Offense Characteristics of Burglary

Abstract

In Chapter 4 it was decided that the offense of burglary should be differentiated in terms of three groups describing different types of offending, and particular offenses should be described according to a common set of dimensions and associated categories and in relation to one or other of these groups. The type of premises burgled appeared to offer a means of distinguishing between burglaries in regard to patterns of offending and the nature of the offense. For this purpose three types of premises were identified, namely, dwelling houses, commercial premises, and public buildings. This chapter defines the dimensions and categories describing burglary. The four principal dimensions are amount of violence, degree of organization, value of the theft, and number of counts of burglary; the four supplementary characteristics cover connected offenses, unconnected offenses, attempted burglaries, and charges pending. These descriptors are defined in detail here, together with an account of the rationale of their development. Furthermore, the code (score) quantifying the level of aggravation associated with each category is presented. At this early stage in the development of these dimensions, it is impossible to define the categories comprehensively. One reason for this is that 100 cases is an insufficient number for representing adequately many of the possible variations in the offense. The second reason relates to the quality of the depositions. Not infrequently the witnesses’ reports and the offenders’ statements were found to be indefinite, imprecise, and incomplete. Consequently, the qualitatively defined categories should be regarded as illustrative rather than definitive, and the quantitative categories considered tentative. In any case it is not necessary at this stage to catalog every nuance in the patterns of offending.