Infraction

An infraction is a minor offense at the bottom of the scale of offense grades. The cited Wikipedia article on the misdemeanor, the nearest grade above it, says misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions, also known as minor, petty, summary offenses or civil infractions, and regulatory offenses. The Wikipedia term infraction itself leads to the article on summary offences, which is why this concept is cited to the misdemeanor article. Offenses recorded in the atlas as infractions or violations are grouped under this concept.