What is burglary?
A very common offence.
There are two primary offences of burglary - section 9(1)(a) burglary and section 9(1)(b) burglary.
Section 9 (1)(a) — Burglary
Actus Reus:
- D entered
- A building or part fo a building
- As a trespasser
Mens Rea:
- Knowing or being reckless that he was a trespasser
- Knowing or being reckless that the structure was the building
- With intent to steal, inflict grevious bodily harm or cause criminal damage to the building or
anything inside.
Actus Reus - Entry
there is no definition for entry
What actions on the part of the defendant constitutes entry?
R v Collins 1973 - 'effective and substantial'
R v Brown 1985 - 'effective'
R v Ryan 1996 - 'partial entry was capable of constituting entry and the fact that D was incapable of
stealing was irrelevant'
Entry of objects -
Richardson and Brown 1998
Horncastle 2006
Actus Reus - Building or part of a building
There is no definition for this
The definition of a building is a question of fact no law decided by the jury.
Manning and Rogers 1871 - an unfinished house of which all walls, external and internal had been
built, the roof was on, a considerable part of the flooring laid etc was held to be a building.
the building is required to have a degree of permanence.
A very common offence.
There are two primary offences of burglary - section 9(1)(a) burglary and section 9(1)(b) burglary.
Section 9 (1)(a) — Burglary
Actus Reus:
- D entered
- A building or part fo a building
- As a trespasser
Mens Rea:
- Knowing or being reckless that he was a trespasser
- Knowing or being reckless that the structure was the building
- With intent to steal, inflict grevious bodily harm or cause criminal damage to the building or
anything inside.
Actus Reus - Entry
there is no definition for entry
What actions on the part of the defendant constitutes entry?
R v Collins 1973 - 'effective and substantial'
R v Brown 1985 - 'effective'
R v Ryan 1996 - 'partial entry was capable of constituting entry and the fact that D was incapable of
stealing was irrelevant'
Entry of objects -
Richardson and Brown 1998
Horncastle 2006
Actus Reus - Building or part of a building
There is no definition for this
The definition of a building is a question of fact no law decided by the jury.
Manning and Rogers 1871 - an unfinished house of which all walls, external and internal had been
built, the roof was on, a considerable part of the flooring laid etc was held to be a building.
the building is required to have a degree of permanence.
