What element must be present in the crime of forgery?

In the crime of forgery, the essential element that must be present is the intention to defraud someone. This intention can be understood as the deliberate act of manipulating or creating a false document with the aim of misleading others for unlawful gain. For instance, if an individual forges a signature on a check intending to deceive the bank into believing that it is valid, their primary motivation is to defraud the bank or another individual.

The nuance of intention is crucial because forgery is primarily about deception and the attempt to unlawfully benefit from that deceit. In legal terms, without the intent to defraud, a mere alteration of a document does not constitute forgery. This distinguishes forgery from other similar offenses where intention plays a pivotal role in establishing the crime's nature and seriousness.

While the other options present relevant aspects of forgery—such as alterations or possession of altered documents—they do not encapsulate the core criminal intent that underpins the act of forgery itself. Thus, the emphasis on the intention to defraud is what fundamentally characterizes the crime.