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".
6-428: 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. Public mischief is the term for the crime of wasting police time . 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
12-602: A crime unless otherwise specifically outlined and stated in a statute. This legal document has played a major part in Canada's history and has also helped form other legal acts and laws, for example, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act . The Criminal Code stems from a long history of legal documents. The following documents play a part in the construction and changes brought on the Criminal Code : While
18-717: Is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada . Its official long title is An Act respecting the Criminal Law (French: Loi concernant le droit criminel ), and it is sometimes abbreviated as Cr.C. (French: C.Cr. ) in legal reports. Section 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867 establishes that the Parliament of Canada has sole jurisdiction over criminal law . The Criminal Code contains some defences, but most are part of
24-533: Is committed when a perpetrator, having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he/she has such a right, intentionally or recklessly damages property of another person, intentionally participates in the destruction of property of another person, or participates in the reckless damage or destruction of property of another person. This crime -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Criminal Code (Canada) The Criminal Code ( French : Code criminel )
30-746: The common law rather than statute . Important Canadian criminal laws not forming part of the code include the Firearms Act , the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act , the Canada Evidence Act , the Food and Drugs Act , the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Contraventions Act . One of the conveniences of the Criminal Code was that it constituted the principle that no person could be convicted of
36-564: 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 . In United States criminal law , mischief is an offense against property that typically involves the intentional or reckless infliction of damage , defacement , alteration , or destruction of property . Common forms include vandalism and graffiti . Governed by state law , criminal mischief
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