“Intent to Commit a Crime” – What Does It Mean?

An intent to commit a crime is a common element of a criminal offense. Some crimes require prosecutors to prove that you acted with a specific intent to commit the offense. Others only require a general intent. Finally, some criminal offenses do not require intent at all. These are strict liability crimes.

How does criminal culpability work?

Criminal law recognizes that illegal acts are made worse when they are done on purpose. To take this into account, criminal acts consist of:

• the act itself, known as the actus reus, and
• your mental state, or mens rea.

Criminal statutes reflect this by describing an illegal course of action and the mental state you must have while performing it. Prosecutors must prove both elements for you to be liable for the offense.

For example, in California, theft is the act of taking someone else’s property without their permission, with the intent to deprive them of the property permanently.¹

Most states follow the Model Penal Code and recognize the following 4 legal terms of criminal culpability:

1. an intent to commit the crime,
2. acting in the knowledge that the conduct will produce the criminal result,
3. behaving recklessly or with a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others, and
4. negligently putting others at an unreasonable risk of harm.

Prosecutors have to prove the required criminal culpability beyond a reasonable doubt.

For example, in California, reckless driving is the crime of operating a vehicle with a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others. Prosecutors have to prove the mental element as well, showing that you were driving at least recklessly, not just negligently, to secure a conviction.

The criminal defense lawyer’s job is to raise reasonable doubts about your criminal culpability. If successful, you should be found not guilty.

What are specific intent crimes?

Specific intent crimes are criminal statutes that require mental states that are more precise than just a general intent, knowledge, or recklessness. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, an element of these crimes includes an intent to achieve a specific result, or a knowledge of a specific fact.²

Some examples include:

• theft or larceny, which requires the intent to permanently deprive the victim’s property,
• burglary, which is breaking into and entering a building with the intent to commit a theft or a felony, and
• possession of an unregistered firearm under the federal National Firearms Act, which requires the knowledge that the weapon was covered by the act.³

Prosecutors have to prove that you had that specific intent to secure a conviction. It is not enough to prove that you had a generalized intent.

What are general intent offenses?

General intent crimes are offenses that do not require a specific criminal intent. To secure a conviction for these types of crimes, prosecutors only have to show that you were acting in a sufficiently culpable mental state.

Examples include:

• battery, which is willfully touching someone in a violent or offensive way,
• arson, which is willfully and maliciously setting fire to property, and
• drug possession, which requires knowingly possessing a controlled substance.

Prosecutors do not have to prove, for example, that you had a controlled substance for a particular purpose. It is enough to show that you knew that you had the contraband.

What are strict liability crimes?

Strict liability crimes do not require a culpable state of mind. The criminal actus reus is all that is needed for a conviction on these criminal charges. Mens rea is not an element of the crime.

Examples include:

• driving under the influence (DUI), which only requires proof that you had a blood alcohol content (BAC) at or above the legal limit, and
• statutory rape, which only requires proof that the victim was under the age of consent.

If you are accused of a DUI crime, therefore, you do not benefit from claiming that you did not know that you were over the legal limit, or that you did not intend to drink so much.

While most strict liability crimes are misdemeanors or traffic infractions, DUI and statutory rape can carry years in jail. A criminal defense attorney from a local law firm can help you fight these charges.

What about attempted crimes?

An attempted crime is also a criminal offense. These are known as inchoate crimes because the commission of the crime has not happened, yet. The completion of the crime is not necessary for you to be held criminally liable. The intent to commit the offense, though, is an element of the crime.

In California, for example, prosecutors only have to show that you:

• intended to commit a certain crime, and
• performed a direct act towards committing it.⁴

Your intent to commit the crime is necessary, but not enough for a conviction. There also has to be a substantial step towards the completion of the offense. This requires that you act in a way to put the offense in motion. There has to be more than mere preparation to commit the offense.⁵

Additional reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• On Strict Liability Crimes: Preserving a Moral Framework for Criminal Intent in an Intent-Free Moral World – Michigan Law Review.
• Intent in the Criminal Law – Law Society Journal.
• On Being Angry and Punitive: How Anger Alters Perception of Criminal Intent – Social Psychological and Personality Science.
• Criminal and legal characteristics of criminal intent – Journal of Financial Crime.
• Concocting Criminal Intent – Georgetown Law Journal.