Mischief
Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a class of criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal differentiation between vandalism and mischief. The etymology of the word comes from Old French meschief, which means "misfortune", from meschever, "to end badly".
Scotland
Malicious mischief is an offence against the common law of Scotland. It does not require actual damage to property for the offence to be committed; financial damage consequential to the act is sufficient, unlike vandalism which requires actual damage to property to form the offence, the latter being defined by section 52 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995.[1]
United States
In
Canada
The country's Criminal Code makes mischief a hybrid offence, punishable by up to and including life imprisonment if the mischief causes actual danger to human life.[4] Public mischief is the term for the crime of wasting police time.[5]
References
- ^ "Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, Vandalism". legislation.gov.uk.
- S2CID 55937216.
- S2CID 184727509.
- ^ "Defending Yourself: Mischief" (PDF). Legal Aid BC. September 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) Public Mischief". Justice Laws Website. Government of Canada. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
External links
- The dictionary definition of mischief at Wiktionary