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Burglary/Aggravated Burglary – knowledge test

BURGLARY

Knowledge test

Start by writing down the burglary legislation – as much as you know of s.9. It is written below the video so once you’ve watched the video you can check and see how much you knew correctly. Don’t worry about the aggravated offence, we will cover s.10 later.


Burglary lesson video


Knowledge check

Return to the legislation you wrote out at the beginning of the lesson and see if you were correct.

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 such offence as is mentioned in subsection (2) below; or

(b) having entered any building or part of a building as a trespasser he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building or that part of it or inflicts or attempts to inflict on any person therein any grievous bodily harm.

Make a note of anything you missed or wrote incorrectly. These will become the areas you need to work on.


Comparison

Here we highlight the difference between the two sub-sections of the section 9 offence. Notice how in s.9(1)(a) we are concerned with intent and in s.9(1)(b) we are concerned with behaviour. Unlawful damage only applies to s.9(1)(a) and attempts only apply to s.9(1)(b).

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Applying understanding

Next we will test your understanding of the legislation. Look at the following examples and decide which are burglaries. Each questions carries on from the previous one.


Quick review

Review the core parts of burglary with these flash cards.


AGGRAVATED BURGLARY

Knowledge test

Start by writing down the aggravated burglary legislation – as much as you know of s.10. It is written below the video so once you’ve watched the video you can check and see how much you knew correctly.


Aggravated burglary lesson video


Knowledge check

Return to the legislation you wrote out at the beginning of the lesson and see if you were correct.

A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if,

he commits any burglary and at the time has with him any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive; and for this purpose—

(a) “firearm” includes an airgun or air pistol, and “imitation firearm” means anything which has the appearance of being a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not; and

(b) “weapon of offence” means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use; and

(c) “explosive” means any article manufactured for the purpose of producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person having it with him for that purpose.

Make a note of anything you missed or wrote incorrectly. These will become the areas you need to work on.


Applying understanding

Next we will test your understanding of the legislation. Look at the following examples and decide which are aggravated burglaries. Each questions is independent from the previous one.


Quick review

Review the core parts of aggravated burglary with these flash cards.


Summary

Burglary

Buildings include inhabited vehicles or vessels even when unoccupied. Entry need only be effective and deliberate, it does not require your entire body to enter the building, and insertion of an instrument (to enable the offence of burglary to take place) is considered entry.

A trespasser is someone who enters another persons property unlawfully. The defendant must have been a trespasser when they entered the building or part of the building or have been reckless to the fact. This includes where a person moves from a part of a building where they have permission to be to another part where they do not, or enters a part of the building that is clearly out of bounds (even without physical separation). But this does not include where someone who becomes a trespasser by exceeding a condition of entry. 

s.9(1)(a) is about entering with intent to steal, inflict GBH or cause unlawful damage regardless of their ultimate behaviour. s.9(1)(b) is concerned with their behaviour – stealing, inflicting GBH or attempting either.

Remember the rule of doors. Every time the defendant walks through a door we ask ourselves “Is he entering as a trespasser?”, if he is, we then ask ourselves, “does he enter with intent to steal, inflict GBH or unlawful damage?”. If he enters as a trespasser, but doesn’t enter with intent, we then ask ourselves “does he go on to steal, attempt to steal, inflict GBH or attempt GBH?”

Aggravated burglary

The articles this legislation are concerned with are: 

  • Weapon of offence
  • Imitation firearm
  • Firearm
  • Explosive

A weapon of offence means “any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use.”An imitation firearm simply has to have the the appearance of a firearm.Firearms include airguns and air pistols.Explosive means “any article manufactured for the purpose of producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person having it with him for that purpose.” 

The WIFE must be with the person at the time of the burglary. If a s.9(1)(a) burglary is committed, then the WIFE must be with him when he entered the building or part of the building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict GBH or cause unlawful damage.In a s.9(1)(b) burglary, having entered a building or part of a building as a trespasser, the offence is committed when he has a WIFE with him as he steals (or attempts to steal), or inflicts GBH (or attempts to inflict GBH).

The WIFE must be “with him” and this can mean the defendant was carrying the offensive weapon or has it in his immediate control.

And finally, there must be knowledge of the WIFE or the intention to use an article offensively.


What next…?

Before completing the 20 questions below and rather than review the topic of burglary any further at this point, move on to study another topic. This will give you time to find out how much you have actually remembered, and which areas have been forgotten.

Suggested topics –

  • Weapons
  • Firearms
  • Blackmail
  • Robbery

Return to burglary at a later date and write out both s.9 and s.10 offences (before reading anything else), then check them against the legislation above. Any areas of weakness need to be returned to after a further break. Remember to keep extended the gap between reviewing work. Spaced repetition is the key.

20 questions

Now you have returned to burglary after studying other topics, take the quiz to see how much information you have retained.