True Detective Stories
By Wyatt Earp | July 11, 2008
Normally when I post about my job, it is because some complainant or defendant made my head explode. Once in a while, the cops are the ones that make me run screaming for the duct tape. Such was the case today when an officer called the division and asked this question:
(I swear on my life this is exactly what he asked.)
“Is a burglary without forced entry still a burglary?”
Let’s dissect this question for a second. Break out your red pens, kids.
“Is a BURGLARY without forced entry still a BURGLARY?“
Sounds to me like the officer answered his own question, but for those of you not in law enforcement, I will give you the answer:
YES!!!
God, I need a drink.
Topics: True Detective Stories | 13 Comments »
July 11th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I’m just an electrical contractor so I don’t know all the legal jargon, I leave that up to you guys…and I have the utmost respect for our men and women who protect us on a daily basis. Thank you Wyatt and everyone else who wears the badge.
I’ve always thought that a robbery was a crime against a person and that burglary was crime of stealing when no person was present. Am I close?
July 11th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
DesertSage – Don’t thank me. I’m an idiot.
A robbery is a theft with violence or the threat of violence (however slight). A burglary is the act of entering a premise with the intent to commit a crime. You are basically correct, though. Robbery is against a person. Burglary is against a structure.
It always irks me when someone calls and says “My house was robbed.” If no one was in the residence at the time, it is a burglary. A home invasion is a robbery, but an occupant (or occupants) need to be present.
Sorry to be long-winded, but the burglary/robbery issue is my pet peeve.
The reason I posted this story is because the officer knew what he had – he said as such. It was just funny that he answered his own question.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Hehe….I got one right. Not bad for an electrician
Now, I’ll ask you an electrical question and we’ll see if……
Oh, never mind
July 11th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Desert Sage – Oh crap . . .
July 11th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
OK, Desert Sage, do I juice the amps or volts for the taser?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Mope, amps are the thing that actually do the damage because that is the current that flows through the wires (or one’s body).
Voltage is the potential (or force) that pushes the amperage.
If you raise the voltage on the taser you get more potential to push more amperage into the bad guys body.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
California Penal Code:
459. Every person who enters any house, room, apartment, tenement, shop, warehouse, store, mill, barn, stable, outhouse or other building, tent, vessel, as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, floating home, as defined in subdivision (d) of
Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code, railroad car, lockedor sealed cargo container, whether or not mounted on a vehicle, trailer coach, as defined in Section 635 of the Vehicle Code, any house car, as defined in Section 362 of the Vehicle Code, inhabited
camper, as defined in Section 243 of the Vehicle Code, vehicle as defined by the Vehicle Code, when the doors are locked, aircraft as defined by Section 21012 of the Public Utilities Code, or mine or any underground portion thereof, with intent to commit grand or petit larceny or any felony is guilty of burglary. As used in this chapter, “inhabited” means currently being used for dwelling purposes, whether occupied or not. A house, trailer, vessel designed for habitation, or portion of a building is currently being used for dwelling purposes if, at the time of the burglary, it was not occupied solely because a natural or other disaster caused the
occupants to leave the premises.
Used to drive me crazy too. “Your house didn’t get robbed!”
BZ
July 11th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
If you are on the victim side of it and calling 911, you don’t care what it is called. Your home has been invaded, things are gone, and there or not at the time, your world has been turned upside down and your sanctuary no longer feels safe.
Never actually been robbed or burglarized, but a friend was.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Mope – Good question!
DesertSage – Great answer!
BZ – All good stuff, except the PA Crimes Code doesn’t use “larceny.”
Kim – I realize that. I would never criticize someone for not knowing, but an officer is supposed to know the difference. Many in our department do not.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:48 am
I wonder if this officer is the same person who called my office the other day. “I ain’t got no more teeth, but my mouth hurts, so it must be a toothache.”
Here’s my bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol Wyatt. It’s especially good for those tough headaches you get from slamming your forehead against your desk.
As a side note, “robbed” sounds better than “burgled”. Burgled sounds like something that the dude in stripes at McDonalds would do to you to make you laugh.
July 12th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Dear Wyatt, Thanks for clarifying the difference among robbery, burglary and home invasion. I love words. I guess I should be grateful I’ve never had occasion to look those up in the dictionary.
I heard a good one; you might have heard it already. Now, with Google and Wikipedia, it is no longer acceptable to say “I don’t know.”
July 12th, 2008 at 9:20 am
You’re right, the officer should know the technical differences, because it’s his chosen career and he should have a lot of that in his head. However, once in a while my coworkers and I will look at each other and ask for clarification on something that just isn’t coming. Knew it yesterday, will know it tomorrow, but right that minute you draw a blank.
As far as people who aren’t law enforcement, the difference between robbery and burglary could be fuzzy. I know I had a problem with the difference between assault and battery for a long time, until an officer friend explained that assault could be just yelling at someone, but for battery you had to touch them. It’s considered “technical” language, and every field has it. I’m a computer technician, and it drives me nuts when people refer to the whole computer as a hard drive, or when they say “My modem’s not working” and you get there and find out it’s a monitor or printer issue.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Snigs – I have already “damaged” two phones from slamming them down, and have thrown the occasional bottle of White Out after dealing with these idiots.
MikeB – With them, it’s no longer a need for a dictionary!
Phillip – Speaking of that, I am having a problem with the clicky thing with the cord at the end. You know, the thingamajig with the ball . . .