different types of criminal► thief someone who steals things: · Car thieves have been working in the area.· The thieves stole over £5,000 worth of jewellery.
► robber someone who steals money or valuable things from a bank, shop etc – used especially when someone sees the person who is stealing: · a masked robber armed with a shotgun· They were the most successful bank robbers in US history.
► burglar someone who goes into people’s homes in order to steal: · The burglars broke in through a window.
► shoplifter someone who takes things from shops without paying for them: · The cameras have helped the store catch several shoplifters.
► pickpocket someone who steals things from people’s pockets, especially in a crowd: · A sign warned that pickpockets were active in the station.
► conman/fraudster someone who deceives people in order to get money or things: · Conmen tricked the woman into giving them her savings, as an ‘investment’.
► forger someone who illegally copies official documents, money, artworks etc: · a forger who fooled museum curators
► counterfeiter someone who illegally copies money, official documents, or goods: · Counterfeiters in Colombia are printing almost perfect dollar bills.
► pirate someone who illegally copies and sells another person’s work: · DVD pirates
► mugger someone who attacks and robs people in public places: · Muggers took his money and mobile phone.
► murderer someone who deliberately kills someone else: · His murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment.· the murderer of civil rights activist Medgar Evers· He is a mass murderer (=someone who kills a large number of people).
► serial killer someone who kills several people, one after the other over a period of time, in a similar way: · Shipman was a trusted family doctor who became Britain's worst serial killer.
► rapist someone who forces someone else to have sex: · Some rapists drug their victims so that they become unconscious.
► sex offender someone who is guilty of a crime related to sex: · Too many sex offenders are released from prison early.
► vandal someone who deliberately damages public property: · Vandals broke most of the school’s windows.
► arsonist someone who deliberately sets fire to a building: · The warehouse fire may have been the work of an arsonist.
someone who is guilty of a crime related to sex—sex offence British English,—sex offense American English noun [uncountable]