It's no secret that America's economy is in a recession. What is odd is how the global economy is affecting local criminal activity. For example, one American dollar used to be worth two British pounds (UK currency) which meant your dollar was twice as strong as their was; however that has changed and our current dollar is worth very little compared to fifteen or twenty years ago.
The value of certain items however has increased, items like rice, gasoline and even gold. This increase in value has led to new crimes targeting those items which have increased in value. Recently, 11 JC Penneys were burglarized and over $2 million in gold jewelry was stolen. The reason for this is that the value of gold is higher, possibly than it's ever been. Burglary is a major crime, and a major felony, especially when the dollar amount is so high.
The prison time for such offenses could be up to a decade, and that's not factoring in whether or not the criminals had weapons with them, or if they were former employees. Those could increase the the jail time as that would lead to other charges or make the burglary charges more severe.
Throughout the US, gas theft has become a major issue. Now that gas is $4.00 and counting, it's becoming more and more attractive to steal it. Not for sale, but for the use of the thief. Again, new laws will likely be passed regarding the theft of gasoline, and will probably be a simple misdemeanor for small amounts stolen, however as gas becomes increasingly precious, look for that crime to become a felony.
