Section 8 And The Theft Act (Burglary)

Burglary is an offence under Section 9 of the Thefts Act, which is in 2 separate parts. The first sub section is s9(1)(a) which states “ a person is guilty of burglary if he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser with the intent to steal, inflict grievous bodily harm, or do unlawful damage to the building or anything in it.” The second part is s9(1)(b) which says “a person is guilty of burglary if having entered a building or part of a building as a trespasser, he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building or inflicts or attempts to inflict grievous bodily harm on any person in the building”. The difference between the two subsections is the intention at the time of entry. For example s9 (1)(a) the defendant must
The first case on Entry was the case of Collins 1972. In this case the defendant had drunk alcohol and decided he wanted to have sex. He saw a window that was open and climbed a ladder so he could have a look in. He saw there was a naked girl inside asleep on her bed. So he went down the ladder took off his clothes and climbed back up it to the girls room. She woke up and thought it was her boyfriend and helped him into the bedroom where they had full intercourse. Collins was convicted on s9(1)(a) as he entered with intention to rape. Before 2004 if someone was entering a building with the intention of rape it would be included in this section, but now it is under the Sexual Offences Act. Collins appealed to his conviction as he said that he wasn’t a trespasser when he entered the building as the girl invited him in. The Court of Appeal quashed his conviction as there was no evidence that he was a trespasser and this is what is needed to be guilty of s9(1)(a) and of course Burglary. Brown was also another case that helped clarify what was regarded as entry. The defendant was standing outside but leaning in through a shop window rummaging through the goods. His feet and lower body was outside the shop. The Court of Appeal decided that he had effectively entered the building and therefore his conviction was upheld. However in the case of Ryan the need
All inhabited places are considered as buildings so that would include houseboats or caravans, are considered as buildings/dwellings. To be a considered as a building the structure must have some degree of permanence. The main problem for the courts, have occurred where a structure such as a portacabin for example has been used for storage or office work. Moveable structures like this can be seen as buildings even though their use in particular places is only temporary. Section 9 (4) deals with what is considered to be a building and it also says “buildings include inhabited vehicles or vessels”. Two cases that helped clarify what was considered as a building was the cases B and S v Leathley. In this case a 25 foot long freezer container had been kept in a farmyard for over two years. It was used as a storage facility. It rested on sleepers, had doors with locks and was connected to the electricity supply. This was considered a building because it had some degree of permanence as it was there for 2 years. In the case of Norfolk Constabulary v Seeking and Gould, a lorry trailer with wheels which had been used for over a year for storage, had steps providing access and was connected to electricity supply, was held not be a building. The fact that it had wheels meant that it remained a vehicle. The courts have tried to clarify what a building is but it is still very unclear