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What is "Grand Theft Auto" ?

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Answerprancer | 02:53 Wed 07th Sep 2011 | Motoring
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If a car gets knicked over here it's dismissed as "twoccing" and (usually) settled happily for all three parties, but in America it's "Grand Theft Auto" - as if said with a huge church organ dischord. Why does America seem to consider the theft of a motorcar to be the most heinous crime of all ?
Or have I overlooked something ?
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Most things get downplayed over here whilst in the USA everything is a big drama.
If a car is stolen then say sold abroad or stripped down etc then that is theft of motor vehicle. The offence of TWOC is used for the likes of joy-riders as the definition of theft can not usually be complete. There is the more serious offence of Aggravated TWOC which has a max sentence of 14 yrs if death is caused.
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I wonder also if it is a national reaction to there not being a tradition of good universal public transport. Most people in most places seem absolutely reliant on owning a car andpeople seem to accept that they have to travel longer distances to amenities than we do in europe (like in australia). So taking someone's car has a bigger social impact.
Just a thought.
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this is only a recent thing in this country where it seems to have lost its seriousness, 20-25 years ago i know someone who stole a car and got 2 years and it was a 1st offence also similiar thing with a motorbike the guy got 6 months. Also around that time there war cars being stolen for rallying Audi Quattro being one the little group who was responsible for this got 4 years from what i can remember, a slap on the wrist and a bit of community service now.
The british law seems to have lost the plot somewhere, awhile back it was supposed to be a manadatory 5 years for possesion of an unlicenced firearm, in reality it doesnt seem to happen.
I think the difference with TWOC is that there is no presumption of theft in the offence. The car is taken or used for a short period, there is no attempt to permanently keep the car, change its appearance or plates etc.
In the States there is theft and grand theft. Grand theft is when higher value property is stolen, so grand theft auto just means car theft.
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Thanks for the replies - it's just as I thought it seems.
The only way I can excuse our over dramatising 'solder' mis-pronouncing cousins is with the notion that, for many over there, the space between destinations is a lot bigger and possession of a car could be a matter of life and death in some circumstances.
Question Author
Sorry Mosaic, I overlooked your post and appreciate similar assumptions !
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