Burglary

Criminal law

Elements
Actus reus Mens rea Causation Concurrence
Scope of criminal liability
Accessory Accomplice Complicity Corporate Mandated reporter Principal Use of force continuum Vicarious
Severity of offense
Felony (or Indictable offense) Misdemeanor (or Summary offense) Infraction (also called violation)
Inchoate offenses
Attempt Conspiracy Incitement Solicitation
Offense against the person
Assassination Assault Battery Child abuse Concealment of a corpse Criminal negligence Domestic violence False imprisonment Frameup Harassment Street Home invasion Hate crime Homicide Human trafficking Intimidation Kidnapping Manslaughter (corporate) Mayhem Murder felony Homicide Negligent homicide Reckless homicide Robbery Stalking Stabbing Torture
Sexual offenses
Adultery Bigamy Child sexual abuse Cybersex trafficking Fornication Homosexuality Groping Incest Indecent exposure Masturbation Obscenity Prostitution Rape Pederasty Sex trafficking Sexual assault Sexual harassment Sexual slavery Voyeurism
Crimes against property
Arson Arms trafficking Blackmail Bribery Cybercrime Embezzlement Extortion False pretenses Forgery Fraud Gambling Intellectual property violation Larceny Looting Payola Pickpocketing Possessing stolen property Robbery Smuggling Parallel import Tax evasion Theft Trespass to land Vandalism Mischief
Crimes against justice
Against public justice Justice delayed Compounding Contempt Malfeasance in office Miscarriage of justice Judicial misconduct Misprision Perjury Perverting the course of justice
Crimes against the public
Apostasy Corruption Censorship violation Dueling Genocide Ethnic cleansing Hostage-taking People smuggling Insider trading Smuggling Illegal consumption (such as drugs, alcohol, and smoking) Miscegenation Piracy Political corruption Regicide Terrorism Unreported employment Usurpation War crimes
Crimes against animals
Cruelty to animals Poaching Wildlife smuggling Bestiality
Crimes against the state
Lèse-majesté Treason Espionage Secession Sedition Subversion
Defenses to liability
Actual innocence Automatism Consent Defense of property Diminished responsibility Duress Entrapment Ignorantia juris non excusat Infancy Insanity Intoxication Justification Might makes right Mistake (of law) Necessity Possession is nine-tenths of the law Provocation Sanctuary Self-defense Statute of limitations
Other common-law areas
Contracts Defenses Evidence Property Torts Wills, trusts and estates
Portals
Law

Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E)^[1] or housebreaking,^[2]^[3] is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, larceny, robbery, or murder, but most jurisdictions include others within the ambit of burglary. To commit burglary is to burgle,^[4] a term back-formed from the word burglar, or to burglarize.^[5]^[4]

^ Cromwell, Paul F. (1991). Breaking and entering : an ethnographic analysis of burglary. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications. ISBN 9780803940260.
^ Hunter, D.B. (1956). "Burglary, Housebreaking, and Unlawful Entry". The JAG Journal. 1956: 11.
^ "Index of legal terms and offences libelled". Archived May 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine National Archives of Scotland. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Do Burglars 'Burgle' or 'Burglarize'?". www.merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
^ Garner, Bryan A. (1995). A dictionary of modern legal usage (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780195142365.