Terrorists, assassins, murderers, killers, poisoners, rapists, drug dealers, kidnappers, counterfeiters, robbers, muggers, burglars, thieves, bootleggers, conmen, and little cheats. These characters will tend to be involved with Crime and Punishment Tropes.
Villains like the Corrupt Corporate Executive, Corrupt Politician, or The Emperor and other Lawful Evil villains are per definition not included, even if you may consider them as a kind of criminal. Since Hired Guns usually work for the highest bidder, they often fall into a legally grey area, though some are just outright criminals. Also, don't list more fantastic villains like the Mad Scientist, evil wizards, or Evil Overlords here.
Tropes:
- Affectionate Pickpocket: A character tries to disguise picking someone's pocket as an affectionate hug.
- African Terrorists: Ruthless militants from Sub-Saharan Africa.
- The Aggressive Drug Dealer: He really doesn't want to hear "no" from potential customers.
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: Outlaw biker gangs are often styled after the Hells Angels.
- Ambiguous Criminal History: A character is implied to have committed a serious crime(s) in the past, but it isn't known exactly what offense(s) they've committed.
- Arms Dealer: Someone who illegally smuggles weapons to sell them to the highest bidder, including criminal gangs and terrorist organizations.
- The Artful Dodger: Crafty, street-wise homeless child.
- Back-Alley Doctor: A doctor without a medical license operating illegally.
- Balkan Bastard: Criminals from Albania and former Yugoslavia.
- Bandit Clan: A clan or family of criminals who rob people in the rural countryside.
- Bandito: Mexican bandits.
- Bantering Baddie Buddies: A duo of hired guns who provide bloodshed and witty banter.
- Black Widow: A woman who marries men and then kills them.
- Blatant Burglar: You can tell this person is a criminal because they wear such stereotypical garb as masks and shirts with black and white stripes.
- The Bluebeard: A man who marries women and then kills them.
- Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: Militant anarchists who want to overthrow the government and all forms of centralized authority through acts of terrorism.
- Boxed Crook: You can die in prison, or you can do us a favor and get out.
- Captain Nemo Copy: An Expy of Captain Nemo.
- Cannibal Clan: A family who eat people.
- The Cartel: Latin American gangsters and mobsters.
- Clandestine Chemist: Someone educated in chemistry decides to use their knowledge for illegal purposes, such as the creation of drugs or poisons.
- Classy Cat-Burglar: A skilled, sexy, mysterious female thief, who is just as agile and elegant as a cat.
- Cleanup Crew: Criminals who enter a crime scene to hide or destroy evidence.
- Cop/Criminal Family: A lawbreaker and law-enforcer are related, often causing conflict between them.
- Cop Killer: Someone who murders a police officer.
- The Cracker: A hacker who uses their skills for non-harmless applications.
- Criminal Amnesiac: Amnesiac characters are convinced by the villains that they are on their side.
- Criminal Convention: A social gathering for crooks and outlaws.
- Criminal Doppelgänger: An Identical Stranger who happens to be a notorious criminal. This may result in their non-criminal lookalike getting in trouble with the law.
- Criminal Craves Legitimacy: A villain wants to live a "normal" or much-improved life and resorts to criminal enterprise to do it.
- Criminal Found Family
- Crooked Contractor: A sleazy, sketchy contractor who does extremely poor work and dodges accountability whenever something they did catches up with them.
- Crooks Are Better Armed: When criminals have better weapons than the police do.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Organized crime looks very fun!
- Dangerous Deserter: A soldier who has abandoned their military post and is now a ruthless fugitive.
- Delinquents: Young hoodlums who commit petty crimes.
- Desert Bandits: Robbers who attack travelers in remote desert regions.
- Detective Mole: Someone investigating a crime turns out to have been secretly complicit in it.
- Diabolical Mastermind
- Digitized Hacker: Hacker who enters cyberspace and operates within it.
- Dirty Cop: A police officer who is not above engaging in criminal activity themselves.
- The Don: A crime boss, the leader of The Mafia or The Syndicate.
- Eco-Terrorist: A radical environmental activist who's willing to resort to illegal or even violent methods to try and save Mother Nature.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Some criminals want their kids to be honest citizens.
- Evil Poacher: Someone who illegally hunts wild animals, especially if they're legally protected species.
- The Fagin: Someone who teaches children how to steal for them.
- Fame Through Infamy: Someone does something heinous just to get on the news and be famous for it.
- The Family That Slays Together: A family of ruthless murderers.
- The Family for the Whole Family
- Fantastic Terrorists: Terrorists who use methods that only exist in their Speculative Fiction setting.
- Far East Asian Terrorists: Ruthless militants from East/Southeast Asia.
- Film Felons: Crooks pretend to be filmmakers so they can use the cover of making a movie to keep their crimes under wraps.
- Finger-Snapping Street Gang: A street gang advances on someone while rhythmically snapping their fingers.
- Firefighter Arsonist: Firefighters who can't resist starting the fires themselves.
