The official definition of larceny, “is a crime involving the unlawful taking of the personal property of another person or business.” A key to the concept of larceny is that it must be nonviolent. It is a term Hopper often referred to in the Diary when he described what an individual was convicted of. In the Diary, the individuals Hopper mentioned served a variety of different convictions for larceny some were two years while others were four. This amount of time was dependent on the type of larceny committed. In 1796, the Laws of New York were created and in this set of laws was the first official “larceny statute.” This statute stated, “If a finder of goods take them away with the intention of converting them to his own use, and only restore them because a reward is offered, he is guilty of larceny.” As the criminal system grew, a distinction between grand and petty larceny was needed.

The New York Penal Code in 1865 defined grand larceny as, “larceny committed in either of the following cases: 1. When the property taken is of value exceeding twenty-five dollars; 2. When such property, although not of value exceeding twenty-five dollars in value is taken from the person of another.”

Petty or petit larceny was any case of a lesser degree.  Today there are four degrees of larceny that are measured by the monetary value of the object or objects taken. Larceny could also be measured as Petty Larceny, Grand Larceny and Felony Larceny.

Sources: 

“History of Grand Larceny.” The Law Office of Lance Fletcher, PLLC. 2019. Accessed march 8, 2019. http://grandlarcenyny.com/history-grand-larceny/

Wharton, Francis. A Treatise on the Criminal Law of the United States: Comprising a General View of the Criminal Jurisprudence of the Common and Civil Law, and a Digest of the Penal Statutes of the General Government, and of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio. Philadelphia: Kay & Brother, 1857. https://books.google.com/books?id=mUUrAQAAMAAJ&dq=%E2%80%9CIf+a+finder+of+goods+take+them+away+with+the+intention+of+converting+them+to+his+own+use,+and+only+restore+them+because+a+reward+is+offered,+he+is+guilty+of+larceny.%E2%80%9D&source=gbs_navlinks_