Burglary

Valencia Barclift
      CJE-1003   Michael Gagner
BURGLARY
Valencia Barclift
      CJE-1003   Michael Gagner
BURGLARY

Burglary is the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a crime. (Christine Hess Orthmann, 2013) It is an offense against possession and habitation. Night time used to be an element of burglary, but in today’s world, this is no longer a factor as burglary can occur at any time of the day The definition of burglary comes from state laws and because of this some states may have other definitions of what constitutes burglary. In Washington, DC, the government must prove that the defendant entered the dwelling, building, or room of another used for sleeping and that the defendant intended to commit a crime at the time of entry. (Koehler) In Virginia, the government must prove the defendant broke and entered the dwelling house of another, the defendant did so at night time, and he did so with the intent to commit larceny or felony offense. (Koehler)
According to the FBI, burglary made up 23.6 percent of all property crimes reported in 2009. (Christine Hess Orthmann, 2013) The rate of household burglary decreased 56% from 1994 to 2011, from a peak of 63.4 victimizations per 1,000 U.S. households in 1994 to 27.6 victimizations per 1,000 households in 2011.From 1994 to 2011, the rate of completed burglary decreased by at least half across households headed by persons of all races and Hispanic origin. (Marcus Berzofsky, 2013)Burglary clearance rates seem to below for a number of reasons. At the top of the list is that burglaries are usually not discovered until hours after it occurs. Burglars can usually quickly dispose of property and there are rarely witnesses to burglary. Most burglars are professional and usually do not leave any physical evidence. So what can be done to improve the clearance rate of burglaries?
In my opinion it is very hard to determine what can be done to improve the clearance rate of burglaries. I would suggest community policing in...