- Five-Finger Discount: Thieves who engage in pickpocketing, or stealing things on a person's body through stealth and trickery.
- Football Hooligans: Obsessive football/soccer fans who are prone to bouts of drunken violence against fans of rival teams.
- Friend in the Black Market: A shady merchant who sells illegally obtained products.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: An ex-military veteran who uses their combat training and experience to enter a life of crime.
- Gangbangers: Criminal thugs who are members of street gangs, which are smaller and less powerful than major criminal syndicates but no less ruthless or dangerous.
- Gang of Hats: A crime group which differentiates themselves from others with a gimmick.
- Gayngster: A gay gangster.
- Generic Ethnic Crime Gang: Criminal gangs tend to be mostly or completely comprised of people from a common ethnic background.
- Gentleman Thief: A Man of Wealth and Taste who steals for sport.
- Getaway Driver: Someone who helps a criminal escape the scene of a crime (for example a robbery) by zooming away in a vehicle.
- Getting High on Their Own Supply: When a drug dealer is also a drug addict, frequently using their own product whenever they're not selling it.
- Greaser Delinquents: The iconic leather-wearing, cigarette-smoking, slicked-hair-sporting, trouble-making subculture of the 50s and 60s.
- Hacked by a Pirate: Hackers using pirate imagery as their Calling Card.
- The Highwayman
- Hillbilly Moonshiner: Someone who illegally produces alcohol despite laws which ban or restrict this activity.
- Hitman with a Heart
- Holy Hitman: A Professional Killer that makes references to the Good Book.
- Honest John's Dealership: Illegitimate salesmen who trick their customers into buying shoddy merchandise.
- Honor Among Thieves: When criminals demonstrate professional courtesy and respect for their colleagues.
- Hostile Hitchhiker: When someone allows a suspicious stranger to take a ride in their car, only for that stranger to turn out to be some sort of armed robber, escaped convict, Serial Killer, or another dangerous criminal.
- Human Traffickers: Criminals who illegally transport live people, often moving undocumented migrants across international borders, and sometimes selling them into slavery.
- Hunting the Rogue: For rogue agent deserters from organizations they served.
- Impersonating an Officer: When a criminal disguises themselves as a cop as a cover for their actions.
- Indispensable Scoundrel: A shady character who is kept around because their skills and body of knowledge are too invaluable to lose by killing or imprisoning them.
- Invasion of the Baby Snatchers: Non-humans kidnapping babies.
- Irish Explosives Expert: A (Northern) Irish terrorist who knows how to make and use bombs. Oftentimes a veteran of The Troubles.
- The Irish Mob: Irish gangsters and mobsters.
- Jack the Ripoff: A murderer who takes inspiration from the M.O. of a famous serial killer.
- Japanese Delinquents: Japanese petty criminals that are not exactly like the Yakuza.
- Just a Gangster: When life thinks to get them out, this person pulls themselves back in.
- Just Like Robin Hood: A thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
- Justified Criminal
- Karmic Thief: A person who only steals from bad people.
- Killer Cop: A murderous police officer.
- King of Thieves: The leader of a big gang of muggers, robbers, and pickpockets.
- Kosher Nostra: Jewish gangsters and mobsters.
- Lawman Gone Bad: A criminal who formerly worked for the police.
- Loan Shark: If you borrow money from this thug, you better pay back your debt to him or else.
- London Gangster: British gangsters and mobsters.
- Lovable Rogue: They break the law at least somewhat for their own gain, but are charming and affable enough for the audience to root for them.
- Lower-Class Lout: Working-class and poor people being depicted as this.
- Mad Bomber: Someone who's planting and detonating a lot of explosives in public places.
- The Mafia: Italian gangsters and mobsters.
- The Mafiya: Russian gangsters and mobsters.
- Master Forger
- Middle Eastern Terrorists: Ruthless militants from West Asia or North Africa.
- Minor with Fake I.D.: A teenager gets a fake ID to pretend to be older.
- The Mob Boss Is Scarier: The head honcho of the gang is feared and respected for a good reason.
- The Most Wanted: The top list of fugitive criminals wanted by the law.
- Murderers Are Rapists: A criminal who rapes their victim before killing them.
- Naughty Narcs: A narcotics officer who accepts bribes from drug dealers.
- Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: Local criminals try to protect their neighbors and communities from other bad guys.
- No Honor Among Thieves: Though this doesn't always work. Many criminals tend to be disloyal to one another.
- Notorious Parent: Someone's father or mother who turns out to be an infamous fugitive criminal.
- The Old Convict: An elderly prison inmate who's been serving a very long sentence.
- Outlaw: A fugitive criminal, especially a bandit living in a lawless frontier region.
- Outlaw Couple: A duo of criminals who are married or in love with each other.
- Pedophile Priest: A priest who sexually abuses children.
- The Peeping Tom: People who get their sick kicks by spying on others.
