This had come up in an OOC conversation that I was having the other day, so I figured I would help address some of the more obscure and commonly misunderstood crimes that can be put on an incident report. Obviously, this being Hathian, you can charge what you'd like for corruption reasons, but I thought I'd go over the basics of what these charges actually mean!
Murder in the First/Second/Third Degree: This varies by state, but these are the more common definitions
First degree: Any intentional, premeditated (planned in advance) murder
Second degree: Intentional murder that is not premeditated
Third degree: It's an intentional murder which is a crime of passion. Basically this is a murder that occurs when the suspect is under a high amount of emotional or mental stress, causing a behavioral disturbance. So, John finds out his wife Jane has been sleeping with Bill when he comes home from work early and finds them in bed together, so in a fit of rage he kills them. That would be Murder in the Third Degree.
Assault on a Police Officer/Assault on a Rescue Professional: This almost universally refers to an intentional assault on a police officer, fire fighter, or EMT/Paramedic while in the course of their duties. So, if someone assaults an off duty cop/firefighter/EMT, it would just be Assault. If they're on duty, it would be Assault on a PO or Rescue Professional.
For assault on a PO, it generally requires there be intent to do harm rather than simply a desire to escape. Using force to escape is simply Resisting Arrest. Again, charge this how you would like, it is Hathian after all, but always consider charging for resisting, as it carries a lesser jail time.
Aggravated Assault vs. Assault: This one is a bit tricky. Aggravated assault requires an attempt to cause, or to cause "serious bodily injury." Even in real life, this is a bit of an arbitrary definition, so use your best judgement!
Aggravated Sexual Assault vs. Sexual Assault: Aggravated Sexual Assault is Sexual Assault that involves injury, or puts the victim's life in danger. Sexual Assault can be rape, or even groping without consent.
Domestic Terrorism: This has been a hot one lately! This is - in overly simple terms - a typically violent act designed to coerce the government (city or state) or a government agency (HPD, Seaside, Council) into doing something.
Robbery vs. Burglary: Robbery is when something is stolen from a person, or from an occupied structure (e.g. a house, or a business while they're open). Burglary is theft from an unoccupied structure (e.g. a garage, a business after hours).
Posession of a Deadly Weapon vs. Dangerous Instrument: Deadly weapon means a weapon that can be used to cause serious bodily harm or death (e.g. a baseball bat, a gun, a knife, a screwdriver, etc.). A Dangerous Instrument is anything which can be used to cause serious bodily harm or death, but is not a weapon. A car, for instance, would be a dangerous instrument. This one's not really used very much!
Grand Larceny vs. Petit Larceny: This one is sort of related to Robbery/Burglary, but generally doesn't involve breaking into a building. It's more like shoplifting. Petit vs Grand tends to vary by state, and is related to the dollar amount of the object stolen. A 4k TV would be Grand Larceny by most standards, but a candy bar would be petit larceny.
Most of the other crimes are fairly well known or self-explanatory, but if there are any questions, feel free to reply to this thread, or send me an IM inworld! Again, these aren't hard set rules or a guide by any stretch, just information that I felt may be helpful!
