article fromlaw

by Ronald Echer

Property crimes include many common crimes relating to theft or destruction of someone else’s property. They can range from lower level offenses such as shoplifting or vandalism to high level felonies including armed robbery and arson. Some such crimes do not require the offender to make off with stolen goods or even to harm a victim – such as burglary, which only requires unlawful entry with the intent to commit a crime. Others require the actual taking of money or property. Some, such as robbery, require a victim present at the time of the crime. Most property crimes include a spectrum of degrees depending on factors including the amount stolen and use of force or arms in theft related cases, and actual or potential bodily injury in property destruction crimes such as arson. Below you’ll find more information on specific property crimes

Burglary

The crime of burglary has been around for a long time. It originally developed under the common law, but states have incorporated the basic idea of burglary into their penal codes, albeit with some slight modifications.

For instance, under the common law definition of burglary, the crime had to take place in the dwelling house of another at night. Most states have subsequently broadened the definition of burglary to include businesses and illegal entries during the day.

Burglary developed to protect a persons interest in their home and to prevent violence, not to protect against theft. Other laws criminalize the taking of property; burglary is meant to safeguard the sanctity of a persons home and to protect against the possible violence that could arise if someone discovers a burglar in their house.

The definition of burglary arises out of state law, thus it differs depending on the state. Each state has its own burglary statute with slightly different rules. Federal criminal law incorporates the meaning of burglary used by the state that the crime occurred in.

Most states and the Model Penal Code use the same basic definition of burglary, however. In those states, burglary is:

• The unauthorized breaking and entry
• Into a building or occupied structure
• With the intent to commit a crime inside.

Each of those elements must be present in order to convict a defendant accused of burglary, so its important to examine each of them a little more closely.

Breaking and Entry

A burglary involves the burglar breaking into and entering a structure. The breaking-in can occur in two ways: actual and constructive.

Actual breaking involves physical force: picking a lock or kicking a door in, for example. It could even be a very slight use of force, such as pushing open a door thats been left ajar.

Constructive breaking, on the other hand, entails those means of gaining entry that dont use physical force: threats, blackmail or fraud, for example.

However a burglar breaks in to the structure, they must also enter in order to satisfy this element. The entry can be minimal; the burglar doesn’t have to actually walk into a building in order to commit a burglary. Sticking a hand through a window counts as an entry sufficient to support a charge of burglary.

Its also important to note that the entry has to occur without the consent of the person occupying the property.

Intent

In order for a break-in to constitute a burglary, the person breaking in must have the intent to commit a crime inside the building. Usually, this crime is theft, but other crimes can render a break-in a burglary as well. Vandalism, for example.

The crime has to exist separately from the break-in itself. For example, if an individual uses fraud – which is a crime – to gain after-hours entrance to a building to view a piece of art, no burglary has taken place since the only crime that occurred was the fraud used to gain entrance to the building.

The timing of the intent also becomes important when determining the degree of a burglary charge. For instance, if a person intended to commit the crime in question before they broke in to the building, then most states will consider the burglary of the first degree. If the person broke in to the building and only subsequently formed the intent to commit a crime, most states will classify the burglary as second degree.

Many other factors will determine the degree of the burglary, so always check the specific law of the state you’re in and contact a good criminal defense attoreny.

Alexander Truluck focuses his practice as a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.criminallawyerclearwaterflorida.com
or call (727) 799-3550.