# Mischief

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mischief
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mischief.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischief
> Source revision: 1352417265
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Class of criminal offense}}
{{Other uses}}
thumb|H. Brückner, ''Mischief'' (1874)

'''Mischief''' (or '''malicious mischief''') is a class of criminal offenses that are defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as [vandalism](/source/vandalism), there can be a legal differentiation between vandalism and mischief. The [etymology](/source/etymology) of the word comes from [Old French](/source/Old_French) ''meschief'', which means "misfortune", from ''meschever'', "to end badly".

==Canada==
The country's [Criminal Code](/source/Criminal_Code_(Canada)) makes [mischief](/source/%3Awikibooks%3ACanadian_Criminal_Law%2FOffences%2FMischief) a [hybrid offence](/source/hybrid_offence), punishable by up to and including [life imprisonment](/source/life_imprisonment_in_Canada) if the mischief causes actual danger to human life.<ref>{{cite web |title=Defending Yourself: Mischief |url=https://pubsdb.lss.bc.ca/pdfs/pubs/Defending-Yourself-Mischief-eng.pdf |website=Legal Aid BC |access-date=21 November 2021 |date=September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210051438/https://pubsdb.lss.bc.ca/pdfs/pubs/Defending-Yourself-Mischief-eng.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> Public mischief is the term for the crime of [wasting police time](/source/wasting_police_time).<ref>{{cite web |title=Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) Public Mischief |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-140.html |website=Justice Laws Website |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=21 November 2021}}</ref>

==Scotland==
Malicious mischief is an offence against the [common law](/source/common_law) of [Scotland](/source/Scotland). It does not require actual damage to property for the offence to be committed; financial damage consequential to the act is sufficient. It has now largely been replaced by vandalism, a statutory offense with the same definition. Vandalism is defined by section 52 of the [Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995](/source/Criminal_Law_(Consolidation)_(Scotland)_Act_1995).<ref>{{cite web |title=Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, Vandalism |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/39/section/52/2018-01-25 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>

==United States==
In [United States criminal law](/source/United_States_criminal_law), mischief is an offense against [property](/source/property) that typically involves the intentional or reckless infliction of [damage](/source/damage), [defacement](/source/Defacement_(vandalism)), [alteration](/source/Alteration_(crime)), or [destruction](/source/Property_damage) of [property](/source/property). Common forms include [vandalism](/source/vandalism) and [graffiti](/source/graffiti).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LaGRANGE |first1=Teresa C. |title=The Impact of Neighborhoods, Schools, and Malls on the Spatial Distribution of Property Damage |journal=Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency |date=November 1999 |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=393–422 |doi=10.1177/0022427899036004003|s2cid=55937216 |url=https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clsoc_crim_facpub/56 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some examples include: disturbing a grave site, damaging an automobile, damaging or stealing a sign, starting a fire, throwing eggs at a home or car ([egging](/source/egging)), and interfering with a fire hose.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barkemeyer |first=Carl |date=2024-03-23 |title=Examples Of Criminal Mischief |url=https://attorneycarl.com/examples-of-criminal-mischief/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=Barkemeyer Law Firm |language=en-US}}</ref> Governed by [state law](/source/State_law_(United_States)), criminal mischief is committed when a perpetrator, having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he/she has such a right, intentionally or recklessly [damages](/source/damages) property of another person, intentionally participates in the destruction of property of another person, or participates in the [reckless](/source/recklessness_(law)) damage or destruction of property of another person.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wasik |first1=Martin |title=Criminal Damage/Criminal Mischief |journal=Anglo-American Law Review |date=January 1988 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=37–45 |doi=10.1177/147377958801700103|s2cid=184727509 }}</ref>

During the [second presidency of Donald Trump](/source/second_presidency_of_Donald_Trump), criminal mischief charges have been brought against protesters arrested by the [New York Police Department](/source/New_York_Police_Department) for blocking [Immigration and Customs Enforcement](/source/United_States_Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement) vehicles, leading to significant controversy.<ref name=amny>{{cite news |last=Moses |first=Dean |title=ICE at hospital: Masked agents drag man from medical center in Brooklyn, New Yorkers and cops injured in pepper spray chaos |url=https://www.amny.com/news/ice-agents-brooklyn-hospital-raid/ |work=amNewYork |publisher=Schneps Media |date=May 3, 2026 |access-date=May 3, 2026}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Criminal damage in English law](/source/Criminal_damage_in_English_law)
* [Property damage](/source/Property_damage)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Legal terminology
Category:Vandalism

{{Crime-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mischief](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischief) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischief?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.