Burglary

Burglary is unlawful entry into a building or other structure with the intent to commit a felony or theft under the FBI's crime-reporting definition. Breaking a lock or window is not always required. The classification concerns the entry and intended crime, so a completed theft is not necessary in every reported burglary.

Entry and purpose are separate facts

The familiar phrase “breaking and entering” can suggest that visible damage is required. For reporting purposes, an unlawful entry through an unlocked opening can still qualify when the required criminal intent is present. Conversely, damage to a window alone does not establish all the elements of burglary.

The FBI's NIBRS User Manual version 2025.0 distinguishes the offense from its method-of-entry field. That separation allows a burglary to be recorded with or without force. The manual also supplies particular rules for structures and related thefts. FBI burglary guidance.

These are statistical rules. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation explains that national reporting definitions are not charging statutes and that local statutory offenses must be classified under the appropriate reporting category. A state charge bearing the word “burglary” may not map exactly to the national statistical meaning. NCSBI definition guidance.

Example

Hypothetical example: Someone enters a closed workshop through an unlocked rear door without permission and with the intent to steal tools. The owner interrupts the person before anything is removed. The documented unlawful entry and criminal purpose can support a burglary classification even though the door was not damaged and no tools were lost.

Compare a customer who lawfully enters an open store and secretly takes merchandise from a display. The ordinary reporting distinction is shoplifting within larceny-theft, rather than burglary, because the facts differ at the entry stage. Particular restrictions or additional facts can change the analysis, so the example should not replace the reporting manual.

A public record showing “no property loss” therefore does not necessarily contradict a burglary classification. The loss field and the offense definition describe different aspects of the event.

Common confusion

Burglary versus robbery: Robbery involves force or threat against a person during a taking or attempted taking. Burglary does not require a victim to be present or confronted.

Burglary versus vehicle break-in: Everyday language often calls theft from a car a burglary. The FBI manual generally treats theft from a motor vehicle as larceny-theft rather than burglary of a structure. Read the source's category instead of substituting an everyday label.

Burglary versus trespass: Unauthorized presence alone does not supply the specified intent required by the burglary reporting definition. The full circumstances matter.

Avoiding double counts

The NIBRS manual explains that theft inherent in a burglary is not separately reported as larceny for that same conduct. This is one reason that adding every everyday description of what happened can overcount reportable offenses.

A case can also include other separately reportable conduct, and special rules apply to some premises. Those details belong to the named standard and version. A glossary explanation is useful for recognizing the main distinction; the full manual determines formal coding.

When reading a burglary trend, identify whether the number comes from dispatch calls or classified offense reports, which date is used, and whether attempts are included. An initial call about a suspected break-in may later be classified differently once lawful access, intent, or other facts become known.

Related terms

• Robbery
• Larceny-theft
• Theft from motor vehicle
• Property crime

Sources

• FBI — NIBRS User Manual, version 2025.0, June 23, 2025, burglary/breaking-and-entering section and Data Element 11. Supports entry, force, structure, vehicle-theft, and included-larceny distinctions.
• North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation — NIBRS Offense Definitions. Defines burglary statistically and distinguishes NIBRS categories from criminal charges.