Burglary

Section 9 (1) of the Theft Act 1968

A person is guilty of burglary if:(a)- he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to commit any ulterior offence mentioned in subsection 2 (b)- having entered into a building or part of a building as a trespasser he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building/ part the there of or inflicts grievous bodily harm on any person there in

Ulterior offences- Theft, GBH and criminal damage

s9 (1) (a)- Intention formed at the time of entry s9 (1) (b)- Intention formed after entry, criminal damage is not included

Section 9 (1) (a)

Actus Reus

Entry Defendant must enter the property. There is no definition of entryR v Ryan- D burgled a house but got trapped by his neck. Only his head and right arm inside a window. Not in a position to stealPrinciple- 'Entry' is a question of fact for the jury to decide on a case by case basis Building or a part of a building Building is not defined, S 9 (4) building applies to an inhabited vehicle or vesselB and S v Leathley- D stole meat from a freezer container. The container was supplied with electricity and had been on sleepers for three years. It was held to be a buildingPrinciple- If the area in question has a degree of permanence it will be held to be a building Norfolk Constabulary v Seekings and Gould - D and an accomplice tried to get into articulated lorry trailers being used by a supermarket as a temporary storage space. They were on wheels. Trailer was not a buildingPrinciple- Temporary structure will not be a buildingR v Walkington- D went behind a counter in a store and opened a till draw. The counter was movable, but occupied a clearly identified area. D was convicted Principle- To be part of a building it must be sufficiently separate. The jury decide this R v Laing- D hid in a stock area of a department store. He was discovered after the store closed. No evidence he was a trespasser when he entered the store ie the building itselfAs a trespasserTrespass is civil law, it means being somewhere without permission not having permission or authority to be somewhere. The defendant must be a trespasser at the time of entry the building or part of. A person who has authority to enter the building/ part will become a trespasser if they enter it for some other purpose.R v Smith and Jones- D went to his father's house with a friend and stole two TVs. He had permission to enter as he was allowed to visit. He entered for a different purpose, in order to steal Barker v R- Entered the house of a neighbour. The neighbour had asked him to keep an eye on the house. He had a key and entered with intent to stealPrinciple- " If a person enters for a purpose outside the scope of his authority then he stands in no better position than a person who enters with no authority at all"In entering a public area gives you a licence if you enter with an intent to cause criminal damage you will have entered as a trespasser. When a person gains entry through fraud he has no genuine permission and therefore a trespasser

Mens Rea

Intention or recklessness as to the trespassMust either know that he does not have permission to enter or he must realise that there is a chance but enter anyway R v Collins- D climbed into a lady's bedroom. The girl invited him in thinking it was her boyfriend. They had sex before she realised it was not him. He did not trespass.Specific for S9 (1) (a)Defendant must intend one of three ulterior offence; theft, GBH and criminal damage. There is no need for the offence to take place or even be attempted.At the point of entryConditional intent can sufficient Attorney General's Reference (No1 and 2 of 1979)- Both D's admitted they were planning to steal whatever they found 'lying around'. They had intended to steal.

Section 9 (1) (b)

Actus Reus

Entry Defendant must enter the property. There is no definition of entryR v Ryan- D burgled a house but got trapped by his neck. Only his head and right arm inside a window. Not in a position to stealPrinciple- 'Entry' is a question of fact for the jury to decide on a case by case basis Building or a part of a building Building is not defined, S 9 (4) building applies to an inhabited vehicle or vesselB and S v Leathley- D stole meat from a freezer container. The container was supplied with electricity and had been on sleepers for three years. It was held to be a buildingPrinciple- If the area in question has a degree of permanence it will be held to be a building Norfolk Constabulary v Seekings and Gould - D and an accomplice tried to get into articulated lorry trailers being used by a supermarket as a temporary storage space. They were on wheels. Trailer was not a buildingPrinciple- Temporary structure will not be a buildingR v Walkington- D went behind a counter in a store and opened a till draw. The counter was movable, but occupied a clearly identified area. D was convicted Principle- To be part of a building it must be sufficiently separate. The jury decide this R v Laing- D hid in a stock area of a department store. He was discovered after the store closed. No evidence he was a trespasser when he entered the store ie the building itselfAs a trespasserTrespass is civil law, it means being somewhere without permission not having permission or authority to be somewhere. The defendant must be a trespasser at the time of entry the building or part of. A person who has authority to enter the building/ part will become a trespasser if they enter it for some other purpose.R v Smith and Jones- D went to his father's house with a friend and stole two TVs. He had permission to enter as he was allowed to visit. He entered for a different purpose, in order to steal Barker v R- Entered the house of a neighbour. The neighbour had asked him to keep an eye on the house. He had a key and entered with intent to stealPrinciple- " If a person enters for a purpose outside the scope of his authority then he stands in no better position than a person who enters with no authority at all"In entering a public area gives you a licence if you enter with an intent to cause criminal damage you will have entered as a trespasser. When a person gains entry through fraud he has no genuine permission and therefore a trespasser Specific to s9 (1) (b)Must actually commit or attempt to commit a theft or inflict GBH or attempt to commit either R v Jenkins - GBH was committed as the defendant escaped Principle- GBH can be committed as the defendant escapes

Mens Rea

Intention or recklessness as to the trespassMust either know that he does not have permission to enter or he must realise that there is a chance but enter anyway R v Collins- D climbed into a lady's bedroom. The girl invited him in thinking it was her boyfriend. They had sex before she realised it was not him. He did not trespass.Specific for S9 (1) (b)Mens rea of theft or GBH when committing or attempting to commit either either offence