Title 22, Criminal Offenses and Penalties.

(a) Within the first 30 seconds of a telephone call, the telephone solicitor shall identify himself or herself by stating his or her true name, the company on whose behalf the solicitation is being made, and the goods or services to be sold. (b) Any person who violates this secti…

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Financial injury” means all monetary costs, debts, or obligations incurred by a person as a result of another person obtaining, creating, possessing, or using that person’s personal identifying information in violation of this s…

A person commits the offense of identity theft if that person knowingly: (1) Uses personal identifying information belonging to or pertaining to another person to obtain, or attempt to obtain, property fraudulently and without that person’s consent; (2) Obtains, creates, or posse…

Any person convicted of identity theft shall be fined not more than (1) the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, (2) twice the value of the property obtained or (3) twice the amount of the financial injury, whichever is greatest, or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, if…

When a person is convicted of identity theft, the court may, in addition to any other applicable penalty, order restitution for the full amount of financial injury.

(a) When a person is convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or found not guilty by reason of insanity of identity theft, the court may issue such orders as are necessary to correct any District of Columbia public record that contains false information as a result of a violation of th…

The offense of identity theft shall be deemed to be committed in the District of Columbia, regardless of whether the offender is physically present in the District of Columbia, if: (1) The person whose personal identifying information is improperly obtained, created, possessed, o…

Obtaining, creating, possessing, and using a person’s personal identifying information in violation of this subchapter shall constitute a single scheme or course of conduct, and the applicable period of limitation under § 23-113 shall not begin to run until after the scheme or co…

The Metropolitan Police Department shall make a report of each complaint of identity theft and provide the complainant with a copy of the report.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term “traffics” means: (1) To sell, pledge, transfer, distribute, dispense, or otherwise dispose of property to another person as consideration for anything of value; or (2) To buy, receive, possess, or obtain control of property with int…

(a) A person commits the offense of receiving stolen property if that person buys, receives, possesses, or obtains control of stolen property, knowing or having reason to believe that the property was stolen. (b) It shall not be a defense to a prosecution under this section, alon…

(a) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly remove, obliterate, tamper with, or alter any identification number on a motor vehicle or a motor vehicle part. (b)(1) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall …

(a) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly remove, obliterate, tamper with, or alter any identification number on a bicycle or bicycle part. (b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for…

(a) For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Forged written instrument” means any written instrument that purports to be genuine but which is not because it: (A) Has been falsely made, altered, signed, or endorsed; (B) Contains a false addition or insertion; or (C) Is …

(a) Any person convicted of forgery shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, if the written instrument purports to be: (1) A stamp, legal tender, bond, check, or other valuable instrument issued by a dome…

(a) A person commits the offense of extortion if: (1) That person obtains or attempts to obtain the property of another with the other’s consent which was induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force or violence or by wrongful threat of economic injury; or (2) That perso…

(a) A person commits the offense of blackmail when that person, with intent to obtain property of another or to cause another to do or refrain from doing any act, threatens to: (1) Accuse another person of a crime; (2) Expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true o…

Whoever shall forcibly enter upon any premises, or, having entered without force, shall unlawfully detain the same by force against any person previously in the peaceable possession of the same and claiming right thereto, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 1 year…

(a)(1) Any person who, without lawful authority, shall enter, or attempt to enter, any private dwelling, building, or other property, or part of such dwelling, building, or other property, against the will of the lawful occupant or of the person lawfully in charge thereof, or bei…

Whoever, without legal authority or without the consent of the nearest surviving relative, shall disturb or remove any dead body from a grave for the purpose of dissecting, or of buying, selling, or in any way trafficking in the same, shall be imprisoned not less than 1 year nor …

Whoever places, or causes to be placed, in, upon, under, against, or near to any building, car, vessel, monument, statue, or structure, gunpowder or any explosive substance of any kind whatsoever, with intent to destroy, throw down, or injure the whole or any part thereof, althou…

Any person who shall wrongfully deface, injure, or mutilate, tear, or destroy any book, pamphlet, or manuscript, or any portion thereof belonging to the Library of Congress, or to any public library in the District of Columbia, whether the property of the United States or of the …

Whoever maliciously or with intent to injure or defraud any other person defaces, mutilates, destroys, abstracts, or conceals the whole or any part of any record authorized by law to be made, or pertaining to any court or public office in the District, or any paper duly filed in …

