Burglary Flashcards
What act and section number does burglary come under?
S.9 Theft Act 1968
What are the 2 offences and section numbers under burglary?
S.9(1a) - A person is guilty of burglary if he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with the intent to commit theft, inflict GBH or cause unlawful damage
S.9(1b) - A person is guilty of burglary if having entered a building or part of a building as a trespasser, he steals or attempts to steal or inflicts or attempts to inflict GBH on any person in the building
What are the parts to the actus reus of burglary?
Entry
Building or part thereof
Trespasser
What is the case that establishes what entry is for burglary?
R vs Collins
What is the POL from R vs Collins?
For burglary the D must have made ‘an effective and substantial entry’
His erect penis poking through a window did not amount to ‘an effective and substantial entry’
What are the other cases for entry?
R vs Brown
R vs Ryan
What is the POL from R vs Brown?
The top half of D’s body inside a shop did amount to ‘an effective and substantial entry’
What is the POL from R vs Ryan?
D’s head and arm inside a house amounted to ‘an effective and substantial entry’
What does ‘building or part of a building’ contain?
Houses, flats and offices obviously but it also includes houseboats, caravans and other permanent structures
Does not include tents for example
What is the case that states a freezer container was a building in the circumstances?
B & S vs Leathley
What is the POL from B & S vs Leathley?
A freezer container that had been kept in a farmyard for over 2 years and used for storage, rested on sleepers, had doors and locks and was connected to the electricity supply was held to be a building
What case contrasts B & S vs Leathley?
Norfolk Constabulary vs Seekings and Gould
What is the POL from Norfolk Constabulary vs Seekings and Gould?
A lorry trailer that was being used for storage was held to be a vehicle not a building as it had wheels
What are the cases that cover when D has permission to be in one part of the building but not another?
R vs Walkington
R vs Rodmell
What is the POL from R vs Walkington?
D had entered a shop lawfully but entered a door unlawfully that was marked as ‘staff only’
What is the POL from R vs Rodmell?
D breaking into a shed on the property he had permission to be in is still burglary
What is the definition of trespassing?
Where a person intentionally or recklessly enters a building in the possession of another without permission or a legal right to do so
What case defines what isn’t a trespasser?
R vs Collins
What does R vs Collins define a non-trespasser as?
Someone who had permission to enter
What case says that a person who is given permission to enter for one purpose but in fact enters for another purpose is entering as a trespasser?
R vs Smith and Jones
What is the POL from R vs Smith and Jones?
A person who is given permission to enter for one purpose but in fact enters for another purpose is entering as a trespasser
Two defendants took two TV sets from Smith’s father’s house without his knowledge or consent
What are the parts for the mens rea of burglary?
Intention or recklessness as to trespass
The ulterior offence
What is the point for intention or recklessness as to trespass?
D must know or be reckless that he is trespassing - this means that there is at least a risk that he would not be permitted to be on the property
What is the point for the ulterior offence?
D must have the mens rea for one of the ulterior offences stated in S.9 - Theft, GBH or unlawful damage
