Aggravated burglary, under section 10 of the Theft Act 1968 in English law, is committed when a person carries out a burglary while in possession of a firearm, an imitation firearm, an explosive, or a weapon of offense, defined as any article made or adapted to cause injury or incapacitate a person, or carried by the offender for that purpose. A firearm for this purpose includes an air gun or air pistol, and an imitation firearm covers anything with the appearance of being a firearm whether or not it is capable of being fired. The offense is triable only on indictment and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, reflecting its treatment as markedly more serious than ordinary burglary because of the danger the carried weapon or explosive poses to any person encountered during the offense. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification CodeIn English law, aggravated burglary is defined by section 10 of the Theft Act 1968 as burglary committed while the offender has with them a firearm, including an air gun, an imitation firearm, a weapon of offense, or an explosive. 1 Typical PenaltyAggravated burglary in English law is an indictable only offense, punishable with imprisonment for life or for any shorter term, reflecting its treatment as one of the most serious property offenses on the statute book. 1 Elements of OffenseA weapon of offense for the purposes of aggravated burglary is any article made or adapted for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or an ordinary article the person carrying it intends to use for that purpose, so an implement such as a screwdriver or kitchen knife picked up during the burglary can qualify if the intent to use it as a weapon forms at the time. 1 Notable ExampleIn R v O'Leary (1986), the defendant entered a house unarmed but picked up a kitchen knife once inside and used it to force the occupier to hand over property; the court held this still constituted aggravated burglary because the theft was committed while he was in possession of the weapon, even though he had not brought it with him. 1 Jurisdiction VariationUnlike English law, which names a single offense of aggravated burglary defined by weapon possession, many United States jurisdictions instead treat a burglary that confronts occupants on the premises as an aggravated variant known as home invasion, a different basis for the aggravation than simple weapon possession. 2 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Burglary in English law (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAggravated burglary section
Under section 10, aggravated burglary is committed when a burglar enters and at the time has with him: a firearm, which includes an air gun;
Aggravated burglary section, weapon of offence definition
a weapon of offence, meaning any article made or adapted for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use;
Allocation and Sentence subsection
Aggravated burglary is an indictable-only offence. It is punishable with imprisonment for life or for any shorter term.
At the time subsection
In R v O'Leary (1986) 82 Cr App R 337, the defendant entered a house unarmed but picked up a kitchen knife once inside; he then used it to force the occupier to hand over property. It was held that this constituted aggravated burglary because the offence which was part of the enterprise had been committed while in possession of the weapon.
View the Source 2. Burglary (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUnited States, Home invasion subsectionQuote, United States, Home invasion subsection
Commission of a burglary with the intention or result of confronting persons on the premises may constitute an aggravated offense known as "home invasion".
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