Receiving Stolen Property

Receiving stolen property, also codified in many jurisdictions as trafficking in or possession of stolen property, is the offense of knowingly acquiring, possessing, concealing, or disposing of property that was obtained through theft, robbery, burglary, or another property crime, committed by the person who takes it in after the original taking rather than by the original thief. The knowledge element is central to the offense: most statutes require the prosecution to prove the defendant knew or reasonably should have known the property was stolen, which in practice is frequently inferred from circumstances such as a price far below market value, a seller's evasiveness, or dealing in goods with removed or altered serial numbers. The offense is the legal foundation for prosecuting fencing, the organized purchase and resale of stolen goods, which criminologists study as a distinct market-based node in the property-crime economy that provides thieves the liquidity to convert stolen goods into cash and, in doing so, sustains the demand that drives theft and burglary rates. Receiving stolen property statutes are frequently graded by the value of the property involved, paralleling the value-based grading common to theft and larceny offenses, and many jurisdictions impose enhanced penalties on dealers, pawnbrokers, and other commercial actors who receive stolen goods as part of an ongoing business.