"If you commit a crime, you"re guilty." (Rush Limbaugh) This quote simply states that when someone commits a crime they are guilty of it. What will happen to a person after he/she gets caught is often times unknown to the average person. Crime is taking over our country, and every individual is succumbing to the attraction of crime. People commit crimes for various reasons. Some people commit crimes for attention, while others will commit them for money. Regardless, people feel that they can commit any crime and get away with it. That very well may be. But when you commit crime after crime, you begin to live a lifestyle accustomed to crime. Keep in mind that you cannot escape from the law forever, and when you get caught, you will do the time. Every crime that can be committed has its own serious consequence. Crimes are divided into three different categories based on their level of severity: citations, misdemeanors, and felonies.
Citations are of the lowest degree of criminal offense. Although no jail time or court appearances are issued due to these offenses, the law is still broken. Therefore, it is considered a criminal offense. Citations are the minimum punishment possible for committing a crime. No jail time is required and no criminal record will be filed. Citations can be given in three ways: a verbal warning, a written warning, or a written fine. Parking tickets and speeding violations, as well as other motor vehicle infractions are commonly associated with citations. Also, some misdemeanor charges can be bumped down into the citation category, pending no charges will be pressed by the victim. For example, a twelve year-old child steals a candy bar from a store. It is considered theft, and punishable by misdemeanor charges. However, after the police arrive, the storeowner may not press charges on the young child, and the police will send him off with his parents with only a warning and a slap on the wrist.
