Forcible entry is the unlawful taking of possession of real property by force or threats of force, or unlawful entry onto another's property especially when accompanied by force. In England and Wales it was historically a common law offense regulated by a series of Forcible Entry Acts running from 1381 to 1623, until the Criminal Law Act 1977 abolished it and replaced it with the offense of using violence to secure entry under section 6 of that Act. The same term is also used in a non-criminal sense for the techniques police, military and fire service personnel use to breach locked or blocked buildings during emergencies, categorized as entry through the lock or through the door.
Facts
Elements of OffenseUnlawful taking of possession of real property by force or threats of force, or unlawful entry onto another's property, especially when accompanied by force 1 Jurisdiction VariationIn England and Wales it was a common law offence, abolished by the Criminal Law Act 1977 and replaced by 'using violence to secure entry' under section 6 1 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary 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.
Sources
1. Forcible entry - Wikipedia
Introduction, sentence 1
the unlawful taking of possession of real property by force or threats of force or unlawful entry into or onto another's property, especially when accompanied by force
England and Wales, paragraph 1
was abolished, along with forcible detainer, by the Criminal Law Act 1977
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