to basic training in june of 93, it was over $18,000 for two months of training per soldier, and with the exception of better medical coverage (we got more shots that first day than an average adult gets his entire life lol), it is almost the same life style as a prisoner. plus there are more guards for the prisoners which helps balance the medical cost. I am thinking it would be fairly close to each other.

Actually, that is the cost (according to the first sentence above) without medical care or 24 hour officer coverage. But, it would take into account food, utilities, clothing, normal guard salaries, maintenance, etc.

OK I misread it the first time, thanks.

No worries, I did too the first time I read it.

I wouls still like to see actual costs however, lol.

I'm sure the figures are out there somewhere. Might take a little digging but they're there. You can make a request under FOIA as well.

for those who don't know,

FOIA stands for "Freedom Of Information Act"