• Burglary sentencing guidelines
• How to protect your home

Burglary meaning.

In short, burglary is where someone enters a building as a trespasser and then steals or attempts to steal possessions. 

To prove that a burglary took place, the court must establish the following:

• The defendant entered the building as a trespasser
• That the burglary took place in a building or part of a building
• The offender had the intention to steal

What is the difference between burglary and robbery? 

This question is common, as both burglary and robbery include the theft of someone’s possessions.

Burglary.

Burglary means illegally entering a property to steal property from it.

Example:

James walks past an open window of a house where he sees a laptop on a table by the window. Consequently, he then decides to climb through the window to grab the laptop and then runs off down the road.

Robbery.

Someone is guilty of robbery if they steal from a person using force or make the person think they will use force.

Example:

Sarah sees an older man walking down a quiet street wearing a Rolex. So, she goes up to the man with a knife in her hand and demands that he gives her the Rolex or she will stab him. Immediately, the man hands over his watch, and Sarah runs away.

Burglary sentencing guidelines.

The sentencing guidelines for burglary depend on which category the offence falls under when it comes to the sentencing guidelines. Moreover, the categories the offence will fall under depends on two factors, which are culpability and harm. 

Culpability

High culpability

Factors that indicate high culpability include:

• A fair amount of organisation or planning
• The possession of a weapon 
• Equipped for burglary. For example, possession of tools to help open doors and windows.
• The victim of the burglary was deliberately targeted, for example, due to vulnerability of the victim or hostility based on race, disability, among others. 
• The offender is a member of a group or gang.

Low culpability

Factors that indicate low culpability include:

• An offence that has been committed on impulse, where no significant planning took place beforehand.
• Limited intrusion into property 
• The offender has a learning disability or mental disorder
• Others exploited the offender

Harm

Greater harm

Factors that indicate greater harm include:

• The threat or use of violence against the victim
• Damage to/ theft of property causing a significant degree of loss to the victim (economic, personal or sentimental loss).
• Ransacking or vandalism of the property 
• Trauma to the victim beyond that of the usual consequence of intrusion and theft.
• The victim is at home (or returning home) while the offender is present.
• Context of general public disorder

Lesser harm

Factors that indicate lesser harm include:

• Nothing or only property of very low value to the victim (whether economic, sentimental or personal) was stolen.
• Limited damage or disturbance to property

Burglary sentencing.

How can I protect my home? 

The best ways to secure your home include:

• Security alarms
• Security cameras
• Double door locks or door deadlocks
• Window locks
• Exterior lights on a sensor 
• Interior lights on a timer