- Percussive Pickpocket: A thief pickpockets something off of someone, disguising the act as an accidental bump on the street.
- Pet Rat: Ill-repute crook secretly working for a good-repute boss.
- Phantom Thief: A thief archetype known for being elusive.
- Pirate: Criminals who sail around in water to rob boats and ships passing by.
- Pirate Girl: A female pirate.
- Playful Hacker: Hacks computers for fun.
- Poetic Serial Killer: A Serial Killer that operates on Death by Irony.
- Predatory Prostitute: A sex worker who is also a criminal in other ways.
- Professional Killer: Also known as contract killers, hitmen, or assassins. These people commit murder in exchange for monetary payment.
- Protection Racket: An extortion scheme where gangsters force business owners to pay them if they don't want to risk damage to their livelihoods.
- Pyromaniac: If someone is so obsessed with fire that it leads to them committing arson.
- The Quincy Punk: A negatively stereotyped, even violent 1970s / '80s punk character.
- The Queenpin: A female mob boss.
- Rabid Cop: A sadistic police officer who really enjoys beating the crap out of suspects.
- Rage Against the Legal System: Convicted and/or incarcerated criminal seeks revenge against authorities for his punishment.
- Recruiting the Criminal
- Reformed Criminal: They used to be a criminal, but are now on the straight and narrow path.
- Retired Outlaw
- Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: Far-right-wing American terrorists who really distrust the US federal government.
- Robin Hoodlum: A copy of Robin Hood that's a villain or a Jerkass.
- Rogue Agent
- Rogue Soldier
- Roguish Poacher: Someone who hunts animals illegally, but does so more for sustenance rather than greed or thrills.
- Roguish Romani: Romani gangsters and mobsters.
- Rural Gangsters
- The Rustler: A thief who specializes in stealing cattle, horses, or other livestock.
- Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: Immigrant criminals who are more dangerous than the native-born criminals.
- Ruthless Modern Pirates: Unromanticized pirates from the present day.
- Satisfied Street Rat: An orphaned kid who has turned living on the street to their advantage.
- Serial-Killer Killer: A serial killer who preys on other murderers.
- Scoundrel Code: Even career criminals are sometimes expected to follow a code of behavioral conduct, for moral or practical reasons.
- Schlubby, Scummy Security Guard: Frequently criminals.
- Serial Killer: A murderer who gradually kills multiple individual victims, one after another.
- Serial Rapist: A rapist who sexually assaults a series of individual victims.
- Shady Lady of the Night: A prostitute who is hired to be an informant, a hitman, or to do criminal activites other than sex.
- Shady Scalper: People who sell items of limited availability (e.g. tickets, toys) but jack up the prices. What they do is sometimes not actually illegal... but still pretty crummy.
- Siblings in Crime: A group consisting of brothers or sisters who commit crimes together.
- Sky Pirate: Pirates in the air.
- South Asian Terrorists: Ruthless militants from South Asia.
- Space Pirates: Pirates IN SPACE!
- Spree Killer: A mass-murderer who kills multiple people during a quick rampage.
- Stealing from the Till: Embezzlement.
- Stupid Crooks: Criminals who are too incompetent and moronic to commit a successful crime.
- Submarine Pirates: Pirates under the sea.
- Super Mob Boss: A gang leader or mob boss who's tough enough to be considered a supervillain.
- Sympathetic Murderer
- The Syndicate: A big and powerful criminal organization.
- Tattooed Crook: Criminals with tattoos, usually to display gang affiliation.
- Terminally-Ill Criminal: A character commits a crime or engages in regular criminal activity after learning (or while so) they have a fatal disease.
- Terrorists Without a Cause: These criminals commit quasi-terrorist acts with a thin veneer of political ideology.
- Theatre Phantom: A Phantom of the Opera rip-off.
- Theme Serial Killer
- Thieves' Cant: Code-words used by professional criminals to discreetly discuss their illegal affairs.
- Thieves' Guild: When all illegal activity is strictly controlled and regulated by a criminal organization.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Neo-Nazis are often members of prison/street gangs, or terrorists who commit violent crimes for ideological reasons.
- Totalitarian Gangsterism: Gang-controlled neighborhoods are very unpleasant for law-abiding citizens who live in them.
- The Triads and the Tongs: Chinese gangsters and mobsters.
- Venturous Smuggler: An adventurous scoundrel who transports illegal cargo for a living.
- Vigilante Man: A person who isn't a cop decides to pursue and fight criminals, which often involves using illegal methods to do so.
- Western Terrorists: Ruthless militants from the Americas, Europe, or Oceania.
- White-Collar Crime: Not all criminals are involved with drugs, sex, or violence. White-collar criminals use fraud, scams, and other dishonest tactics to steal money from people.
- White Gangbangers: Criminal thugs of non-Hispanic white European descent, as opposed to gangsters of other ethnicities.
- Yakuza: Japanese gangsters and mobsters.
- The Yardies: Jamaican gangsters and mobsters.
