Property damage is punishable under the law by fines, imprisonment, and community service. Property damage means many things, from scrawling graffiti on a park bench, hitting something with your car, to causing a fire which damages property. Property damage can be minor to very great. The level of damage will increase the fines and the amount of imprisonment. Convictions for property damage may be misdemeanors, felonies, or “wobblers."



A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year. Felonies are crimes punishable by imprisonment in the state prison. Wobblers are those crimes which may be punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony. It is up to the prosecution to charge it by either classification, and up to the judge to sentence the crime either way as well. A defendant’s criminal history, including similar prior crimes, has an impact in the classification of a wobbler one way or the other.

The following four classifications of crimes are classified as “property destruction" crimes:

?Arson: Arson is the crime of causing a fire which damages property not your own. It may be minor damage, or great damage, in which case it is called aggravated arson. When someone is convicted of arson, they must register with the State of California, and notify their local law enforcement agency of their prior conviction.

?Recklessly Causing Fire: The crime of recklessly causing a fire which damages the property of another occurs when a person knows that one's actions have an unjustifiable risk of leading to a certain result, but did not care about that risk and acted anyway. This is termed “reckless disregard."

?Vandalism: Vandalism is the crime of defacement, damage, or destruction to another person’s property by way of felt-tip pens, spray cans, paint, caustic substance, etc. Vandalism may also be termed a “hate crime" if the target is a religious group or other group targeted due to race or affiliation.

?Hit and Run: Hit and run is the crime of hitting the property of another with a vehicle and not stopping to find the owner or leave contact information.