Whoever maliciously cuts down, destroys, or removes any boundary tree, stone, or other mark or monument, or maliciously effaces any inscription thereon, either of his or her own lands or of the lands of any other person whatsoever, even though such boundary or bounded trees shoul…

It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to top, cut down, remove, girdle, break, wound, destroy, or in any manner injure any vine, bush, shrub, or tree not owned by that person, or any of the boxes, stakes or any other protection thereof, under a penalty not to exceed, for …

Any person guilty of disorderly and unlawful conduct in or about the public buildings and public grounds belonging to the United States within the District of Columbia, or who shall wilfully injure the buildings or shrubs, or shall pull down, impair, or otherwise injure any fence…

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons willfully and wantonly to disfigure, cut, chip, or cover, rub with, or otherwise place filth or excrement of any kind; to write, mark, or print obscene or indecent figures representing obscene or objects upon; to write, mark, draw, o…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to burn, desecrate, mar, deface, or damage a religious or secular symbol, or to place or display a sign, mark, symbol, impression, or other emblem, including a Nazi swastika, noose, or real or simulated burning cross, on the private propert…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person over 16 years of age, while wearing any mask or other article whereby a substantial portion of the face is hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer if the intent of the person is to avoid identification while e…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of § 22-3312.01 shall be fined not less than $250 and not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or imprisoned for a period not to exceed 180 days, or both. Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as alternative sanctions…

For the purposes of §§ 22-3312.01 through 22-3312.05, the term: (1) “Abate” means to effectively remove. (2) Repealed. (3) Repealed. (4) “Graffiti” means an inscription, writing, drawing, marking, or design that is painted, sprayed, etched, scratched, or otherwise placed on struc…

It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to destroy, break, cut, disfigure, deface, burn, or otherwise injure any building materials, or materials intended for the improvement of any street, avenue, alley, foot pavement, roads, highways, or inclosure, whether public or pr…

If any person shall maliciously cut down, demolish, or otherwise injure any railing, fence, or inclosure around or upon any cemetery, or shall injure or deface any tomb or inscription thereon, such person shall be fined not more than $100.

Every person who maliciously commits any act by reason of which the supply of water, or any part thereof, to the City of Washington, becomes impure, filthy, or unfit for use, shall be fined not less than $500 and not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or imprisoned a…

Whoever maliciously places an obstruction on or near the track of any steam or street railway, or displaces or injures anything appertaining to such track, with intent to endanger the passage of any locomotive or car, shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years. In addition to…

If any person shall alter or in any manner obstruct or encroach on a public road, or cut, destroy, deface, or remove any milestones set up on such road, or place any rubbish, dirt, logs, or make any pit or hole therein, such person may be indicted, and, upon conviction thereof be…

Any person who, without lawful authority, shall obstruct the free use of any of the public highways, which had been used and recognized as public county roads for 25 years prior to May 3, 1862, and which were thereafter duly surveyed, recorded, and declared public highways accord…

The fines provided for in § 22-3321 shall be collected in the name of the United States.

No person engaged in the business of collecting or aiding in the collection of private debts or obligations, or engaged in furnishing private police, investigation, or other private detective services, shall use as part of the name of such business, or employ in any communication…

Any person who violates § 22-3401 shall be punished by a fine not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

All prosecutions for violations of § 22-3401 shall be conducted in the name of the District of Columbia by the Corporation Counsel or any Assistant Corporation Counsel. As used in this section the term “Corporation Counsel” means the Attorney for the District of Columbia, by what…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term: (1) “Electronic device” means any electronic, mechanical, or digital equipment that captures visual or aural images, including cameras, computers, tape recorders, video recorders, and cellular telephones. (2) “Private area” means th…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, and except as provided in § 22-3571.02, a defendant who has been found guilty of an offense under the District of Columbia Official Code punishable by imprisonment may be sentenced to pay a fine as provided in this section. (b) …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a sentence to pay a fine under § 22-3571.01 shall be subject to the following: (1) If a law setting forth the penalty for such an offense specifies a maximum fine that is lower than the fine otherwise applicable under § 22-3571.01 a…

(a) Any person who commits any offense listed in subsection (b) of this section against an individual who is 65 years of age or older, at the time of the offense, may be punished by a fine of up to 1 1/2 times the maximum fine otherwise authorized for the offense and may be impri…

(a) For purposes of this section, the term “citizen patrol” means a group of residents of the District of Columbia organized for the purpose of providing additional security surveillance for certain District of Columbia neighborhoods with the goal of crime prevention. The term sh…